Alabama Upholds Standard in Blowout Win over Mercer

The Crimson Tide maintained its intensity and focus even when facing a lesser opponent.

Nov 16, 2024; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Jihaad Campbell (11) sacks Mercer quarterback Whitt Newbauer (8) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama was favored by six touchdowns and outmatched Mercer at every position. The Crimson Tide should have won Saturday's game by 40+ points, and it did with the 52-7 victory over the Bears. But performing well for four quarters in a game like this isn't always the norm.

A matchup against an FCS opponent this late in the season with an early kickoff can be a barometer for how locked in a team is. After a big road win at LSU, it wouldn't have been surprising if Alabama came out sluggish and slow against the Bears. Instead, the offense and defense were clicking from the opening possession, and that all started in practice throughout the week.

"Guys worked hard all week long," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said after the game. "I thought they really had a good demeanor about them, working on themselves individually. Wanting to build on what we did a week ago."

Mercer only had one loss on the season coming into Saturday's game and is highly respected at the FCS level, but the differences between FBS and FCS are massive. For example, the Bears' starting offensive line average weight was less than 300 pounds, and Alabama only has one starter on the OL (center Parker Brailsford) under 300 pounds.

Alabama winning the game did absolutely nothing for the Crimson Tide's College Football Playoff resume, and Mercer winning would have been one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history, but that didn't mean Alabama could or should let up if it wants to finish the season strong.

“We just preached the Bama Standard," Alabama defensive back Domani Jackson said. "No matter who we play, the logo across the field or what not, we’re still going to play Bama football.”

Junior linebacker Jihaad Campbell spoke to the team during Wednesday's practice, and wants his teammates to be playing to the same standard and intensity level no matter who the Crimson Tide is facing each week.

"We’re deep into the season and just understanding how crucial and how important it is to win— every single play, every single down," Campbell said. "It doesn’t matter what we’re doing, we gotta win. And that has to be the mentality, the mindset going into everything we do.”

The defense continues to show the bend-don't-break mentality as the Swarm D forced at least three turnovers for the fifth straight game. The defense now has 24 turnovers on the season, which is top five in the country.

Campbell said Alabama made sure that this week wasn't treated casually or like a bye week, and it showed on the field on Saturday with the defense swarming to the ball and making plays. The Crimson Tide defense only allowed 202 total yards, the second-lowest total of the season.

"As we get to the latter half of the season, we’ve really honed in on more and more leaders stepping up," DeBoer said. "Take care of yourself, own what you do, take care of that, and then bring someone else with you. And the intensity in practice—it’s not like guys are flying off the walls and things like that, but there’s a focus that they bring. And there’s just a business-like approach where they know they got to do this, eat right, sleep right, do all those things off the field. Take care of their business there, and it leads to the success that they had. When they do those things right, and they invest, that’s investing in improving yourself and improving our team. And that’s what I thought they did."

A theme throughout the week's media availability was leadership and that was evident on Saturday. Starting with Que Robinson, who's out for the season with an injury, still supporting and coaching his position group up during pregame warmups through the final whistle when some of the starters were cheering on the walk-ons who got into the game.

The offense missed a few deep shots, but Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe continued his strong play with three more total touchdowns and over 200 yards of offense before being shut down to bring in the backups early in the second half. Alabama had 500+ yards of total offense for the third time this season.

Because Alabama was able to build up such a large lead, the game served a bonus purpose. DeBoer and the rest of the coaching staff were able to give some of the backups real game experience and rest the majority of the starters after the opening possession of the second half for both sides of the ball. As the last few weeks have proven for the Crimson Tide, season-ending injuries can happen at anytime, and it always pays off to get young guys playing time when possible.

Five different Crimson Tide quarterbacks got in the game, and Washington transfer Austin Mack threw his first career touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Rico Scott. Eleven players recored at least one rushing attempt. DeBoer emptied the bench over the final minutes of the game. It provided some of the backups quality reps and some of the walk-ons a reward for all the hard work they put int the program that often goes unnoticed.

"Downstairs there’s some of the upperclassmen talking about how much they appreciate the young guys and how happy we were that some of those got to go out there," DeBoer said. "They’re giving scout team looks all week long, all season long. For them to get out there and have a little success was great. And the whole team’s happy for them."

Starting with the second half of the Georgia game, the middle of Alabama's season was an emotional roller coaster with varying performances and subsequently resutls from week-to-week. When the offense was playing well, the defense wouldn't be. When the defense was hitting on all cylinders, the offense struggled. Alabama couldn't put together a complete game on both sides of the ball.

Don't look now, but the Crimson Tide has put together three straight pretty complete performances in a 34-0 win over Missouri, 42-13 road victory at LSU and Saturday's 52-7 win against Mercer with two games remaining on the schedule.

If the mentality displayed over the few weeks stays the same over the next few weeks, the Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-2 SEC) team that once looked lost and dismayed can make a run to compete for a national championship.

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