The Alabama Crimson Tide rushing attack will not suddenly prosper against the Oklahoma Sooners. Last month, Alabama gained 80 rushing yards against the Sooners, but they came on 33 rushing attempts. Alabama football running backs Daniel Hill and Jam Miller had a combined 24 carries for 87 yards (3.1-yard average). Lotzeir Brooks had one carry for two yards.
Despite the previous game, Kalen DeBoer and Crimson Tide center Parker Brailsford have expressed optimism in running on the Sooners' defense. Brailsford said, "There's gonna be some things that we have to work on. Just going from the past couple weeks. But definitely looking back at that game, I feel like we did a good job of handling the movement up front. And just being able to get up to the second level with our backs."
Alabama will need some success running the ball against Oklahoma. If Brailsford is correct in expecting Tide running backs to get to the second level of the OU defense, Alabama should win. But if the run game is not effective, Ryan Grubb must not stubbornly force it too often.
Alabama Crimson Tide must beat the Sooners with Simpson's arm
Ole Miss beat Oklahoma, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry. But the Ole Miss offense has two strengths Alabama does not. One is uptempo, which produced 87 plays against the Sooners. The other is a serious running threat at quarterback in Trinidad Chambliss. Chambliss rushed for 4.4 yards per carry against the Sooners. Alabama rarely uses tempo, and Simpson does not have the running skills of Chambliss.
In a 33-27 loss to Oklahoma, Tennessee averaged only 1.8 yards per carry. The Vols would have still won the game with their 63 rushing yards had it not been for turnovers. The Sooners produced 13 points off Tennessee turnovers.
Alabama can beat Oklahoma with less than 100 rushing yards if Ryan Grubb surprises the OU defense frequently enough to minimize their defensive strengths. If Grubb is predictable in his play-calling, the Sooners' defense with a home crowd advantage could dominate the game. In effect, Grubb must outcoach college football's best defensive mind in Brent Venables.