Depth Dossier: Alabama Crimson Tide (Week 10)

Show Notes

Alabama Lost the Stat Sheet by 172 Yards and Still Won by 18 The Depth Dossier breaks down what Alabama's Week 10 game against LSU changed on the depth chart: injuries, snap shares and who is moving up or down.

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This is the Depth Dossier: the Alabama Crimson Tide, Week 10.

Alabama won the stat sheet war without actually winning the stat sheet, beating LSU 31 to 13 in Death Valley despite getting outgained by 172 yards.

This one looked shaky into the third quarter, with LSU up 13-10 and piling up yards in bunches. Then Alabama flipped a switch. A punt return for a touchdown led to an instant score, and the Tide ripped off 21 unanswered points to bury the Tigers. Quarterback Keelon Russell played through a taped-up ankle after a scary moment in the third quarter and still finished 17 of 24 for 206 yards and three touchdowns, spreading them to three different receivers. The defense did the real work underneath, though. LSU moved the ball at will but couldn't finish, going 0 for 4 on fourth down with two turnovers on downs inside the 10 yard line.

Here's the thing about that box score. LSU outgained Alabama 457 to 285 and ran 28 more plays, the kind of gap that usually means a blowout the other way. Instead Alabama won by 18, because LSU's yardage never turned into points. One touchdown on four red zone trips, with two more drives dying on downs inside the 10. That's about as clean an example of bend-but-don't-break defense as you'll see.

The special teams swing was really the hinge of the whole game. Wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, back from knee surgery, turned a 32-yard punt return into a touchdown on a single play, instant points right as LSU was building momentum. Later, Noah Rogers recovered a muffed punt at the LSU 32 yard line in the fourth quarter, the dagger that put the game out of reach.

Turnovers mattered on both ends of the first half too. Defensive back Luke Metz intercepted LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt at the Alabama 24 yard line with 28 seconds left before halftime, killing any chance of LSU adding points right before the break.

A few more things worth knowing. Russell spread his three touchdown passes across Cederian Morgan, Josh Ford and Kaleb Edwards, so there was no single read LSU could key on. Defensive lineman Terrance Green had a first-quarter sack that stalled an early LSU drive before the yardage gap ever opened up. And head coach Kalen DeBoer is now 8 and 0 coming off a bye week, and 3 and 0 against LSU in his career, including 2 and 0 in Tiger Stadium. LSU coach Lane Kiffin fell to 0 and 6 as a head coach against Alabama.

Now let's get into who's banged up and who's back. Russell's ankle is the one to watch most closely. He got taped up in the medical tent and finished the game, throwing all three touchdowns after the injury, but how it looks this week matters more than anything else here. Wide receiver and tight end Josh Ford also went down late in the fourth quarter during a clock-killing run and walked off on his own, which is encouraging but still unresolved.

Elsewhere, the lineup mostly reset to where it was before injuries scattered it. Coleman-Williams is back as the starting receiver in three-wide sets and has reclaimed punt return duties outright. His return touchdown and that punt return were the two biggest plays of the game, and that job is his again. Center Racin Delgatty returned to the starting lineup, pushing Mal Waldrep back into a backup center and guard role. Delgatty's return also steadied an offensive line that spent most of the night working from behind the chains. Up front on defense, Green and Devan Thompkins remain the top rotation pieces after Green's early sack set the tone.

For context, LSU's own line had trouble too. Starting right tackle Weston Davis left in the third quarter favoring his leg and didn't return, part of why the Tigers' big yardage total never turned into points.

So heading into next week, the things to watch for Alabama are simple: Russell's ankle, Ford's leg, and whether Coleman-Williams stays the clear number one receiver now that he's healthy again.

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