Alabama flirted with disaster against Florida State yesterday. For the second week in a row, the Crimson Tide started slow and dug itself a hole. Through 27 minutes of action, Alabama trailed 21-6.
The sophomore QB threw three touchdowns in three minutes to flip the game on its head and give the Crimson Tide a 26-21 lead at halftime. In the second half, it was the Alabama rushing attack that imposed its will.
Alabama ran for 220 yards in the second half, including 140 in the fourth quarter as it pulled away for a 50-36 win to move to 3-0.
On Sunday, that win was good enough to move them up two spots in this week's AP Poll to No. 8. Losses by LSU and Texas A&M ahead of them caused the jump.
Alabama moves up to No. 8 in the AP Poll and a brutal schedule lies ahead
South Carolina next week is certainly no pushover, but Alabama will then face five consecutive games against currently ranked opponents. Mississippi State sneaking into the AP Poll at No. 24 will put Alabama's road matchup in Starkville as a Top 25 game, assuming the Bulldogs take care of business this week at home against Missouri.
Alabama's five-game stretch post-South Carolina looks like this:
- at No. 24 Mississippi State
- vs. No. 2 Georgia
- at No. 14 Tennessee
- vs. No. 23 Texas A&M
- at No. 10 LSU
Alabama has some serious work to do to be prepared for that stretch. That gauntlet will decide the season and determine whether this is a College Football Playoff team or if they're a year away from serious contention.
Alabama will have to shake off the slow starts that have dug them holes in each of the last two weeks. That stretch of teams will not be nearly as forgiving as Kentucky and Florida State were if the slow starts continue to plague this team early in games.
It's something that Kalen DeBoer has to get fixed, and in a hurry. It's been a problem early this season, and it was a major problem late last season. It causes you to question whether this team is being properly prepared week in and week out. Yesterday against Florida State produced a resounding "no."
Credit to Alabama for showing the resiliency to battle back and overcome a brutal start. But they've got to learn how to play 60 minutes soon. The schedule will demand it.
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