Alabama Will Go as Far as Its Lines Will Take It

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — As far as locker room celebrations go, the one the University of Alabama enjoyed at Sanford Stadium last Saturday was pretty much what you would expect: lots of smiles, lots of whooping and hollering and a lot of drying off after destroying Georgia in the rain, 38-10.

“A lot of energy,” sophomore left tackle Cam Robinson said. “Anytime you can get a win like this, the locker room is a lot of fun.”

While the win was obviously a big one—and something the No. 8 Crimson Tide can use to springboard back into contention for the division, league and maybe even national titles—how Alabama pulled off the win was just as important as to what the scoreboard said.

It was physical. It dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. It kept attacking.

With that, the Crimson Tide had its identity for the 2015 season.

“With all the rain, we knew going into it that it was going to be a smashmouth game,” senior center Ryan Kelly said. “That's how we like it too. That was fun for us. Not saying pass-blocking isn't fun, but it was good to keep going after them on every play.

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“We felt in the Wisconsin game we played really physical and got away from that the last couple of weeks. We kind of re-established that and it’s one of those things you have to keep building on.”

On offense, Alabama mostly went with a maximum-protection package against Georgia to give senior quarterback Jake Coker as much help as possible during his first Southeastern Conference road game. He had time in the pocket, made consistent and accurate throws, and led scoring drives of, in order, 69 76, 56 and 38 yards against a highly regarded defense.

Moreover, he wasn’t sacked and had no interceptions.

The other part of that, though, was to unleash Derrick Henry and the power running game. He had a career-high 26 carries for 148 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown to give Alabama the lead for good in the second quarter.

“When you turn around and you see (No.) 2 running down the field and there are a storm of guys chasing him, that's a good feeling,” Kelly said. “Those happen when you do your job. Those build momentum for the offense.”

But Alabama also dominated up front on the defensive side as well, with the line at the forefront of arguably the game’s most critical point. After Alabama’s first possession ended on Henry’s fumble on 3rd-and-1, with Jordan Jenkins recovering, Georgia had first down at the Crimson Tide 42.

Category	National rank
First downs	14
Interceptions	18
Passing efficiency	10
Passing yards allowed	38
Rushing	10
Sacks	29
Scoring	19
Third downs	12
Total	10
Turnovers gained	12

Unlike against Ole Miss, when five turnovers led to at least 17 points, the Bulldogs went three-and-out and punted.

"I think it was huge,” Nick Saban said.

Most of the game was like that stand, with a variety of players shutting down the running lanes, knocking down passes and harassing the quarterbacks. This time the tally was two sacks, four tackles for a loss, three interceptions including Eddie Jackson’s 50-yard return for a touchdown, a fumble recovery and seven passes broken up. Four of those were knockdowns.

"Those guys are big and physical,” Georgia’s Nick Chubb said. “I know they were coming downhill strong and tackling us pretty well."

Chubb had only 63 rushing yards until he broke the 83-yard touchdown run long after the game was out of reach. One play that especially stood out was when senior defensive lineman Jarran Reed made a one-handed tackle of the running back while his other arm was still occupied with an offensive lineman.

"It helps us with our confidence to get better each and every week, just seeing what we can do,” Reed said. “We came out here, and Chubb is a great back, but you have to come to win every week and dominate the line of scrimmage."

If Alabama continues to do so and can maintain that kind of intensity over the rest of the season, it’ll be extremely tough to beat. Opposing touchdowns are becoming more rare with each passing week, and when a lot of college football seems to be shying away from physical matchups, this team is embracing them.

“These kind of games mean a lot to me,” linebacker Ryan Anderson said about Saturday’s matchup with Arkansas (6 p.m. CT, ESPN). “That's why I came here, to play against teams that's gonna line up, two tight ends, two backs and run the ball, no fastball, none of that stuff. Just physical teams.

"They're a pain to deal with. Last year, playing against those guys, it was tough.”

Even with Alabama’s three major defensive gaffes that resulted in long touchdowns—Chubb’s score through an open gap, the freakish deflection to Ole Miss wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo and the busted coverage on the pop pass—it's first in the Southeastern Conference in passing efficiency and rushing defense and second in scoring and total defense.

While Alabama has already notched 13 sacks, its offense has only given up five. It's tied for third in the league and tied for second in the league in those categories, respectively, but it is the only team in the top five in both.

Overall, eight different Crimson Tide players have recorded sacks, 15 have been involved in a tackle for a loss, 17 have broken up at least one pass and 11 have been credited with a quarterback hurry.

The defense is attacking in swarms and the offense is beginning to establish its version of trench warfare. No one knows how far the lines can take Alabama this season, but few if any now doubt this team’s obvious potential.

“I think they have a defensive front that’s only comparable to the NFL. I think at one point someone told me they’ve played 12 interior defensive linemen. They all look the same," Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said during his Monday press conference. "I swear there's a machine that just creates them and then they walk outside. They all look the same, and play the same unfortunately. They have DBs who can run and linebackers who can smack you.

“You have to play your best game to beat them.”

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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