Alabama Third-Down Defense Still Problematic Despite Statistical Evidence

The Crimson Tide held the Gamecocks under 50-percent on third down, but one second half drive showed the problem still persists for Kane Wommack's unit.

Oct 12, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Malachi Moore (13), lineman LT Overton (22), and defensive back Jaylen Mbakwe (9) react to recovering a fumble by the South Carolina Gamecocks during the fourth quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images / Will McLelland-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide stumbled its way into a 27-25 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday to wash last week's taste of defeat from its mouth and get its season back on track.

The Alabama faithful still had plenty to gripe about on Saturday despite winning, staying unbeaten at home and moving to 2-1 in the SEC. The Crimson Tide defense, coming off one of its worst performances at Vanderbilt last week, allowed the Gamecocks to gain 374 yards on 71 plays on 31 minutes of possession.

The defense's inability to get off the field on third down was a glaring issue as the Gamecocks converted five third downs on a single drive to open the second half and took a 19-14 lead.

"What were we? 7 for 15? 5I think they had five on one drive, right?" Alabama head coach Kalen Deboer said. "Four or five, something like that. I never talked about it on the sideline. So, the rest of the half, two, right? Two for the rest of the game, two for 10, is that right?

"I'm just doing rough math. We can’t have five on a drive, and I think it comes down to that desire to find a way to make the play. I’ll watch the film, and we’ll understand what happened on a lot of those. They were in some good situations. I remember the ball they caught over the middle was advantageous for us in terms of down and distance.

"That’s where you really have to get off the field, and those are hard to convert from the offensive side—but they did. A lot of the game, I felt like we were doing a solid job. Can’t say it was great, but that drive coming out in the second half set the tone and made it tough for us the rest of the game."

The Crimson Tide entered Saturday's contest with the ninth-best third-down defense in the nation, allowing just 23 conversions on 82 attempts in the last five games, or 28-percent.

Alabama allowed the Vanderbilt Commodores to convert 12 of 18 last week, or 66-percent, and gave up five fourth-down conversions to the Georgia Bulldogs the week prior, skewing the perception that the Tide has struggled to get off the field the entire season.

The Crimson Tide stopped South Carolina on its first five third down attempts in the first half, but allowed the Gamecocks to convert 7 of its 10 tries in the second half, including five in a row to open the second half.

Alabama's effort on Saturday won't see the team fall out of the top 20 on third down defense as the Crimson Tide has now allowed teams to convert 30 of 97 for the year, but the fall out of the top 10 statistically and a near loss to South Carolina should send a wake up call to reemphasize fundamentals and aggression on third down.

"Really, it doesn't take energy," Alabama defensive lineman Tim Smith said. "Like I said, it's the same thing, we can't control how we get on the field. We can control how we get off the field. Being in some of those situations, we would have loved to get off the field. It's just making sure we understand our assignment, our job, what we've got to do and execute it."

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