Alabama fans are breathing a sigh of relief after the game against Missouri. They are now 3-11 all-time on winning three straight games against ranked opponents, something only a handful of teams have ever accomplished.
It was not easy with Ty Simpson not seeing the entire field, Ryan Williams being held catchless, the offensive line giving up four sacks, and Alabama's defense holding on to the last seconds.
Alabama's defense played well overall, but made things interesting at the end. A big problem was a few ill-timed blitz calls by Kane Wommack down the stretch that put the Tide's defense in a bad position.
Kane Wommack no more man coverage bruh.
— young shiner (@_tnola) October 11, 2025
All you had to do was keep everything in front of you but nah let’s make it interesting. The Kane Wommack special
— Zac Burrage (@zacburrage) October 11, 2025
@Charlie_Potter please ask Wommack why he was in man to man to end the game
— djr (@DRoberts_3) October 11, 2025
Kane Wommack's odd blitz calls late put Alabama's defense in a bad spot
One unnecessary thing was the third and long blitzes when closing out the game. Fans saw this last week against Vanderbilt, when Alabama transitioned from playing zone coverage to man-to-man blitzes, which the opponents converted easily. It happened again when trying to prevent Missouri from making it a three-point game, and again on the game-ending drive that ended in an interception for Alabama.
From a defensive mindset, if you ran zone/prevent defense to try to keep everything in front of you when the offense needs a touchdown, why would you blitz on third down when the opposing QB has struggled to throw the ball with a simple four-man rush? The adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" can also be applied to defensive playcalling. The first, second, and even third down zone calls that put them in long conversion situations worked. The opponents, Vanderbilt and Missouri, have a low number or have zero timeouts. Keep the clock running and make the opponents chew the clock.
Fans are getting tired of it in back-to-back weeks where it seems like the defensive play calling is doing too much. Almost as if they are overthinking the play calling and trying to stay one step ahead of the opponents, but it is actually putting them two steps behind. Running blitzes and six-plus man rushes on long yardage situations when the defense just needs to play the sticks and keep opponents short.
On a day when fans were questioning the offensive play calling, the defensive play calling is going to be an issue down the line. There is a time to unleash the "Swarm defense" and a time to wrangle in the dogs and let the opposing team come to them. For example, see the game-ending interception that sealed the win for Alabama. They kept the pressure at a minimum and crawled out of Columbia with a win.