Golden Eagles Attempt to Stem the Tide
Alabama looks to get right against Southern Miss leading up to a showdown against Ole Miss.
By: Dave in Tuscaloosa
The Tide will be happy to be back within the friendly confines of Bryant Denney after narrowly escaping The Swamp with a win week a week ago. Photo by Marvin Gentry, USA Today Sports
Last Saturday in a place called The Swamp, a gallant Florida Gators squad attempted what seemed like the impossible in 2021: beat the Crimson Tide of Alabama on the gridiron, something that has not been done since November 30th, 2019. Although they fell just short, the Gators gave the rest of the college football world hope in that they showed the mighty Tide could indeed be conquered.
I have long stated (actually, a few months...maybe not that long) that Alabama is a talented but young team that, like the other 129 teams playing FBS football, has flaws. The Florida game made that abundantly clear, and even though the mood around the Crimson Nation this past week resembled how a fan base looks after a loss, the truth of the matter is that Alabama beat an excellent team in a hostile environment. Depending on how well Florida does this season, Bama’s win over the Gators could prove to be a most impressive one indeed.
The Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi is the next team that will attempt the tall task of breaking Crimson Tide supremacy when they travel to Tuscaloosa for a Saturday evening tilt. The Eagles enter the contest 1-2 after falling to Troy last weekend on the road, 21-9. Southern Miss is led by freshman quarterback Ty Keyes, who is completing 53% of his passes and has thrown 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Freshman tailback Frank Gore will prove to be one of the better backs in Conference USA, and he is averaging 5 yards a carry. Overall, the Golden Eagle offense has struggled, as they currently have the 122nd ranked unit in the country averaging 146 yards in the air, 138 on the ground, and 17.7 points per game. Their defense, led by junior linebacker Santrell Latham and junior defensive lineman Josh Carr, has performed well so far, surrendering only 252 yards and 17.3 points per game, good for 13th best in the country. After three weeks, Southern Miss has surrendered a nation low 47 rushing yards on average per game to opponents.
Those gaudy statistics, earned against South Alabama (31-7 loss), Grambling (37-0 win), and Troy, will be put to the test against a Tide offense that did just enough to get by the Gators, and has, for the most part, been impressive even though the unit currently ranks an un-Alabama like 60th in the country. Led by sophomore quarterback Bryce Young, the offense is averaging 418 yards and 41 points per game. The tailback room is deep and after a subpar performance against the Gators, where they gained a total of 91 yards on the ground (for an average of 3.3 yards a carry) will try to re-establish themselves against Southern Mississippi’s stingy run defense. The unit is led by senior Brian Robinson, who is banged up after the Florida game, and is listed day to day. That may give the opportunity for sophomore Jase McClellan (averaging 3 yards a carry ), Trey Sanders (4.7 YPC), and Roydell Williams (3 YPC) to get more touches on Saturday. Offensive line play for the Tide has been spotty, and the talented receiving corps, led by juniors Jameson Williams, John Metchie, and Cameron Latu, did not have their best day against the Gators and had several uncharacteristic drops (some contested, some not so much).
Jase McClellan with a key TD against Florida. Photo via Crimson Tide Photo
Similar to last year’s third game of the season, a 63-48 Tide win against Ole Miss that saw the Tide surrender a program-worst 647 yards, a lot of talk this week has centered on the Bama defense and its ability to become impactful enough to help Alabama make another championship run. Last Saturday, the Gator offense wore down the Tide defense and gashed the front seven to the tune of 258 yards rushing. It’s hard to think that this defense, led by linebackers Will Anderson and Christian Harris, will not find its footing, thus allowing the struggles against the Gator to merely be an important rallying point for the unit.
It’s still early in the season, and this game gives the Tide a great opportunity to shore up numerous areas before a dangerous Ole Miss invades Tuscaloosa next week. Expect the Crimson Tide to enter the game with an attitude and steamroll the Golden Eagles from the opening kickoff. No doubt, Alabama was challenged this past week by their coaches, the media, and even their fans. Here’s saying that the Golden Eagles will pay the price for last week’s near loss to Florida. Bryce Young will continue his torrid start (10 touchdowns to 0 interceptions), numerous backs will have big games, the receivers will create separation and make plays, and the defense will return to pre- Florida form. The Tide rolls and wins its 100 straight game against an unranked opponent.
Alabama 56
Southern Mississippi 13