Charleston Southern vs. Alabama: Game Grades, Analysis for the Crimson Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Charleston Southern Buccaneers 56-6 in the penultimate game of the regular season for Alabama. On a day that several SEC teams were the victims of letdowns against mid-major opponents, the Crimson Tide overwhelmed the Buccaneers from start to finish.

Alabama jumped out to a 49-0 lead in the first half and was dominant in all three phases of the game in the opening act. In the first half, the Crimson Tide scored on each offensive possession, notched two touchdowns on special teams and didn't surrender a point.

Ultimately, Alabama accomplished each of its three primary goals in this game: take care of business early, rest the starters and get plenty of reps for the reserves and younger players. 

Here are some game grades for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Positional Unit	1st Half	Final Grade
Rushing Offense	A	A
Passing Offense	A	A
Rushing Defense	A	A-
Passing Defense	A+	A+
Special Teams	A+	A
Coaching	A	A

Rushing Offense 

Alabama moved the ball consistently on the ground throughout the day, but more importantly the Crimson Tide were able to get a plethora of ball-carriers involved. Heisman Trophy front-runner Derrick Henry took care of business early on, rushing for 68 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries in the first half. 

Once Henry's day was over, Alabama turned to true freshmen Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, who will be called upon to fill the void of Kenyan Drake for the remainder of the regular season. Scarbrough and Harris also had success, rushing for 69 and 44 yards, respectively, as both backs scored the first touchdown of their collegiate careers. It was important for Alabama to distribute the carries in this game, and the Crimson Tide accomplished that task. 

Passing Offense 

Butch Dill/Associated Press

There weren't many explosive plays through the air against Charleston Southern, but both Jake Coker and Cooper Bateman were efficient while operating the offense. Coker started the game hot, completing 11 of his 13 passing attempts for 155 yards and two touchdowns to Richard Mullaney and Calvin Ridley in the first half.

Bateman received most of his work in mop-up duty once the game was well in hand and connected on seven of his 11 throws. Alec Morris also completed his lone pass attempt of the day. 

Most importantly, the Alabama quarterbacks led the offense without turning the ball over. Alabama didn't need much from the passing game to dominate this one, but the quarterbacks and receivers did a nice job of making plays without committing some of the careless mistakes that have plagued the team this season.

Rushing Defense 

John Bazemore/Associated Press

No team in the country has been able to run the ball on Alabama effectively this season, so it comes as no surprise that the the Alabama defensive line shut down the Charleston Southern rushing attack. The Buccaneers ran an option-based attack that Alabama hadn't seen this season, but it didn't faze the Crimson Tide at all.

The Crimson Tide held the Bucs to 85 yards on 36 rushing attempts, and many of those yards came against the second unit. Still, 85 yards by Charleston Southern is still more than Alabama has surrendered on average this season, which is more of a credit to how dominant the defensive front has been this season. 

Charleston Southern found a few running lanes in this game, but it was never enough to pose a serious threat to the Alabama defense. As usual, there was no room to run against the defensive line. 

Passing Defense 

Charleston Southern didn't test Alabama through the air often, attempting only 10 passes in this game. But when the Buccaneers did go to the air, the Alabama secondary consistently made plays. The Tide gave up only 49 yards through the air, the majority of which came on one 35-yard completion from Kyle Copeland to Kelan Fraise in the second half. 

The secondary was also responsible for both of the defense's turnovers: Jabriel Washington intercepted Copeland on the first drive of the second half, and Cyrus Jones made one of several highlight plays by intercepting a pitch late in the second quarter. As an option team, Charleston Southern never had much of chance to give Alabama problems with the passing game. 

Special Teams 

Special teams seemed like a weakness for this Alabama team early in the season but have evolved into a strength in the past few games. The star of the special teams units in this game was undoubtedly Cyrus Jones. In his final game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, he made plays all over the field, including two punt returns for touchdowns. Jones has now returned three punts for touchdowns in the last two games, and he became the first player in Alabama history with multiple touchdown returns in a game. 

Alabama was also 8-of-8 on extra points and never had any problems containing Charleston Southern on kick coverage. The only mistake of the day on special teams was a missed field goal by backup kicker and starting punter J.K. Scott. If Alabama can continue to produce points in the return game, the Crimson Tide will be even more difficult to beat down the stretch of the 2015 season. 

Coaching 

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Nick Saban made headlines (warning: NSFW language) earlier this week by preaching the importance of staying focused against an FCS opponent. His team clearly heeded his words. There was no hint of a letdown from Alabama against the Buccaneers. The Crimson Tide came out and dominated from the opening kick, allowing the starters to rest up for the Iron Bowl and the backups to get beneficial game experience.  

A lot of the credit has to go to Saban and his coaching staff for keeping the team focused and hungry when it would have been easy for the Crimson Tide to look forward to next week's Iron Bowl and the subsequent SEC Championship Game. Alabama is now prepared to dive head-first into a run at the SEC and national championship.