Lost in the euphoria of Alabama's offense racking up 31 points and outscoring LSU 21-0 in crunch time on Saturday in Baton Rouge was that the Crimson Tide's ground game remained inept.
After consecutive weeks of struggling against Tennessee and Texas A&M, things weren't any better against LSU. Alabama mustered just 79 yards on 29 rushing attempts, and Ryan Grubb had little choice but to abandon the run for a period of time and put the game on Keelon Russell's shoulders.
It worked in Baton Rouge, but this team wants to play deep into January. To do that, fixing a dormant run game and getting back to what we saw in September and early October is a must. Grubb knows it, and it has his full attention going into Saturday's matchup in Nashville against Vanderbilt.
"No media line bulls***, but we've gotta focus on the run game. We've gotta get it fixed," Grubb said during his Monday press conference.
Alabama's run game has Ryan Grubb's full attention this week against Vanderbilt
This week brings a perfect opportunity for Alabama to get things going on the ground. With Russell a bit banged up from the LSU game, putting this game on the shoulders of the running backs makes a lot of sense. But Alabama has to run the ball effectively to make that feasible, or Russell is going to have to do more than he may be capable of in Nashville.
It would be helpful if EJ Crowell is able to play, but more importantly will be the offensive linemen and the tight ends getting their assignments correct on a down-to-down basis. Losing Josh Ford for the season will complicate matters.
The first play of the game against LSU is a good example. Alabama popped a nine-yard run on the first play of the game. That's great. It could have easily been a 75-yard touchdown if it weren't for missed blocks by Mal Waldrep and Racin Delgatty. It was that close to breaking for an explosive play right out of the gate.
The margins in this league are razor-thin. One person messing up their job can be the difference between an explosive play and a solid run. Alabama has had too many near-misses this year.
Alabama should have an advantage up front against Vanderbilt. The Commodores rank 67th in the country in yards per game allowed on the ground, giving up 147 per game.
I would expect Alabama to put a major emphasis on running the ball in Nashville. A steady diet of Trae'shawn Brown and Daniel Hill on the ground, with Crowell potentially sprinkled in if he can make more progress this week.
It's not only critical for this week with a less than 100% Russell, but it's critical for the Crimson Tide's chances of making a deep playoff run.
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