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Cole Cubelic's comments after Week 1 should worry Alabama fans

Joe Cox|
SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic slams the Tide after Week 1
SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic slams the Tide after Week 1 | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Alabama Crimson TideFlorida State Seminoles

SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic can be added the chorus of voices expressing concern about Alabama's Week 1 performance against Florida State. Even casual fans can tell that the 31-17 loss wasn't good news. But few watch more tape or have a greater understanding of the intricacies of college football than Cubelic. He frequently breaks down why things happen instead of just observing what happens. And he's worried.

Cole Cubelic's concerns

Cubelic's postgame take on the Tide on X was typically restrained. As ever, he's more about personnel and execution than about big picture takeaways. But his final sentence of evaluation is pretty chilling stuff for Alabama fans.

At the end of the day, it appeared as though Alabama absorbed blows, FSU delivered them.
Cole Cubelic

But moreover, another postgame Tweet from Cubelic showed the direction of his thoughts on Alabama's bizarre Week 1 performance.

Outside of that, Cubelic kept his comments more on the factual side, which was also pretty horrifying for the Tide faithful.

Alabama's awful opener

Cubelic's final stat certainly puts into context exactly how severely the Alabama running game struggled in Week 1. Facing a defense that allowed over 100 yards rushing in 10 of 12 games last year and allowed 200 yards rushing in seven games, Alabama ran for 87 yards, 3.0 yards per carry had a long run of just 13 yards.

Alabama's one 10+ yard run in Week 1 placed the Tide in 124th place nationally, with only four teams failing to pick up a 10+ yard run yet on the season. Alabama also allowed seven tackles for loss and three sacks in the loss. The Tide fell to 0-5 in games under Kalen DeBoer in which they failed to rush for 100 yards. Nick Saban's final two Alabama teams each failed to rush for 100 yards only once per season.

For Cubelic, the tape didn't lie. And if Alabama was indeed absorbing blows already in Week 1, it could be a long SEC season for the Tide and Kalen DeBoer.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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