Alabama Football: Five takeaways from Tide blowout of Utah State

Alabama Football coasted to a 55-0 win over Utah State Saturday night. Bryce Young was sensational. The defense pitched a shutout and Nick Saban went deep into his roster. The Crimson Tide was not perfect and the performance must carry an asterisk given the out-matched opposition, but it was a strong start to the 2022 season.

Nick Saban saw enough flaws to stress continued improvement. Winning 55-0 ‘imperfectly’ is vintage Saban. That is a big reason why Saban has 86 wins when coaching a No. 1 ranked team. The next closest to him among active coaches has 10 – and shall remain nameless. No. 2 on the all-time wins No. 1 list are Bobby Bowden and Woody Hayes, both with 40.

A hat tip to PrideofTheTide.com for the stats.

Takeaway No. 1 – Alabama Football running game

Alabama rushed for 285 yards and a 9.2 yards-per-carry average. In his post-game comments, Nick Saban pointed out that a 63-yard run by Bryce Young and a 58-yarder by Jahmyr Gibbs were misleading. Saban explained the run game did not perform on a “down by down” basis and needs better consistency.

To the extent the running game was inconsistent, it appeared to have nothing to do with the Crimson Tide ball carriers.

Takeaway No. 2 – How much has the O-Line improved?

Before pointing out weaknesses, it is important to remember it takes time for new offensive lines to come together. Saturday night, due to Emil Ekiyor having missed a few practices, he did not start at right guard. Instead, Kendall Randolph got the right guard start and Javion Cohen started at left guard.

There were some times when the line failed to get much push. It also had a few breakdowns in pass protection, forcing Young to scramble and leading to one sack.

The Alabama football offensive line will continue to improve. At this point, Crimson Tide fans should not be alarmed.