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It’s been an interesting few months, but No. 1 Alabama now finds itself in the final regular-season game of its pandemic-shortened season. Outside of a few unexpected twists and turns, it’s been relatively smooth sailing for the Crimson Tide which sits at 9-0 with the SEC West already locked up heading into Saturday’s 11 a.m. CT kickoff at Arkansas (3-6).
Alabama is currently a 31-point favorite over Arkansas. The Razorbacks are coming off a heartbreaking 50-48 defeat to Missouri last week, their third loss of 3 points or fewer this season.
Here are five questions to consider leading up to the matchup.
Does Alabama have a championship-caliber defense?
College football has turned a new page. Gone are the days when elite defenses held opponents to single-digit scores.
Nick Saban still remembers when his team held opponents to a mere 8.2 points per game in 2011. Nine years later, the head coach still has the SEC’s best scoring defense, albeit one that gives up an average of 18.3 points.
This year’s Alabama defense doesn’t quite match up to the Tide’s previous championship-winning units. The highest average of points allowed by a title-winning team under Saban came in 2015 when the Tide gave up 15.1 points per game. Other than that, Alabama’s recent champions have all held their opponents to fewer than 12 points.
2009 — 11.7 ppg
2011 — 8.2 ppg
2012 — 10.9 ppg
2015 — 15.1 ppg
2017 — 11.9 ppg
However, times are different now. Alabama’s offense is averaging 49.2 points per game, more than 10 points higher than any of its previous championship sides. It’s also worth noting that the Tide’s defense is still well above average compared to teams across the nation.
Alabama’s 18.3 points allowed per game ranks 15th in the nation. It ranks 35th in total defense (357 yards per game), 21st in run defense (116.67 ypg) and 73rd in pass defense (240.3 ypg). It’s not the typical dominance Tide fans are used to, but Alabama finds itself in the top five in the SEC for each of those categories.
The only question that truly matters is if this defense is good enough to win a title. In recent weeks, that answer has been a resounding yes.
Alabama has held its last five opponents to 17 points or fewer, allowing just five touchdowns over that span. Meanwhile, its offense has scored 40 or more points in its last nine games.
This week, the Tide faces an Arkansas team that ranks middle of the road in the SEC averaging 28.22 points per game. There will be bigger tests than that as Alabama enters the postseason. However, the Tide appears to have what it takes to get by.
Is this Alabama’s best OL?
Mac Jones is going to have to get creative. Generally, when an Alabama quarterback has this much success, he gives back by treating his offensive line to dinner. Although, in the midst of a pandemic, that’s not possible this year.
“I’ll have to come up with something to give them or something like that," Jones said. "Right now we can’t go out to eat. We went out to eat in the past, but with COVID it’s kind of hard to get together, but we’ll figure something out.”
