With its SEC and national title aspirations washed away by mid-November and with FCS foe Austin Peay in town for the annual November Cupcake Game, Alabama was in a very weird place on a cloudy Saturday afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Fittingly, the 8th-ranked Crimson Tide had their heads in a cloud in the early going while Nick Saban seethed on the sideline.

They were insanely sloppy. They turned the ball over 2 times, fumbling twice, in an odd-ball 1st quarter that they somehow escaped with a 7-0 lead thanks to a 13-play, 92-yard, game-opening march that ended with Jase McClellan’s 1-yard touchdown run.

But the Tide also mixed in a goal-line stand after the 1st fumble that came on an Austin Peay punt, and then the Governors were nice enough to miss a 25-yard field goal following Bama’s 2nd fumble by Isaiah Bond. Having survived those early mistakes with no consequences on the scoreboard, Alabama eventually trudged forward in its tune-up for an Iron Bowl with no championship significance by tossing aside the gritty Governors 34-0.

On an altogether weird Alabama football day at Bryant-Denny, for the multiple reasons we mentioned, the Tide acted weird, especially at the beginning. But that’s where this team is in mid-November of 2022 as they try to plug their ears and move forward from those 2 forgettable, fan-storming road losses in Knoxville and Baton Rouge that threw their season to the wayside and relegated them to playing-out-the-string status.

At the end of the afternoon, the Crimson Tide were 9-2, with the 87th edition of the Iron Bowl beckoning in 1 week, and they fought through those early cobwebs, piling up over 500 yards of total offense, including 146 yards in that 1st quarter that included the 2 turnovers but also that game-opening drive from their own 8.

Austin Peay is having a solid season in its corner of the college football world, coming into Saturday with a 7-3 record and a 3-2 league mark, good for 3rd place in the Atlantic Sun Conference. So, the Governors are sort of used to winning games in 2022, and they caught Alabama in this odd spot. Instead of the Crimson Tide barreling toward another trip to Atlanta to play for another SEC championship, Bama is doing no such thing this November.

It took a while, but Bama finally turned off the snooze button.

And simply put, McClellan was a monster in the 1st half, seizing his opportunity with an increased role with Jahmyr Gibbs out after he twisted his ankle last week against Ole Miss. After the missed chip-shot field goal by Maddux Trujillo, McClellan ripped off a 35-yard run into Austin Peay territory, then added runs of 3 and 10 yards to the Governors’ 4-yard line. McClellan finished the 1st half with 137 yards, averaging almost 10 yards per carry.

Bryce Young finished off the drive by finding Jermaine Burton in the end zone, and with 6:37 left in the 2nd quarter the sleepwalking Tide finally had some separation with a 14-0 lead.

Then Alabama did something it hasn’t done nearly enough of in 2022 — it took the ball away from the opponent. With Austin Peay having moved the ball into Tide territory, defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry did the honors, picking off Austin Peay quarterback Mike DiLiello and returning it 26 yds to the Governors’ 45-yard line.

Despite having a short field, the Tide settled for Will Reichard’s 29-yard field goal with 2:27 left in the 1st half and then jogged to the locker room with a sketchy 17-0 halftime lead that probably had Saban saying some not-so-nice things to his team.

After forcing 2 Austin Peay punts to open the 2nd half, Alabama got back to the business of widening its cushion, and it moved quickly. It took the Tide just 3 plays to go 65 yards, with Young finding Burton again, this time for 50 yards down to the Governors’ 15-yard line. Fittingly, McClellan did the rest, with a 6-yard run followed by a 9-yard touchdown burst to make it 24-0 midway through the 3rd quarter.

It was McClellan’s 1st multi-touchdown game of the season. Even if Alabama wasn’t totally alert and awake on this sleepy Saturday, McClellan was, and he served notice that there is a dangerous running back in the Bama backfield that isn’t named Jahmyr Gibbs.

With the game shifting toward out-of-reach status and the Governors having nothing to lose anyway, they went for it on 4th down in their own territory on their next possession, and Bama made them pay. The Tide forced another turnover, with Damon Payne Jr. recovering a fumble by DiLiello at the Austin Peay 29-yard line.

It once again set the Tide up with a short field and it probably had everyone who cares about Alabama football wondering why it couldn’t force turnovers with this regularity more often this fall. Perhaps if the Crimson Tide did that, they wouldn’t be merely playing out the string in mid-November.

Bama once again failed to cash in the short field with a touchdown, which Saban probably added to his list of complaints for Iron Bowl Week. Reichard booted a 30-yard field goal this time, and it was 27-0.

Then the Tide defense, perhaps smelling its first shutout since Week 1 against Utah State, forced another punt, and Young and Co. went back to work. They went 66 yards in 8 plays, with Young again finding the much-maligned Burton for a 10-yard score to make it 34-0 early in the 4th quarter.

The Tide, after those early miscues on this most unusual day, had “landed the plane.” They were in the clear, and Burton, after struggling so much in his 1st season in Tuscaloosa, finally had his breakout day. It took until Game 11 and Week 12, but it happened. The Georgia transfer had his 1st 100-yard receiving day in an Alabama uniform, and he had his 1st multi-touchdown game since the opener against Utah State.

And then Alabama forced yet another turnover, as Brian Branch picked off DiLiello. The Crimson Tide, devoid of forced turnovers and general big plays by the defense for most of the season, finally had their avalanche of turnovers. Yes, it was against an FCS opponent, with those championship aspirations already gone, but let the record show that it did indeed happen.

After the Branch interception, Young was done for the day, and it was Jalen Milroe time.

Saturday wasn’t a gem by any means. It wasn’t a prelude to a most-meaningful Iron Bowl (besides the bragging rights) or a trip to Atlanta, or a trip to the Playoff.

But it checked a lot of boxes.

McClellan served notice with no Gibbs.

Burton busted out, at long last.

The Tide finally forced those turnovers everyone has been waiting for all season.

And now everyone in the state of Alabama can get ready for Iron Bowl Week.