Alabama’s first three games have produced a statistical split that’s hard to miss: the Tide are getting more out of the run game, but far less through the air than they were at this point a year ago.
That’s the broad picture through Florida State, Kentucky and East Carolina, with Alabama sitting in the middle of the national strength-of-schedule conversation so far at 51st-hardest, according to ESPN. Early-season numbers always come with some wobble - especially when teams have faced different levels of competition - but there are still some clear trends worth watching as the sample grows.
Start with the ground game, where Alabama has taken a noticeable step forward in several areas. The Tide’s rushers have avoided 31 tackles on 125 carries, according to Pro Football Focus, more than double last season’s total of 14 avoided tackles on 87 rushes through three games.
Kalen DeBoer said Wednesday night that the team’s internal tracking has also shown improvement there. Alabama is tied for 29th nationally in avoided tackles after ranking 115th through the same point last season.
The backs are also creating more chunk plays. Alabama has eight runs of 15 yards or more, tied for 18th in the country and four times the number from the first three games of 2025, when the Tide had only two such runs and ranked 111th nationally.
On normal first- and second-down carries - not goal-to-go situations - Alabama backs are averaging 5.6 yards per carry, good for 59th nationally. That’s better than last season’s 4.4-yard mark, which ranked 109th.
The overall rushing average is up too. Alabama backs are at 5.3 yards per carry, ranking 60th, compared with 4.9 through three games last year, when the Tide sat 87th.
And the rushing touchdowns have piled up: Alabama has 11 already, tied for fourth-most in the nation. At this stage last season, the Tide had four, which was tied for 80th.
Alabama had 13 rushing touchdowns in its first three games in 2024.
There is one wrinkle in the run game, though. Alabama backs have been stopped for negative or zero yards 14 times, tied for 27th-most in the country and twice last year’s total through three games.
Last season, Alabama had only seven such plays, tied for seventh-fewest nationally. This year, the distribution has been spread around, with Daniel Hill, EJ Crowell and Trae'shawn Brown each having at least three.
The first-half and second-half splits tell their own story. Alabama backs are averaging just 3.4 yards per carry in the first half, which ranks 123rd nationally, but 6.6 yards per carry in the second half, which ranks 31st. Through three games last season, those numbers were 4.0 in the first half and 6.0 in the second.
Keelon Russell’s numbers show a different kind of contrast. He has been sacked or run for negative or zero yards eight times, not counting kneel-downs, which is 51st-most in the nation. That’s close to where Ty Simpson stood last season, when he had seven such plays through three games.
Russell has also been a more active runner than Simpson was. He has seven carries of 10 or more yards, tied for 23rd-most among quarterbacks in the country.
Simpson had one such run through three games last season. Two years ago, Jalen Milroe had 11 runs of 10-plus yards through the first three games, including five touchdowns.
The passing game, though, is where Alabama’s early-season profile looks most unusual. The Tide have only four passing touchdowns, tied for 81st nationally and the fewest through three games for Alabama since 2011.
Last season, Alabama had 13 passing touchdowns through three games, second-most in the country. Two years ago, the Tide had eight.
Russell’s efficiency number reflects that quieter passing start. His 157.1 passing efficiency rating ranks 43rd among quarterbacks with at least 15 pass attempts per game, and it’s the lowest for an Alabama starting quarterback through three games since Jalen Hurts in 2016, when Hurts was at 136.5. By comparison, Simpson was eighth nationally through three games last season at 186.6, and Milroe was third in the country through the first three games of 2024 at 213.4.
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