GAME SNAPSHOT
KICKOFF: Saturday, noon ET
SITE: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
TV: SEC Network
SERIES: First meeting
RANKINGS: Alabama No. 1
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bulldogs
–QB Brandon Rainey has rushed for 405 yards in The Citadel’s last two games. He got made his first appearance of the season at quarterback against Western Carolina on Nov. 3 when starter Jordan Black was among five suspended players and responded with 188 rushing yards in the 38-24 win over the Catamounts. He was a fullback last season, rushing for 495 yards.
–WR Raleigh Webb leads the Bulldogs in receiving with 16 catches. As is often the case with teams running triple-option offenses, he doesn’t get many opportunities but when he does he strikes it big. He averages 23.0 yards a reception with two touchdowns, one covering 91 yards.
–LB Noah Dawkins is a disruptive force on defense. He has 12.5 tackles for loss, second to teammate Joseph Randolph II’s 13.0 and leads in sacks with 5.5 to Randolph’s 4.0. Overall, Dawkins is second on the team in tackles with 60 stops, 11 short of the 71 of LB Willie Eubanks III.
Crimson Tide
–QB Tua Tagovailoa completed 14 of 21 passes for 164 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, before leaving last week’s win over Mississippi State late in the third quarter. He is second nationally in passing efficiency (207.67 rating), completing 146 of 215 passes (67.9 percent) for 2,525 yards with 28 touchdowns and two interceptions. He also has rushed 37 times for 148 yards and three scores.
–WR Jerry Jeudy, a sophomore, is one of 11 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver. He leads a standout group of Alabama wideouts, with 45 catches for 925 yards and 10 touchdowns.
–DT Quinnen Williams is making a strong case for national defensive player of the year honors — and maybe to be a Heisman finalist. He has 49 tackles, including 14 for loss and 5.0 sacks, to go along with nine quarterback hurries. He’s been dominant and has rocketed toward to the top of first-round draft projections.
KEYS
TO THE GAME
Alabama’s game against The Citadel may gave the offense an opportunity to fine-tune some things before the Iron Bowl and the Southeastern Conference Championship Game, but the defense will be facing new issues against the Bulldogs’ run-oriented offense.
Kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa is noon ET on the SEC Network.
The Crimson Tide’s defensive players haven’t seen the triple option scheme the Bulldogs (4-5) since high school.
“It may be nerve-wracking for the coaches trying to come up with play-calling and stuff, but I am excited,” sophomore linebacker Dylan Moses said. “They’ll be running the ball the whole time. That’s what I live for. I am ready to run guys down, make tackles and celebrate with my teammates.”
The No. 1 Tide (10-0) may be running a lot as well. Starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and reserve Jalen Hurts have been dealing with injuries. Tagovailoa, the Heisman Trophy frontrunner, sprained a knee at Arkansas a month ago and after taking numerous hard hits last week, he was pulled near the end of the third quarter against No. 21 Mississippi State.
Hurts has been out since suffering high ankle sprain at Tennessee on Oct. 20. Redshirt freshman Mac Jones had to finish the 24-0 victory over Mississippi State.
Tide coach Nick Saban bristled at the idea on holding Tagovailoa back against The Citadel.
“Why would we do that?” he said. “I mean, to say this was not an important game or he doesn’t need to play?
“I think we need to do a better job of the people playing around him, doing what they’re supposed to do so he doesn’t get hit. And he needs to do a better job of stepping up in the pocket and getting rid of the ball, which he had several opportunities to do.
“Some of these hits could be avoided by better execution, and I think that’s what we’re going to focus on, not trying to take a guy out of the game so he can’t improve or do what he needs to do to get better.”
The Bulldogs are coming off a 42-27 victory over Samford when quarterback Brandon Rainey became the third Citadel quarterback to rush for more than 200 yards in a game, earning him Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. He had 207 of his 217 rushing yards in the second half and was also 5-of-7 passing for 88 yards and a touchdown.
“We just want to go out there and make a good showing, compete our butts off as best we possibly can on such a big and grand stage,” Bulldogs coach Brent Thompson said.
“They’re a very, very good football. Probably the best I’ve ever seen.”
Alabama hasn’t given up a point in November despite playing two ranked opponents and has been outstanding against the run of late, holding the last four opponents to fewer than 100 yards. Tennessee managed 31 and No. 7 LSU only a net 12.
But the triple-option is different.
“You really just have to play alongside each other and stick together,” said Moses, who took over the team lead in tackles last week. “You have to basically clog up the middle and have an alley player coming down, making sure the seams are protected as well.
“There are a lot of things that go into play with a triple-option team. It’s a mind game. You do one thing wrong they’ll slice you right up the middle.”
That’s what happened in 2011 when Alabama last faced a triple-option offense. Georgia Southern rushed for 302 yards and scored 21 points against a Tide defense that ranked first nationally in all four major defensive categories — rushing, scoring, total yards and pass efficiency.
This will be the third time Thompson’s team will be facing an opponent coming off a national title following Florida State (2014, a 37-12 loss) and Clemson (2017, a 61-3 loss).
“I think I’m over the national championship teams at this point,” Thompson said.
