Jahmyr Gibbs Runs Wild Again When Alabama Offense Needed Him

Alabama running back posts second straight game of 100-plus yards to pace inconsistent offense in win against Texas A&M

Edwin Stanton | Oct 9, 2022

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- When you’ve got a quarterback making his first start, there’s obviously going to be some rough moments.

Alabama’s Jalen Milroe had plenty of those Saturday against Texas A&M. It was just an off night all around. Heck, even Will Reichard was a bit wild. he missed two field goals that could put the game away, and there wouldn’t have been the dramatic, last-second stand.

Milroe had some help, though. While Milroe struggled to find his comfort zone in the passing game, Jahmyr Gibbs was there to lead the offense in the 24-20 nailbiter victory.

Gibbs, coming off a career-best 206-yard game last week at Arkansas, stepped up with 154 rushing yards on 21 carries Saturday.

“We ran the ball well, which is what we had to do to win the game. He certainly was the leader of the pack,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said of Gibbs, who has 532 total rushing yards.

Gibbs, who had six runs of 10-plus yards, was the one constant for an offense that was wildly inconsistent. He’s been that way for Alabama all year. Whether it’s making big plays on the ground with his track-like speed or juking defenders after catching passes for big gains, Gibbs has been a rock for the Alabama offense.

With the way the game ended, Alabama needed him more than ever Saturday.

“He's a really good runner and stretches the play on the perimeter,” Saban said. “He's good at sticking his foot in the ground and making cuts and setting up blocks for the offensive line.”

He caught three receptions for just 13 yards, but is second on the team with 220 receiving yards. It might have been more.

“They called timeout when we were in an empty set, and he probably would have made a big play,” Saban said.

Still, good things happened when Gibbs got involved in the offense. In the first half, Gibbs put the Crimson Tide in scoring position with a 37-yard run. Milroe hit Jermaine Burton on a 35-yard touchdown pass the next play.

On the Crimson Tide’s first drive of the second half, Gibbs reeled off a 28-yard run on second-and-10 to put Alabama out near midfield. Alabama scored a touchdown three plays later.

He went to work again on Alabama’s next drive, ripping off runs of 11 and 12 yards to keep the sticks moving. A Jase McClellan fumble, the Crimson Tide’s third of the night, gave the ball back to the Aggies.

Gibbs took the first carry of Alabama’s next possession for a 13-yard run with about five minutes left in the third quarter, but left the field and went into the sideline medical tent for the rest of the series. He returned on the Tide’s following series and went for a 6-yard run on his first carry.

“We hope he can continue to improve and we can continue to improve as an offense and get guys like him to make more plays on offense,” Saban said.

Turnovers Prove Consequential in Alabama's Narrow Victory

Published Oct 9, 2022

EDWIN STANTON

Edwin Stanton has been a sports writer for more than 20 years, and has covered University of Alabama sports for 10 years.