A college football season is always going to be filled with some dramatic swings, but nothing has been as dizzying as the last three weeks for Alabama. A thunderous first quarter and late-game dramatics delivered one of the best wins of the year as the Crimson Tide toppled Georgia in an instant classic in Week 5, propelling Alabama back to No. 1 in the rankings. But everything since — first the upset loss at Vanderbilt and then Saturday’s 27-25 home win against South Carolina — then has been anything but characteristic of what we look for in a No. 1 team — or even an SEC title contender.
It’s prompted many to wonder: what’s wrong with Alabama?
It’s funny to consider that we would panicking about a team that is 5-1 and led by one of the most explosive quarterbacks in the entire country. Alabama has the talent to win every game left on its schedule, be in the running for the SEC Championship Game, and in that scenario almost certainly be a lock for the 12-team College Football Playoff.
But talent is not the issue in Tuscaloosa. Even taking into accoun the personnel losses from last year’s CFP team, the roster has more future pros and former blue-chip high school prospects than most teams in the country.
The issue is that Alabama is a talented team that has not been playing winning football, and when you’re not playing winning football, any game is going to be a struggle to win.
Some of the issues appear to be more recent, but others have been ongoing throughout the entire 2024 campaign. Alabama entered the South Carolina game ranked No. 108 nationally in penalty yards per game (73.2) and No. 112 in penalties per game (8.0), then proceeded to get flagged seven times for 67 penalty yards. The problems started early with a…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/whats-wrong-with-alabama-lack-of-attention-to-detail-has-defined-teams-dizzying-fall-from-no-1/
Author : Chip Patterson
Publish date : 2024-10-12 21:25:27
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