College Football's Special Teams Problems

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban didn’t waste any time in addressing the issue during the opening remarks of his press conference Monday.

Special teams are going to be a priority this week, as Alabama prepares to host Tennessee on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT CBS).

“The big thing that I think we need to focus on is not having the kind of mistakes and breakdowns in the game that really create momentum in the game for the other team,” he said in the buildup to listing four major special teams mistakes from the 41-23 victory at Texas A&M—before mentioning anything involving the offense or defense.

“To me, the focus needs to be on how do you stay locked in and how do you stay focused regardless of the circumstance or the situation that you’re in and be able to execute. That’s really what we’re trying to get accomplished here this week.”

Although Alabama’s miscues didn’t end up being too costly against the Aggies, as it went from a 28-6 lead to 28-20 before regaining control of the game, it was easy to recognize the potential disaster with which the Crimson Tide have once again flirted.

Specifically, Christian Kirk’s 68-yard punt return for a touchdown, Shaun Dion Hamilton’s targeting penalty, the lost fumble by Cyrus Jones on a punt return and a blocked punt led to 14 points (and two missed field-goal attempts) and more than got the Kyle Field crowd of 105,733 back into the game.

But the issues weren’t just unique to Alabama, as special teams ended up being the most talked-about aspect of football after some of the weird mishaps that occurred this past weekend.

Michigan’s botched punt on the final play resulted in Michigan State scoring the game-winning touchdown as time expired.

Utah, which embarrassed Oregon earlier this season with the misdirection on a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown, had a returner start to run out of the end zone, stop and then attempt a lateral, only to be penalized for an illegal forward pass that resulted in a safety.

The Indianapolis Colts ran possibly the worst fake punt in NFL history Sunday night against New England en route to a 34-27 loss.

More often than not, though, special teams are sort of a mixed bag.

LSU, for example, scored the game-wining points against Florida on a fake field goal, when its special teams have struggled even more than Alabama’s this season.

Tre’Davious White’s fumbled punt return in the first quarter gave Florida the ball at the LSU 13-yard line. The Gators subsequently scored.

Category	Alabama ranks	LSU ranks
Kickoff returns	107	99
Kickoff returns D	49	110
Net punting	100	121
Punt returns	73	127
Punt returns D	54	38

After Florida’s Antonio Callaway’s 72-yard return for a touchdown, LSU is giving up a whopping 32.8 yards per punt return, which ranks dead last in the nation. Previously, the last time the Tigers gave up both a kick and punt return for a touchdown during the same season was 1999.

Les Miles said during his Monday press conference that punter Jamie Keehn, who is averaging just 39.6 yards per punt, is working through some technical issues, and that he was seeing some improvement in the coverage units.

“The good news is the guys covering the kicks want to get it right,” he said. “The effort and energy is there.”

Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that the two teams with probably the most roster turnover each year, especially when one factors those who left early for the NFL, are having problems on the units that have the least continuity.

Regardless, a theme has emerged in Alabama’s last five losses: Costly mistakes and special teams errors have clearly played major roles.

Season, Opponent	Miscues
2015 Ole Miss	2 lost fumbles, 3 interceptions
2014 Ohio State	3 interceptions, one returned for a TD
2014 Ole Miss	Fumble on kick return leads to decisive TD
2013 Oklahoma	5 turnovers; fumble returned for TD
2013 Auburn	Kick-6

In the Sugar Bowl loss at the end of the 2013 season, Oklahoma turned five turnovers by the Crimson Tide into 28 points in the 45-31 victory. Similarly, Alabama had five turnovers during the Ole Miss loss this season, which the Rebels turned into 24 points and a 43-47 win.

Two of those turnovers were on special teams. Overall, Alabama has had six fumbles this season, with five lost. All but two (a botched snap in the rain and a Derrick Henry fumble) were on special teams.

What’ll surprise Alabama fans, though, is that the Crimson Tide is doing statistically better of late on special teams:

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Kickoff coverage: Alabama’s net average on kickoffs is 42.0 yards, which ranks fifth in the SEC. The 12 touchbacks trail only South Carolina’s 14.

Kickoff returns: Alabama’s averaging 19.1 yards per return, which is an improvement, as it has gone from 11th in the SEC to seventh.

Punting: J.K. Scott’s average is on the rise, up to 42.6 yards, as he’s seen nine punts travel 50-plus yards, including a 58-yard kick. However, his booming punts also make Alabama more susceptible to big returns. Overall, the Crimson Tide’s net yards per punt are 35.1, down from 42.4 in 2014.

Punt-return average: Alabama’s 9.9 average is up from 7.1, which ranked last in the league a couple of weeks ago. It’s now ninth.

Field goals: After missing his first four field-goal attempts, Adam Griffith has made eight of his last 10, the two misses (25 and 48 yards) coming at home against Arkansas. Also of note, long snapper Cole Mazza returned against Georgia after missing two games.

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Alabama also has blocked two punts, resulting in a touchdown and a safety.

Hence the emphasis on attention to detail, which Alabama has been pushing ever since a players-only meeting following the Ole Miss loss.

“We haven't been worrying about the outside [talk], we're just worried about the inside stuff and getting better every week,” linebacker Reggie Ragland said.

"Everybody's just doing their job, and if everybody does their job, we're a tough team to beat."

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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