Alabama’s first real road test of the season arrives Saturday in Lexington, and the trip to Kentucky should tell a lot more about the Crimson Tide’s rebuilt ground game than last weekend’s opener did.
No. 12 Alabama opened with a convincing 48-10 win over East Carolina, and the biggest headline was the way the Tide ran the ball.
Alabama piled up 227 rushing yards and five touchdowns, topping its production in any game against an FBS opponent last season. For a program that spent the offseason trying to fix one of the nation’s worst rushing attacks, that was a strong start.
The numbers were spread around, too. Dual-threat quarterback Keelon Russell led the team with 86 rushing yards, Daniel Hill scored twice on the ground, and five-star freshman EJ Crowell found the end zone in his debut. All of that came while Alabama was breaking in five new starters on the offensive line.
Kalen DeBoer said the effort met the standard he wanted, but he still sees room to climb.
"In the run game, there was consistency. You just want to keep raising a level," Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. "I thought our backs ran hard down in the red zone there, with both Daniel (Hill) and our other backs finding ways to get in the end zone."
The defense did its part, too. Alabama smothered East Carolina, allowing just 2 rushing yards and no third-down conversions on nine tries.
Kentucky, meanwhile, brings a different challenge than the one Alabama saw in Week 1. The Wildcats have shifted gears under Will Stein, the former Oregon offensive coordinator now trying to inject life into an offense that has been stuck in neutral for years. After 13 seasons under Mark Stoops, Kentucky hired Stein to modernize the attack, and the early returns in a 45-13 win over Youngstown State were encouraging.
The Wildcats ran for 205 yards in that opener, and Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey delivered a big debut of his own, throwing for 301 yards and four touchdowns in his first career start.
Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack made it clear that Stein’s offense is built to stress a defense in a lot of different ways.
"I think Will Stein is a fantastic football coach. He's got great energy, from what it seems, to his team," Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said.
"They're creative in the way they get the ball to their playmakers, and I think they do a really good job of a lot of formations and motions and shifts and things we would call 'eye candy' that they give people. ... They present a number of challenges for us."
Stein is also asking the Kentucky crowd to turn this into a scene. He made that point plainly as the Wildcats chase a signature win early in his tenure.
"We have to make this the loudest game in the history of Kentucky football. That's my goal for our fans, the loudest it has ever been, and we need them to be at their best," Stein said.
"I want people's voices hoarse when they leave here, alright? They've got to take off work on Monday because they can't talk; that's how loud I want this place to be."
History, though, is working heavily against Kentucky. The Wildcats are 2-39-1 all-time against Alabama and have dropped the last eight meetings.
Still, there’s at least one wrinkle that could matter in Lexington: Alabama has gone 6-5 in true road games through DeBoer’s first two seasons.
In Other News...
LSUs SEC Fight Could Shift The Balance Alabama Lives With
The SECs legal fight with LSU has taken another turn, and it is the kind of conference business that rarely stays contained to one school. The league has amended its federal court lawsuit and is preparing to meet about possible punishment tied to LSUs institutional control and the football program, a dispute that puts the conferences authority and its willingness to enforce it back in the spotlight.
For Alabama, any league-wide shakeup involving LSU matters because it can alter the balance of a conference the Crimson Tide lives in every week. The SEC has also alleged that LSUs executive officers do not have meaningful control over coach Lane Kiffin and the football program, and the most extreme option on the table would require a two-thirds vote to terminate LSUs membership. Whether it gets anywhere near that point is still the unresolved part, but the fact it is being discussed says plenty about how serious the conflict has become. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Faces An Early SEC Test It Can't Afford To Sleepwalk Through
Alabama got through its Week 1 tune-up against East Carolina, but the rhythm of the season changes fast now that SEC play arrives. The Crimson Tides first conference test comes against Kentucky, a team that brings a different look than the usual early-September opponent and one that has already spent the offseason reshaping itself on the sideline and at quarterback.
Will Stein is in place as the Wildcats new head coach, and Kentucky also added a transfer quarterback who was impressive in the opener. That combination is enough to make this more than a routine league game for Alabama, which cannot afford to treat it like a soft landing after the nonconference schedule. The Tide will need to be sharp from the start if they want to avoid turning an early SEC roadblock into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Just Sent A Confusing Early Message In The Polls
The first full college football polls of the regular season offered an early read on where the sports powers stand, and Alabama got a mixed one. Ohio State stayed No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches polls, LSU surged to No. 8 after a convincing win over Clemson, and Michigans split showing in the rankings underscored how quickly the first month can reshape a rsum.
For Alabama, the picture was less clean. The Crimson Tide climbed to No. 12 in the AP poll after handling East Carolina, but the Coaches poll told a different story by placing them one spot lower. It is still early, of course, but the discrepancy is the kind of small signal that tends to matter in September, especially for a program used to being evaluated with very little margin for error. [Read more 🡒]