Nick Saban addresses Alabama offense’s lack of identity

Before’s Alabama can take a step forward, it must find solid ground. On Monday, head coach Nick Saban discussed the Crimson Tide’s offense and its lack of identity.

“I don’t know that in this past game we had much of an identity in the pass game,” Saban said. “We started out early in the game being able to run the ball effectively. And we did not mix up the play action pass to complement the run game and, eventually, it got harder and harder to run the ball. We did make some explosive plays on offense, but it’s too hit or miss. You got to have consistency, to be able to sustain drives.”

Consistent drives were few and far between in Alabama’s 34-24 loss to Texas. In the defeat, the Crimson Tide converted on just 5-14 (35.7%) of its third-down attempts. Worse, the team didn’t always make it to third down.

Alabama committed two turnovers on Saturday, both interceptions. Even when the ball wasn’t picked off by defenders, QB Jalen Milroe struggled to find his targets. Alabama tallied just 255 passing yards in the loss, nearly 100 less yards than Texas’ passing total.

Nick Saban wants to find an identity in the run game

“We made explosive plays, but we weren’t consistent enough in terms of developing identity,” Saban said. “The identity that we’d like to have is to be physical enough to be able to run the ball consistently, effectively.

“But also be able to have a good play-action game to go with it, be able to drop back when we need to and be efficient and effective in all those areas. I can’t say that we were in this game. Other than making some explosive plays, we didn’t do that well enough.”

Alabama’s run game wasn’t excellent, but it was one of the few areas where it outmatched the Longhorns. In the loss, Alabama averaged 3.1 yards per rushing, picking 107 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Texas collected just 2.8 yards per carry.

While Alabama’s quarterback room struggles to find consistency, its running backs must step up. With players like senior Jase McClellan, who boasted 655 yards and seven rushing touchdowns in 2022, Alabama has the pieces to build a scary ground game.

Now, it must put those pieces together. Otherwise, the Crimson Tide’s College Football Playoff hopes will wash away. After Alabama’s loss, the program dropped seven spots in the AP Top 25, falling to No. 10. Alabama will aim to bounce back on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET against South Florida. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

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