Alabama Football: Bye week odds and ends from T-Town

A much-needed bye week for Alabama Football gives Bama fans plenty of time to enjoy the Tennessee win before turning full attention to LSU. The Crimson Tide’s work schedule for the week has not been released, but after a breather of a day or two, Nick Saban normally uses bye weeks for Alabama to work on Alabama, rather than the next opponent.

Sunday night many Crimson Tide fans were glued to the Eagles vs. Dolphins game. With Philadelphia recently adding Julio Jones to the roster, 11 former Crimson Tide players were available for the game. Whichever team Tide fans rooted for, all of us were excited to see the Crimson Tide showcase of former players. The game was also a primetime Alabama Crimson Tide recruiting commercial that no other college program can replicate.

Alabama Football Odds and Ends

• There are good reasons to believe both Terrion Arnold and Trezmen Marshall can return for the LSU game. Nick Saban said Terrion suffered a slight concussion. He returned to the sideline on Saturday and celebrated the win with his teammates. Another week of no-contact in practice will likely be enough for Marshall’s bruised ribs.
• There are multiple ways to use stats to measure defense. A dependable one is Total Defense – Average Yards Per Play. After week eight the Crimson Tide is No. 2 in the SEC at 4.56 yards; Georgia leads at 4.39 yards. The Georgia stat should include an asterisk, given the Bulldogs’ weak schedule. Taking the same stat only against ranked teams, the Tide is No. 2 at 5.29 yards. By comparison, LSU’s average against ranked teams is 7.78 yards, near the bottom of the SEC.
• From Jacob Pickle comes a reminder of how dominant Alabama Football’s defense has been in recent second halves.

"The Alabama defense has given up only 6 points ‘total’ in three second halves against offenses coached by Lane Kiffin, Bobby Petrino/Jimbo Fisher, and Josh Heupel.6 points over those 90 minutes of football."

• Jalen Milroe’s stats continue to improve. Milroe is now No. 6 nationally in Passing Efficiency at  174.99. LSU’s Jayden Daniels is No. 1 in the SEC and nationally at 204.32. Milroe is No. 2 among SEC quarterbacks, followed in order by Jaxson Dart and Brady Cook. Auburn’s Payton Thorne is last in the SEC. Slowly, and not even steadily given his performance against Arkansas, Jalen Milroe’s pass completion percentage is improving. In the last five games, Milroe has completed 66.7% of his passes, even with a 47.6% outing against Arkansas.
• The Bryant-Denny crowd deserves an A+ for the Tennessee game. More of the same is expected for the LSU game.

Note: Stats provided by cfbstats.com

In other Alabama Crimson Tide news, Alabama Basketball played a closed scrimmage against TCU. The Tide was short-handed due to injuries and lost by four points. Freshman Sam Walters is reported to have scored 29 points for the Tide with scorching shooting beyond the arc.