Alabama’s biggest winner in the come-from-behind victory against South Carolina wasn’t even on the field on Saturday
What a comeback heading into the bye week for Alabama.
For much of the game on Saturday, the 2025 Alabama Crimson Tide looked like the 2024 version of the Tide. Mental errors, drops, penalties, running into the football on punts, missed throws, you name something that looked bad, and Alabama let it happen.
But then came two offensive drives in the fourth quarter that changed everything, and ultimately won Alabama the game (alongside Deontae Lawson, of course). First, it was a drive that ended in a two-point conversion to tie the contest, and a Germie Bernard walk-in TD finished the game to seal the game.
But those two plays had something special to them, and they don’t come if Kalen DeBoer doesn’t make a call in the offseason.
Ryan Grubb emerges as biggest winner in Alabama’s victory over South Carolina
Alabama had only seven points on offense before the game-tying TD late in the fourth. But it wasn’t because of playcalling, it was because of execution. Drops from Ryan Williams, missed throws from Ty Simpson, and a lack of push in the run game marred most of Alabama’s offensive performance.
But then came a huge drive that was capped off by a two-point conversion that swung the momentum back in Alabama’s favor. To pull that call out of the deck of cards and to have confidence that your team can execute it shows the ability that Grubb has as a playcaller.
“I can’t tell you what it’s called,” said Kalen DeBoer jokingly after the game regarding the two-point conversion. “I mean, it’s just one of those plays we practice all the time. We’ve had it for years. We’ve run at a time or two here and there, the last five, six years or so, just guys practicing it. And you practice it every Thursday, every Friday, you’re talking through it for those moments.
“I like to see us work on plays. And a lot of times they don’t get called that week, but you start banking reps of each concept, or each play. And you know, as you become more and more comfortable, the right opportunity pops up. It’s on the call sheet. And, you know, you let it fly. And so again, I want our guys not flinching.”
And then, here it is, third and 10, tie game, and once again, Grubb didn’t flich. He calls a wildcat run for Bernard. He takes the ball out of the hands of the Heisman trophy front-running QB, and what happens?
Oh yeah, the game-winning TD.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the offense, the quarterback, and the overall product are better with Grubb as the play-caller, and that’s a credit to him and DeBoer for making the call after the Seattle Seahawks let Grubb go.
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