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Nick Saban’s first assessment of the Miss South spoke of how stingy she had been in the ground game. Despite playing in sub-SEC competition, the Golden Eagles had the nation’s third national defense, allowing just 46.0 yards per game.
With the Alabama backfield nibbling but not biting off the big chunks, it could have been turned into a test a week before Ole Miss’s much-anticipated visit.
Playing without starter Brian Robinson, fullback Crimson Tide found his gear and some big plays in Southern Miss’s 63-14 pounding. He finished with 213 rushing yards on 32 attempts after exceeding the Southern Miss combined allowance for the first three games (138 yards) before halftime (151).
That paired up with Bryce Young’s 20-for-22 night that featured 313 passing yards and five touchdowns and Alabama was never threatened.
The pace slowed down after halftime as Alabama chewed up the clock in more obvious rush situations. The Tide was averaging 9.0 yards per carry after the first practice of the third quarter before that number ended at 6.7 per attempt.
Roydell Williams, the second full-back in the rotation on Saturday, became Alabama’s first running back to hit the 100-yard mark this season and he did so at halftime. He needed nine carries to go 102 yards before intermission and finished with 110 in 11 attempts.
Saban said Williams’ speed made him a great change of pace player off the bench. He said Williams’ fumble in the Miami game “put him back a bit” in terms of confidence, but this game helped resolve that issue.
McClellan came close to joining him at the Club of the Century before finishing with 97 rushing yards on 12 carries. He also added a nine-yard touchdown.
The total of 213 rushing yards improved the previous season’s high of 158 from Mercer’s two weeks ago. A week ago, the solid Florida front seven kept the Tide at 91 yards on 28 carries, but finally got the tough yards to cut the clock.
Perhaps more significant were the piece sets.
Coming in on Saturday, Alabama didn’t have a running game over 23 yards, but they eclipsed that mark twice in the first quarter. First, Jase McClellan smashed a 27-yard run on one of Alabama’s first four drives that ended in a touchdown.
Then it was Roydell Williams, a Hueytown product, who broke free for a 55-yard sprint to the 1-yard line on the last play of the first quarter. McClellan then added a 25-yard run in the opening play of the third quarter.
“We broke a few runs,” said Nick Saban. “I think our consistency in the racing game is something we still have to work on and keep improving. Again we played against a team that moves a lot up front and sometimes it got us into trouble but for the most part we had a hat over a hat and we thought the guys had done a really good job. job. I see progress and I see improvements.
With Robinson absent after being assaulted in Florida, it was an evening for two with McClellan and Williams. Trey Sanders came off the bench in the fourth quarter to run it five times for 12 yards.
“The O line did a great job protecting me, moving the line of scrimmage and really dominating the front,” Young said. “This is something that we emphasized over the week, something that we wanted to establish and they responded to that. The running backs also did a great job being able to read these blocks and make those cuts. “
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on twitter @ByCasagrande Or on Facebook.
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