Alabama’s offense is making the run game the headline this week.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb didn’t dance around the issue Monday when he met with reporters. The Crimson Tide, he said, need to be better on the ground, and they need it fixed now.
"I’ll give you guys the first line in the offensive staff meeting," Grubb said when asked about his point of emphasis for the week. "I said, 'No media line bull(crap), but we’ve got to focus more on the run game. And it’s got to get fixed.'"
That message carried over to Tuesday at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility, where Alabama players echoed the same theme after practice. Senior offensive lineman Racin Delgatty put it bluntly: "Pound the rock," Delgatty said of the message within the team.
"We’re running it. That’s what we do."
The numbers explain why this has become such a focus. Through nine games, Alabama has averaged 143.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks 12th in the SEC and 87th nationally. The Crimson Tide also sits 96th in the country with fewer than 34 carries per game and 74th with 4.26 yards per attempt.
With Vanderbilt coming to town Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CT on SEC Network, Alabama is looking for a cleaner performance on the ground.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer said one of the biggest factors is simply staying on the field longer.
"I think just in general staying on the football field so we can keep the run game going," DeBoer said. "The number of plays we’re running overall is limiting who gets touches, and obviously, that limits the number of run plays we can have."
That point showed up in Alabama’s most recent win over LSU on Saturday. The Crimson Tide averaged 4.6 plays per offensive possession, not counting the final drives of each half, while LSU averaged 8.4 plays per drive. Alabama also played without sophomore AK Dear and freshman EJ Crowell, who were both cleared to play Saturday morning but did not see the field.
Even so, the Tide still found a way to score 31 points in Tiger Stadium despite averaging just 2.7 yards per rush. The passing game has been explosive enough to carry plenty of weight, but Alabama knows it can’t lean on that alone.
Delgatty said the run game and pass game are tied together.
"Yeah," Delgatty said when asked if Grubb is emphasizing it to the team. "Always. We run the ball, that opens up the pass game."
Now Alabama gets a chance to make real progress in that area. Vanderbilt comes in with the SEC’s 13th-ranked rushing defense, allowing 137.8 ground yards per game. Five of the Commodores’ six SEC opponents have averaged more than four yards per carry against them.
For Alabama, that makes Saturday look like a clear opportunity to get the ground game moving in the right direction.
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