Alright, so we’re trying something new this week, and the open thread from the first half is supposed to be able to handle the comment traffic to be the commenting open thread for the whole game. So feel free to keep commenting there. Still, here’s my quick impressions from the first half.
The Alabama offense was generally on point the entire half, scoring 21 points and only punting once. Keelon Russell has thrown the ball downfield and also been a maestro in pocket and making decisions on when to scramble. Ryan Coleman-Williams had a touchdown and an amazing back shoulder catch. Meanwhile, Trae’Shawn Brown has been dominant on the ground.
The problem for the Alabama offense has been Daniel Hill fumbling twice and giving MSU short fields.
The Alabama defense has been boom or bust: Dijon Lee got a pick six and the Tide got two other turnover and harassed Kamario Taylor in the backfield all day, but they also gave up some chunk passes scattered through the half. Devan Thompkins and Xavier Griffin are going to be giving MSU’s offensive tackles nightmares for the rest of the week. Still, MSU’s scores were on short fields, and they did get a goal line stand to end the half.
Overall, an 11-point lead in a stadium full of cowbells against a team that everyone has been picking to upset the Tide is a pretty good place to be, and outside of the sloppy fumbles, I think the Tide played generally well across both side of the ball.
Here’s to hoping for a good, sustained second half. Roll Tide!