It wasn’t pretty, but the Tide got the win.
Alabama rolled into Nashville yesterday riding the high of a big win in Baton Rouge the week before. Starting QB Keelon Russell had been dealing with an ankle issue all week and was reportedly going to take a seat in favor of backup Austin Mack, but just before gametime it was announced that Russell would indeed get the start. Unfortunately, his accuracy was off early in the game and that made life harder than it needed to be. There were opportunities to start fast, but that just didn’t come to fruition and the Commodores fought valiantly.
Fortunately, this Alabama squad has substantially more talent than Vanderbilt, and that ended up being enough. A few impressions:
There have been times this season that the offensive line looked competent, but this game was not among them. The Tide managed just 92 rushing yards on 35 attempts, averaging a miserable 2.6 yards per carry, while surrendering three sacks and six tackles for loss. Keelon Russell didn’t help matters on a couple of occasions as he continues to struggle at times with the corner blitz, but clean pockets were a rarity to begin with.
Daniel Hill had a solid day on the ground, with a few explosive runs mixed in, but Russell took far too many hits. Vandy’s defensive front was active, and their linebackers were quite impressive. And, Alabama’s offensive line looked like a unit that had been through a significant battle last weekend. Hopefully they can get rested up and be at their best starting in a couple of weeks.
There seems to be a different receiver stepping into the spotlight each week, and this week it was Lotzeir Brooks. The sophomore caught five passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns, including a 39-yard catch-and-run early in the third quarter that gave Alabama some much-needed breathing room. He followed that with a nine-yard touchdown reception just minutes later, providing the final margin of victory.
Brooks became the third different Alabama receiver this season to record multiple touchdown receptions in a single game. The season hasn’t quite gone as expected for him after last season’s breakout, but he came up huge in this one.
Kane Wommack’s group was dominant for long stretches, holding Vanderbilt to just 235 total yards, including an absurd 12 yards rushing. Vandy isn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, but you still have to love the passion that the defense brings week in and week out. They held Vandy to 2-15 on third down and sacked Jared Curtis five times.
When Yhonzae Pierre, Devan Thompkins, and Dijon Lee all left the field early in the second half, Alabama fans were holding their collective breaths for good reason. Alabama seems to have a bit more depth than most, but they can’t afford significant attrition, particularly along the defensive front. It was a relief to see those guys return to the game, and the defense was able to finish things off as a result.
For the second consecutive week, a big return changed the football game. Last week, it was Ryan Williams setting up the Tide offense with a big punt return. This week, Dijon Lee came up with a 83-yard kickoff return after Vandy had cut the lead to 8 points. This set up Brooks’ final touchdown and provided the margin of victory.
The kicking game did everything asked of it again. Alex Asparuhov was asked to punt six times, which is not a positive, but he once again averaged better than 40 a try and pinned the Commodores deep a couple of times. Conor Talty didn’t try any field goals but made all of the extra points, and Lorcan Quinn continues to boot the ball out of the end zone on kickoffs.
If Russell comes out of the gate and hits a couple of those early throws, this game may well have looked very different. Vandy is not a team that is built to come from behind, and when teams like that trail by a couple of scores, big mistakes often come that turn the game into a laugher. That’s not how the game script went yesterday.
If you want something to be encouraged about, besides winning by 15 on the road which was right at the final point spread, it’s that the team gutted it out when their young passer wasn’t at his best. This was a team victory on a day when the offense failed to light up the scoreboard. And, they won by two scores despite -2 in the turnover column.
This wasn’t a pretty win, but a win it was. Alabama now gets to coast through Chattanooga before hosting Auburn to close out the season.
Roll Tide.
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