Thomas Campbell, USA TODAY SPORTS
The Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Colorado State Rams 31-6 on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, but the Tide certainly did not have their “A” game in this one.
Alabama started slowly, and didn’t score until only 39 seconds remained in the first quarter. The Tide’s second touchdown came off of a blocked punt, which was returned for a touchdown.
Alabama led 17-0 at the half, but got nothing done on offense in the third quarter. In fact, the offense seemed to be out of sync the entire game. Perhaps the one-quarter suspension of running back T.J. Yeldon had the Tide off their game, or maybe it was looking ahead to SEC play, which begins next week.
Quarterback A.J. McCarron was solid, but not nearly as good as he was in last week’s win over the Texas A&M Aggies. McCarron needs to step up his game and lead this team if they are to win a third straight BCS National Championship. If he plays like he did last week, good things will happen for the Tide. If he plays like he did this week, a quality opponent could knock off the Tide.
Another factor in Alabama’s sluggishness could be that its former offensive coordinator, Jim McElwain, is now the coach for Colorado State. He knows what the Tide do on offense, and he was able to put his defense in position to make some plays before Alabama’s talent finally won out.
Alabama will remain the top team in the country when the polls are released tomorrow, but that’s now two out of three games this season in which the Tide have looked uninspired. If this trend continues, someone in the mighty SEC will almost assuredly knock off the Tide.
Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
Related:
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Alabama Crimson Tide: What We Learned In Week 3, What To Look For In Week 4
5 Things Alabama’s A.J. McCarron Must Do to Stay in the Heisman Trophy Hunt
