By The Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For three quarters, Alabama looked like a team capable of winning the SEC. For the first 20 minutes, it looked like a team that might lose to a program fighting for its coach’s job.
The final score — Alabama 50, Florida State 36 — will be filed away as a comfortable non-conference win. The journey to get there told a more complicated story about what the No. 10 Crimson Tide (3-0) actually are as the SEC schedule looms.
Keelon Russell threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score, and Alabama scored on nine consecutive possessions after punting on its first two drives to erase a 21-6 deficit . The comeback was impressive. The hole was alarming.
The Keelon Russell Leap
The most consequential development from Saturday was the continued emergence of Russell as a legitimate star.
The sophomore completed 23 of 30 passes without an interception, displaying the poise of a veteran in his third career start . He was particularly devastating in the final three minutes of the first half, when Alabama scored three touchdowns — a 46-yard screen to Ryan Coleman-Williams, a strike to Kaleb Edwards, and a 57-yard touchdown run that showcased his legs — to turn a 21-6 deficit into a 26-21 halftime lead .
Russell finished with 376 all-purpose yards. He did not turn the ball over. He looked, at times, like the five-star recruit Alabama fans have been waiting to see .
The question entering the season was whether Alabama could win a championship with a first-year starter at quarterback. After three games, the better question might be whether the defense can hold up its end.
The Run Game Arrives — Eventually
Alabama rushed for 247 yards on 6.9 yards per carry . The final drive — a nine-play, 90-yard march that consumed the final minutes and ended with a Trae’shawn Brown touchdown — was a throwback to the ground-and-pound identity that has defined Alabama’s best teams .
But the early returns were ugly. Alabama’s running backs managed just three yards on their first six carries . The offensive line, widely considered the team’s biggest question mark entering the season, struggled to generate movement against a Florida State defensive front that had allowed 6.8 yards per play through two games .
Then something clicked. Freshmen Trae’shawn Brown (86 yards) and EJ Crowell (51 yards, touchdown) wore down the Seminoles in the second half . Daniel Hill added 59 yards. The Tide gained 124 of their 247 rushing yards in the fourth quarter alone .
If that version of the run game is sustainable, Alabama becomes a different offense. If it was a product of Florida State’s fatigue and defensive limitations, the SEC grind will expose it.
The Defense Has Questions, Too
Nick Saban appeared on College GameDay Saturday morning and praised Alabama’s defense, calling it “the difference for Alabama this year” .
By halftime, Florida State had 216 yards and 21 points. Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels had thrown for 156 yards on 7-of-8 passing before the break . He finished with 337 yards and three total touchdowns, repeatedly finding soft spots in a secondary that was supposed to be the team’s strength .
The final numbers look respectable — three interceptions, including Bray Hubbard’s game-sealing pick with 1:10 remaining, and just 94 rushing yards allowed . But the Crimson Tide allowed 8 of 15 third-down conversions, including seven of Florida State’s first nine . That is not the profile of a championship defense.
What It All Means
Alabama is 3-0 for the third consecutive season under Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide have won 90 straight home games against unranked opponents . Those are the baseline expectations in Tuscaloosa.
The concern is that Alabama has now trailed by double digits in two consecutive games — 17-13 at halftime against Kentucky and 21-6 against Florida State — before overwhelming inferior opponents with superior talent and depth . That pattern works against the Seminoles and Wildcats. It will not work against Georgia, LSU, or Tennessee.
The Crimson Tide host South Carolina next Saturday before a trip to Mississippi State. Then Georgia comes to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Oct. 10. The Bulldogs will not squander a 15-point lead. They will not allow Alabama to score on nine straight possessions. They will not let Russell scramble for 57 yards on a broken play without making him pay.
Saturday’s win was a reminder that Alabama has the offensive firepower to compete with anyone. Russell is a legitimate difference-maker. The run game has found something. The receivers — Lotzeir Brooks had 101 yards on eight catches, Coleman-Williams turned a screen into a 46-yard score — are playmakers .
It was also a reminder that this team has not yet put together a complete performance. The slow starts, the defensive breakdowns, the early inability to run the ball — those are not quirks. They are patterns.
DeBoer said after the game that the comeback “should ease some nerves for Crimson Tide fans” . The nerves will return if the first half against Georgia looks anything like the first half against Florida State.
