Alabama clinched the top spot in the College Football Playoff after surviving a 52-46 thriller against Florida during Saturday night’s SEC Championship Game. Now that we’ve had enough time to process the victory let’s break down what went right and what went wrong. Welcome back to Monday Morning Quarterback where we revisit key sequences, evaluate players and analyze trends in Alabama’s performance.
GOOD: Will Anderson Jr.
Four games ago Will Anderson Jr. had yet to register his first college sack. Now the five-star freshman leads Alabama in the category.
Anderson had a pair of sacks and a forced fumble Saturday night, marking his third straight game with two sacks. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound freshman now leads the team with seven sacks while ranking second with 10.5 tackles for a loss over 11 games. Anderson’s sack totals are the most by any freshman in the nation while his tackles for a loss trail only TCU freshman defensive end Khari Coleman’s 15.
“Will Anderson’s a listener, great learner,” Alabama safety Jordan Battle said. “He comes in every day ready to work. He’s one of the first guys at the facility for practice. Goes hard every play… He works hard every day, and we love him.”
BamaInsider recently caught up with Anderson’s trainer, former Baylor defensive end Dwight Johnson, who said he worked with the outside linebacker back home in Georgia during Alabama’s open week in early November. After fine-tuning the edge rusher’s form, Johnson said he’s seen things start to click for his former protégé lately.
“You can see a lot of difference from the beginning of the season to now,” Johnson said. “His mind has caught up to the speed of the game. Now he’s able to focus more on technique and his finishing moves.”
BAD: Alabama’s penalties
Alabama had several opportunities to put Florida away Saturday night but was never able to kill the Gators off until the end. One of the more frustrating moments for the Tide came midway through the fourth quarter as it saw a crucial goal-line stop snuffed out by a penalty.
Trailing 45-31 and facing a second-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Florida quarterback Kyle Trask fumbled the ball allowing Alabama to recover. However, defensive back Josh Jobe was ruled offside on the play, giving the Gators the ball back for a first-and-goal at the 1. Florida running back Dameon Pierce ran in a touchdown on the next play, cutting the deficit back to a single possession with 6:33 remaining.
Alabama committed eight penalties for 72 yards on the night. Seven of those came in the second half as Florida was mounting its comeback. The Gators were flagged six times for 50 yards in the game.
DIFFERENT: Jahleel Billingsley returning kicks
Injuries have forced Alabama to get creative on kick returns. Saturday’s look was especially unusual as the Tide deployed 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end Jahleel Billingsley as a returner.
While the sophomore might be a bit bigger than the average return man, don’t be surprised if he continues in the role moving forward. Billingsley averaged 22 yards on three returns with a long of 27 yards.
Billingsley’s athleticism should come as no surprise as he has flashed his playmaking ability on offense in recent weeks. Over his last four games, the Chicago native has combined for 11 receptions for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Billingsley had two catches for 29 yards against Florida.
GOOD: Mac Jones’ composure
Najee Harris earned MVP honors while becoming Alabama’s all-time leader in rushing yards, total touchdowns and rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, DeVonta Smith became Alabama’s all-time leading receiver while setting the school’s single-game reception record. However, those two weren’t the only Tide players who wrote their names into the record books Saturday night.
Jones, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, completed 33 of 43 passes for 418 yards and five touchdowns with an interception against the Gators. The redshirt junior’s 418 passing yards and 33 completions were both SEC Championship Game records. Jones also recorded the fourth 400-yard game of his career, passing Tua Tagovailoa for most by an Alabama player.
While his stat line stands out in the box score, Jones’ best attribute Saturday night might have been his composure. The Tide quarterback was intercepted on Alabama’s second drive of the game only to get the ball right back as receiver John Metchie III forced a fumble from defensive back Trey Dean III during the return.
Jones was able to regather himself the following play, hitting Smith for a 31-yard touchdown to give Alabama a 14-7 lead. During Alabama’s next drive, the right-hander found Harris for a 7-yard score on third-and-6.
Jones also kept his cool as Florida came back in the second half. He was 13 of 15 for 151 yards and a touchdown following the break, completing nine straight passes at one point over that span.
DIFFERENT: Alabama controls the time of possession
Nick Saban has been asked about time of possession in the past. However, that generally happens as his high-flying offense finds the end zone on explosive plays.
That wasn’t the case Saturday as six of Alabama’s 12 drives lasted eight plays or more. Harris matched his career-high of 31 carries as the Tide was able to sit on the clock a bit in order to give its defense a rest against a dangerous Forida attack.
"We wanted to control the tempo of the game on offense,” Saban said. “We knew time of possession would be really, really important. They have a good offense. We have a good offense. I knew that if we were going to have a chance to win this game, we were going to have to really control the ball on offense, control the tempo of the game, and score points."
BAD: Alabama’s pass defense
Saban got a little testy with defensive coordinator Pete Golding on the sideline as Alabama failed to stop Florida’s potent passing attack. While the Tide was able to hold on for the win, it allowed Trask to complete 26 of 40 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns on the night.
Trask was the first quarterback to reach the 400-yard mark against Alabama since Clemson’s Deshaun Watson gashed the Tide for 420 yards and three touchdowns during the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Nine of Trask’s 26 completions went for 20 or more yards, including touchdowns from 50 yards, 51 yards and 22 yards out.
“These guys have too much talent on their team on offense, with their quarterback who does a fabulous job,” Saban said of Florida following the game. “They have a really good receiving corps. Eighty-four (Kyle Pitts) and 1 (Kadarius Toney) are really serious mismatch players. Both guys had phenomenal games tonight. Then when we do get them guarded, you get pass interference because they're so big, it's just hard to play. So I can't say enough good things about their team.”
GOOD: Charlie Scott
Alabama’s special teams have been much-improved this season. However, its punting game has been a bit underwhelming. That wasn’t the case against Florida as walk-on punter Charlie Scott averaged 43.5 yards on two punts while dropping one of his boots inside the 20-yard line.
