The Crimson Tide defense made Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson’s evening a nightmare on Saturday, applying 4 sacks and forcing 3 fumbles.

It was possibly the biggest positive for Alabama from its 34-6 win against Kentucky in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

While the secondary had a tough outing against Ole Miss, the defense has been well above average in every other aspect in every game thus far. To be fair, Ole Miss has torched everyone this season with quarterback Chad Kelly ranking second in the SEC in passing yards per game (319.2) and leading the conference in yards per attempt (9.2).

The defense has scored five touchdowns for the season. That’s the most in the FBS, one more than Ohio State’s four. Eddie Jackson (vs. Western Kentucky), Marlon Humphrey (vs. USC) and even Jonathan Allen (vs. Ole Miss) had pick-six scores, while Da’Ron Payne (vs. Ole Miss) and Ronnie Harrison (vs. Kentucky) scooped up fumbles and returned them for touchdowns.

Those handful of touchdowns through five games is only two fewer than South Carolina has scored altogether this season.

Oddly enough, the only game without a defensive touchdown was against the sputtering offense of Kent State.

The pressure has been one of the greatest factors to the unit’s success. Alabama already has 17 sacks this season. For comparison, the team finished a strong 2013 season with 22 sacks total. The Crimson Tide is second in the SEC in team sacks, two behind the Gators.

Last season, Alabama led the SEC in sacks with 53 with Florida finishing second with 40 sacks. Kentucky was in last place (17), and the Tide has already matched that total. At present, the team is on pace to finish the regular season with 42 sacks, which doesn’t include a potential conference championship game and two Playoff games as the team had last season.

Allen is the individual leader in sacks with 4. Ryan Anderson is second with 3.5 to go with two forced fumbles. Tim Williams also has two forced fumbles. Obviously, these plays are either drive-killers for opposing offenses or they present opportunities for points off turnovers.

In Saturday’s game, Williams, Allen and Rashaan Evans had sacks, while Anderson and Christian Miller shared credit on a sack. The shared sack by Miller and Anderson resulted in a fumble recovered by Anderson. At the time, Kentucky was in field goal range. Instead, the Alabama offense scored a field goal on the ensuing drive.

Later, Rashaan Evans applied a tough lick to Johnson, jarring the ball loose. Harrison scooped it up and took it 55 yards for a touchdown. Kentucky could’ve trimmed Alabama’s lead to 10-6, but instead it turned into a 17-3 advantage for Alabama because of pressure.

Williams’ sack also popped the ball loose, although Kentucky recovered the ball. The resulting loss of 16 yards and an earlier holding penalty killed a Kentucky drive that came close to midfield.

In addition to the forced fumbles and sacks, the Alabama defense was credited with 6 quarterback hurries as well, the third time in five games that the Tide has posted at least a half-dozen hurries.

Alabama’s relentless pressure may be a critical factor with three key games on the slate prior to the bye week.

Alabama faces a difficult task against Arkansas this week. The Razorbacks gave the Crimson Tide all it could handle last time in Fayetteville with Alabama escaping with a narrow 14-13 victory.

Speeding up the mental clock on junior quarterback Austin Allen will be critical. Allen has the highest quarterback rating (167.7) of any quarterback in the SEC mostly due to his efficiency. He has 12 touchdowns to 2 interceptions and is completing 67.6 percent of his passes.

If Allen is given time, he can throw first downs to Drew Morgan or explosive plays to Keon Hatcher or a number of other dangerous receivers.

Alabama has shown an ability to get after quarterbacks in every game thus far this season. The team will need to do the same on Saturday against Arkansas.