Alabama knows all too well what overlooks a non-conference opponent late in the season can do to a team's season. The Crimson Tide are very familiar with the upset loss having fallen to Louisiana Monroe once before while struggling against Georgia Southern. Head coach Nick Saban went on his usual rant about these sort of things making it clear the team is not taking the week off. With the SEC West still undecided, the Tide are making sure not to lose momentum.
Saban wants to sue this game to get the offense moving in a better direction, especially the passing game. Against Mississippi State last week, things started very slow for the unit before Cyrus Jones busted out a 69-yard punt return that opened the gates a bit. Calvin Ridley then found the endzone before Derrick Henry got in as well and the Tide went on to win 31-6. The offense has been relying a lot on big plays to get by on offense. They have 12 plays of 50-yards or more which ranks them 17th nationally. That is the most since 2002. Henry can be thanked for that as he had runs of 74 and 65 yards against the Mississippi State Bulldogs before getting taken out for rest.
The Tide want to keep that going, but in order for it to remain consistent, Jake Coker needs to do his part. The quarterback's deep ball was nowhere to be seen last week as he benefitted on big runs by receivers. The 81-yard score from Ridley helped things out. The Tide need playmakers to step up as Kenyan Drake is now out for the foreseeable future. The dynamic running back suffered a fracture in his arm against Mississippi State which leaves Coker without one of his favorite big-play safety blankets.
Charleston Southern is not going to be some easy cake walk for the Tide. The team is 9-1 on the season as they clinched the Big South title last week. Quarterback Austin Brown has been a star coming off a game where he threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns against Liberty. The Buccaneers run a fast and dynamic offense, something that has normally given Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart some headaches. The defense will need to be on their toes in this game.
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