3 things to like, 3 things not to like about the opener as Alabama preps for Kentucky
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Alabama breezed through its 2026 season opener with the help of 38 first-half points, a revived running game and a defense that barely let East Carolina breathe all afternoon.
It was a 48-10 Week 1 victory at home with a slew of things to like, as the Crimson Tide now prepare for what likely will be a much stiffer test this Saturday at Kentucky.
We’ll discuss 3 really good things for Alabama fans to like from the opener and also nitpick in pointing out 3 things not to like about the pounding of the Pirates:
3 things to like
We’ll talk about the positives first, because there really was a lot to like.
1. Now that’s what a typical Alabama ground attack looks like
While the Tide defense was busy smothering the East Carolina rushing attack into oblivion, holding the Pirates to 2 yards, the Bama offense was busy bulldozing its way to 227 yards on the ground. It was a show of rushing force that was sorely missed last season, when Ty Simpson was the quarterback without a running attack and Alabama’s offense was rendered one-dimensional.
Last Saturday, the Crimson Tide reminded the home fans what Alabama’s running game has looked like for decades — it was punishing and it was relentless. Bama kept pounding away at the Pirates all afternoon, running it a whopping 49 times and averaging a healthy 4.6 yards per carry. It was a drastic departure from last season’s feeble attack, when the Tide averaged a mere 3.4 yards a pop and foes never really had to fear that old, familiar Alabama push in the trenches.
Perhaps the 2026 rushing attack got off to such a successful start because East Carolina couldn’t key on 1 or 2 guys. The Tide spread out the production, with 9 different Bama players carrying it at least 1 time. And perhaps the running game is destined to be light-years better this fall because of who the starting quarterback is, because Keelon Russell went out there in his first start and led the Tide in rushing with 86 yards and a TD.
Russell found the end zone on the ground, and he was far from the only one. Not only did the Tide show they could run it again, they also showed an ability to run it successfully near the goal line, putting up 5 rushing touchdowns. Daniel Hill led the way with 2 TDs, while freshmen EJ Crowell and Trae’shawn Brown each punched it in once in their collegiate debuts to go with Russell’s score.
With so much pressure on Bama to fix the running game and fix it immediately, Ryan Grubb couldn’t have scripted a more complete Week 1 message. Yes, it was East Carolina, but it was also mighty impressive.
2. Kane Wommack’s defense was swarming and even scored
Sure, this was far from the best offense that Bama will face all season. Wommack will lock horns with Will Stein this Saturday in Lexington, and that’ll start the roll call of SEC attacks that the Tide will have to deal with this fall. But East Carolina was who was in front of Alabama in Week 1, and the Crimson Tide stone-walled the Pirates, holding them to 162 total yards and just 5 first downs.
The D’s dominance was particularly felt in the trenches, with East Carolina managing exactly 2 yards rushing. When the Pirates got the ball, you blinked and they were giving it right back. East Carolina had possession for a little over 21 minutes, as Wommack’s unit continually got off the field by forcing the Pirates to go 0-for-9 in 3rd-down conversions. They couldn’t sustain anything because they couldn’t stay on the field.
Not coincidentally, East Carolina’s only touchdown drive of the day took only 3 plays early in the 2nd quarter, with Bama getting beat on a 68-yard pass play that put the Pirates down at the Tide 1-yard line. Fast-forward to early in the 3rd quarter, when East Carolina scored its only other points of the game on a field goal, and sure enough it came off a Keelon Russell fumble that it recovered at the Alabama 31-yard line.
In other words, the Pirates needed a short field to score, and they only gained 14 yards on 6 plays before settling for that 34-yard field goal. They couldn’t mount any sustained scoring drives because Bama wouldn’t let them. The field goal merely cut Alabama’s lead to 38-10, and that was that because the Pirates were forced to punt on their final 4 possessions of the afternoon.
Wommack’s crew recorded 3 sacks, and when it wasn’t bringing down East Carolina quarterback Mitch Griffis it was intercepting him and going the other way. That’s what star linebacker Yhonzae Pierre did in the 2nd quarter with a 27-yard pick-6 that put the Crimson Tide up 31-7 and effectively put the game out of reach. The degree of difficulty will get much higher in the weeks ahead for the Bama D, but after last season’s Week 1 no-show at Florida State, it was a 180-degree turn in the right direction.
3. Keelon Russell didn’t throw a pick and dazzled with his legs
The redshirt freshman wasn’t perfect in his debut as Alabama’s starting quarterback, losing a fumble in the 3rd quarter, but even the most demanding Tide fans had to be impressed with Russell’s overall performance in Week 1. He completed 18-of-30 passes for 256 yards, and while Russell didn’t throw a touchdown pass, he also didn’t throw an interception, which was far more important and telling.
