Fatal flaw within Alabama’s offense finally catches up to it following a concerning home loss against the Oklahoma Sooners
Alabama’s loss against Oklahoma is something you could have seen coming a mile away.
Coming into the game against the Oklahoma Sooners, the Alabama Crimson Tide had one of the clearest game plans of the year. Seeing that the team has struggled to run the ball all season, Alabama knew they would need to rely on the arm of Ty Simpson.
And despite the fact that he is/was a Heisman Trophy contender, even Simpson couldn’t overcome the deficiencies that have plagued his offense all year, as he accounted for two turnovers including a costly strip sack fumble and an interception.
But the blame isn’t all on him, in fact, most of it shouldn’t be directed Simpson’s way. The blame goes to the unit that has struggled all season.
Alabama’s lack of run game finally catches up against Oklahoma
If you just look at the box score, and compare it to the last few weeks, 80 yards and two touchdowns look like a good day at the office for Alabama. But that’s the exact problem. Those 80 yards were over 20 yards less than Alabama’s average per game, an average that already had them ranked 119th in the country.
You take that to an Oklahoma defense, or any team for that matter, who knows you are one dimensional and is successful at stopping the run, and what you get is what happened on Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa.
No one should absolve Ty Simpson of blame after missing passes or Ryan Grubb for some of his playcalls, but the run game issues is a systematic one that goes back to Week 1. And Alabama has tried changing things, and it just hasn’t worked.
Against Oklahoma, Alabama’s leading carrier was Daniel Hill opposed to Jam Miller. The menu of concepts was increased. The packages where Kadyn Proctor was in the backfield looked different, and yet it still wasn’t enough.
So Alabama can still achieve its goals. They likely go to the SEC championship with a win over Auburn, and they can solidify a spot in the playoff from there.
But right now, Alabama better find a run game, and quick, or else the season may as well be a wash.
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