Alabama's Defense Plays a Game of Inches Against The Run

Will the Crimson Tide run defense improve with more experience in the system?

Sep 14, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Tawee Walker (3) is tackled by Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Tim Keenan III (96) during the second quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide welcomes a new challenge to Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday as the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs come to Tuscaloosa for the biggest game of the weekend across college football.

The Crimson Tide enters Saturday's contest with confidence after navigating its first three opponents without blemish. The Alabama defense only allowed 26 points to three opponents and currently sits No. 13 nationally in yards allowed per game. Despite the early season success the Crimson Tide defense still has room for growth, particularly when stopping the run.

Alabama's allowed 42, 206 and 149 yards on the ground to Western Kentucky, South Florida and Wisconsin, schools that are 118th, 25th and 59th in rushing offense. Georgia enters Saturday 84th in the nation in rushing, gaining 145 yards per game and scoring four rushing touchdowns against Clemson, Tennessee Tech and Kentucky.

The Crimson Tide currently sits 68th in rushing defense allowing 132 yards per game but only allowing one rushing touchdown. Alabama's biggest problem so far? Quarterback run. The Crimson Tide has allowed 36 rushes this season of five or more yards with 13 of them coming from a quarterback.

What's been keeping Alabama from excelling against the run?

"I think you can’t point to any one specific thing, there’s a number of things as you’re building a new defense, and guys getting comfortable, particularly in the run fit," Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. "From stopping the run, we’re talking about a game of inches, right? Hand placements, techniques, alignments and then making sure you have proper leverages across the board. So there’s little details that fundamentally we need to improve on to get ourselves better.

"Certainly from a schematic standpoint, I think some of the pressures we’ve been running, we have not been as efficient or effective enough to knock out the run. Those are bullets that sometimes I use in the run game and when I use those bullets we need to be able to efficiently execute those things and we have not done it to the level that I think we’re capable of. Some of that is the growing pains of a new defense, but certainly, we need to have an urgency to take steps forward across the board, and I think we maximized the bye week. But those things have got to show up as we navigate into SEC play."

Georgia's Carson Beck isn't known as a runner but he is a capable athlete, averaging five yards per carry on 11 attempts this season. The Bulldogs will likely, instead, borrow from Wisconsin's game plan as the Badgers saw four different backs combine for 155 yards, utilizing 14 different runs that went for five or more yards. Georgia deploys Florida transfer Trevor Etienne, along with Branson Robinson and Nate Frazier as a committee. The group combined for 56 carries and 309 yards and three touchdowns with Etienne missing the season opener to suspension.

Alabama's veteran leaders know that slowing down the run is crucial, but learning the ins and out of a new defensive scheme takes time.

"Yeah, I think reps, just getting the reps at practice, just being disciplined and doing your job and just being on the same page," Deontae Lawson said. "I feel like the fits are getting better but we've still got a long way to go if we want to be the defense we want to be."

The Alabama defense has 13 days in between its matchup against Wisconsin and Georgia to assess the first three weeks of play and clean up the mistakes. If any "i" wasn't dotted or "t" crossed off the Bulldogs will expose problems quickly, making Saturday a challenge and an opportunity to see how far they've come.

"I feel like we did a pretty good job [against the run]," Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan said. "Of course, there's always room for improvement but getting better with each game, this game being game four but it's a big challenge so we'll see what we're made of."