The Alabama football defense had its share of struggles against the Texas Longhorns. This was far from a vintage Nick Saban defensive performance, as the Texas offense never once appeared dissuaded, intimidated, or even uncomfortable. However, the defense repeatedly tightened up in the red zone, forcing field goals and keeping Alabama in the game.
Alabama Football Defensive Line: B
The Alabama defensive line was pretty stout against the run, limiting Texas to 79 yards rushing for the game and holding All-American Bijan Robinson to 2.7 yards per carry.
The interior defensive line still has not been able to generate much of a pass rush. Byron Young and Justin Eboigbe were able to get occasional pressure, but it was typically too late to affect the passer. At this point in time, Alabama football still has to rely on blitzes to impact opposing quarterbacks.
Alabama Football Linebackers: C+
The Alabama linebackers were solid in run support, but, like the defensive line, the pass rush was underwhelming. Will Anderson Jr. and Jaylen Moody both recorded their first sacks of the season, but the Alabama pass rushers were regularly taking too long to get home.
Equally frustrating were the repeated missed tackles on injured Texas quarterback Hudson Card by Alabama linebackers and defensive backs. Missed tackles on powerful and talented running backs such as Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson were to be expected to some extent.
It was baffling, however, to see Alabama blitzers struggling to get Card on the ground when he was clearly limping and partially immobilized. Card made several gutsy plays, evading tacklers and scrambling for first downs, but he was assisted by the poor the technique of Alabama defenders. Blitzing linebackers and defensive backs were often out of control, failing to break down and taking poor angles of pursuit.
Jaylen Moody played the run well all game and was constantly pursuing Texas quarterbacks. He finished with a game-high 10 tackles and a sack, and was arguably Alabama’s best defender. Will Anderson Jr. was also good against the run, and made several impactful plays at key moments.
These big plays included a clutch sack and a blocked field goal. However, Anderson Jr. had a distinct and uncharacteristic lack of focus at times. He was repeatedly flagged for offsides penalties and committed a boneheaded dead-ball personal foul. Most of these infractions extended Texas drives.
Alabama linebackers had issues in pass coverage. While Texas tight end JaTavion Sanders was largely a non-factor, the Texas running backs were able to make big plays in the passing game, mostly taking advantage of linebackers and edge rushers in space.
Alabama Football Secondary: C-
The Alabama secondary did not come to play yesterday. A lot of the blame will fall on Khyree Jackson, who was repeatedly beaten deep on the first two drives of the game. He was very fortunate not to allow a touchdown, as Xavier Worthy was getting behind him with ease.
Jackson was subsequently replaced by Terrion Arnold, who provided more resistance and helped to keep Worthy fairly quiet for the remainder of the game. However, it is concerning that Alabama never figured out how to slow down Quinn Ewers before he left the game with an injury.
The receiver that was consistently hurting Alabama in the short to intermediate passing game was Jordan Whittington. Whittington is a big-bodied receiver that gave the Alabama secondary problems with his size and physicality. He kept several drives alive by making tough, contested catches.
Kool-Aid McKinstry maintained good coverage but was overly physical and drew multiple flags for pass interference. If he is going to be the lead cover corner for Alabama football, he has to be able to defend without interfering.
Safeties Jordan Battle and Demarcco Hellams were solid as expected. At the star, Brian Branch and Malachi Moore did not always tackle well. The two were frequently in the backfield, but had trouble finishing plays and bringing down runners and quarterbacks. Alabama blitzers and free-rushers have to improve at finishing plays and getting the defense off the field.
This defense needs some work. Steve Sarkisian out-schemed Pete Golding, and it seemed his months of offseason preparation for this game paid off. A lot of opposing coaches commit extra time to game planning for Alabama Football. Sark was not the first to do so, and he won’t be the last, so the defensive coaching staff for Alabama has to prepare more effectively.