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Alabama running back Kenyan Drake (17) breaks free for a TD during the first quarter of the No. 2 Alabama vs Florida Atlantic football game, Saturday, September 6, 2014, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com
(VASHA HUNT)
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- One more of these lopsided breakdowns to get through before the games get interesting.
We're powering through and maintaining our "focus stamina" in this installment, which looks at all the scenarios to know when Alabama hosts Southern Miss on Saturday evening.
WHEN ALABAMA RUNS
After rushing for 288 yards in the season opener, Alabama's production dropped a bit to 190 in last week's game against Florida Atlantic. This was by design, of course, as both T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry received a light day at the office while the Crimson Tide quarterbacks combined for some historic numbers. Odds are a similar scenario will unfold against the overmatched Golden Eagles. It's interesting to note that Alabama went from having no rushing threat at quarterback to two, as Jacob Coker showed that he, too, can pick up some yards when the play breaks down. Up front, Alabama will be monitoring how Leon Brown and Alphonse Taylor play as the competition at right guard wages on. The Golden Eagles have allowed an average of 248 rushing yards through their first two games. Alcorn State, an FCS school, ran for 295 and two touchdowns last week. EDGE: Alabama
WHEN SOUTHERN MISS RUNS
Outside of one big play, Alabama was relatively stout against the run in last week's game and remains one of the best in the nation in rush defense (42.5 yards per game). Outside of the run that flattened safety Nick Perry, Alabama's done a good job of minimizing runs up the middle and not allowing them to stretch into the secondary. The Golden Eagles are as balanced as it gets, as they've run 75 running plays and 75 passing plays during the first two weeks. Running, though, hasn't been easy, as Mobile's Ito Smith leads the way with 161 yards but is averaging fewer than 4 yards per carry. Quarterback Nick Mullens, a Spain Park product, has tucked and and ran 13 times. The Golden Eagles are rife with inexperience along the offensive line. EDGE: Alabama
WHEN ALABAMA THROWS
No change is expected from what Alabama did last week at quarterback, so that means Blake Sims and Coker likely will split repetitions evenly throughout the game. Maybe this will be the defense that tries to step up and stop Alabama's lethal screen game, which has allowed Amari Cooper to put up video game numbers (25 receptions, 319 yards) through the first two games. It should be noted that Sims isn't throwing these passes because he's afraid of going down field. It's because they're ridiculously open and he's throwing to one of the best wide receivers in the country at making something happen after the catch. If this one gets out of hand early, look for Chris Black, ArDarius Stewart and Robert Foster to benefit most from the extra playing time. The Golden Eagles actually haven't been terrible against the pass, as they limited Alcorn State to fewer than 100 passing yards and intercepted one of Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott's passes in the season opener. EDGE: Alabama
Alabama defensive back Tony Brown (2) grabs an INT in INT drills during Alabama football practice, Tuesday, September 9, 2014, at the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)
WHEN SOUTHERN MISS THROWS
Mullens started the final six games of 2013, so he's had plenty of in-game experience in Todd Monken's system. He just hasn't seen a defense quite like Alabama's, which was noticeably better last week thanks to the return of linebacker Trey DePriest and cornerback Eddie Jackson. Maybe this week we'll get to see Jackson's "pitch count" utilized, as the first-team defense was out before Jackson hit 40 plays. Southern Miss is another team that will test Alabama's pass rush to get what it needs to get done in a hurry, as the Golden Eagles will push the tempo and be quick to throw short passes. Casey Martin leads Southern Miss with 11 receptions, but he's averaging less than 9 yards per catch. If Alabama gets to use its second-team defense early, that means valuable snaps for the likes of linebacker Rashaan Evans and cornerback Tony Brown. EDGE: Alabama
WHEN THE SPECIALISTS EMERGE
Only a few have attempted as many field goals (six) as Alabama's Adam Griffith and also been perfect on them. Three of the six have come from 40 yards or more. To put that in perspective, Alabama made just four field goals from 40 yards or more during all of 2011. The only freshman Crimson Tide fans don't want to see more of is punter JK Scott because that would mean something's going wrong on offense. Scott wasn't called into action last week and punted just twice against West Virginia. Scott's booming punt against West Virginia is easily one of the best punts I've seen in person since I started covering the SEC. Southern Miss kicker Corey Acosta already has a make from 50+ while punter Tyler Sarrazin has been busy. EDGE: Alabama
MOMENTUM
Alabama felt pretty good about last week's lightning-shortened performance against FAU, and it will be hoping to hit the SEC schedule with the same sort of positivity after its last non-conference game until late November. Southern Miss picked up its second win since 2011 last week. EDGE: Alabama
MATCHUP TO WATCH: Southern Miss vs. Alabama's second-team defense
If this one gets out of hand like Las Vegas oddsmakers expect, Alabama's young defensive players will receive the playing time they missed last week because of the bad weather. The snaps are valuable on this end of the field as numerous players, such as Brown, Evans, sophomore linebacker Tim Williams and more could potentially work themselves into more prominent positions by the end of the season. These kinds of opportunities won't be around when Alabama opens SEC play.