Despite a lopsided victory, the Crimson Tide remains stagnant in national polls as defensive vulnerabilities against the run threaten their status ahead of a brutal October gauntlet.
The Alabama Crimson Tide might appear to be running on all cylinders after blowing out South Carolina 49-18 on Saturday, but they have more to prove before earning consideration as one of the best teams in college football this season.
Alabama has only played one reasonably close game, but it wound up beating Florida State by two touchdowns after trailing for much of the contest. Kentucky gave the Crimson Tide a run for their money, but ran out of gas in the second half in a 45-17 Alabama win.
Still, the Crimson Tide moved up just one spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Sunday from No. 8 to No. 7.
ESPN released its power rankings on Monday. Alabama remained at No. 8 despite the lopsided win over the Gamecocks. Amanda Scarborough argued that the Crimson Tide have a concern in the early part of the game, and that's stopping the run.
South Carolina was able to inflict some damage in the run game, rushing for 216 yards and averaging 5.4 yards per rush.
As good as the rushing attack from South Carolina was, Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers was ineffective as a passer on Saturday, going 18 of 30 passing for 185 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That bodes well for the Alabama defense.
No one can criticize the Alabama offense. Keelon Russell looks like the real deal, throwing for 365 yards and four touchdowns while adding 35 yards and a score on the ground. The Crimson Tide added 124 yards on the ground.
Alabama's schedule only gets tougher from here. It will travel to play a No. 16 Mississippi State team that is undefeated and has wins over South Carolina and Missouri. Then the Crimson Tide will host No. 2 Georgia on Oct. 10 before traveling to play No. 17 Tennessee on Oct. 17.
From there, Alabama will either have descended in the rankings or become a Top 5 program. Certainly, the Crimson Tide have plenty of momentum heading into a crucial month of October.
Alabama has had some early success this fall, playing better than many expected. Now, the Crimson Tide will deal with increasing expectations for the program. The running game looks much better than last season, and that could make them a more serious College Football Playoff contender.
The defense needs to fix some things on the running game itself, but the offense has been making sure nothing's left to chance.
