Alabama Football: Tide’s report card vs. Texas A&M

Alabama football’s report card vs. Texas A&M

Offensive Line: C-

Heading into this season, Alabama football fans knew how important it would be for new faces to step up on the offensive line. In the first few games, this did not happen. Bryce Young was hurried into bad decisions, and the run game didn’t have the same lanes they were accustomed to.

Last Saturday, the offensive line had the best performance of the season. Brian Robinson had plenty of space to run, and Bryce Young did not have to worry about pressure. Against this experienced defensive front, Alabama needed a similar performance for the young quarterback in a hostile environment.

Bryce Young faced pressure consistently in this game, so they did not get what they needed. Communication was hard in a hostile environment, but the Tide can’t excuse their poor offensive line play.

The offensive line did well on the outside and late in this game, but it was still too much to excuse as a whole.

Defensive Line: B-

Stopping Isaiah Spiller was a key to dominating this game. To do so, they needed to prioritize a strong defensive front that eliminated running lanes between the tackles. This wasn’t a guarantee, but completing this goal was a step in the right direction for Alabama’s defense.

Instead, the Aggies dominated the trenches. This was an unacceptable performance defensively at every level.

In the second half, Alabama football performed better. Still, the defensive line needs to be a strength for the Tide, and they were far from that in this one.