The Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Nick Saban are suffering through an unusual season. At 3-1 and ranked No. 13 in the nation, they're certainly not down and out, but something about the team just isn't right. They outlasted Wisconsin and won a couple of games they should have against Middle Tennessee and Louisiana-Monroe, but sandwiched between was a tough loss at the hands of No. 3 Ole Miss. And while there's no shame in having lost to Chad Kelly and a score-at-will Ole Miss team, the loss seemed to show pretty clearly Saban and 'Bama's fall from grace, seemed to show that they are, this season, no longer in the conversation for college football's elite. And with No. 8 Georgia next on the docket, things in Tuscaloosa could be on the verge of getting worse thanks, in part, to a trio of relentless Bulldog 'backers.
"Alabama is going to be in serious trouble against Georgia if they get behind because those linebackers are salty," an NFL scouting director said recently, via NFL.com's Lance Zierlein. "(Lorenzo) Carter might be the most talented, but he's only a sophomore, so I'm not really studying him right now. I love (Leonard) Floyd's versatility but (Jordan) Jenkins is the toughest of them all and that is what they've been missing in the past. He's like a Saban rush end but with more juice."
You need look no further than the quarterback position for a clear indication of the different trajectories of Alabama and Georgia. While the Bulldogs are enjoying a hot start from Greyson Lambert - he's completed 33 of his last 35 passes, including a 24-for-25 showing against South Carolina, and most importantly, hasn't turned the ball over - backed by a stout running game led by Nick Chubb, Saban has been forced to scheme the Crimson Tide into points almost despite veteran college journeyman Jake Coker.
Yes, Coker has seemed to improve this season and no, last week against Louisiana-Monroe Alabama receivers didn't do him any favors, but he's also limited as a passer and far too turnover prone. There's a reason, after all, he's been passed over for a starting gig so many times, both at Florida State and 'Bama, and why Saban still hasn't named him the team's starter outright.
This matchup doesn't look good for Alabama and if Lambert and Chubb can get Georgia up early, Coker and Alabama will be forced to go away from the ground game in order to push the ball downfield, potentially opening themselves up to punishment from elite-playmaker-in-the-making Carter - a player Zierlein believes compares well to former 'Bama defensive end and current Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw - as well as Jenkins and Floyd.
