Five questions heading into Alabama vs. Colorado State
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Playing in its final tune-up before SEC play cranks up next week, No. 1 Alabama (2-0) will host Colorado State (2-1) Saturday at 6 p.m. CT. Last week, the Crimson Tide was able to show some improvements on offense in a 41-10 victory over Fresno State. However, the game still revealed some areas where Alabama needs work.
Colorado State should offer a better test than Fresno State. The Rams come into Bryant-Denny Stadium after beating FCS opponent Abilene Christian 38-10 last week. Colorado State also beat Pac-12 opponent Oregon State 58-27 in its season opener. Led by a dangerous passing attack, Colorado State is ranked No. 22 in the nation in total offense, averaging 509 yards per game.
Here are five questions to consider heading into the rest of the week:
Will Alabama develop more of a downfield passing game?
A career-best rushing performance from starting quarterback Jalen Hurts last week did little to quell the fears of an Alabama fan base paranoid over potential roadblocks. Hurts rushed for a team-high 154 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries against Fresno State. He also completed 14 of his 18 passes for 128 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
So what’s the concern surrounding the sophomore quarterback?
Those looking for a negative on Hurts’ performance will point to the fact that only two of his completions traveled 10 or more yards in the air before reaching a receiver. Alabama set up several screen passes and quick routes early on. Hurts’ longest pass came when he hit a wide-open Hale Hentges for a 23-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
According to head coach Nick Saban, the Tide’s conservative play calling has more to do with the circumstances surrounding the game than it does his quarterback’s ability as a passer. Saban said Alabama had plays drawn up to attack Fresno State deep last week but was unable to execute them due to problems in pass protection.
“There's certain things that we need to improve on as a team in the passing game, and that's something that we'll work hard on,” Saban said. “The things that we did in the short, quick passes are things that complement our running game and complement what we do on offense, and I think it makes our offense more effective when we can do these things. They're things that hopefully we'll be able to continue to do successfully in the future."
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