Alabama Football: Sometimes you just get whooped
By Kevin Mudd
Worst Defensive Performance Under Saban
The defense was beaten for a multitude of reasons. The first being that the defensive line was terrible on Monday night.
The lost of Christian Miller showed in the worst of ways on Monday night. There was no pass rush at all on Trevor Lawrence. And ultimately everyone but Quinnen Williams was to blame.
Williams was doubled or tripled all night. Quinnen gave all he had and still made plays. The same can not be said for Isaiah Buggs or Raekwon Davis. They simply were not even noticed on the stage when it mattered the most.
Which really affected the secondary.
The secondary was beaten because of two main reasons: depth and talent.
At the beginning of the year, Alabama football knew it would have to replace its entire secondary, which it did, but injuries happened, like Trevon Diggs.
Diggs’ injury really put the Tide on the collision course for what happened Monday night. Need an example… see the Ole Miss game.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what Savion Smith has given the Tide this year, but he isn’t a true starting corner on the outside against a true number one or two receiver. He simply doesn’t have the speed required. It showed on the very first play against Ole Miss. Diggs returned to the starting role and was given one on one responsibilities throughout each game. Smith was moved to the slot and was always given safety or linebacker help in coverage. This worked up until Diggs was hurt.
However, the weaknesses of Diggs being out were never really exposed again because Alabama didn’t play big physical receivers again like Ole Miss until Clemson.
The lack of depth and talent was ultimately exposed and it just occurred in the worst of times.
Clemson’s offense capitalized on this on third down throughout the entire game. Its big receivers made plays and the Tide defense allowed Lawrence the time to expose the weaknesses in the secondary.
A Team That Quit
One thing I didn’t expect to see on Monday night was a team that laid down, but it happened and the moment it occurred was on the 74-yard touchdown pass to Justyn Ross after the failed fake field goal on third down.
The team was only down by 21 halfway through the third quarter and they simply quit.
Receivers walked instead of ran to their positions, the defense stood and looked at one another instead of communicating, and the sidelines showed something I haven’t seen in a long time; no faith.
In the SEC Championship, down by 14, I saw a team that still had fight. A team that still had faith to battle its way back and win. On Monday, I saw a team that accepted its fate with eight minutes to go in the third quarter.
This was completely uncharacteristic for a Nick Saban led team and ultimately proved to be the downfall.
Conclusion
Alabama football was beaten in all facets of the game. They were outplayed, overmatched and outcoached.
On the biggest stage, Alabama football fans witnessed their team lose in a fashion that hasn’t been seen since the Shula years.
For Alabama football going forward, this loss will define what happens next. This isn’t a last-second loss of two years ago. It is a defining loss that will resonate into next season. How Alabama football responds remains to be seen.