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Advanced statistics show breaking tackles, tackling a big key to Alabama’s success
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There are a multitude of reasons for Alabama’s collective success during the Nick Saban era.
When looking specifically at this season, Pro Football Focus recently broke down the National Championship Game matchup between the Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers.
Statistically, there are two aspects of Alabama’s team directly contributing to their current standing as the No. 1 team in the country.
Alabama’s running backs — including QB Jalen Hurts — are excellent at breaking tackles.
The Crimson Tide don’t rely on one lead back — but rather four with Hurts, Joshua Jacobs, Bo Scarbrough, and Damien Harris.
Hurts leads the team by forcing 42 missed tackles. Scarbrough is second (35), followed by Harris (31) and Jacobs (26).
This speaks to the effort and drive each runner displays on a weekly basis, but also speaks to how talented and the deep the running back corps is as a whole. A 3-yard gain as opposed to a 5 or 6-yard gain is a tremendous difference — particularly on first or second down.
On the other side of the ball, Alabama’s defense (unsurprisingly) is excellent when it comes to making tackles.
The defense averages only 5.1 missed tackles per game. On the season, the Crimson Tide have allowed 72 missed tackles. Alabama’s defense isn’t exotic nor fancy. However, it’s rooted in fundamentals — something explicitly shown in regards to this statistic.
Clemson, for example, has missed 128 tackles on the season — nearly doubling (9.1) Alabama’s weekly total.
Alabama’s ability to tackle — and miss tackles — certainly will play a role in Monday’s title game.
