What happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object?

While what was once considered an annoying paradox when I was trying to get my groove on in high school, instead of doing homework, has now morphed into something I study ad nauseam covering the Southeastern Conference — in particular Alabama.

As a former defensive player, watching the Tide’s defensive front shut down high-powered rushing attacks is beautiful enough to bring a tear to a young man’s eye. The interior linemen — led by future first-round picks A’Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed — control and bombard gaps, while the exterior linemen are mostly composed of two-gappers who can set the edge and force the ball-carriers back toward traffic.

And the off-the-ball linebackers? Oh my!

Reggie Ragland is the premier player at the position in all of college football, using a skill-set that’s on par with some of the NFL’s best. In an even-front alignment he can excel at the “Will,” “Mike” or “Sam,” while playing an edge-rusher in a “34” would be as easy as manning one of the inside spots. He’s that incredible.

Teaming him with highly touted recruits the likes of Reuben Foster, Dillon Lee and Shaun Dion-Hamilton puts the finishing touches on the most talented, ferocious front seven coach Nick Saban has constructed in Tuscaloosa.

After stifling Georgia’s run game last week, which saw the great Nick Chubb only generate 63 yards on 19 carries when the game was in contention, the Tide were charged with task of detonating a rushing attack that, on paper, was capable of stacking up physically against any front in the country.

Arkansas has, by far, the most publicized offensive line due in part to coach Bret Bielema’s success with the position when he sent an endless supply to the NFL at Wisconsin and because most fans and media type are enamored with size.

Stop me if you’ve head this before: Arkansas has the largest OL not only in college, but also in all of football. It’s a phrase that every broadcast leans on despite the fact that Arkansas is 12-19 so far under Bielema.

Translation: Football is about scheme and execution. It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s about the, well, um, you get where I’m going with that. Georgia’s tiny offensive line, which is the size of some high school teams (lol), has consistently churned out yardage against any and everyone — sans the Tide, of course.

And, it didn’t take long to see that Arkansas’ size would be NO factor in a tussle with the Mighty Tide defenders. Gap discipline is when a player has the wherewithal to maintain his lane no matter where the ball is headed. Alabama does that in its sleep.

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Outside of Bama’s own offense, there are only three other traditional offenses in the SEC. It can be said that any offense reliant upon heavier personnel just plays into Bama’s hand as that affords Bama the opportunity to jump in its base “34.” Arkansas, at its core, is a “12” or “22 personnel-” based outfit designed to punish defenses between the tackles.

With Bama’s style of two-gap deployment, you knew it would be a matter of who truly possessed the better talent.

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For fans of phenomenal trench play, which is by far my favorite aspect to analyze, the above sequence should make you smile as wide as I am while writing this.

I want you to pay attention to how astutely the front filled every gap; the remaining gap, which was vacated due to the 0-technique, No. 94 Daron Payne, being pushed off his spot by a double, was filled by the in-the-box safety, No. 4 Eddie Jackson, who stopped the run for no gain as the “Fill” defender.

Arkansas’ large offensive line was completely overmatched all night, which resulted in one of the hottest running backs, Alex Collins, generating a putrid 26 yards on 12 carries.

Let that marinate: Collins had 26 yards on 12 carries!

As a team, the Hogs managed 44 yards on 26 carries in a contest that was pretty tight for most of it. The Tide’s stifling rushing defense caused a prideful Arkansas squad to abandon its core principles while trying to win through the air — which is exactly what the Tide want.

Looking forward, the Tide still have a match up with the league’s, perhaps the nation’s, best rushing attack in the Tigers of Louisiana State — led by the most talented running back I’ve ever studied on film, Leonard Fournette.

If they manage to lock up that run game, too, you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll be seeing the Tide in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game … again.

But let’s see how they do with the best passing attack in the conference next week in the Texas A&M Aggies. Once the Tide consistently proves they can shut down the spread, they won’t need a Herculean effort by the offense.

Run the ball. Stop the run.