Where, oh where, has Alabama’s running game gone?
What the heck? Is this a nightmare?
The running game was supposed to be different. Aaron Taylor went to camp and came away encouraged by the guys up front; he told us all about it on a guest spot on Full Ride. Keelon Russell brought more athleticism to the quarterback position, with the threat of his legs potentially opening things up.
And yet Alabama managed 68 rushing yards against Texas A&M.
Sixty-eight.
Missing Ryan Coleman-Williams hurts. Losing starting center Racin Delgatty clearly hasn’t helped. But holy hell, where is the running game?
Russell deserves his flowers. When Alabama needed him in the fourth quarter, he delivered two touchdown passes. He finished 19-of-30 for 311 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Tide escape with a 31–20 win.
That matters. So does what keeps making these Saturdays so difficult.
This feels too much like last year, when Ty Simpson too often had to BE the offense.
Woof.
If Alabama makes the playoff again, can it hold up against a team capable of exploiting those problems up front? Or are we looking at another Thanksgiving turkey, waiting to get cooked?
We saw what Indiana did in the Rose Bowl last season. That memory hasn’t exactly faded.
At least Alabama won. Three straight losses would have made things really, really weird in Tuscaloosa.
Dinner at the Bright Star might have been a tense affair, soothed only by a fine Greek-style sirloin or some snapper throats.
Instead, dinner can be enjoyed in relative peace.
And seriously, go to the Bright Star. One of my favorite places on earth. The food, the history, the immigrant story behind it—it’s a piece of America you can sit down and experience.
Living history. Wonderful food.
Roll Tide. Find a running game.
Mike Elko, beware of Billy’s cesspool
Be very aware.
The boys and girls on Billy Liucci’s message boards are going to be fired up.
Texas A&M is now 4–4 overall and 1–4 in the SEC. With a veteran quarterback in Marcel Reed. With all the investment in that roster.
My goodness.
The offense keeps making mistakes, and the same question keeps coming back: What the hell is the answer?
How many times can this program chase the pot of gold and end up wondering where the rainbow went?
After beating LSU in 2024, Elko declared that A&M was a “real program.”
Those words tend to follow you when things stop looking the way you promised they would.
Right now, I’m watching a team that too often looks short on direction. The investment raises expectations. The mistakes raise blood pressure.
And here’s something that still amazes me: Some coaches read the message boards.
I know firsthand that it happens. Not all of them, but some absolutely do. Some even take note of screen names.
Can you imagine?
You’re trying to fix your offense, manage your roster and save your season—and somewhere in the middle of all that, you’re checking what the message-board regulars are saying about you.
Billy’s cesspool may be stronger than ever tonight, I’m afraid.
Officiating cannot keep being this conversation
Watching Tennessee–South Carolina, I came away frustrated by the officiating again.
Too much money—and too much work by the people playing and coaching these games—is at stake for the standard to feel this inconsistent.
Nobody expects officials to be perfect. But there has to be a better answer than another explanation after the damage is done.
We cannot get to the playoff and have the conversation end with, “Whoops. Sorry. Our bad.”
The sport keeps getting bigger. Accountability needs to keep up.
The flu has gone national
Rick calls it the “SEC flu.”
I think it’s just college football now.
You win something enormous one Saturday, everybody celebrates, and then the next opponent catches you before you’ve recovered.
Look at BYU. One week after that glorious win over Notre Dame, the Cougars go to UCF and lose in double overtime.
I said it often on Full Ride with Rick this week: This was a classic trap.
An Admiral Ackbar special.
My view is that the portal and the NIL era have made experienced depth harder to keep. You can build a terrific starting lineup. Keeping enough talent behind it to survive the season is another challenge.
Every weekend becomes a battle of matchups and roster attrition.
You can’t simply assume you’ll wear somebody down because of the logo on your helmet.
Last Saturday’s celebration doesn’t block anybody this Saturday.
Cincinnati had something to say
Texas Tech found that out, too.
I talked with Cincinnati quarterback JC French IV after the game on Mad Dog Radio. Great kid. The Georgia Southern transfer sounded like somebody who loves the big stage.
He was quick to praise the running game and the offensive line for opening things up. He also credited a defense that had been challenged over the previous two weeks and stepped up.
Imagine that: A quarterback getting meaningful help from the running game.
Somebody send the tape to Tuscaloosa.
And with the Brendan Sorsby connection hanging over this matchup, you have to imagine Cincinnati’s win felt a little sweeter for the Bearcats—and stung a little more for Texas Tech.
Indiana finds a way. Michigan finds more frustration.
Curt Cignetti did it again.
Indiana’s 13–6 overtime win at Michigan was a defensive fight, and Josh Hoover came through when the Hoosiers needed him, scoring the winning touchdown in overtime.
Sometimes winning is ugly. Cignetti seems perfectly comfortable with that.
Michigan fans are considerably less comfortable with what they’re watching.
We had callers on Mad Dog today calling for Kyle Whittingham’s job. Others want the offensive coordinator gone.
I understand the frustration. The offense stinks.
But I still think we’re watching the aftermath of the Harbaugh era. Michigan won a national championship amid controversy, Harbaugh left for the NFL, and the program has been dealing with the turbulence ever since.
In my view, the Sherrone Moore chapter was a disaster. Whittingham inherited a mess, and I’m not ready to pretend all of it began with him.
That doesn’t make this offense any easier to watch.
The painful part is that I think Michigan’s defense is national-title good. That group gives the Wolverines a chance, and the offense keeps making the assignment harder.
A big woof-a-roo.
And the prime-time games aren’t even finished yet.
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