Alabama's Become a Threat to Score on Any Play, Not Just on Offense
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The spark came from a different source, which was very bad news for everyone else in college football.
Cyrus Jones fielded the low punt, cut to his left, made the first defender miss and that was pretty much it. Some 69 yards later, the University of Alabama had its first seven points on Saturday, and with the defense keeping Mississippi State out of the end zone, they were all it needed during the 31-6 victory.
“It was a big lift,” Jones said.
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It was more than that. Alabama’s first return for a touchdown this season gave it another way to reach the end zone and served notice that there’s really no play in which the Crimson Tide can’t score.
A fumble recovery for a touchdown hasn’t happened yet, but after notching nine sacks against the Bulldogs—two resulting in fumbles—that’s probably just a matter of time.
Through 10 games, Alabama (9-1, 6-1 SEC) has already scored six non-offensive touchdowns, including four on interception returns. It nearly had another against Mississippi State, helping the secondary play with a growing sense of conviction.
| Year | Interceptions | Fumble return | Kick/Punt return | Blocked punt | Total |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2008 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
| 2009 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2011 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 2014 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2015* | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
“Overall, as a whole, I think we’re much more confident,” Jones said. “You have to have a swagger about yourselves.”
Only Alabama seems to have it just about everywhere now as its weaknesses are becoming harder to find. The offense has the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy and dangerous receivers, while the defense tops the Southeastern Conference in total defense, rushing defense, pass-efficiency defense, interceptions and sacks.
Even special teams, which a month ago were struggling, are getting better and standing out with plays like junior defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson leaping over an LSU lineman to block an extra-point attempt.
He tried it again at MSU only to be upended.
| Category | Rank after Oct. 17 | Current rank |
| Kickoff returns | 107 | 101 |
| Kickoff returns D | 49 | 18 |
| Net punting | 100 | 81 |
| Punt returns | 73 | 31 |
| Punt returns D | 54 | 54 |
But the more ways a team can hurt the opposition, the better it is overall. When Jones broke free early in the second quarter, Alabama’s offense had mustered just 40 yards of total offense. Four of its five offensive possessions had resulted in a three-and-out, and the exception came to an end with an interception.
Over the next five minutes, Alabama struck twice again with a 60-yard catch-and-go reception by freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley and a 74-yard touchdown run by junior running back Derrick Henry.
“I think in a close game it's always turnovers and explosive plays that usually have a huge impact,” head coach Nick Saban said. “I don't think it was any different this year, but especially in this last game because we didn't have that kind of consistent long drives that score points.
“[I] would like to see us make more. I think there were more out there for us if we had executed with a little better consistency."
All three of the offensive touchdowns ended up being big plays, as Henry broke a 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, which Saban said made it kind of a “weird” game for the Crimson Tide. Yet that wasn’t unexpected, as Alabama knew beforehand that patience would be particularly important against the No. 17 Bulldogs.
Mississippi State’s offense is designed to essentially force defenses into man-to-man coverage, and with its big, talented receivers, mismatches are inevitable. Defenses try to take away the short passes, and that’s when the Bulldogs attack downfield—plus there’s always the threat of quarterback Dak Prescott taking off.
Alabama shut down the running game (89 yards), contained Prescott and the closer the Bulldogs got to the end zone, the tougher it got for them to move the ball due to the shorter field.
The Crimson Tide also quickly made substitutions and kept inserting fresh players, as Saban’s cut cheek demonstrated after junior defensive lineman Jonathan Allen accidentally hit him on one such change.
“They tried to go fast, but we still got our guys in,” Robinson said.
On the flip side Mississippi State’s defense stacked the box and tried to force Alabama to pass. It attacked with numerous stunts, something that had been giving the offensive line some problems, and tried to force the Crimson Tide to throw.
The risk was that, should an Alabama player get past the front seven, the chances of him breaking into open field dramatically increased. Maybe a defensive player would overshoot his stunt, someone would miss a tackle or Henry would apply an effective stiff arm.
“We hit them where they’re most vulnerable at, and they brought pressure,” senior center Ryan Kelly said. “We knew coming into it that it wouldn’t be an easy day running. It certainly wasn’t.
“We got some good plays for Derrick, and they were the kinds of plays that really changed the momentum of the game.”
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.
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