What Changed on Third Downs for Alabama Offense

The Crimson Tide combined to go 5 for 23 on third downs in the previous two games leading up to LSU before converting 77 percent of third downs against the Tigers.

Alabama Wide Receiver Kendrick Law (1) runs the ball against LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA on Saturday, Nov 9, 2024. / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—  All Kalen DeBoer could do was laugh about it after the game. Before Alabama could even run one play against LSU, the Crimson Tide offense was called for a pre-snap penalty, which briefly sent flashes of nightmares from Neyland Stadium running through DeBoer's mind. It appeared that Alabama would be facing another third-and-long on the opening drive of a road game in front of a loud and hostile crowd.

Fortunately for DeBoer, the Crimson Tide offense bounced back from the early mistake and converted on the next play and went on to score a touchdown on the opening drive, which set the tone for the night. Alabama rolled to a 42-13 victory over LSU and only had one other pre-snap penalty on offense in the entire game.

Alabama had lost its two previous SEC road matchups and a big issue, especially in the loss at Tennessee, was offensive production on third down. The Crimson Tide was just 3-of-14 on third downs against the Volunteers. In the last game before the bye against Missouri, Alabama converted just two of nine third-down attempts. Nick Sheridan's offense flipped the script on Saturday against LSU going 10-of-13 on third down after it had been a point of emphasis in the two weeks leading up to the game.

"We did not execute well in the previous two games on third down," Sheridan said. "It was not a surprise. That was no secret. So we certainly looked at it closely over the break, what we were doing, what LSU was going to present to us in those situations to try to be better, and we were. So that was certainly a critical point in the game or a critical factor in the game was our ability to stay on the field and execute on third down.”

Alabama didn't convert a third down after the first quarter against Tennessee and didn't convert any until the fourth quarter against Missouri. So what changed for the Alabama offense that led to the conversion rate jumping from 21 percent one road game to 77 percent the next?

The biggest factor was simply avoiding third-and-long situations. Alabama's first third down of the game against Tennessee was a third-and-20 after a false start and two negative plays. The average yardage to go on third down against Tennessee was 9.3 yards. Against LSU, the Crimson Tide didn't face a single third-down attempt of more than nine yards.

Fewer yards to go on third down obviously makes it easier for the offense to pick up a first down, but staying out of third-and-longs also helps keep the offensive line, like left tackle Kadyn Proctor, out of challenging pass rush situations.

"It’s hard, especially in the SEC versus fast guys on the edge and the different fronts they show on third-and-long," Proctor explained. "It’s really hard to pick that up as us five [the offensive line] being one. Staying out of those is definitely great. Obviously, we want to run the ball, get first downs and stay out of those situations because those are definitely the toughest to go against.”

Alabama was also more disciplined with just two pre-snap penalties on offense compared to four in the first-half alone against Tennessee. This kept the offense from having to start series behind the chains and opened up the playcalling options for Sheridan.

It helped that Alabama faced shorter yardage to go on third downs, but it also simply came down to execution. Seven times in the Tennessee loss, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe threw an incomplete pass on third down and took two sacks. Against LSU, Milroe was 3 of 4 on third downs for 27 yards, including a critical third-down conversion on the opening possession of the game.

Alabama had talked all week about starting fast against LSU, and after the penalty on first down, it looked like the Crimson Tide might go three-and-out on its opening possession once again. Instead, Milroe connected with Ryan Williams for a first down on second-and-14. Two plays later, Alabama was facing a third-and-9 and its own 41. Milroe found Kendrick Law on a screen pass behind the line, and Law handled the rest for 10 yards and the first down.

"There’s plays that you’re making, and I believe a completion on third down, I think about how big those are," DeBoer said after the game. "Those plays that you forget about because it wasn’t the touchdown, but those conversions right there are the ones that extend the drive and allows you to keep stacking plays. And understand what you’re seeing and verifying that it’s what you really were preparing for and feel really good about the plan."

It wasn't Milroe's arm that kept Alabama out of most of the third-and-long situations though, but his legs. For the second straight year, Milroe could not be stopped by the LSU defense, rushing for four touchdowns and a career-high 185 yards. Because Alabama was able to have success on the ground, it kept the offense out of obvious passing situations.

"I think we were efficient running the football and that kept us out of some situations that allowed them to rush," Sheridan said. "And I certainly felt like up front, the guys did a great job, both in the run game and the protection. There was certainly time for Jalen (Milroe) back there to go through reads. And I thought Jalen was very decisive in the pocket as well. He threw the ball into some checkdowns, he got the ball out of his hand. I thought the staff did a nice job, collectively, of putting together some plays that allowed him to do that, and certainly the players deserve credit for bringing that to life.

"So I think it was a combination of things. Trying to stay on some of those situations. I know I had mentioned that early in the week, about being efficient on first and second down, trying to stay out of some really tough spots where there’s really no guesswork on if it’s a run or a pass, and so we certainly handled that well, and having no sacks in that environment, the credit belongs to the players for their execution in those moments.”

Overall, the Crimson Tide put together its most complete performance of the season at LSU. When the offense is clicking at its best, Alabama is able to avoid long yardage situations on third down and stay on the field to continue drives.

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