Jumbo Package: Weary Tide hope to get healthy over the bye

Happy Monday, everyone. It wasn’t always pretty, but Alabama managed to survive Texas A&M on Saturday. Nick Kelly has a rewind for you.

Russell’s play was a big reason why Alabama was different in the fourth quarter and, really, the second half.

After halftime, he went 9-for-11 for 150 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. In the fourth quarter, he completed 5 of 5 passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns.

In the first half he was 10-for-19 for 161 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

“He was just, decision making wise, I don’t feel like he was in between one or two decisions,” Scott said of Russell in the second half. “So, he was very decisive. He did a good job taking his first read when they gave them to us, so, I mean, when he’s playing like that, I feel like we have a chance, no matter where we are on the field, what the scoreboard says, how many minutes are on the clock. When he’s decisive, we get down the field.”

The reality is that Kalen DeBoer’s offense will always be quarterback centric, which is a departure from Saban’s hey day, and my theory is that the staff stays hyper-focused on roster retention for this exact reason. Complex passing games require a certain chemistry that is tough to cultivate in the free agency era. Russell has been through the fire now and played some of his very best ball to close out Saturday’s game.

He now has two weeks of film to study, featuring two elite defenses that he struggled with. And, as Scott notes, he did seem to get the ball out quicker in crunch time. Hopefully he is able to build on that performance, and get his center and top receiver back.

Kelly also noted that the run game took a step back.

Alabama has lost its juice on the ground after the rushing attack looked much improved in the first half of the season, when compared to 2025.

The Crimson Tide finished with fewer than 100 yards on the ground for the second consecutive game. That’s not good enough, and a solid ground game would go a long way toward stabilizing the offense so that it doesn’t have to play from behind the sticks, often trying to convert third-and-long situations.

Alabama had 68 rushing yards against Texas A&M.

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said he was “disappointed” with the run game.

“The stats, that’s all you got to really look at,” DeBoer said. “We needed more out of that run game to open up some things for us. And so, we gotta get back to work and make sure we’re continuing to execute, first of all, and be able to stack some plays on top of each other.”

I’m not familiar with this Josh Yourish fellow, but he has some solid observations regarding the drop-off from Delgatty to Waldrep at center.

Mal does seem to be just a tick slower than Racin, who looks quite nimble in that film. Hopefully the injury won’t sap any of Delgatty’s burst.

The point about depth is valid and has been echoed by many. This is a main driver of the parity that exists in the sport now, that some Alabama fans may never become accustomed to. Check this out.

Consistency is in short supply across the sport, and we’ve seen it in Tuscaloosa as well. The goal is to make the playoff with as high a seed as possible, hope to have some good injury luck and be playing your best ball in December and January.

Alabama will be 100% focused on beating LSU in two weeks, with eyes on a SEC title and top four seed. I’m not sure that they have to win to make the playoff, though.

That doesn’t mean much today, writing this Oct. 25. But with all the parity happening in the sport, and plenty of imperfect teams, the foregone conclusion of a 9-3 team being automatically eliminated from playoff contention could end up being … incorrect.

ESPN’s playoff predictor for what it’s worth (and it’s probably worth something considering ESPN is the broadcast partner of the College Football Playoff) gives Alabama a 63% chance to make the playoff as of Sunday. That’s sixth-best behind Miami (97%), Ohio State (91%), Indiana (89%), Notre Dame (83%) and Georgia (80%).

Then if you start putting Alabama through the playoff predictor, the chances are better than slim if it loses one more game to an SEC team.

In fact, it’s a coin toss.

If Alabama loses to LSU but beats Vanderbilt and Auburn, the Crimson Tide has a 51% chance to make the playoff.

Hopefully they are able to get healthy and win out, thus rendering all of it moot.

Alabama is 10th in the AP Poll, and in the ESPN staff power rankings.

It wasn’t a pretty win over Texas A&M. Alabama’s running game, which had looked much improved over the first month of the season, continued its slide with only 68 yards on 28 carries. But for a team dealing with four starters and a few key reserves out due to injuries, avoiding a third straight loss and getting to the bye week 6-2 was all that mattered for the Crimson Tide. Coach Kalen DeBoer said he hoped that “a lot” of injured players would make it back for a trip to LSU on Nov. 7. It would help if that list includes star wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams and center Racin Delgatty, as their absence has been noticeable. Beyond simple recovery, the Tide need to get back on track when it comes to creating balance on offense and tightening up the secondary. — Alex Scarborough

Don’t forget about Terrance Green’s absence, Alex. He’s been sorely missed in the middle of the defensive line.

Dave Aranda is the latest head coach to get the ax.

“Anyone who knows Dave Aranda understands what a genuine and honorable person he is and how much he deeply cares for his players, staff and this University,” Baylor athletic director Doug McNamee said in a statement. “He is a gifted coach and a brilliant football mind whose leadership brought some of our best Baylor football memories. While this is a difficult moment, we believe a change in leadership is necessary at this time for our program. We will forever be thankful to Dave and his family for their time here at Baylor, and we wish them well.”

Aranda was popular with the Baylor administration but was admittedly slow to adapt to the NIL era. At Big 12 media days in 2024, when asked how the Bears had picked up momentum on the recruiting trail, he responded candidly, “We’re paying players.”

If Kane Wommack gets a head coaching job this offseason, Aranda would be a home run as a replacement. He’s one of the great schemers in the sport even if he didn’t work out as a CEO.

Last, parity is the theme in a Halloween-style edition of SEC Shorts.

Something tells me we haven’t yet seen all of the chaos. Alabama actually has a bit of a lighter load than most other SEC contenders after the LSU game. The Tigers have to follow up Alabama by hosting Texas and then traveling to Tennessee. Can you imagine Neyland Stadium if Lane Kiffin rolls in with a playoff berth on the line for both teams? You won’t be able to find a bottle of mustard on any shelf in Knoxville.

That’s about it for today. Have a great week.

Roll Tide.