Beating South Carolina: What Alabama Must Do to Keep the Tide Rising

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer)

Alabama is doing a lot of things very well. However they are still making a lot of mistakes that are driving the coaching staff, and especially, Nick Saban crazy.

What will Alabama have to do to keep the Tide rising and keep momentum toward a repeat title within their grasp? Let's examine:

1. Stop the silly mistakes and untimely penalties. Though they are one in the same, they can be separate too.

The secondary is filled with lots of very talented, yet very young defensive backs. And like all young players they have been in the wrong place at the wrong time too many times this season.

By this stage of the season they are not rookies anymore. They have played two very good SEC schools and bent but not broke. Now is the time to work on refinement and stop the blown coverages and big pass plays from the opponents.

Penalties can kill an offensive drive and keep the opponent's offense on the field. Though the Tide is not too bad in penalties, the penalties always come at bad times. They need to get that discipline back.

2. Show they can stop a good running team. So far they have found a way to stop good passing teams now they have to show they can do the same with a good running team.

However, they can't get too caught up in cheating up for the run with the linebackers and defensive backs, because Garcia can and will also throw.

This is a game the defensive line needs to step and be recognized and quit making people wish Mt. Cody was back.

3. Loosen up the Gamecock defense. Ellis Johnson has been there and seen everything as the Cock's defensive coach. He knows his best option is to put extra emphasis on stopping the run first.

Passes on first and second down might loosen things up, especially if McElroy gets hot. This might be a good time to let Marquis Maze stretch the field with some deep attempts.

Getting the Cocks on their spurs, (or heels as it is) could open up the running lanes for Ingram and Richardson.

4. Play for 60 minutes. There is no doubt that Alabama is the best team in the country when it's all working. However, showing they can keep it working for 60 minutes has been a problem.

It's like the great coaches have always said, a team with a 100 percent talent ratio that only plays for 50 minutes can be beat by a team with only an 80 percent talent ratio if they play that way for 60 minutes.

5. Jump on them early. Should Alabama build up a quick early lead, this game is over. Running teams just don't have the mentality or the time to come back.

Last week Alabama held Florida to just one possession in the whole first quarter. If you don't have the ball it's hard to score and for a running team that runs a lot of clock time themselves, coming from behind is a tall mountain to climb.

6. Win the battle of field position. Great punts are a necessity in this game. Three and outs deep in you own part of the field will kill you. Even if you don't score, move the chains a few times and give your punter the chance to "flip the field".

That way you make a running team go the distance and not play on a short field.

7. Get them in 3rd-and-long as much as possible. South Carolina is scoring well and moves the ball well but they don't convert that many 3rd-and-longs.

Anything over a 3rd-and-5 could be a crap shoot for the Gamecocks. Forcing them into third down throws make them more vulnerable to interceptions which Garcia has shown he can throw and that Bama has shown they can pick off.

And there they are, the lucky seven things Alabama must do to effectively shut down South Carolina and more importantly Marcus Lattimore.