Alabama's Defense Finding Its Groove at the Right Time

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — All week long, University of Alabama senior linebacker Reggie Ragland was talking to teammates. His message was simple and one the Crimson Tide obviously took to heart.

“Reggie Ragland kept saying, ‘No one’s scoring on us,’” safety Geno Matias-Smith said. “That’s kind of been our motto.”

Saturday afternoon, Alabama’s defense did exactly that. In the game the coaches have been looking for in terms of swarming to the ball, being relentless and affecting the quarterbacks, it did all that and more while shutting out Louisiana-Monroe 34-0.

Against a team that had been averaging 30.5 points and 422.0 yards per game, which includes the season-opening matchup against Georgia, Alabama’s defensive numbers were pretty staggering.

It allowed just 92 total yards, including nine rushing, while tallying six sacks and 12 tackles for a loss, two interceptions, eight passes broken up and eight hurries.

It appeared at times that No. 12 Alabama (3-1) was simply taking turns with the big hits and big stops, while the Warhawks’ biggest offensive play was just 10 yards.

“We were playing physical and attacked; we dominated the line of scrimmage,” senior defensive lineman Jarran Reed said, while noting the Crimson Tide hardly blitzed.

Considering the upcoming schedule—with Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas A&M after Georgia—the defense’s timing couldn’t have been better. More than notching Alabama’s 15th shutout since Nick Saban took over as head coach in 2007, through four games it’s yielded 227 rushing yards on 115 attempts.

That’s an average of 1.97 yards per carry.

“We played with a lot of toughness, especially on defense,” Saban said.

While Alabama’s offense didn’t grind out yards like its first three games, part of that had to do with some vanilla play-calling and also having a limited backfield.

With junior Derrick Henry not practicing much this week due to tonsillitis, he only had 13 carries for 52 yards. Saban indicated that senior Kenyan Drake sustained a minor injury against Ole Miss last week, so he only had 10 carries for 65 yards.

With Bo Scarbrough serving the last game of his four-game eligibility suspension, true freshman Damien Harris became a bigger part of the rotation and even played during the first quarter.

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Meanwhile, the passing game took some time to get going, as Alabama converted only two of its first nine third-down opportunities and had four dropped passes in the first half.

Its lone turnover was pretty horrendous as well, as senior quarterback Jake Coker was hit as he threw, resulting in a deep wounded “duck” that safety Tre’ Hunter caught at midfield.

“I have to be more conservative when it comes to taking shots, especially in traffic when I’m trying to get the ball out,” said Coker, who completed 17 of 31 passes for 158 yards and three touchdowns. “I can’t do the things I’ve been doing.”

But in the second half the offense got into a better rhythm even though coordinator Lane Kiffin was obviously trying to get the reserves more involved. Former walk-on Michael Nysewander scored a rare touchdown on a 19-yard reception, which tied for the game's longest completion, and wide receiver ArDarius Stewart had a 16-yard score off an impressive bootleg.

“Occasionally they’ll toss the rock out there to me,” said Nysewander, who speculated that it made his mother the happiest person at Bryant-Denny Stadium. “After (taking) sort of a gut-punch last week after the way we fought, and came up on the losing end, it was nice to get that team win today.”

Nevertheless, despite some of the offensive shortcomings, for the first time this season, Alabama really looked like Alabama.

ULM Offense	vs. Georgia	vs. Alabama
First downs	12	10
Rushing	26-45	31-9
C-A-I	23-29-1	20-43-2
Passing yards	206	83
Third downs	5-of-14	3-of-20
ULM Defense
First downs	19	17
Rushing	38-243	35-137
C-A-I	10-14-0	18-32-1
Passing yards	206	166
Third downs	5-of-9	2-of-13

In contrast, last week it gave up 433 total yards to Ole Miss, although 139 of that came on two very unusual plays. Otherwise, the Rebels’ longest drive was just 51 yards.

ULM (1-2) would have loved to have a possession go that long. Its best was just 31 yards. The first six possessions resulted in minus-13 rushing yards and nine total yards, for an average of 0.5 yards per snap. It didn’t have a first down until executing a fake punt at its own 20-yard line.

“Alabama’s defense is a lot bigger,” ULM wide receiver Ajalen Holley said in comparing the two SEC teams. “Georgia’s defense is a lot faster. That’s as good as I can give you right there. They’re both sound defenses. They’re really good defenses.

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“When it comes to running the ball, I feel like we could be on the edge a little better against Alabama. When it comes to Georgia, we couldn’t, because they’re a faster outside defense. When it comes to getting downhill, I feel like Alabama is better at filling the gap than Georgia is, because they’re bigger. They’re defensive line can fill gaps better than Georgia. That’s from my perspective.”

Nevertheless, the Warhawks had a lot more success against the Bulldogs and scored two touchdowns.

“Alabama is a little bit more versatile, as in the pass game is outside of the box,” safety Tre’ Hunter said. “Georgia is light inside of the box. Alabama can spread you out. Playing in space is always hard. For skilled guys and linemen, playing in space is always hard. There is a bit more to think about than gearing up for box plays.”

But even though it might be tabbed the underdog for the first time in a long time, Alabama will go into next week’s game at Georgia having reclaimed some of its swagger, which was extremely important.

“We got a lot better,” Matias-Smith said. “The biggest thing was execution.”

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.