What caused Alabama football offense struggles vs Tennessee, and what didn't
· Yahoo Sports
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Before dissecting what went wrong for Alabama football's offense in its 26-10 road loss to Tennessee, the Crimson Tide wants to make sure people know what Saturday's performance wasn't.
It wasn't because Alabama was unprepared for Tennessee's pass rush. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer called the Volunteers one of the most efficient and disruptive pass defenses not only in the SEC, but in the country.
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It wasn't because Alabama struggled with communication with Mal Waldrep as the anchor of the offensive line instead of Racin Delgatty, or because the Crimson Tide had a passing offense sans Ryan Coleman-Williams.
"Ryan understands that it's next man up," Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell said. "Not playing with him, we play with the same guys in practice. (When) Ryan's not in on one play, all the other guys are in. We're playing ball. It's not like we're missing Jesus and stuff like that. We're playing ball."
But in the same vein, the woes of Alabama's offense against Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and the Volunteers pass defense were clear.
Ten points and 201 yards of offense. Two third-down conversions on 13 attempts, and one fourth-down conversion on three attempts. Fifty-four rushing yards on 26 carries. And four turnovers.
"In the end, you know, we struggled to move," DeBoer said.
It started with the run game.
Alabama knew what it would face: A Tennessee defense that can "pin their ears back" as pass rushers, DeBoer said, a defense that came into the game leading the country in sacks. Alabama's first two plays were pass plays: incompletions to Derek Meadows and Rico Scott that set up a 6-yard strip sack by Jeremiah Telander on a third-and-10, one that put the Volunteers at the Alabama 19-yard line.
Alabama did not have a drive that started with longer than a 7-yard run, or an 14-yard pass. Alabama had six drives that began with no yards or yards lost, whether from a defensive play or a penalty.
There was no continuity in the run game. Daniel Hill was Alabama's leading rusher with 34 yards on seven carries. And without a run game, DeBoer said, there's no "opportunities for us to be able to have our whole offense available."
"I don't know what the explosives were for today and, again, the run game sets that up," DeBoer said. "So you got to have a little bit of both feeding off each other. When we have been rolling as an offense, usually both of those things are in sync and rolling together."
If you ask Russell, though, Alabama's performance was his fault.
Tennessee's defense is "great" and "aggressive," but Russell said he "has just got to play better." Russell said he wasn't making the right reads. Russell said he "couldn't lead my guys downfield past the 50." Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb called the "best plays for us" but that the Crimson Tide couldn't make those plays matter.
"It's a tough environment," Russell said. "I wouldn't say it was the environment that shook me. I wouldn't say there was anything that shook me. It was just the lack of plan that I had. There was stuff in front of me that I could have easily took. I was forcing the ball somewhere else. ... Just wasn't playing my game today. I'm not going to cry about it. I'm not going to hold my head down. I just got to know that going forward, we can't have those mistakes no more."
To DeBoer, Russell taking full responsibility is too simple too.
"They obviously got to Keelon early and kept us from, you know, being able to really get anything going," DeBoer said. "We say, 'Stay on the field,' but to get anything going, and, just, that kind of wears on you. I don't care who you are as a quarterback."
To DeBoer, Alabama's offense struggled because it struggled to sustain "anything." There was no consistency, no continuity. Alabama played from behind, unable to set the tone, be efficient an feel comfortable.
It's what Tennessee was able to do.
"They were able to play their game tonight," DeBoer said.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: What caused Alabama football offense struggles vs Tennessee, and what didn't