What we learned: Anderson leads Alabama's rejuvenated pass rush

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Halloween isn’t for another two weeks, but Will Anderson Jr. is the scariest thing Will Rogers will see this month. The Alabama edge rusher tormented the Mississippi State quarterback on Saturday night, sacking him four times during the Crimson Tide’s 49-9 victory.

Anderson is the first Alabama player to record four sacks in a game since Derrick Thomas recorded a school-record five against Texas A&M in 1988. Anderson also recorded four sacks against Kentucky earlier that season. The only other Tide player to record four sacks in a game was Leroy Cook, who accomplished the feat against Tennessee in 1975.

Anderson now has seven sacks in as many games this season. He had the same total over 13 games during his freshman year last season. Anderson has also piled up a team-high 15 tackles for a loss this season, the highest total by a Tide player since Quinnen Williams tallied 19.5 over 15 games in 2018.

“I still haven’t accomplished what I wanted to, but I give all the thanks to my coaches and teammates,” Anderson said following Saturday’s game. “The preparation was good this week, we were all on the game page, and when we’re all on the same page, good things come out of that.”

A week after failing to register a sack during a 41-38 loss to TexasA&M, Alabama’s pass rush came to life against Mississippi State, bringing down Rogers seven times on the night. Earlier in the week, Anderson called for the unit to spend more time together in the film room. Saturday, he said that extra preparation paid off.

“I think the biggest thing this week from last week was working on our pass rush lanes and being more effective and getting more pressure on the QB,” Anderson said. “So all week in practice, I think that’s one thing we stressed as a unit up front. And going back to the interviews this week, I was telling you guys that’s one thing we have to get better up front, watching film together. And we did that.

"We watched film together, we saw how we can affect the quarterback, we saw how we can get back there. We were all on the same page, we were all gelling and everybody created value for themselves.”

Another thing Alabama fixed from last weekend’s defeat at Texas A&M was its offensive execution in the red zone. Against the Aggies, the Tide recorded touchdowns on just two of its six trips in the red zone. Saturday, Alabama found the end zone on both of its trips to the red zone as running back Brian Robinson Jr. punched in a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter before adding a 3-yard score in the fourth quarter.

The first of those touchdown runs came on a third-down as Alabama faced a third-and-goal from the Mississippi State 1-yard line. With the Tide initially lined up with an empty backfield, Robinson went into motion before setting up next to quarterback Bryce Young out of the shotgun. Not liking what he saw from the sideline, Nick Saban called a timeout to change the play.

Following the break, Alabama lined up out of a jumbo set with a fullback and two tight ends as Young handed the ball off to Robinson for a 1-yard score. When asked about the decision-making process following the game, Saban played coy, only stating that the team changed the play during the timeout.

“You wanna know the truth? I’m not gonna tell you the truth,” Saban said with a smile. “I’m not gonna throw anybody under the bus. One of the things about – I said this earlier – when you go fast and you’re using signs and you’re going no-huddle, those plays get called and those signs go up and those signals start, it’s really hard to change plays unless you call timeout.”

Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was criticized last week after the Tide’s offense failed to find the end zone on a first-and-goal from the Texas A&M 3-yard line during the fourth quarter. During that sequence, O’Brien dialed up three straight passing plays instead of giving the ball to Robinson, who is known for his short-yardage ability.

It’s unknown whether or not Alabama was planning on throwing the ball before Saban changed the play Saturday. However, it all worked out for the Tide either way.

“Last week, we didn’t call timeout,” Saban said, “this week we did.”

Alabama’s offense didn’t need to worry about its red-zone execution often Saturday as it foud generally the end zone on big plays instead. Four of the Tide’s six offensive touchdowns came from 25 or more yards as John Metchie III (46 yards), Jameson Williams (75 yards), Brian Robinson (51 yards) and Traeshon Holden (29 yards) all recorded long touchdown receptions from Young.

“Last year, the big plays we made against [Mississippi State], we threw the ball over their head,” Saban said. “The big plays we made today, we caught the ball and ran with it because we took a couple shots early in the game and they really played soft.”

As Saban pointed out, Alabama’s receivers did most of the leg work on their long touchdowns. Metchie had 42-yards after the catch on his touchdown, while Williams had 59 yards after the catch on his score. Robinson ran in the final 48 yards on a screen pass from Young, while Holden caught his scoring grab at the Mississippi State 22-yard line before running it in the remainder of the way.

"That helps a lot," Young said. "Our job is to get them the ball so they can run and do special things. All of them had really good yards after catch. That's a quarterback's dream. My job is to get it into their hands and they do the rest."

Heading into the game, Alabama had recorded only four plays of 40 or more yards through the air through six games, including just one in its previous three SEC games.

Young’s performance against Mississippi State will best be remembered for his efforts through the air as he completed 20 of 28 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. However, the dual-threat passer also showed that he can gain yards with his feet.

Taking out sacks, Young rushed the ball four times against Mississippi State, picking up 34 yards while nearly recording his first rushing touchdown of the season.

“We just stressed taking what the defense gave us,” Young said. “For me, just trying to go through my progressions. Coach OB [O’Brian] does a great job with me and all the quarterbacks to watch film and keep our eyes downfield, but if you see green grass, take it. For me, today that was just what they gave us on those plays.”

Jordan Battle showed off some new moves following his second interception of the night. When asked about the dance, the safety wouldn’t provide its name but did give a little insight to its origin

"I've been waiting to do that forever, since last year," Battle said. "I've been practicing it. It’s been my dance in high school. I give my props to my [former] teammate Jamal Cooney, he taught me how to do it… I was waiting. It was a great sight."

Battle finished the night with seven tackles and pass breakup to go with his two interceptions. He returned his first interception 40 yards for a touchdown, marking Alabama’s first defensive score of the season.