Alabama Football: Crimson Tide's Checklist to Winning SEC Title

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tim Tebow knows a few things about winning championships; after all, he won two national titles during his time with the University of Florida and may have won a third had Alabama not gotten in the way in 2009.

So what does he think will decide the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference this season? Probably miscues—as in the team that makes the fewest will come out on top between Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss.

“I think quarterback play can define it, but I think it’s more on the mistake side,” he explained. “If you have a game with two or three interceptions, another team can run away with it like [Alabama at Texas A&M]. You can have two great teams playing at a high level, stopping the run and playing great defense and a quarterback gives a team up.

“A quarterback can win it, but the consistency factor of not losing it is more important.”

One of the key factors in senior Jake Coker’s development as Alabama’s quarterback this season has been minimizing his errors. Many don’t get noticed by fans, but interceptions obviously do.

He had three passes picked off in October—two against Arkansas and one by Tennessee, which were Alabama’s closest games. He had none at Georgia and Texas A&M, and both were blowout wins.

Granted, that’s an oversimplification of his progress, but considering Alabama had five turnovers in its only loss this season at Ole Miss, the importance can’t be stressed enough by head coach Nick Saban.

“Alabama every single week they do on occasion beat themselves and make mistakes, everybody does and that’s understandable,” former Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy said. “But the mistakes are correctable.

“They never make the same mistake twice it seems like. His detail-oriented nature, his ability to focus on the tasks at hand, and then with the clear knowledge about what’s coming, he always has an answer about what a team might throw at you. He already has an adjustment for the adjustment that he expects them to make and I think there’s something to be said for that. He plans for everything.”

If Saban were to put together a checklist for winning the SEC title (outside of just beat LSU, Mississippi State, Charleston State and Auburn and then win in Atlanta on Dec. 5), it would probably look something like this:

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 1. Heal up: It’s the No. 1 priority this week with the team enjoying its bye and getting away from football for a couple of days over the weekend. The one unit that especially needs the rest is the offensive line, where senior center Ryan Kelly suffered a concussion against Texas A&M and barely practiced before Tennessee, senior right tackle Dominick Jackson sprained an ankle against the Vols and sophomore Cam Robinson has been playing with injuries all season (knee and shoulder are the ones that have been disclosed).

“Everybody’s a little tired,” Kelly said after Alabama played its eighth straight Saturday, including the brutal October of at Georgia, Arkansas, at Texas A&M and Tennessee. “I know a lot of guys are pretty excited to have some time off.”

2. Have Plans B, C and D ready: When Kelly was sidelined, the offense struggled using a silent count at Texas A&M with redshirt freshman J.C. Hassenauer at center. That experience will help him a lot should it be needed again, as Bradley Bozeman looked much better the second game he filled in for Kelly in 2014. When Jackson left the Tennessee game, Ross Pierschbacher went from left guard to right tackle, and Bozeman came in a guard. A bye week is a good time to get other players up to speed just in case.

3. Third downs: If there’s been one glaring area of concern offensively, it’s been third-down conversions, as Alabama ranks 107th in the nation. There’s been a little improvement after going 2-of-13 against Louisiana-Monroe and 1-of-12 at Georgia, but it’s a stat to keep an eye on in November.

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4. Yards after the catch: It’s one area Coker can improve, as too often receivers are making catches without the opportunity to continue downfield. There should be continued progress down the stretch as the quarterback continues to build a rapport with his receivers.

5. Continue to establish playmakers: The more who stand out as playmakers, the tougher they’ll all be to defend. While Calvin Ridley has become Coker’s primary receiver, ArDarius Stewart had a big game against Tennessee and matched the freshman’s 88 receiving yards.

“Those guys really made some big plays,” said junior tight end O.J. Howard, who is also becoming a bigger part of the passing game. “They really stepped up. They showed that they have matured a lot.”

6. Ride Derrick Henry: The junior running back went from averaging 16.75 carries per game in September to 28.25 in October, when he gained 155.5 rushing yards. That’s a grueling pace, but Henry appears to be dishing out more punishment than he’s receiving.

“He’s a very talented back. He has a good news for the end zone and pushes the pile,” said McElroy, who played with Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy at Alabama. “I think Derrick would rank up there at the top with all of them.”

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 7. Keep plugging away up front: Linebacker Ryan Anderson told reporters that the talk in the huddle before A’Shawn Robinson’s game-clinching fumble recovery against Tennessee was that if it wanted to go down as one of the best Crimson Tide defenses, it had to make a big play. The front seven needs to keep that attitude for the rest of the season.

“If you look at the teams that have won national championships, defensive line play has always been at a premium,” McElroy said. “There’s no one is better in the country than Alabama.”

8. Continue to ball hawk: The Crimson Tide didn’t have an interception against Tennessee after safeties Eddie Jackson (knee) and Ronnie Harrison (ankle) both had injury setbacks, but Alabama is still in the top five nationally with 12 picks, four of which have been returned for touchdowns.

“I think [coach Mel Tucker] has done a tremendous job in the secondary,” said former LSU standout Marcus Spears, who serves as an analyst along with McElroy and Tebow on the SEC Network. “Guys are flying around, and they look a lot more sure about what they're doing in the secondary. We talked about this front seven over and over again leading into the preseason, but the secondary has started to look like the best unit on the defense, and I think that's scary for people.”

9. Continue to improve on special teams: The unit as a whole has looked much better recently, with Adam Griffith having made his last five field goals and 10 of his last 12, and punter JK Scott was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. Long snapper Cole Mazza has returned to form after missing two games, and Kenyan Drake is back returning kickoffs again.

10. Don’t let up: Like LSU and Ole Miss, Alabama essentially controls its own destiny but only if it wins out. The LSU game will get tons of hype, but if it were to win and then lose to Mississippi State or Auburn, it would almost certainly kill its chances of making the playoffs.

Consequently, Alabama has to play each game with a sense of desperation because its season will be on the line each week.

“You never know if you have what it takes to win a national championship until you’re put in that situation in which time and time again you have to play up to expectations,” McElroy said. “This team absolutely has the makings. This team has done a wonderful job defensively for the entire season, they’ve been really off the charts.

“I would absolutely say that this team is built for the long run.”

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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