Fast start will be key as Alabama looks to end recent road struggles

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The last time Alabama was coming off a bye week, the Crimson Tide had one of its best starts to a game this season. It was a top-5 matchup with Georgia, and Alabama jumped out to a 30-7 lead before halftime. The Bulldogs clawed back, forcing the Tide to need a late interception to hang on, but its strong start led to the best win of 2024.

Alabama (6-2, 3-2 SEC) will try to replicate that out of its second and final bye week in what will be a pivotal matchup with LSU on Saturday, Nov. 9, in a playoff elimination game.

“We always want to start fast,” said Alabama offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. “I think that’s really important, particularly when you’re on the road. I think that is helpful, there’s no doubt about it. I don’t think anything that occurred in the past relative to previous bye weeks or previous games will have any impact on this one, but I would say the importance of starting fast in the game is certainly important. 

“Particularly when you’re on the road and you’re dealing with the crowd and those types of things, to be able to get off to a good start, I think is always beneficial, but certainly when you’re on the road.”

The Crimson Tide’s trip to Tiger Stadium (6:30 p.m. CT on ABC) will be its fourth true road game of the season. It is 1-2 on the road so far, with an impressive win over Wisconsin in September and losses at Vanderbilt and Tennessee. In the two defeats, Alabama did not have strong starts to either game, on either side of the ball, which it will look to buck this week.

“That’s something we’re always preaching,” said Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. “And unfortunately, in those two games, we haven’t done that. In the Vanderbilt game, I think we quickly got going, had success. You just can’t dig yourself a hole, especially giving the opponent momentum in an environment like we’re gonna see at LSU. 

“So it’s critical. We preach it every day. We try to even set up our practice to where we do start fast, whether it’s offense or defense. And we did’t get that done the last two road games, as you mentioned. Always an emphasis on that. The guys are trying. It’s just a matter of doing things that you do well, going out there and executing.”

An interception returned for a touchdown at Vanderbilt impacted the Tide’s start in Nashville, as did Alabama’s inability to get off the field on defense. But UA averaged 8.76 yards per play in that game, its second-highest average of the season. In the 24-17 loss at Tennessee, however, the Tide mustered a season-low 3.97 yards per play against the Vols.

Alabama chose to receive the opening kick at Neyland Stadium but came away with nothing.

The Tide hasn’t played well on the road in over a month, and it will try to break the recent trend when it faces LSU on Saturday and look more like its Wisconsin self against the Tigers.

“I think, pretty simply, we just played better,” Sheridan said. “We executed better, did a better job as coaches. So certainly that’s a point of emphasis, to execute and play cleaner. I think that you talk about some of the personnel that they have, some of the schemes that they have. When you can execute and do your job a little bit more consistently, sometimes you keep them out of those situations where the advantage goes to the defense. 

“When you look at those opportunities that we’ve had on the road, we need to play better, and I think that comes down to simple execution. I think, making sure as a staff, we’re putting them in a position to play fast and play confident because you are dealing with other factors in the game, crowd noises, etc., so making sure that we keep it simple enough so our guys can execute and do their job, I think that’ll be important.”

Noise was an issue for Alabama at Tennessee, and it will be a challenge in Baton Rouge, not just because of the rivalry but because of what the game means for both teams’ postseason hopes. UA was flagged 15 times, and UT fans helped draw some of those penalties.

The Crimson Tide will look to learn from playing in a rowdy road environment in Knoxville.

“That we needed to be better,” Sheridan said. “I thought that was evident. We obviously didn’t start the game off the right way, relative to the noise and the communication. We continue to work on that as a group, as a staff, to make sure that what we’re asking to do in those moments, that they can execute it at a high level. 

“I thought there were moments the last time we were in an environment like this where we were fine, we settled in and were able to communicate, but certainly we didn’t start the game off the way that we would like. And so, I think the message was to learn and grow from those experiences, so that you can do better the next time you get into those environments.”

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