Concern.

Then outright disaster.

Then, finally, mercifully, some productivity.

Second-ranked Alabama came into Saturday’s game against lightly-regarded Duke giving the Blue Devils 33.5 points in Las Vegas and even less general regard in Atlanta.

But then the game started.

A 3-and-out by the Alabama offense — loaded with weapons even with two running backs standing suspended on the sidelines — that “featured” Heisman Trophy contender Tua Tagovailoa running for his life twice gave Duke some confidence.

Possession No. 2 managed to get even worse, as running back Jerome Ford fumbled on his third carry of the game to set up Duke … yes, Duke … deep in Alabama territory.

Inside Georgia Dome 2.0, Alabama fans were trying to figure out how offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was handed the keys of a Formula One Ferrari in February and managed to turn it into a rusted-out Pinto by August.

After Alabama’s defense bottled up Duke (again, we say … Duke?!?) on 4th down in the next possession to avoid giving up points, the Ferrari managed to sputter to life.

Kind of.

Even by nearly exclusively relying on Tagovailoa’s left arm, the Crimson Tide offense looked far from crisp while driving just past midfield. Jerry Jeudy was crossed up and almost had a Tagovailoa pass attempt bounce off his back without even looking. Tagovailoa aired another out to Henry Ruggs that was a good 20 yards from the target.

And the running game? Um, what running game?

So when Will Reichard’s first collegiate field goal attempt from 49 yards was cued up, was anybody in Crimson really surprised when it doinked off the right upright?

Through 15 minutes, it was 0-0 — marking Alabama’s second scoreless quarter in the past 2 seasons … and that was against Georgia last year in the SEC title game. Clearly it is the Mercedes-Benz Stadium making this happen.

Clearly through with disciplining Najee Harris for missing a team function during the preseason, coach Nick Saban ended Najee Harris’ time on the sideline — as Harris magically replaced Ford in the Alabama backfield to start the second quarter. Harris ripped off a 50-yard run on his first touch … only to see it wiped away by a holding call.

At this point, Duke wasn’t being fooled much by Alabama’s play-action ways. So the Crimson Tide adjusted, rolling Tagovailoa out of the pocket. And when a touchdown finally came, a 27-yard TD pass to tight end Miller Forristall, there seemed to be as many Bronx cheers from the faithful as actual ones.

Running the ball continued to be a challenge for the Tide in the first half, as 4 times Alabama needed just a yard on second down to keep a drive alive and only made that happen once. That’s correct: 1 yard on 4 carries just trying to get a first down against Duke. That output simply won’t cut it when it’s an SEC defense like Texas A&M, LSU or Auburn on the other side of the ball.

By the end of the first half, even as Brian Robinson doubled the Tide scoring with a 1-yard plunge, Alabama appeared to be making a run at being the best 7-on-7 college football team in America. When you’ve got all these All-American caliber receivers, heck, why not air the heck out of the ball? Tagovailoa went to the locker room with 16 completions in 19 attempts and 202 passing yards, which looked gaudy on paper but from Duke’s perspective actually felt like a victory.

More concerning is that Alabama racked up 42 entire yards on the ground in the first 30 minutes, only 19 shy of Duke’s output. Raise your hand if you had Duke handling Alabama in any statistical category other than Team SAT score.

The second half was really more of the first, with any Alabama offensive productivity coming in the air and not on the ground. The Tide got to the goal line on their first possession of the third quarter and promptly tried to hand the ball off — getting stonewalled by that vicious Duke defense. So Tagovailoa eschewed both the running game and his many WRs to instead throw another TD pass to a tight end. This time, Major Tennison hauled it in to begin the process of looking ahead to mighty New Mexico State in Tuscaloosa next weekend.

Coach David Cutcliffe and the Blue Devils walked out of Atlanta on Saturday night feeling about as good about a 39-point loss as one could against the No. 2 team in America. And there is a lot of merit to that. But really what was evidenced Saturday afternoon wasn’t so much a surprising Blue Devils team as a concerning Crimson Tide.

Yes, losing two middle linebackers to major injury before Game 1 hurts. A lot. Sitting two running backs for the entire first quarter, Bobby Bowden style, doesn’t do you any favors. But neither of those factors mattered as much as the fact that Alabama simply couldn’t run the damn ball.

Oh, the Tide can throw it. Tagovailoa ceded to Mac Jones just before the fourth quarter after going 26-of-31 for 336 yards and four touchdowns. But you gotta be able to ground and pound to wear defenses out and chew up clock, and at the same point Tagovailoa departed Duke still led Alabama in rushing yards (9o to 77) and was limiting the Tide to just 2.65 yards per carry.

Right now, the Crimson Tide is a one-dimensional offense. Only time will tell if a second dimension develops this season. And we don’t mean Team SAT score.