Ryan Grubb's Offensive Creativity: Things I Noticed in the Crimson Tide's Win Over Georgia

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama football went in between the hedges on Saturday night and knocked off the Georgia Bulldogs to start the SEC schedule on the right note. The Crimson Tide scored 24 first-half points and hung on for the upset victory.

The Crimson Tide entered the game with one of the worst rushing offenses in college football, averaging 123.7 yards per game, a number largely bolstered by Alabama's outlier effort against Louisiana-Monroe (212). To put it simply, the Crimson Tide's rushing attack had been putrid throughout the first three games of the year. Add Georgia's No. 20 unit against the run, allowing 82.7 yards per game, and you had a troubling recipe for an Alabama offense trying to pull off an upset.

Junior running back Jam Miller's return from injury and redshirt freshman Kevin Riley's ability to squirt through gaps in the line didn't unlock the traditional running game against the Bulldogs, as the pair took 26 carries for 76 yards, with the longest carry going for just seven yards.

Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb mitigated these problems in Athens by digging into his deep playbook and stressing the Bulldogs on the edge in space. He utilized Germie Bernard's versatility, Ty Simpson's athleticism and even Kadyn Proctor's power to extend the running game with quick passes and screens to keep the chains moving in the first half and melt clock away in the second.

“As always, I don’t think it’s anything earth-shattering, but you get the defense having to run to the ball, stress them out, get them moving to the sideline a little bit, and then you try to get vertical on them," Grubb said on Monday. "I thought we did a good job of stretching them and moving them around. To Georgia’s credit, their integrity on the inside remained the same. Some defenses, they’ll compromise, and they held up pretty strong in the second half on that.”

Bernard served as the Crimson Tide's x-factor throughout the evening. The junior caught three of his five receptions behind the line of scrimmage, while also giving him four carries in the running game, which he advanced for 26 yards. Bernard was used throughout the evening in motion and in the backfield and even threw a four-yard pass to convert a third-down and keep the chains moving.

Alabama OC Ryan Grubb got creative on Saturday night against Georgia, utilizing screens, getting the ball on the edge, rolling Ty out & mixing up personnel to mitigate the Crimson Tide's lack of success in the traditional run game. pic.twitter.com/9hhe9WKITc
— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) September 29, 2025

Grubb found creative ways to get Miller and Riley the ball in space with the two tailbacks hauling in three different screens for 35 yards, but the most unique play of the game came on a screen to Alabama's behemoth left tackle to ensure the Crimson Tide closed the half with a touchdown.

Proctor assumed a tight end's role three different times in the game with his 11-yard rumble serving as the standout. He split out on the very first drive of the game, but the play was derailed by a pre-snap penalty. Proctor motioned from a split position into an inline position with true freshman Jackson Lloyd serving as the left tackle on Alabama's fourth drive of the game, getting the Bulldogs used to the unusual strategy. Grubb sprang his trap on the following possession as Proctor motioned from a split position to an even wider position as the half was ending. The tackle took a step back and hauled in Simpson's backwards pass before rumbling forward to the Georgia two-yard line. Grubb's running game gimmick added 11 yards to the Crimson Tide's rushing tally and more importantly set the team up with a first and goal before the half ended.

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Alabama's running game wrinkles came together in the team's most important moment of the game. Simpson's athleticism faked left and rolled back right to hit a wide open Miller in the flat on third-and-five with under two minutes to play to seal the game for the Crimson Tide. Miller sprang open due to Alabama's utilization of Bernard in motion before the play and the offense's commitment to getting the ball on the edge.

Bernard motioned across the formation from right to left behind Ryan Williams and Isaiah Horton and Simpsons immediate movement's towards him sent the defense in Bernard's direction as the looked for another pass to him in the left flat. Instead, Miller leaked out of the backfield to the right and hauled in an easy reception for a first down and the victory.

"We’ve just got to do a better job finding ways to get him [Jam Miller] more of those one-on-one matchups where the ball’s on the corner, ball’s on a safety," Grubb said. "I think we got four of those in the game. You’re looking to try to get eight to nine of those a game, where you’re getting the football on a secondary player so that they can break a tackle and get into the open. And that’s really it. We’ve got to get through and get six-on-six on the inside somehow with our big bodies, and then find a way to get Jam on those DBs. "

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The Crimson Tide managed just 117 yards on the ground in Athens, dropping the program to 107th in the nation in rushing yards through five weeks. Despite the struggles on the ground thus far, Grubb has proven he has answers as the offensive line searches for continuity and success in the traditional running game by utilizing screens, RPOs, rolling the quarterback out in play-action, and manipulation of the defenses through personnel packages and motions.