Alabama football's offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb knows the Crimson Tide has to get more out of their offense in the early stages of games moving forward this postseason to help better ignite their run game when facing off against the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers at the Rose Bowl in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
This priority comes center stage after watching the Tide's struggling run average just 3.43 yards per attempt for just over 109.9 yards per game during the regular season. These struggles reached a new low with Alabama only recording 25 total yards rushing over the course of their last eight quarters. That stagnant output marked the lowest combined rushing total over a two-game span in program history, all while being outscored 13 to 27 by opponents in the first quarter of their last five games.
"We've gotta get started earlier," Grubb emphasized to reporters during Saturday's press conference. "We've gotta stop doing this first quarter shenanigans, waiting to get the run game going till the 2nd and 3rd quarter. We're capable of doing it earlier in the game. We've got good enough players. The scheme is there."
Ryan Grubb knows Alabama needs to get off to a fast start against Indiana
Despite their recent shortcomings, Alabama's ground game did have success against quality opponents, such as Vanderbilt, Missouri, Tennessee, and Auburn, during the regular season to help the Tide prevail in critical moments. This is why Grubb remains encouraged by Alabama's ability to run the football this late in the season.
"That's been our problem as of late, a couple games, where we've gotten off to a slow start,' Grubb said."That has not been the case all year, but some critical games, where it just didn't feel like we were ready for the physical strain early on," he said. "The guys know that. They're up for the challenge.
"And I think we’ll see a different football team in the first quarter at the Rose Bowl.”
Alabama's offense will look to get off to a fast start to successfully ignite their run game when facing Indiana and their top rated run defense next Thursday in Pasadena, California at 3 P.M, CT on New Year's Day.