The Citadel vs. Alabama: Crimson Tide played at half-time

It was fun while it lasted – and it lasted much longer than expected.

It was in this case a rare fact that Alabama appeared deadly in 2018 – not against an SEC-ranked opponent, nor against an enemy who was not part of the power conference. 5, but against The Citadel, an opponent of the FCS entered Saturday 4-5. on the year. At half-time, the purple tide and the bulldogs were tied at 10.

In the end, the Citadel has accumulated 275 yards rushing, 13 first tries and even converted two of the three fourth attempts. His defense forced two fumbles. And he lost 50-17. The fun did not last more than a few minutes beyond halftime.

Before this week, Alabama had not entered the locker room with a lead of less than 16 points. But in the face of The Citadel's triple offensive option, the Tides lost their usual fast-paced pace, allowing visitors to recreate an opening of the disc at 7:08 which resulted in a punt and found the goal when they opened, although they needed eight games and 4h23 of play to do it. A few minutes later, Alabama's defense gave up its first points in November, when Citadel midfielder Dante Smith took the lead and cashed a 45-yard run to the pylon. At half-time, the Bulldogs had 149 rushing yards, 0 passing yards (which would not change at the end of the match), 10 points and the tweet of the day. They accumulated so many points on their belongings that the team of Nick Saban simply did not have the ball in their hands to score the usual totals, even if the Citadel forced a punt in the first period, then a Jerry Jeudy. grope.

In his post-match interview, Saban suggested that his team had not approached Saturday with the right state of mind. "When you're not ready to play, things do not happen."

Anyone who listened to the second half of the game in hopes of getting some joy out of Alabama's frustration was disappointed – and should have known better. The Bulldogs quickly moved closer in the third quarter. They missed an attempt to place on a 45-yard rush just after a false start that canceled a perfect 40 yards, and from there, the Tide left for the race. Jaylen Waddle caught a touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa while it was 10:26 left to play in the third quarter and exactly 12 seconds later, Anfernee Jennings returned a fumble from the Citadel for six more points. Aside from a 75-yard Citadel touchdown run in the fourth quarter, everything was in Alabama.

There is no point in attributing more meaning to this game, which has reduced Tide's average margin of victory from 35.9 points to 35.6 points. All that shows is that Alabama could not get ready for its week-end above November against a FCS team. This suggests that perhaps if there was a talented triple-play team competing for the playoffs, the Tide could become confused. for a few quarters. The problem is that such a team does not exist, and Alabama continues on its way. The Citadelle ends its season next week against Charleston Southern and, no matter what happens, she will brag that in 2018 she will rack up as many points against Alabama as Ole Miss, Missouri, Mississippi State and LSU. combined.