Nick Saban discusses trying to stop QuinShon Judkins in Ole Miss scheme

Alabama bounced back this week on the road, defeating Ole Miss in Oxford in a close contest 30-24. The Crimson Tide may have pulled out the win, but not without the Rebel’s freshman phenom running back QuinShon Judkins running for his seventh 100-plus yard rushing performance of the season. The Alabama native ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns against the Crimson Tide, and after the game Alabama head coach Nick Saban spoke on the challenge of stopping him and Ole Miss’ offensive scheme.

“He’s a good player, and they’re tough when they spread you out with four wide receivers and they run the ball so well and they have such good backs and he’s an outstanding player,” Saban said. “Fast, physical, can make you miss, hard to tackle, and you got to try to stay in nickel.”

Judkins turned 19 years old this season but has been playing like a veteran, as he currently leads the SEC in rushing yards with 1,171 and touchdowns with 15 in his debut season.

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His running style combined with Ole Miss’ ability to spread out defenses has been giving defenses fits all season, including Saban’s in the first half of their ballgame. Saban elaborated on the second half success of his defense and their ability to add another defensive back on the field in certain situations after slowing down Judkins and the Rebels on first and second downs.

“You can’t play dime because you can’t stop the runs and you can’t really match up on the passes,” Saban explained. “So one of the things that happened in the second half that helped us when we got some third down stops is we stopped the run a few times, we got third and long so we could play dime so we could match up on passes and got a couple sacks and got off the field on third down which was huge in the game.”

Ole Miss’ offense gained 86 more yards than the Crimson Tide, but Alabama made plays on offense and stops on defense when they mattered most down the stretch. Alabama scored the last 13 points of the game unanswered, tying the game late in the third quarter and then building a lead in the fourth. Their defense had two crucial fourth down stops on their last two possessions of the the game to seal the deal, securing their eighth win of the season that was much needed following their heartbreaking loss from last weekend.