Nick Saban: Alabama's run defense will be 'tested' against Kentucky

Nick Saban believes the Alabama defense is in for a big challenge as it attempts to slow down the Kentucky run game this week. The Wildcats boast the SEC’s second-leading rusher in Ray Davis, who has accumulated a total of 903 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.

Linebacker Deonte Lawson and safety Jaylen Key, the team’s second and third-leading tackler, have also yet to practice this week. That will only make things tougher on the Crimson Tide defense, and Saban explained they’ll have to come prepared for a physical game.

“We’ll get tested this week because these guys will run it,” he said. “They’re bigger. They’ll be in bigger personnel situations and we may not have all of our defensive players ready to play. We’ve got to get the guys that are ready to play physical on the line of scrimmage.

“Strike blockers up front. Have good hand placement. Everybody fit their gap right. Make good adjustments to all the formations and motions so we’ve got edges where we need to have them. This is really a challenging game for us from that standpoint. We’ll see how good we are against the run.”

Alabama has so far been fairly solid this season against the run to rank 32nd in the country with 119.6 rushing yards allowed per game. The Crimson Tide have a number of players who have shown a knack for getting in the backfield, including linebacker Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell, who have a combined 19.5 tackles for loss.

Although Davis ranks second in the SEC in rushing, he has been somewhat inconsistent. The running back has struggled this season against some of the top run defenses in the conference, rushing for just 59 yards in a loss to Georgia and only 42 against Tennessee.

Alabama is coming off of a week in which it surrendered 206 yards rushing to LSU, so that’s sure to be an issue Saban wants to address against Kentucky. The Wildcats enter the game ranked ninth in the SEC with 141.1 rushing yards per game, so it’s a feasible bounce back spot.

That said, Saban isn’t taking the Kentucky rushing attack lightly. He’s seen what they are capable of when Davis put up 280 yards and three touchdowns earlier this season against Florida.

This is one of two remaining SEC games on the Crimson Tide’s schedule as they aim to claim the SEC West and reach the conference championship with a win. Kickoff between Alabama and Kentucky is set for noon ET on Saturday in Lexington.