Bama Hammer looks ahead with Crimson Keys to this weekend’s matchup: Alabama vs. Georgia.
This Saturday the thirteenth, the Alabama Crimson Tide (3-1) travels down to Athens, GA to meet the eighth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (4-0) for the first time since 2008, the infamous “Blackout” game, in Georgia’s home stadium. Georgia is coming off of convincing wins over ULM, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Southern. The Bulldogs are led by tailback Nick Chubb’s 599 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground and quarterback Greyson Lambert’s 733 yards, 7 touchdowns, and no interceptions through the air. To defeat the Dawgs, Alabama will need to play their best game of the season so far.
Stop the Run
It is extremely clear that Georgia’s bread and butter is the ground game, led by Nick Chubb, but the run game also greatly enhances Georgia’s scary efficient passing game. Chubb and Georgia’s ground and pound offense has allowed Lambert to face a lot of man to man coverage which he has exploited to the tune of a 76.5% completion rate. The play action pass been unbelievably effective for Georgia as well, reminding me a lot of the deadly play action pass game AJ McCarron benefited from in 2012 when Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon were tag teaming on defenses. If you are going to defeat Georgia, you would need to stop the run—this isn’t something that is even a question at this point—and Alabama is built to stop the run without question.
Sep 26, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Denzel Devall (30) and defensive lineman Jarran Reed (90) tackle Louisiana Monroe Warhawks quarterback Garrett Smith (13) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
The Alabama run defense has been pretty incredible thus far allowing under 60 yards per game on the ground and less than two yards per carry. Alabama’s depth across the defensive line is one of the biggest factors in their success and the fact that they can go seven deep across the line and still be effective. If Alabama manages to slow down the running game, it will put more pressure on Greyson and nearly nullify the play action pass. Stopping the run will be Alabama’s biggest goal and most important one heading into this huge SEC matchup.
Pound the Ball
The 2012 version of Alabama-Georgia ended up turning it what boiled down to pretty much a heavyweight boxing match with two monsters trading blows. Alabama’s running game took control of the game in the second half and the Alabama offensive line just simply wore out the Georgia defense. Alabama will need to establish the run early and often and that will require a combination of both Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake. After Henry pounds on Georgia for several carries, they can bring in Drake and make what should already be a worn down defense chase around the quick back.
To get this down, though, the offensive line will need to play aggressive and with a hell of a lot more intensity than they showed last week. With a game that could and should be so heavily geared towards the rushing attack, this should be Dominick Jackson’s coming out party as the bullish tackle needs to make his presence felt. Along with hopefully wearing down the Georgia defense, a potent running game will keep Alabama’s defense fresh to do battle with Georgia’s efficient offense.
Sep 26, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jake Coker (14) looks to pass against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tide defeated the Warhawks 34-0. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Coker, Receivers Must Make Plays
No matter how well the offensive line plays or the backs play or even the defense plays in this game, Jacob Coker must make plays for the Tide to win. He will likely need to make some plays downfield as well which has been a huge problem for this offense thus far. Coker has yet to complete a pass more than 25-yards through the air and Georgia’s defense is going to be keying on Alabama’s running game. The Alabama receivers are going to get plenty of chances at one-on-one coverage and for the Alabama offense to have success, they will have to win these battles. Coker has made poor decisions and has been late on throws plenty of times so far this year, but the receivers have also made plenty of mistakes as well whether it was dropped passes or blown routes.
To be successful against the Georgia Bulldogs, the passing game needs to be efficient and make some explosive plays which will then soften up the run defense and give Henry and Drake more room to work with on the ground. Everyone has to come together and play a clean game for Alabama this week, but one guy that needs to explode is tight end O.J. Howard. Howard is currently the leading receiver for Alabama and he could make a huge impact on the game.
Alabama plays Georgia 2:30 PM (central) on CBS, follow along here at BamaHammer for live coverage during the game.