Russell won the starting job over Austin Mack in fall camp on the promise that he would make big plays, big throws, touchdown throws. Those touchdowns will surely come as he settles in this season, but it was far more important, especially in his first game, that Russell take care of the ball. Aside of that 1 fumble, he did just that on a day when he easily could’ve let his excitement and adrenaline force him into multiple mistakes.
Instead, Russell was mostly rock solid, piloting an attack that piled up 487 yards of total offense and 28 first downs. Russell did a great job of keeping the offense on the field, too, as the Tide won the time-of-possession battle overwhelmingly by holding onto the ball for 38 minutes, 53 seconds. They also converted 8-of-15 on 3rd down, so clearly Russell didn’t let the momentous occasion get the best of him. He stayed calm and executed.
Guess what else Russell did? He not only burned East Carolina with his legs, he also led Alabama in rushing by a whole lot with 86 yards on the ground and 1 touchdown. Russell ran the ball 13 times and was the only Tide player to have double-digit carries, so clearly there was an effort by Ryan Grubb to keep the ball in his hands as much as possible. Daniel Hill was the next-highest rusher with 47 yards, so Russell owned the ground attack in his very first start, which could be a sign of things to come in 2026.
The really big plays from Russell are certain to start happening. But in a debut as a heavy favorite, simply being solid was what the occasion called for, and Russell delivered on that nicely.
3 things not to like
It was an easy victory but not a perfect victory over the Pirates.
1. Ryan Coleman-Williams had a reoccurrence of the drops
Yes, there were positives for Bama’s star wideout with the new name and the new number. He caught 5 balls for 130 yards, including a 58-yard grab, so Coleman-Williams could hang his hat on that in the opener. But along with the new came the old, as in those all-too-familiar problems from last season with dropped passes.
Coleman-Williams dropped a few in the first half, 1 of them in wide open space without an East Carolina defender close to him and another in the corner of the end zone. The guy with the now-hyphenated last name who wears No. 1 instead of No. 2 is going to hear about the drops until they stop, or at least until they subside as the season goes on.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer defended his junior wideout after the game and basically told reporters that they’re not going to stop going to him, that they’re going to keep feeding him. Again, it’s not like Coleman-Williams didn’t put up some fine numbers in Week 1. The numbers were there. But the drops were, too, and it’s something that’ll be watched closely again by everyone in the Alabama football orbit this Saturday afternoon as the Tide venture into hostile territory at Kentucky for their SEC opener.
The drops didn’t come close to costing Bama in the opener, but the competition will get tougher, starting in Week 2, and surely DeBoer doesn’t want to keep having to answer those uncomfortable questions.
2. Zero points in the 3rd quarter after a first-half explosion
Yes, we’ve arrived at the nitpicking portion of the Bama Week 1 review. Alabama piled up 38 points in the first half, with the help of a pick-6, and the offense was rolling until it wasn’t in the 3rd quarter. It’s not the end of the world, because how many times do you see a heavy favorite bog down a bit in the 2nd half after a deluge of points in the first half? It happens all the time and it didn’t matter one bit against East Carolina.
But it’s not ideal, and with a new starting quarterback and a revamped offensive line, it’s important, especially early in the season, that the focus and production stay consistent throughout the game. That didn’t happen in the forgettable 3rd quarter, as Keelon Russell lost a fumble early in the period before the Tide punted twice without getting a first down.
The really positive sign was that Russell bounced right back in the 4th quarter, belying his inexperience and leading 2 long scoring drives before handing the keys to Austin Mack.
3. Nobody not named Keelon Russell rushed for over 50 yards
Again, we’re nitpicking, but it’s definitely worth a mention. Because as athletically gifted as Russell is, he’s probably not going to rush for 86 yards in every game, especially as the level of defenses he’s facing rises several notches. Daniel Hill chipped in with 9 carries for 47 yards and scored 2 touchdowns, and that’s a nice stat line but also a small sample size.
At some point soon, maybe Saturday at Kentucky, he’s going to have to show that he can shoulder the load. Or maybe the non-Russell production answer will come from 1 of the 2 freshmen backs in EJ Crowell or Trae’shawn Brown, both of whom scored a touchdown in their first college game. Both also carried it 7 times, so they got their feet wet, and that number could be destined to rise quickly with question marks still surrounding Hill and Kevin Riley and with AK Dear injured.
Russell has enough to worry about. He can’t be expected to carry the running game for the long haul.
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Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
