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No. 3 Alabama (7-2, 5-2 SEC) has one last road test this Saturday at Vanderbilt (4-5, 1-5 SEC). The Crimson Tide is riding high after a dominant win at LSU and doesn't want to repeat what happened in Nashville two years ago.
Here are three of the biggest storylines I'm keeping an eye on heading into Saturday's game.
Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb was pretty blunt on Monday. His offense has to find a way to get the run game back on track.
The Crimson Tide hasn't rushed for more than 100 yards in a game since Week 6 against Georgia. Granted, Alabama has faced two of the best defenses in the SEC during that stretch in Tennessee and LSU. Vanderbilt is ranked 64th in the nation in run defense, so Alabama should be able to run the ball better this weekend.
Freshman EJ Crowell did not play at LSU but was listed as "probable" on Wednesday night's availability report. He has battled injuries all year but has shown flashes of his talent. If he can get meaningful snaps this Saturday, it would be a boost to the Alabama running game.
With quarterback Keelon Russell also dealing with injury issues, it will be even more important for Alabama to have a successful run game to take some of the load off of Russell.
Russell was also listed as "probable" on the initial availability report, but the Alabama coaches indicated during their Monday press conference that he would play this week. Head coach Kalen DeBoer also talked during his radio show Wednesday night about how his team is not overlooking Vanderbilt.
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If Russell is healthy enough to play, he will start against the Commodores on Saturday. But how long will he remain in the game? DeBoer said they are "confident" in backup quarterback Austin Mack.
Alabama hasn't used Mack much this season. He only has four pass attempts on the year, but there also haven't been many opportunities for him to see the field, even in mop-up duty. The only true blowouts where Alabama was in complete control at the start of the fourth quarter were East Carolina and Mississippi State. The game was pretty well under control against South Carolina and Florida State, but early in the season, Alabama was trying to get Russell as many valuable reps as possible as a young quarterback.
The ultimate success of this Crimson Tide team will be measured by what it does in the postseason, and Alabama will need Russell as healthy as possible when that time comes around, but it also has to get there first.
A lot of people are bringing up Alabama's road trip to Vanderbilt two years ago, but the more similar situation is what happened during this month in 2024. The Crimson Tide was fresh off a big win over LSU and just needed to beat FCS Mercer, a 5-5 Oklahoma team on the road and a struggling Auburn squad at home in the Iron Bowl to make it to the College Football Playoff. Alabama beat Auburn, but lost 24-3 at Oklahoma the next week.
This year, Alabama is coming off a 31-13 win over LSU and facing a 4-5 Vanderbilt team on the road. Will this Crimson Tide team respond better?
"I can tell by the questions as I go through interviews throughout the course of the week that everyone outside of the building hasn't watched Vanderbilt," DeBoer said Wednesday night. "They haven't watched them. Our guys understand what it looks like. They're preparing for it, and having a good week of practice right now."
There's so much on the line for Alabama. The CFP committee clearly respects their body of work so far, putting the Crimson Tide at No. 3 in the latest rankings, but that respect will greatly diminish if Alabama loses at Vanderbilt this Saturday.
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Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball, gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports.
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