Last week, I focused on newcomers we were excited to see debut and the records Alabama players would chase this season.
This week I wanted to highlight some numbers from a rather lopsided series against Texas A&M, while also looking at some guys that we didn't see in action last Saturday starting with one of Alabama's most versatile players.
1:
Receiver Slade Bolden only played one offensive snap last week at Missouri, according to Pro Football Focus. He averaged just over seven snaps per game last season (not counting the two contests he didn’t participate in at all).
With the departure of both Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, many expected Bolden to take on a larger role, but instead, Alabama deployed him as a run-blocker once.
None of Alabama’s other reserve receivers saw the field during any of the offense’s 68 snaps while four tight ends combined to play 99 total plays.
4:
Alabama recorded four sacks in the Crimson Tide’s opener to put the team on pace for a 44-sack season (assuming only 11 games played).
Last season, the Crimson Tide played 13 games, but still only managed to sack opposing quarterbacks 32 times for an average of 2.46 times per contest. That was the worst average posted by an Alabama defense since 2014 when the Crimson Tide averaged only 2.21 sacks per game.
5.8:
Alabama running back Najee Harris averaged 5.8 yards per carry against Missouri. He finished with 98 total yards and three touchdowns after 17 rushing attempts.
That happens to be the same average Harris finished last season with, so the senior has proved that’s a realistic mark for him to maintain.
Assuming he stays on track, Harris will only need 193 more carries to surpass Derrick Henry for Alabama’s all-time rushing record. The Crimson Tide should play in at least 10 more games this season, meaning Harris only needs to carry the ball 19.3 times per game for the record.
It will be a grind, but the record remains very much in the mix after a promising opener.
6:
Cornerback Josh Jobe defended against six targets last week, second only behind safety Daniel Wright who faced nine.
Throughout fall camp, Alabama coaches claimed the Crimson Tide had two lockdown corners. Jobe did his best to back that up, allowing only three completions for 14 yards while also recording one pass breakup.
Alabama’s other corner, Patrick Surtain II, only allowed one of four targets to be completed for 13 yards. However, PFF graders were far more impressed with Jobe’s outing, rewarding him with a team-high overall defensive grade of 83.1 and a team-high coverage grade of 80.3.
14:
Ben Davis played a career-high 14 snaps Saturday against Missouri, according to PFF. Before that game, the redshirt senior had only played 33 defensive snaps in his career.
During fall camp, it became apparent that Davis would compete for a significantly larger role this time around. Although 10 members of the front seven saw more snaps than Davis, it’s hard to focus on that when discussing someone who has waited so long for the chance to play.
Davis did not record any stats during the game, but his PFF grade of 60.8 did rank 12th among Alabama’s 19 defenders to log time against Missouri.
17.5:
Alabama is favored to win on Saturday by 17.5 points. Saban is 7-1 against the Aggies since arriving in Tuscaloosa with his lone loss coming in the first meeting back in 2012.
Alabama has won those seven games by an average of 21.7 points. The Crimson Tide has beaten Texas A&M by at least 18 points in five of those meetings, but many of them were close.
Alabama’s margin of victory:
2015: 18
2016: 19
2017: 8
2018: 22
2019: 19
20:
Saturday’s game against Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher will be the 20th time Nick Saban has faced one of his former assistants since arriving in Tuscaloosa.
Saban is currently 19-0 and winning those games by an average of 26.7 points.
The Alabama coach also happens to be 3-0 against Fisher, defeating him 24-7 when Fisher coached Florida State (2017) and then 45-23 and 47-28 in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
1,000:
Kellen Mond needs 303 passing yards on Saturday to cross the 1,000-yard threshold against Alabama.
In his three previous meetings with the Crimson Tide, Mond has thrown for 697 yards while also rushing for an additional 202.
Despite his reputation, Mond rarely hits high passing yardage totals. He’s only surpassed 300 four times, but two of those performances came against top 10 foes- No. 2 Clemson in 2018 and No. 8 Auburn in 2019.
Last year against Alabama: Mond completed 24 of 42 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball 16 times for 90 yards and an additional score.
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