Western Carolina vs. Alabama: Game Grades and Analysis for the Crimson Tide

Pardon the Alabama Crimson Tide players if their minds were wandering a bit toward next week's Iron Bowl showdown and getting a measure of payback against rival Auburn. 

They pretty much sleepwalked through much of the first half against Football Championship Subdivision opponent Western Carolina and still led by 24 at the half on their way to a 48-14 win.

By the second half, they were able to put things on cruise control.

Despite the comfortable win, there were several mental lapses that shouldn't happen this time of year that will give head coach Nick Saban various teaching points heading into a game week that needs no extra motivation.

'Bama proved it was still 'Bama once it woke up, though it's hard to be happy with the performance.

Perhaps the most troublesome thing for the Tide were injuries to receivers Amari Cooper and ArDarius Stewart, left tackle Cameron Robinson, defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson and running back Jalston Fowler. 

Saban said he didn't think the injuries were serious at first blush.

Regardless of the early difficulty, Bama set another SEC record Saturday; this is the Tide's seventh consecutive 10-win season.

Let's take a look at the game grades.

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	B-	B
Run Offense	B-	B+
Pass Defense	C-	C-
Run Defense	A+	A+
Special Teams	A	B+
Coaching	C-	C+

Pass Offense

Blake Sims and Jake Coker each played a half, and they did fine. Neither made any huge plays, and there were a couple of drops or missed opportunities deep that really could have beefed up the statistics.

While the "splash plays" you like to see weren't there in the passing game, star receiver Amari Cooper barely played after banging up his knee. With the backups going the entire second half, there were some nice flashes shown from freshman Robert Foster and company.

Sims did throw his first interception in 158 attempts, but it took two receivers running into one another for it to happen. That was pretty much the story of the day for the Tide. Their numbers looked nice (337 yards), but there were some frustrating mistakes along the way.

Run Offense

Derrick Henry was an absolute monster, sprinting past everybody on a 23-yard touchdown run and catching a pass for another score. And Tyren Jones looked like a future star spelling Henry.

But Henry's costly fumble inside UA's 15-yard line that was immediately turned into a Western Carolina touchdown mars this grade and keeps it from being a great one. Even without T.J. Yeldon who sat because of an injury, 'Bama was strong running the football and looked good doing it throughout the flow of the game.

When the offense was sputtering, offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin leaned on the run. Henry finished with 92 yards on 12 carries, and Jones wound up with 75 yards on 11 carries.

Pass Defense

When WCU got yards, it got it through the air as dual-threat quarterback Troy Mitchell utilized star receivers Spearman Robinson and Karnorris Benson to get some big yards downfield.

Robinson especially gave 'Bama problems, scoring two touchdowns, though Benson was the workhorse.

Right after Henry's fumble, Robinson used his big body to fight through cornerback Eddie Jackson to grab a touchdown pass. A couple of pass-interference calls on the Tide on deep balls bailed the Catamounts out on a pair of drives, too.

Alabama didn't play particularly poorly in pass defense, but it just didn't have its normal quality game. Considering the Tide were going against a lesser opponent, this was a mediocre performance.

Run Defense

Even without A'Shawn Robinson for most of the game, the Tide smothered WCU's rushing attack to the point where the Catamounts abandoned it quickly.

They finished with minus-eight rushing yards as 'Bama dominated all day. There was simply no daylight for Western Carolina, so when you factor in that the Cats could do absolutely nothing on the ground, the 221 yards allowed through the air aren't all that bad.

Bama will face a much stiffer test next week with Auburn's rushing attack, but Saturday night was easy.

Special Teams

Alabama trotted out a special teams kicker, and Gunnar Raborn nailed his first two field-goal attempts, which was good to see as the Tide rested a nicked-up Adam Griffith.

Though UA didn't break anything in the return game, the Tide did have some nice runs, and they were totally ready for a fake field-goal attempt by WCU that Landon Collins tracked down at the line and delivered a crushing blow to the kicker.

This grade would have been an "A," but Raborn missed a 31-yard field goal that was inconsequential.

Coaching

Saban faulted himself at halftime for not having the Tide ready to play. But after a lengthy stay in the locker room at halftime, UA came out and took care of business in the second half.

They responded well to coaching, and though they still made plenty of miscues, it was encouraging for 'Bama fans to see their team take care of business and wind up dominating Western Carolina like it was expected to do.

Still, for a team as good as Bama to come out flat, finish with two turnovers and not force a Football Championship Subdivision opponent into any is a subpar day. Bama will have to play much better next week.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.