In a year defined by oddities and setbacks, Alabama continued to roll on. COVID-19 couldn’t slow down the Crimson Tide and neither could any of its conference opponents as Alabama became the first team in history to complete an undefeated 10-game SEC slate.
The Tide capped off its perfect regular season with a thorough 52-3 win over Arkansas on Saturday. Now that we’ve had enough time to process the victory let’s break down what went right and what went wrong. Welcome back to Monday Morning Quarterback where we revisit key sequences, evaluate players and analyze trends in Alabama’s performance.
GOOD: Alabama’s pass rush
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman is well-versed in Nick Saban’s pass rush. Pittman went up against the Tide on two occasions during his time as Georgia’s offensive line coach from 2016-18. Alabama sacked Georgia four times during its national championship victory in 2018 and two more times during the SEC Championship Game later that year.
That was nothing compared to the eight times the Tide brought down Arkansas quarterbacks Saturday afternoon.
“It looked pretty overwhelming to me,” Pittman said of the Crimson Tide’s pass rush. “They got eight sacks, so we were having trouble with the line games. They were running back behind the center. We were having trouble picking them up. I’ve had trouble picking them up when I was at Georgia with arguably the best line in college football.”
True freshman outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. recorded his second straight multi-sack game, getting to the quarterback twice on the day. Redshirt sophomore Christian Barmore also recorded a pair of sacks, marking his third straight game with at least one sack.
"We just prepared all week," defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis said. "It's the same thing every week. Whatever our coaches call, we gotta go out there and dominate the call. It helped us a lot, getting to the quarterback. We got control and also in the rushing lanes. We did a very good job."
Alabama’s eight sacks topped its previous season-high of five which it set the week before against LSU. The Tide now ranks second in the SEC with 27 sacks through 10 games.
BAD: The Tide’s start on offense
DeVonta Smith’s 84-yard punt return for a touchdown seemed to spark Alabama as the Tide scored touchdowns on its following five possessions. Before that, Alabama’s offense still seemed to be wiping the sleep from its eyes following an 11 a.m. kickoff.
