Two truths and a lie about Alabama football following win over South Carolina

Alabama football rebounded against South Carolina, though it was far from the get-right game that Crimson Tide fans were hoping for.

It was a dogfight, with Alabama overcoming numerous mistakes, again, to pull out a 27-25 win. Alabama blew a 14-0 lead with a debacle of a final two minutes of the first half, and found themselves trailing by the time the offense touched the ball in the third quarter.

But the team kept fighting, didn't get down on themselves, and ultimately pulled out a win over a good team littered with future NFL talent defensively.

There's a lot that has been said about the game here and everywhere; you don't have to look hard to find opinions on Crimson Tide football. Everyone has a take, and nobody is afraid to let it fly.

Let's examine two truths and a lie about Alabama through the first six games of the season.

Two Truths

Truth No. 1: It'll take much improvement for Alabama to make the playoff

Alabama has not looked like a playoff team over the last two weeks. Really, for most of the last 10 quarters. Alabama put together a dominant first half against Georgia before fighting for its life in the second half. They followed that up with last week's loss to Vanderbilt and then just a two point win over South Carolina despite being a 21.5 point favorite.

The team has a lot of issues currently, some correctable, some probably not. But the lack of discipline and the unforced errors are things that can be fixed.

We know this is a talented team. Jalen Milroe and the offense is explosive. They need to do better at sustaining drives, but there's no defense in the country they can't score on.

The defense looked better this week, though still far from great. But it's going to be a week-by-week thing for a defense with so many young guys playing on the back end.

Can Alabama make the playoff? Absolutely. Whether they will or not will depend on the improvement they show the next few weeks.

Truth No. 2: Any win in the SEC is a good win

Fans have every right to be frustrated with the way Alabama played, but the truth is, especially this season, that winning any game in the SEC is difficult. Any win, regardless of the opponent, should be celebrated.

Texas has been in a different class so far, but every other team has looked vulnerable. And the Longhorns have more challenging games ahead and it'll be interesting to see how they navigate their schedule.

This weekend was a perfect example of how difficult it can be. Mississippi State, which looks clearly like the worst team in the conference, went to Athens and put up 31 points against Georgia, with the Bulldogs managing just a 10 point win.

Florida, another bottom feeder this season, took Tennessee to overtime before losing. Vanderbilt beat Kentucky on the road. Ole Miss squandered a lead and lost at LSU. Earlier, Ole Miss lost at home to Kentucky, and like Alabama, Tennessee slipped up on the road to Arkansas last week.

It's a dogfight in this league every single week. The transfer portal has evened the playing field in the major conferences more than ever before. You have to bring it every week to win games, no matter the opponent.

Kalen DeBoer is learning that, and it's that fact that led to him being happy postgame that his team was able to get it done.

The Lie: Alabama's defensive struggles are schematic in nature

The belly-aching over the 4-2-5 defensive scheme, which is essentially a nickel defense and has been Alabama's base for several years now, has reached a fever pitch. It's an easy thing to point to for the blame in the defensive struggles, but it's not the issue.

If you want to criticize Kane Wommack, go right ahead. He deserves it. But criticize him for his real issue, which is play calling, not scheme.

It was a tale of two defenses for Alabama on Saturday afternoon against South Carolina. When Wommack was aggressive and called blitzes, the Crimson Tide had success. They got pressure on LaNorris Sellers and sacked him four times, but they also forced him to make quick decisions and get the ball out quickly, which usually led to Alabama getting off the field.

South Carolina's last two drives are prime examples. The Gamecocks scored a touchdown to cut the lead to two because Sellers had time in the pocket and delivered a 50-50 ball to Nyck Harbor. Alabama didn't bring pressure, and Sellers made a play.

Following the onside kick recovery, Alabama had its back against the wall and was staring a second striaght conference loss right in the face. But Wommack didn't sit back; instead, he called three straight blitzes. The first play was a batted ball at the line of scrimmage that a lineman caught for a one or two yard gain. The second forced a throwaway. The third saw Sellers just heave it deep with pressure in his face and Domani Jackson made the interception to end the game.

If Alabama can't get pressure bringing four guys, which it has proven it cannot through six games, then the only solution is blitzing. Alabama's secondary is littered with freshmen. At one point following the Jackson injury in the first half, the Tide had four freshmen in the game in the secondary. What do you expect to happen if you force four freshmen to hold up in coverage for extended amounts of time?

You'll get coverage busts like the one we saw before the half leading to a wide open touchdown. That's not because of scheme or because the players aren't good enough; it's strictly because of youth.

My hope is that Wommack saw what I saw, particularly at the end of the game. It isn't his preference - South Alabama had one of the lowest blitz rates in the country last season - but with the personnel we have, it's essential.

Alabama should probably blitz 65% of the time or more. It might lead to some big plays down the field or via QB scrambles, but so be it. It's better than the death by a thousand paper cuts approach and gets Milroe and the offense back on the field.

Blitz, Bama, Blitz, as Roll Tide Willie would say.