Alabama Football: Comparing the upcoming SEC trench warfare

There is an old debate over which position groups must impact winning. Let’s presume it is the offensive and defensive lines and see how Alabama football compares to other top SEC teams and Clemson.

We are like many Alabama football fans. Every preseason opinion of what players and what position groups will be the best is perused with anticipation. Not surprisingly, SO many opinions conjure up lots of different conclusions.

Some of those conclusions ring truer than others. All of us know a guy who is a former player or a former or current coach whose opinion we value. But not all those guys do a deep dive into more than a few teams. The other, more recognized ‘experts’ can usually defend their opinions based on a body of research or the murky (to the rest of us) application of algorithms.

What follows is some combination of research and hunch. If we knew the exact mixture of both, we would divulge it, but we don’t. We can say among a couple of dozen of sources we have considered, Phil Steele and Cole Cubelic are the two guys we believe offer the most educated opinions. We also value Trevor Matich’s opinions but to his credit, his special insight is more narrative than ‘best’ list form.

Has college football so fundamentally changed the big guys in the trenches are being left behind in their own mud and dust (or flying rubber pellets)? In most CFB conferences that could well be true. Guys like Mike Leach can win with linemen, few of whom could scratch the three-deep at most SEC schools.

We choose to not focus on the game has changed debate and offer only our assumption. If Alabama football could have better protected Tua and knocked some Clemson Tigers off the ball in the red zone AND if its defensive line could have EVER scared Trevor Lawrence, the national championship game might have ended in a Crimson Tide victory. With perhaps a notable exception or two, the men in the trenches still decide national championships.

So what team has the biggest and baddest in 2019?

Based on our trusted expert sources, the SEC teams, plus Clemson, who stand out are Auburn, Alabama and yes, Clemson. Pair the strengths of each team’s offensive and defensive lines and those three teams are a class above everybody else.

Georgia and LSU are next, but the Bulldogs defensive line and the Bengal Tigers offensive line drag down overall strength. Also of note, Steele and Cubelic may not be up to speed on how good D.J. Dale, Phidarian Mathis and Christian Barmore have the potential to be in 2019.

Anyway, none of this means Auburn could beat either Alabama football or Clemson. The play of other position groups must also be considered. With no QB experience and shackled by Gus’ high school offense, Auburn will not make the CFB Playoff.

It also does not mean that Georgia and LSU cannot win against the Crimson Tide. Both squads have too much roster talent to count them out.

What it does mean is, unless a game has multiple fluke occurrences, Alabama football and Clemson are going to physically punish opponents on the way to undefeated regular seasons.

Okay, we hear you scoffing. You already knew most of what we discussed. That’s fair. But in the fall, if we have focused a tad more attention to the battle within a few yards of either side of the line of scrimmage, you might decide to say thank you.