TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama Crimson Tide came into Saturday night hoping to right the ship after a season-opening loss to Florida State in Week 1. Needless to say, Kalen DeBoer and company achieved exactly that with an impressive 73-0 blowout victory. Below, you’ll find my initial takeaways from Saturday’s game.

Quick observations

-In a surprising move, freshmen Kevin Riley and Lotzeir Brooks got the start on offense. Riley, a redshirt freshman, was Alabama’s starting running back while Brooks, a true freshman, got the nod in the slot with Ryan Williams on the mend. Riley not only started, but he was a focal point on offense. His lean frame and explosive ability gives him a chance in narrow creases that other backs might struggle to get through. He finished with 17 touches (11 carries, six catches) for 117 yards (69 rushing, 45 receiving). It’s pretty obvious to anyone watching that there’s simply more pop from the ground game when Riley is on the field versus any of the other three running backs (Richard Young, Daniel Hill and Dre Washington). Plus, he’s proving to be a reliable pass-catcher who can handle volume. Now, it’s about seeing how he performs in pass protection.

-As for Brooks, I thought he was fantastic. As previously mentioned, he got the start in the slot over Rico Scott and Cole Adams. We figured the talented freshman would play a significant role, which is why we highlighted him in our “Players to Watch” piece on Thursday, but we thought Scott would get the start. Similar to Riley at running back, you can just tell that the offense is more explosive with Brooks on the field. He provides similar usage, at least in several ways, to former Tide wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. There’s a smoothness to his game, and he’s such a savvy playmaker after the catch, which was on display Saturday night. I’m really excited about this guy. Sure, the fall camp injury might have slowed him down a bit, but he’s already hitting his stride early in his Alabama career. Expect to see his role continue to evolve.

-Starting Riley and Brooks might not have been Alabama’s biggest surprise of the night. Ty Simpson got the start at quarterback, which was expected. He was also extremely effective. He mostly won from the pocket, but you also saw his ability to escape and create opportunities in the passing game. The difference from last week to this week? He threw catchable balls more consistently on the move, including an impressive downfield touchdown pass that was called back due to penalty. That said, none of what I just said was that “biggest surprise.” Instead, that label goes to Austin Mack entering the game early in the second quarter despite Simpson playing great football.

-According to Charlie Potter with BamaOnLine, that decision was always in the plans, but Simpson’s job isn’t in jeopardy. On one hand, I like getting the backup quarterback meaningful reps. That’s something Simpson wasn’t afforded enough the last two years. But on the other hand, I’m not sure how I feel about Alabama’s coaching staff just assuming the Tide would be in a position to get Mack meaningful playing time in the second quarter. That is unless it was always going to be the plan, regardless of what the scoreboard looked like. If that’s the case, I’m not sure how that isn’t a threat to Simpson’s job. You don’t just play a quarterback in a game still “in-doubt” for no reason. Still, it worked out great, giving all three quarterbacks valuable. With in the inexperience in that room, every rep matters right now.

-Simpson wasn’t done in the second quarter though. Alabama got Mack some meaningful reps before putting the redshirt junior back in. Mack would start the second half, but not before Simpson could cap off his performance with a perfect completion percentage (17-for-17) for 226 yards and three touchdowns, which is good for 13.3 yards per attempt. He also added another rushing score on the ground. Mack was also effective, finishing 8-of-10 for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Five-star true freshman Keelon Russell also got an entire quarter to get some work in. He wasn’t perfect, but man, he looked good overall. His first touchdown was a thing of beauty, as he showed the ability to escape to his right and find his receiver for a score. He also added a second touchdown late, making him 4-of-6 (66.7%) on the night for 65 yards and two touchdowns. That gave Alabama seven total passing scores on the day.

-With Tim Keenan III and Jeremiah Beaman both out for this game, true freshman London Simmons got the start at nose tackle next to James Smith. It’s hard to get a great understanding for how he performed with having to keep up with so much defensively, but from the limited I saw him, he looked powerful and stout holding up at the point of attack. And entering the fourth quarter, the Warhawks had only run for 38 yards on 18 carries, good for just a 2.1 yards-per-carry mark. We also saw redshirt freshman Isaia Faga rotate in at nose. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s not as physically put together as Simmons, but he’s decently twitched up and brings some nice disruptive traits. I’m excited to dive into his tape from Saturday.

-Speaking of James Smith, he played like a mad man in this game. Obviously, you have to take the performance from everyone with a grain of salt considering the opponent, but he looked exactly like the game-wrecker we were expecting this season. And considering we’ve seen him do it against Power Four competition too (Michigan in the bowl game), you know he’s capable of doing it against the big boys. When you talk about guys bringing that elite combination of power and quick-twitch to the defensive line, those descriptors fit Smith perfectly. He finished Saturday night with four tackles, three of which went for a loss.

-I thought fifth-year senior Justin Jefferson flew around a lot more at linebacker than he did in the season opener against Florida State. Granted, it seemed like this week’s game plan lended itself to a more downhill, attacking style. When he’s able to loose and fast, this guy can be a difference maker in Alabama’s defense. Hopefully, this more aggressive approach continues to turn him loose, especially with a Power Four, Big Ten opponent like Wisconsin up next on the docket. The further Deontae Lawson gets from his season-ending injury last year, the better he should be.

-Alabama continues to deploy 3-2-6 personnel in third-and-long situations. Considering one of those three defensive linemen is a Wolf (usually Yhonzae Pierre, with him being one of the best pure pass rushers on the team), I guess you could technically call it a 2-3-6 (two DL, three LB and six DB). But with that said, they present it more like a 4-2-5 with Deontae Lawson rolling down onto the line of scrimmage (with the two DL and Pierre) while Bray Hubbard walks down into the box as a Dime linebacker next to Justin Jefferson, who brings DB-like athleticism. This is a unit that can moreso run and cover, which is exactly what you want. It’s only for specific situations, but it’s a nice wrinkle with the personnel while still being able to maintain what Wommack wants to do, which is a hybrid 4-2-5/3-3-5 type of scheme. That wrinkle seemed to be pretty effective on Saturday.

-Germie Bernard continues to be this team’s best wide receiver right now — and it’s not particularly close. Sure, as the game wore on, Alabama started to get more guys involved, but Bernard, in many ways, was the offense early on. Great designs to get him the football, and he made the most of it by catching all three of his targets for 67 yards and two scores. All of that production came early too. Not only that, but I love how Ryan Grubb presents some empty looks with four receivers and a tight end, but Bernard’s size and physicality gives him the flexibility to give a running back-like presence in the backfield if you need him to. Really creative approach. In two games, he’s totaled 11 catches for 213 yards and two touchdowns. That touchdown total has already tied his career-high too, and it’s only Week 2.

*Note: This article will be updated with more observations.