Why Alabama football offense 'progress' didn't show vs Vanderbilt
· Yahoo Sports
NASHVILLE — As Daniel Hill reflected on Alabama football's offensive day against Vanderbilt, he saw progress.
"We came out here and did what we were supposed to do, but we just got to keep stacking every week," Hill said.
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For Hill, it makes sense. He had his best day since the Crimson Tide's Sept. 12 win against Kentucky, recording 89 yards on 14 carries, barreling through the line of scrimmage for consistent and big gains. And, all in all, Alabama got the win, securing another SEC notch to its belt with two games left in the regular season.
But when you take a step back and look at what Alabama did Saturday, Nov. 14, and who Alabama did it against, questions continue to loom.
Facing a Vanderbilt defense that came in allowing an SEC-worst 29.4 points per game, Alabama scored 21 points: fewer than Mississippi State, fewer than Kentucky and matching the total of Auburn and Arkansas. Facing a Vanderbilt defense that came in allowing 359.1 yards per game and 5.63 yards per play, Alabama mustered 309 total yards and 4.5 yards per play.
Take Hill and the run game. Vanderbilt came in allowing more than 137 rushing yards per game and 4.12 yards per touch. Alabama, which Hill said had "a good day running the ball," wasn't able to exceed either with 92 rushing yards and 2.6 yards per carry.
There were moments that worked.
Alabama's three touchdown drives between the end of the second and midway through the third quarter had the Crimson Tide averaging 8.5 yards per play, with two drives failing to eclipse three minutes of game time. That's the point, Alabama coach Kaleb DeBoer said, quarterback Keelon Russell and the Crimson Tide got "into a little bit of a groove," the point where Hill "ran really hard."
On those drives, Russell completed 9 of 11 pass attempts for 121 yards and three touchdowns. The run game? Fifty-one rushing yards on 10 carries: 5.1 yards per touch.
That's the point Russell felt he found his mojo, but with the help of everyone else.
"Just locking in," Russell said. "Credit to the defense. Those guys really were what gave us the momentum. I don't even know how many stops they got in the red zone or goal line. Those guys, they kept piling up, they kept getting stops and gave us the confidence to just go out there and just keep scoring."
But these three drives are where Alabama found itself offensively. It's where Alabama executed, did what it was supposed do to and was physical. It's where the stacking days of practice showed up.
Alabama's offensive groove showed up in spurts against Vanderbilt in a performance that was by no means satisfactory.
"You can never be satisfied about a football game," Alabama wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks said. "No, we're not satisfied. We could have did way better. We still got work to do and we're going to put it in."
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: Why Alabama football offense 'progress' didn't show vs Vanderbilt