5 Things You Need to Know About the Alabama Crimson Tide

We want ‘Bama. That is a common phrase thrown around by college fanbases across the country. Typically, it is meant in a joking manner after a big win. However, for the most part, teams do not actually want to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. Coach Nick Saban is an incredible 197-28 as the head coach in Tuscaloosa. During that span the Crimson Tide have won six national championships and eight Southeastern Conference titles. Even this season, when it looked like Alabama might be a bit down, they’ve found their way to an 8-1 record and are ranked eighth in the country. There are dynasties, there are tradition-rich programs, and then there is Alabama in a league all by themselves.

The Crimson Tide will come to Kroger Field on Saturday playing their best football of the season. They have rattled off seven straight victories since losing to Texas, but the last two weeks have been especially impressive. Alabama has two straight wins by 14 points against Top 20 programs. However, while those wins over Tennessee and LSU were very impressive, they did come at home. On the road there have been clunkers at South Florida and more recently at Texas A&M. Will the Wildcats be up for the challenge for a noon kickoff in Lexington? That remains to be seen.

As always, we have all of your pregame needs right here on Kentucky Sports Radio dot com for the 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff on ESPN between the Kentucky Wildcats (6-3, 3-3) and the #8 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-1, 6-0). Senior Day festivities will take place prior to the game for the Wildcats. If you haven’t already, two must reads are Adam Luckett’s Scouting Report and Freddie Maggard’s goals for the game. Those are the in-depth, football-nerd previews. For those in search of a more surface level look at what to expect on Saturday afternoon, you are in the right place. Let’s dive on in to five things you need to know about ‘Bama.

Alabama’s Quarterback “Problem” Has Been Solved

Not even Coach Nick Saban can necessarily make replacing the number one pick in the NFL Draft look easy. The Alabama Crimson Tide’s concerns at quarterback reached a fever-pitch in week three. Jalen Milroe had completed just 14 of 27 passes including two interceptions the week prior. Most importantly, the Crimson Tide lost at home to the Texas Longhorns. That led to a change at quarterback which was almost disastrous at South Florida. Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner were completely unable to move the ball through the air. The duo combined for just 107 yards while completing less than half of their pass attempts. Alabama escaped with a 17-3 win after being tied 3-3 at the half, but it was clear something had to be done at quarterback.

Milroe was brought back in week four and the redshirt sophomore completed 17 of 21 attempts in a win over Ole Miss. Since then he has settled in as one of the most explosive playmakers in all of college football. His 10.4 yards per attempt ranks second nationally while 27.8% of his passes register explosive plays. Overall, Milroe has completed 114 of 176 attempts for 1,836 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Crimson Tide running game helps to move the chains, but it is the air attack that has returned them to being a national championship contender.

Rushing Attack Relies Heavily on Milroe

The Alabama Crimson Tide are 15th nationally in run play percentage. However, that hasn’t necessarily equated to a ton of success. That is especially true for the traditional running game. As a team, Alabama averages just a tick over four yards per rush which places them 85th in college football. For comparisons sake, Kentucky is averaging 5.3 yards per rush. The Crimson Tide will platoon at running back with Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams. Those two combine for just over 114 yards per game, but it takes them over 23 carriers to get there. Kentucky is going to have chances to put Alabama behind the chains on Saturday afternoon in the traditional running game.

Similar to the passing game, Milroe is an explosive play artist with his legs as well. He averages 8.2 non-sack yards per rush and is hitting explosive plays at a 35.4% rate with his legs. That helps to cover up a lot of the holes left by the Crimson Tide running backs. In Alabama’s last contest against LSU, Milroe racked up 167 non-sack rushing yards. He can be a complete game-changer with his legs. His nine rushing touchdowns are two more than McClellan and Willams have combined. It’ll be no easy task, but the Wildcats must contain Milroe’s ability to scramble to have a chance at pulling the upset on Saturday.

Crimson Tide Have Vertical Threats at Wide Receiver

Part of having an explosive passing game is having big play wide receivers. Jalen Milroe and the Alabama Crimson Tide have a pair of pass catchers that fit their vertical passing game perfectly. Sophomore Isaiah Bond leads the team in catches and targets with 28 and 45 respectively. He is averaging exactly 15 yards per reception and has found the end zone three times. Meanwhile, Jermaine Burton has been the most effective receiver. The senior has reeled in 26 catches for 537 yards and five scores. That equates to over 20 yards per catch. Burton is one of college football’s most explosive wide receivers.

In the red zone, Milroe has turned to tight end Amari Niblack with some success. The 6’4″ 233 pound target has three touchdown receptions out of just 12 overall receptions. Like a lot of the Alabama pass-catchers, Niblack has a solid explosive play rate averaging over 18 yards per reception. The name of the game for Kentucky on Saturday, both on the ground and through the air, will be limiting the big play opportunities.

Excellent Pass Rush

In order to reload year-in and year-out the way Coach Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide do you have to have depth. That is very much true this season on the defensive line as the Crimson Tide will go two-deep across the line to consistently through fresh legs at the Big Blue Wall. Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell might be the best passing rushing duo in college football. Turner is the Southeastern Conference’s leader in quarterback pressures with 39. He is also fourth in tackles for loss with 10.5 and second in sacks with seven. Meanwhile, his running mate isn’t far behind in any of those categories. Braswell has 38 pressures, nine tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and a pair of forced fumbles. The Kentucky offensive line will have their hands full keeping Devin Leary upright in this one.

On the interior the Crimson Tide are nearly just as dangerous. Big man Justin Egoigbe has 19 pressures of his own to go with an impressive 6.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and 44 total tackles. With all the pressure coming from the edge, Egoigbe will be another one up the middle that must be accounted for at all times. All 315 pounds of Tim Kennan will eat up plenty of space on the defensive line as well. Kentucky must get the Big Blue Wall’s best effort of the season in order to not have Alabama’s pash rush take over the game.

Coach Saban’s Talented Secondary

At his core, Coach Nick Saban is still a defensive backs coach. That certainly shines through with this iteration of the Alabama Crimson Tide defense. We’ve already talked about their pass rush, but their strength lies in the secondary. Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold are as good as they get in college football at cornerback. The talented duo has combined for a pair of interceptions and 13 total pass breakups. At safety, Caleb Downs has two interceptions as well. The true freshman leads Alabama in tackles with 76 and looks the part of a burgeoning star in the Crimson Tide secondary. Malachi Moore is another name to know that is a four-year contributor. Devin Leary has been excellent the last two weeks, but he will face a next-level pass defense on Saturday.