The opening game for Alabama football wasn’t perfect, but the Tide showed plenty on offense to be excited about.
The Alabama football redemption tour had its first stop in Atlanta, Georgia. The Tide began their season with the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game, and they imposed their will often. However, they didn’t necessarily do it early. The first quarter was a story of many struggles for the Tide, especially on offense.
Alabama was without three of their normal contributors for the first quarter due to disciplinary reasons. With two suspensions and one injury, Alabama was forced to start Jerome Ford, their fourth-string running back at the start of fall practice. Ford struggled early behind an offensive line that failed to gel. His poor play forced a three-and-out, and he also fumbled early in the first quarter.
However, it all seemed to change once the offense was at full capacity. Even with the offensive line struggling, both Najee Harris and Brian Robinson were able to contribute. Both left plenty to be desired, but it’s a nice first step for the season.
The passing game was consistent. They expect Tua to make the easy plays. They are no longer asking him to have an insane highlight reel at the end of every game. With these simpler routes and concepts, Saban is putting faith in the receivers. If he has to trust any position group, the receivers are probably Saban’s best bet. It worked today, with Tua throwing for 336 yards and four touchdowns.
The leaders of the receiving corps this game were Jerry Jeudy and Jaylen Waddle. Jeudy is one of the most agile receivers in college football, so he always has the ability to make a play. Waddle has the jukes, but he mostly won with his speed against the Blue Devils.
Once the Tide came out of the locker room for the second half, their offense was finally firing on all cylinders. The offensive line improved, and the Tide kept from shooting themselves in the foot. They simply made the easy play and capitalized on mistakes by the defense.
Alabama can’t afford to have bad first quarters once November rolls around. However, there’s nothing wrong with a few mistakes in the season opener. The Tide will learn from the errors, make adjustments, and continue to improve all season.