Parker Brailsford Sees Alabama RBs Getting to Second Level in Oklahoma Rematch

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— In a football rematch, the tape from the first game is going to be dissected a lot by both sides, in an effort to get to the very bottom of any tendency or statistic that can provide an advantage. Alabama has a rematch this Friday night against No. 8 Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff, and one of the things the No. 9 Crimson Tide did in the first game was establish the run.

Alabama (10-3) has struggled in the running game for much of this season, and it contributed in some ways to the team's losses, from effectively abandoning the rushing attack after the first drive against Florida State to posting -3 rush yards in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia. Two running backs, Jam Miller and Daniel Hill, combined for 24 carries and 87 yards opposite the Sooners last month. The longest run of the day on either side was a 28-yard dash from Hill.

The Crimson Tide outgained the Sooners by six yards, 80-74, on the ground Nov. 15. Alabama put up 194 yards more than Brent Venables' squad in the contest (406-212), which Oklahoma won 23-21. Springing the running backs starts up front, and center Parker Brailsford thinks he and the rest of the offensive line played well enough in that matchup to warrant confidence for Friday's game in Norman (7 p.m. CT, ESPN/ABC).

"There's gonna be some things that we have to work on. Just going from the past couple weeks," Brailsford said Monday. "But definitely looking back at that game, I feel like we did a good job of handling the movement up front. And just being able to get up to the second level with our backs. So, that's definitely something we're gonna carry over."

A Venables defense vexing Alabama is not a new phenomenon. However, Hill posted easily his highest rushing total of the season with 60 yards. The next-highest number in that category is 39 yards against Auburn. Miller, who practiced on Monday after not playing in the SEC title game following an Iron Bowl injury, had three yards per carry on nine attempts against Oklahoma (10-2). At the time, that was his highest yards-per-carry mark in more than a month.

"We did a pretty good job, actually, we actually blocked some things up better than what I thought we produced as far as total yardage," head coach Kalen DeBoer said. "Compared to other teams, cause this is a very good defense... We ran the ball as well as anyone had, so we gotta keep building on that. That is important."

Ty Simpson took four sacks in the game, which affects down-and-distance scenarios as well as the total rushing output. Running backs also assume some pass-protecting responsibilities along with the offensive line. Brailsford is one of the country's better centers, but he can't do it all alone. The end goal is the same in plays where the objective is to break off a running play as it is when there is a passing play: getting downfield for positive yardage.

"Third-and-mediums, third-and-shorts, love to live in that world," DeBoer said. "But there's obviously a team on the other side of the ball that's trying to make that world a little bit harder and not let you get in those spots. Everything we can do to continue to be staying ahead of the chains, whether it's run or pass, playing good, smart, clean football, that's gonna be really important for our success on offense."

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