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Why Alabama's Pass Rush Didn't Record a Sack Against Utah State

Opposing offense are already scheming to try and slow down some of the best players in the country at getting to the quarterback.
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama has the best pass rusher in the nation in Will Anderson Jr. He led the country in sacks last season with 17.5. The Crimson Tide also brought back guys like Dallas Turner (8.5 sacks in 2021), Henry To'oTo'o and Chris Braswell, who can all bring pressure to opposing offenses

So why did this vaunted pass rush finish the first game against Utah State with zero sacks? 

"Typical drop back, hold the ball, see it develop and throw it, they didn’t do much of that," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Monday after watching film from the season opener. "So the ball was catch and throw all the time, so we didn’t have a lot of opportunity to get the proverbial sack, but I think we affected the quarterback pretty well in the game."

Overall, the Crimson Tide defense was stifling, allowing less than 150 total yards and zero points. Alabama finished with four quarterback hurries and five tackles for loss, including this play by Anderson in the first quarter. Utah State running back Pailate Makakona didn't even have time to take his second before he was met by the Alabama edge rusher in the backfield. 

Anderson said it was like envisioning something you know is going to happen. Once he saw the playcall, he knew he would be in the backfield. There will several times throughout the game where Anderson or Braswell were seconds away from sacking the Aggie quarterbacks, but were never quite able to because of how quick Utah State was getting the ball out. 

While it was frustrating, the junior edge rusher still has full confidence in the pass rushing capabilities of this defense.

"I love this group of guys," Anderson said. "Teams are going to try to do different stuff to try and slow us down. They were doing a lot of quick throws, stuff like that. I feel like when you have a great bunch of pass rushers, you have to come up with some type of plan to protect the quarterback and not get a lot of sacks of their offense. I believe in our guys. We're very great, and we're just going to keep this thing rolling."

While the Crimson Tide might not have any sacks yet, Anderson certainly plans to affect Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers early and often this Saturday. Texas' true freshman quarterback made his first career start in the Longhorns' 52-10 win over Louisiana Monroe. 

Ewers went 16-24 for 225 yards with two touchdowns and an interception against the Warhawks. He was sacked once. Anderson said it's very important to try and get pressure on a young quarterback early. 

"They probably haven't seen a team like us before, Anderson said. "And to go out there and try and get him razzled up a little bit, going and getting pressure on him early on, I think it's very beneficial to what we have to do to slow them down."