Alabama's Defense is Nearing Championship-Level, Offense Needs to Match

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— For the second straight game, Alabama's offense made the critical plays in the fourth quarter when it needed to, but it was the Crimson Tide defense that looked championship-caliber throughout the game.

" I say it all the time— this is a championship defense," Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson said after the game. "That goes back to the first question I got asked about our performance tonight. I just think we can execute better if we wanna be that championship defense. We have all the right guys, got a great scheme. Just gotta get better on the practice field and let it show on Saturday.”

The Crimson Tide only scored three points in the second half of Saturday's 20-9 win over LSU, but the way the defense played allowed for some offensive inconsistency. Alabama held the Tigers to 101 yards after halftime.

Ty Simpson fumbled on the first play of the fourth quarter, giving LSU good field position at the Alabama 38-yard line with the Crimson Tide holding a slim, 17-6 lead. The fumble gave the Tigers the opportunity to get right back into the game if they could find the end zone.

Instead, with a little assistance from a raucous Bryant-Denny Stadium crowd, the defense stepped up to hold LSU to a field goal to make it 17-9.

"When the turnover happened tonight, and they get put in that spot where it is a short field, they did a nice job," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said after the game. "Even got inside the 10, if I remember right. We just keep reminding the guys to continue to make them snap it again, and then our crowd comes and helps us out with getting some false starts… There’s times where we go for it on fourth down over the course of the year, and that’s me trusting the defense as much as I am trusting the offense. There’s times when they’ve had their backs against the wall for whatever reason, and they’ve just buckled down and settled in and trusted each other.”

Alabama held LSU to 232 yards and racked up two turnovers with seven tackles for loss, including three sacks.

Since allowing 31 points in the season-opening loss at Florida State, the Alabama defense is giving up just 15.5 points per game and has not allowed more than 24 points in a game. Each week, Kane Wommack's defense is looking like it has the talent and togetherness to make Alabama a viable team in the College Football Playoff.

Alabama's "swarm D" seems to have a knack for getting turnovers at just the right time with two more crucial fumble recoveries against LSU. The Tide had a pick-six against Tennessee and South Carolina, and the win over the Gamecocks had a late fumble in the fourth quarter that set up Alabama's game-winning touchdown.

"We preach on taking the ball away from people and getting the ball back to our offense," Lawson said. "We are all in in practice on. That's how we start every practice with our turnover circuit. That's what we pride ourselves on, so that's what we're going to continue to do."

On the other side of the ball, the Alabama offense has struggled with inconsistency the last few weeks. All season, the Crimson Tide has struggled to run the ball, which puts a lot more pressure on the passing game and continually has the offense in third-and-long situations that allow the opposing defenses to pin their ears back and bring the house.

Alabama had 26 rushes for 56 yards against LSU, a 2.2 average yards per rush. Simpson completed just 60 percent of his passes and had the fumble.

"Very obvious, right, that we need to play better," Simpson said. "That’s what I tell these guys on defense is that we’ve got your back. We’ve got to play better for them. Everybody knows that. That’s why it’s a team game. We count on the defense. The defense counts on us.”

Alabama has shown flashes of brilliance on offense this season. The Crimson Tide has one of the deepest and most talented receiving rooms in the country. There's a reason Simpson is one of the frontrunners for the Heisman trophy. The talent is there. The consistency is not.

Barring an epic collapse over the final three regular-season games, Alabama should make the CFP. How deep the Crimson Tide gets in the playoff will depend on whether or not both side of the ball can play at a high level at the same time.

If Alabama wants a legitimate shot at winning a national title, the offense will have to find more balance. As the competition level ratchets up in the postseason, so will the talent of the front sevens. Alabama's offense will get eaten alive if it can't find some sort of running game and better pass protection.

"I think we definitely need to get better with our consistency," Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas said. "Credit to the defense for getting us in good field position whenever they had the chance to go out there and make plays. They kind of kept us up a little bit."

Next week's opponent, Oklahoma, leads the SEC in sacks and leads the nation in tackles for loss. The Sooners are top-10 in nearly every defensive statistical category and have the type of defense that can give Alabama a lot of trouble.

"We’ve got to come out next week, playing a good Oklahoma team off a bye week, so they’re going to have some stuff for us," Simpson said. "We’ve just got to make sure we hold onto the little things, details and go after it on Sunday.”

Whether or not Alabama's offense is hitting all its marks, the defense is keeping the Crimson Tide in every game.

"Fast, violent and willing to take the ball off people," Lawson said to describe the Alabama defense. "That’s how I can shorten it for you. When we’re on, we’re on for sure. That’s what kind of makes me upset is when we give someone something, when someone’s not doing their job, or we didn’t execute that call because if we’re all on the same page, it’s going to be hard to get in the end zone on us.”

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