Brian Branch gives honest assessment of Alabama's secondary

Brian Branch knows the Alabama secondary still has work to do to get where it wants to be. The Crimson Tide rank 12th in the SEC with just three interceptions this season and seventh with 201.3 passing yards per game allowed.

That’s a step back from the standard that Nick Saban has expected out of his defenses in the past few seasons, but Branch believes the team is primed to change that in the last month of the regular season.

“So far, I feel like we’ve done an OK job during these eight games,” the defensive back said. “This last game I feel like was a good turnaround from the Tennessee game, see what our character is like. I feel like we handled this game very good. It’s just one game at a time. As long as we can keep moving forward, we’ve got a good rest of these four games, then we’re gonna be good.”

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After losing their first game of the season to Tennessee in Week 7, the Crimson Tide bounced back with a 30-6 victory against Mississippi State the following week. Alabama didn’t come away with an interception, but they did limit the Bulldogs’ vaunted passing attack to just 231 yards. Mississippi State’s only touchdown of the game did not come until the final play.

Brian Branch has not recorded an interception so far this season, but he ranks third on the Alabama roster with five passes defended and second with six tackles for loss. He also has 45 tackles, and will look to turn it up notch in these final four games.

Alabama has a bye this week, which should give it plenty of time to come up with a plan for how to attack the rest of the season. The Crimson Tide will return to action in Week 10 when they face No. 18 LSU at 6 p.m. CT on Nov. 5.