Despite explosive second-half surges, the Crimson Tide must abandon their reliance on dramatic comebacks. Ryan Grubb faces pressure to ignite Keelon Russell’s offense before the opening whistle blows.
Alabama is 3-0. The Crimson Tide has scored 45 points against Kentucky and 50 against Florida State. Freshman quarterback Keelon Russell continues to show why there was so much excitement surrounding him entering the season.
And yet, there is still one glaring concern surrounding this Alabama offense heading into Saturday night’s matchup with South Carolina: the Crimson Tide has to start faster.
At some point, Alabama cannot continue relying on second-half adjustments, dramatic comebacks and Keelon Russell making something happen after the offense spends a quarter or two trying to find its rhythm.
That responsibility ultimately falls on offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
Alabama hosts South Carolina Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and this feels like the perfect opportunity for Grubb and the Crimson Tide offense to finally put together a complete performance from the opening kick instead of waiting until adversity forces them to respond.
Against Kentucky, Alabama’s first three offensive plays included intentional grounding, a run for a loss and a pick-six. Grubb himself admitted afterward that the first three plays “couldn’t have went any worse.” Alabama eventually responded in impressive fashion, scoring 32 unanswered points in the second half to turn what looked like a potential nightmare into a 45-17 victory.
That response was impressive. The start was still unacceptable.
Then came Florida State.
Once again, Alabama found itself in a hole, trailing 21-6 before the offense finally came alive. The Crimson Tide scored 20 unanswered points in the final 2:36 of the first half and ultimately won 50-36. Alabama finished with 567 total yards and put together nine consecutive scoring drives once the offense finally settled in.
Those numbers demonstrate exactly why the slow starts are so frustrating.
This offense is clearly capable of being explosive.
We have seen it.
We have watched Russell settle into games and become more comfortable. We have watched Alabama move the football in bunches. We have watched the Crimson Tide make halftime adjustments and completely change the trajectory of a game.
The problem is that Alabama should not have to be punched in the mouth before it starts swinging back.
Through the first three games, Alabama has been outscored 21-20 in the first quarter. Against Florida State specifically, the Tide was outscored 14-3 in the opening period while managing 89 yards and four first downs.
That might be survivable in September.
It becomes far more dangerous as Alabama moves deeper into SEC play.
South Carolina enters Tuscaloosa at 2-1, and while the Gamecocks have problems of their own, this is still an SEC opponent with legitimate talent. Alabama cannot approach Saturday night assuming that another furious comeback will be waiting whenever it decides to wake up.
And honestly, this is bigger than South Carolina. The schedule is only going to become more demanding.
Georgia is coming to Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama has road trips to Tennessee and LSU ahead. Those are environments and opponents where falling behind by two touchdowns can completely change a football game.
You cannot consistently spot good football teams a 14- or 15-point advantage and simply assume you will eventually figure everything out.
Eventually, you run out of time.
That is why Saturday needs to be about more than simply beating South Carolina.
It needs to be about growth. It needs to be about Alabama walking onto the field with urgency from snap one. And it needs to be about Ryan Grubb putting his young quarterback and the rest of this offense in position to establish confidence immediately.
Russell has already demonstrated remarkable composure for a freshman. He threw an interception and dealt with adversity at Kentucky, yet he responded. Against Florida State, he totaled 320 passing yards, 56 rushing yards and four touchdowns while helping Alabama erase another early deficit.
There is tremendous value in knowing your quarterback can handle adversity. There is even more value in preventing unnecessary adversity.
That means establishing rhythm early. Get Russell comfortable. Give him throws that allow him to settle into the game. Establish the running game. Get the offensive line attacking instead of reacting. Find Alabama’s playmakers early and force South Carolina to adjust to Alabama rather than spending the first quarter waiting to see what the defense is going to do.
For two weeks, Alabama has shown us what this offense can look like once it settles down. Now I want to see what happens when it never needs to settle down in the first place.
There has also been plenty of conversation this week surrounding Grubb’s comments about Alabama fans booing during the Florida State game. Grubb later apologized for those comments after criticism from fans.
For me, though, the biggest story was never the boos. It was why the boos happened.
Alabama fans watched their team fall behind Florida State 21-6 one week after watching the offense struggle through much of the first half at Kentucky. That concern does not disappear because Alabama eventually scored 50 points. The final score and the process that produced it are two different conversations.
Yes, Alabama deserves enormous credit for responding. Yes, scoring 50 points against Florida State is impressive. Yes, Russell and this offense have shown the ability to be dangerous. But Alabama’s goals are bigger than simply finding ways to survive September games.
This program is trying to compete for an SEC championship and a national championship.
Teams with those aspirations have to evaluate themselves beyond the final score.
Sometimes winning can hide problems. The best teams correct those problems before losing exposes them. That is where Alabama finds itself entering Saturday night.
The Crimson Tide is undefeated. There is no catastrophe occurring in Tuscaloosa. There is no reason to panic. But there is absolutely reason to demand improvement.
Alabama’s players have already shown that they are resilient. Kalen DeBoer said this week that the team has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to handle adversity and have each other’s backs. Now I want to see them create adversity for somebody else.
I want South Carolina to be the team staring at the scoreboard after the first quarter wondering what just happened.
I want Alabama to dictate the game rather than chase it.
I want Russell playing with a lead instead of being asked to rescue the offense from another early deficit.
Most importantly, I want to see Ryan Grubb take everything Alabama has learned from Kentucky and Florida State and turn those lessons into a better opening script Saturday night.
Because eventually, the comeback is not going to come. Eventually, Alabama is going to face an opponent talented enough to take a 21-6 lead and never give it back.
Saturday night against South Carolina is another opportunity to make sure Alabama does not learn that lesson the hard way.
The Crimson Tide has already proven it can finish.
Now it is time to prove it can start.
Roll Tide.
