3 keys to offensive success for Alabama Football against Vanderbilt

The Alabama Football offense will be looking to find more consistency as they head to Nashville and take on the Vanderbilt Commodores this week. The Crimson Tide's offense looked like the most lethal in the country in the first 18-minutes against Georgia, scoring touchdowns on four consecutive drives to open the game, building a 28-0 advantage.

But the offense took its foot off the gas from there, and failed to make adjustments to what the Georgia defense was taking away. Alabama managed just a single field goal over the next 40-minutes of game time before Ryan Williams' immaculate 75-yard touchdown with a little over two minutes left to play.

Finding that consistency and maintaining a pedal to the metal approach will be key for the Crimson Tide moving forward, particularly if they want to win a national championship. Playing half of a great gam against a good team isn't always going to cut it, and I'm sure that was the message Kalen DeBoer has been delivering to his team this week.

Vanderbilt doesn't have any major strengths defensively, but they also don't have any real weaknesses, either. They're big up front, they have good linebackers, and they have athletes in the secondary who will be excited for an opportunity to match up with Alabama's talented receiver room.

If Alabama wants to avoid getting bogged down for stretches and this game being close into the fourth quarter, then they'll need to do these things offensively:

3. No turnovers (and limit the penalties)

Nothing breathes life into an upset quicker than turnovers and self-inflicted wounds. Alabama has done a good job of taking care of the football since fumbling three times against USF; the offense played a clean game at Wisconsin, and the only turnover against Georgia was a fluky tipped-ball interception that went off of CJ Dippre's hands.

Jalen Milroe has been deadly accurate with his ball placement and hasn't thrown a lot of passes that looked interceptable.

The Tide has also been a little better with penalties, but still ranks near the bottom of the FBS, averaging 8.5 whistles per game.

Turnovers can kill you, but penalities can kill drives, too. Alabama needs to play a clean game, get off to a quick start, and not let the Commodores believe they have a chance at pulling the upset. Three second half fumbles were the impetus for the USF game being close for as long as it was.

2. Win third down

Finding success on first and second down will be important, but converting third downs could be a critical part of this game, too, especially if Vanderbilt's defensive front is able to stop the Alabama ground game.

Third down should be a distinct advantage for Alabama in this game. Even after struggling on third down last week, Alabama is 26th in the country on third-down conversions, moving the chains 47% of the time.

Conversly, Vanderbilt's defense has struggled to get off the field, ranking 113th in the country, giving up a 48% conversion rate to offenses.

Third and shorts are difficult to stop for defenses, particularly with a mobile QB like Jalen Milroe who is typically able to get two or three yards at minimum every play, regardless of how good your defensive call was.

Third-and-longs are dicier, which will make the next point that much more important:

1. Establish the ground game with the running backs

Alabama has got to get Jam Miller and Justice Haynes more involved in the offense. This feels like a good week to do that before a three game stretch of South Carolina, at Tennessee, and Missouri begins.

We all know Milroe is an otherworldy athlete, and it is obvious that any play-caller worth his salt is going to call designed runs for him. But it's a long season, and I worry about Milroe's ability to stay healthy with the sheer workload he's had to shoulder through the season's first four games.

On the season, Miller and Haynes have combined for just seven more carries than Milroe has himself. I think we will see that start to change, and I think the running back duo will be a focal point to the offensive gameplan this week.