Stat Pack: Where Alabama stands statistically after Game 1

Alabama is now one game into its 2023 regular-season schedule, and the No. 4-ranked team in the country boasts a 1-0 record after a 56-7 home win over Middle Tennessee.

Although Clemson and Duke still play tonight and several Power 5 teams played against inferior opponents, BamaOnLine takes an in-depth look at Alabama’s rankings in several statistical categories from a national and Southeastern Conference standpoint following the first full week of the 2023 season. Statistics were acquired from CFBStats.com.

OFFENSE

Scoring offense: 56.0 points per game (T-9th nationally, T-3rd in SEC)

Rushing offense: 205.0 yards per game (40th, 5th)

Passing offense: 226.0 yards per game (T-71st, T-11th)

Total offense: 431.0 yards per game (T-53rd, 8th)

Third down conversions: 76.92 percent (4th, 1st)

Red zone conversions: 100.0 percent (T-1st, T-1st)

DEFENSE

Scoring defense: 7.0 points per game (T-16th, T-1st)

Rushing defense: 78.0 yards per game (T-33rd, 4th)

Passing defense: 133.0 yards per game (26th, 5th)

Total defense: 211.0 yards per game (19th, 4th)

Opponent third down conversions: 37.5 percent (T-73rd, 11th)

Opponent red zone conversions: 50.0 percent (T-8th, T-1st)

MISCELLANEOUS

Penalties: 19.0 yards per game (T-8th, 2nd)

Opponent penalties: 84.0 yards per game (T-12th, 2nd)

Time of possession: 29:03.00 per game (81st, 6th)

Turnover margin: +2 (T-12th, T-2nd)

OTHER NOTEWORTHY STATS

– Everyone knows by now that Jalen Milroe earned the start at quarterback and shined against MTSU. He was responsible for five total touchdowns, which was tied for third-most in Alabama school history, and became the first Crimson Tide player to finish with three passing scores and two rushing touchdowns. Two of Milroe’s throws that ended in the end zone were 47 and 48 yards, and he is now tied for the SEC lead in long passing plays of 40-plus yards. He also averaged 10.8 yards per pass, which is good for second in the league.

– Alabama was 10-of-13 on third downs in its season-opening win Saturday and now leads the SEC, and is among the top five nationally, in third-down conversions (76.9 percent). That marks the best third-down percentage for the Tide offense since Week 3 of the 2020 season (85.7 at Ole Miss) – or better than any game during Bill O’Brien’s time at Alabama.

– The quarterback of Alabama’s defense also had a big night, as Deontae Lawson made start No. 5 of his career. Lawson finished second on the team in tackles behind freshman safety Caleb Downs, but the former led the Crimson Tide with two tackles for loss. His two stops behind the line of scrimmage are tied for fifth in the SEC – but just one off the lead.

– Alabama’s defense was able to force a couple of turnovers in the win over the Blue Raiders by way of a Jaylen Key interception and a Kendrick Blackshire fumble recovery and managed to take care of the ball on offense. That resulted in a +2 turnover margin, which doesn’t seem like much – although every team would like to be on the winning side of that metric each week – but the Tide didn’t have a single regular-season game last year with a turnover margin more than +1. In fact, only three times was UA on the positive side.

– Will Reichard was perfect on extra points once again, going 7-for-7 after the Tide’s first seven scoring drives. That’s par for the course for the veteran placekicker, though, who has now made 247 extra points in his UA career, but the seven points scored did inch him closer to the NCAA record of 530. Reichard entered Week 1 with 426 points, which was good for 31st place on the all-time list. He has now cracked the top 25, joining a four-way tie.

– Penalties were a major point of emphasis for Alabama this offseason after the Tide was near the bottom nationally a year ago (7.9 ppg, T-126th). But the time spent trying to cut down on miscues seemingly paid off as UA finished its season opener with only two accepted penalties for 19 yards. That marked the fewest flags in a game since the Tide only had one in a win over Southern Miss on Sept. 21, 2019. That’s a span of 50 games.

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