Ryan Grubb only needed 1 quarter to have Alabama fans livid once again

Alabama’s offense has had a glaring weakness all season. It’s not a coincidence that it’s the same issue that the 2024 Seattle Seahawks had on that side of the ball. There aren’t many similarities between those two teams, but the common thread is offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. 

Kalen DeBoer’s longtime assistant has a reputation for developing quarterbacks, particularly from DeBoer and Grubb’s days at Washington with Michael Penix Jr. However, he’s been exposed as overly one-dimensional in each of the last two seasons, and that’s led to struggles down the stretch. 

Those struggles manifested over the final four games of this season as Alabama finished 2-2 and averaged 18.3 points per game against FBS opponents during that stretch. Then, even with an extra week to prepare for the first round of the College Football Playoff after a 35-7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, along with a move back up to the booth, Grubb hasn’t found any answers. 

Like Seattle fans before them, Alabama fans have been ready to run Grubb out of town, and it only took one quarter to re-affirm their frustrations on Friday night. 

Alabama falls behind Oklahoma 17-0 with three straight three-and-outs

Through three drives at Oklahoma, arguably the best defense in the country, and inarguably top-two, Alabama managed just 12 total yards, and Ty Simpson got off to a 2-for-5 start passing. It will take a massive turnaround for the Crimson Tide to claw back into the game. However, it’s not impossible considering how well Grubb’s offense played against Oklahoma last time.

In the Week 12 loss at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama finished with 406 yards and outperformed Oklahoma’s struggling offense. The Sooners needed a pick-six and three turnovers to set up short fields and win the game. With so many turnovers in that game, Oklahoma put up 23 points without a drive over 50 yards the entire game. 

It’s been theorized that if Alabama loses this game, Michigan will ramp up its pursuit of DeBoer. After the ugly start, many Alabama fans seem ready to send their head coach up north, and would certainly ship his longtime play-caller to Ann Arbor.