The Alabama Crimson Tide started the season off strong against the Utah State Aggies on Saturday, September 3, 2022, with score of 0-55. Did we really expect anything less? No. However, there were a few things that stood out in the Alabama game that should make us excited for the season. Nick Saban was pretty satisfied as well. I’m not saying that this was a riveting game that had us looking past our classic Velveeta/Rotel dip, but it was a chill, blowout of a game that set the tone for the season.
1. Explosive Defense
It is no shock that Alabama’s defense is ridiculous. We’ve been talking about this for a while, but the game on Saturday just solidified it. It’s been talked up for a reason. Jaylen Moody had six tackles and Will Anderson Jr. had five.
https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1566219491838754816?s=20&t=-kOU8cUEBRyikeytgcmfOg
2. Bryce Young…
Young is exactly who he is cracked up to be. This was no surprise. He played well and confirmed that he is worth the hype. Additionally, he seemed to make choices that were best for the team. Young’s optimism was put on full display, as he wasn’t afraid to pass the ball to a variety of players. There were touchdown passes to Jermaine Burton and Traeshon Holden, as well as handoffs to Jahmyr Gibbs.
https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1566242080862633985?s=20&t=wFBbsJSCHh59gyCCYrhOdA
3. Wide Receiver
Tyler Harrell may have been in a walking boot, but the performance that produced 27 catches from eleven different players was still comforting. Kobe Prentice had five receptions in six targets. Traeshon Holden had and impressive five catches in seven targets and two touchdowns.
4. Cornerbacks
There are four of them that could fairly be rotated. Eli Ricks, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Kyree Jackson, and Terrion Arnold, all proved themselves as talented cornerbacks. Therefore, we need not be concerned with the cornerback situation. This wasn’t necessarily a nail-biter anyway, but the confirmation was impressive.
5. Bill O’Brien Showed Out
O’Brien really shook it up for this opener. Running backs were in motion as wide receivers, as well as some four and five-wide receiver sets. This experimentation paid off though, as made obvious by the score. There has been some speculation about the likelihood of this being O’Brien’s last season with the Tide, but we will have to see.
To wrap this up, this Alabama game was exactly what we predicted. It was a game that allowed for experimentation that could prove itself useful in the upcoming games.