The Extra Point: How Big of a Concern Is Alabama's Offensive Line?

The Crimson Tide offensive line struggled against Texas allowing two sacks and 12 pressures along with committing a healthy number of false start penalties.

It was a rollercoaster of a game for the Alabama football team this Saturday, but after a hard-fought battle in a raucous environment, the Crimson Tide were able to pull out a 20-19 victory over the Texas Longhorns.

While Alabama is certainly happy to have come away with the win, it was far from their best performance and there a lot of areas Nick Saban and his staff will want to see improvement in going forward.

One of the biggest areas of concern following Saturday's narrow victory is the Crimson Tide offensive line. The Alabama front struggled to protect Bryce Young allowing two sacks and 12 pressures with Young seemingly under constant fire from the Longhorn front seven.

The offensive line also struggled with the tough road environment, committing a number of pre-snap penalties which helped contribute to the 15 total penalties the Crimson Tide racked up for the game. That number of penalties was the most for an Alabama team coached under Nick Saban.

The Crimson Tide blockers did open a hole for Jase McClellan's 81-yard touchdown run, but the Alabama run game was only able to muster 80 more yards finishing with 161 yards total. After a disappointing rushing attack last season, there was hope to see big improvement this year but it has been a struggle to gain consistent yardage on the ground through two games. 

While there are some concerns, Alabama earned an important and impressive victory on the road and are still well-positioned for a spot in the College Football Playoff at the end of the season. However, in order to get there, the Crimson Tide offensive line will need to cut down on the penalties and see continued improvement in the running game and in their protection of Bryce Young. 

Check out the video at the top of the page where BamaCentral's Clay Miller and Katie Windham discuss Alabama's offensive line and their recent struggles.