Alabama Football Looks Back at Turning Point for Defense in 2021

Multiple Alabama players and defensive coordinator Pete Golding all pointed to the same game as what caused the Crimson Tide defense to turn its season around.

DALLAS — On the morning of Oct. 9, 2021, things couldn't have been better for Alabama football. With a 5-0 record heading into College Station to face the Texas A&M Aggies, the Crimson Tide was the top-ranked team in the country and a heavy favorite to make it to the College Football Playoff.

Then, in a matter of hours that same night, it all came crashing down.

Against the Aggies, the Crimson Tide defense struggled. In total, Texas A&M passed for 285 yards and rushed for 94 more. A last-second field goal propelled the Aggies past the Crimson Tide in a big upset, and handed Nick Saban his first loss against a former assistant in Jimbo Fisher.

Needless to say, it was an unhappy time for Alabama football. However, the loss sparked change.

On Monday, Alabama football conducted its first practice in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl, the Crimson Tide's semifinal game in the College Football Playoff. A lot has happened since Oct. 9, and its defense still points back to the loss against Texas A&M as the change in direction for Alabama's defense.

Speaking to the media via Zoom, Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Pete Golding was the first member of the Alabama program to look back at the Texas A&M game as the primary motivating factor for the shift in defense.

“You know, I mean, obviously I thought early in the year, I thought we were locked in, focused, played pretty well early,” Golding said. “Then went through a little stretch there obviously the A&M game didn't execute. Versus a very good football team that exploited some things, I thought that was kind of an eye opener for us to kind of go back to our preparation and making sure we're doing the right things in practice and instilling those habits that we need on Saturday.

"So I don't think it was a certain play. I think if it was a game, it was the A&M game. Obviously there's still certain times after the A&M game that we haven't played as well as we should have. But I think as preparation throughout the week and getting guys locked in and communicate and be on the same page for those guys go to play fast and play well.”

Since the game against the Aggies, the Crimson Tide has gone 7-0 including a 41-24 victory over then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. In the Iron Bowl, the Crimson Tide held the Auburn Tigers to just 159 total offensive yards through four overtime periods.

In short, while the defense struggled early, the unit performed considerably better after giving up 41 points to the Aggies.

“I feel like the turning point for everybody in this whole entire team was when we lost versus Texas A&M,” Alabama linebacker Henry To’oTo’o said. “We kinda just molded and came together as a team and it’s a feeling that you never want to feel again. Being able to take a loss — taking it to the chin — is something that we never, ever want to feel again as a team.

"So we kinda came together as a team to be able to do what we have to do to be in the position that we are now.”

After finishing the regular season with a 12-1 record, Alabama now sets its eyes on the Cotton Bowl and its matchup against No. 4 Cincinnati. While the Bearcats play in the American Athletic Conference, the team has compiled a 13-0 record and is the only undefeated team in this year's CFP. With a solid offense and an impressive quarterback in Desmond Ridder, the Crimson Tide will certainly have its work cut out for it.

That being said, if Alabama's defense is able to maintain the same momentum that it had in the final stretch of the season, the Crimson Tide defenders are confident that their team will be the one advancing to the CFP National Championship Game.

“I feel like Texas A&M was a turning point,” Crimson Tide defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis said. “It showed a lot of guys how it feels to lose and how it feels to be down. So we got that experience early so we know how it feels to be down and out: the world’s against you, so you don’t want to feel like that no more. We just took that as motivation and tried to get better every week.

"We still had battles that we had to fight, but we overcame and we stuck together as a family and got through a lot of things. I think that’s what makes this team so strong; that we fight together no matter what.”