Alabama Football: Najee Harris could explode on Michigan defense

Alabama football seeks a balanced offense but running Najee Harris frequently against the Michigan Wolverines defense will be tempting.

Even without Tua Tagovailoa, the immensely talented quartet of Alabama football receivers begs for a pass-heavy Crimson Tide offense. Mac Jones has been more than adequate in his passing accuracy. Meaning there has been no reason for the Crimson Tide to throw less in its post-Tua period.

Alabama football coach, Nick Saban and Offensive Coordinator, Steve Sarkisian agree a balanced offense, mixing run and pass, is the hardest offense to defend. That philosophy will not change against the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl.

Michigan has a statistically stingy defense. The Wolverines are No. 7 in the FBS in Total Defense and even better, No. 5 when Total Defense is calculated on average yards allowed, per-play. Michigan’s Rush Defense is ranked No. 9 in the FBS, surrendering only 3.03 yards-per-opponent, rushing attempt.

As always, stats are best viewed in context. Auburn has a bigger, more physical defensive front seven than Michigan. Najee Harris rushed for a 5.4 yards-per-carry average against the Auburn Tigers. Alabama football will have a decided weight advantage over the Michigan defensive line. Since Auburn struggled to stop Najee, why would he not do the same, or better, against Michigan?

There are strong indications Najee Harris will be too much for the Wolverines. As good as Michigan has been against the run, there were exceptions in two games. Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins rushed for 211 yards against Michigan. Dobbins averaged 6.81 yards-per-carry. Wisconsin Badgers running back, Jonathan Taylor rushed for 203 yards on the Michigan defense. Taylor averaged 9.67 yards-per-carry.

Those not Alabama football fans may argue Najee Harris is not as good as Dobbins and Taylor. Such a claim is probably valid in terms of Jonathan Taylor. Most Alabama Crimson Tide fans will argue Najee is as good or better than Dobbins.

So will Sark and the Crimson Tide, pound, pound, pound with Najee? He will get a full load but don’t look for the Tide offense to make significant changes in philosophy. Arguably the best wide receiving corps in college football history cannot be under-utilized. Look for Sark to use the pass to setup the run – and then unleash Najee for repeated big gains against the Wolverines defense.

It is hard to believe the decade is almost over. For Alabama football fans it has been nothing short of magical.

All stats in this post provided by the NCAA.