History shows Alabama football fans are often up for quarterback controversies. Based on the first 24 or so hours of chatter after the Saturday night win, some Tide fans are ripe for debate.
It is true, without a strong defensive performance, Jalen Milroe made enough mistakes for the Crimson Tide to have lost to the Aggies. On the other hand, paraphrasing Nick Saban, Milroe made some good plays as well.
A rush to judgment about Milroe is not warranted. If Ty Simpson was the Tide’s second-best QB, he would have played Saturday night.
Concern about the quarterback situation is a valid response. One reason is, so far it’s not known how healthy Bryce Young will be for the Tennessee game.
Another reason is Tennessee has proven they can score lots of points. The Vols lead the SEC at an average of 46.8 points per game. The same stat makes the Vols No. 2 among FBS teams.
Fueled by a hurry-up, no-huddle (HUNH) pace, and orchestrated by the SEC’s most productive quarterback in Hendon Hooker, the Vols can be explosive. Hooker is No. 2 in the SEC with a 70% completion rate and when he runs, he is averaging 5.13 yards-per-carry. Will Rogers of Mississippi State has passed for more yards than Hooker, but the Vols’ QB is much more of a rushing threat.
Alabama Football Defense is Very Good
As good as the Crimson Tide defense is, it is easy to believe Saturday’s game will be a shootout. In opposition to such belief is the fact the five teams Tennessee has beaten (and run up big numbers on) are not very good defensively. The Vols’ two SEC opponents have been the best; Florida at No. 63 in the FBS and LSU at No. 29, allowing 19 points per game. The other defenses that have failed against the Vols are Pitt at No. 70 in the FBS, Ball State at No. 99 and Akron at No. 128.
The Vols scored 40 on LSU, aided early by an LSU turnover on the opening kickoff. LSU made almost an equal number of first downs, but could not effectively run the ball against Tennessee’s front seven.
Axiomatic in defending the HUNH is a defense needs its own offense to be productive. LSU produced more than 20 yards on only two of its 73 offensive plays. Making it worse for LSU, was its defense could not cope with Bru McCoy, who had seven catches for 140 yards.
On Saturday, Tennessee played its best game of the season. With Alabama Football the standard most teams are measured by, it is never surprising when a Tide opponent plays well. Will Tennesee have another ‘best game’ against the Crimson Tide? Despite all the hype and excitement, the game will create, a ‘best’ Tide beats a ‘best’ Tennessee.
Note: Stats for this post came from the NCAA, ESPN and cfbstats.com
As every Alabama football fan knows well, a ‘best’ Alabama Crimson Tide requires a healthy Bryce Young.