ESPN’s Booger McFarland: Alabama is very vulnerable right now
By Kevin Duffey
Published:
No surprise, the Alabama Crimson Tide was ranked No. 1 in the third edition of the College Football Playoff rankings, moving up from No. 2 after Georgia lost to Auburn. You can see the full top 25 here.
But there are some legitimate concerns about the Tide after last week’s close call against Mississippi State. QB Jalen Hurts threw the game-winning TD pass to help lift Alabama to a 31-24 victory over the Bulldogs, but for much of the game, the Bulldogs seemed in control.
Following the release of the latest rankings, ESPN’s Booger McFarland expressed his concern about the Tide.
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“They’re (Alabama) very vulnerable right now,” he said. “That defense is very vulnerable right now.
“If Alabama and Auburn were playing this weekend, I would take Auburn.”
Indeed, the Iron Bowl figures to be an epic showdown, and the winner will play Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.
The concerns for Alabama are valid, however.
The Tide’s defense has suffered a crazy amount of injuries to its linebacking corps, and spread offenses (like Mississippi State and like Auburn) usually give Nick Saban’s defense fits. A mobile quarterback who can hit big plays down the field combined with a good running game usually give the Tide the most problems. In fairness, that combination gives any defense problems.
While Alabama “looks vulnerable,” there isn’t one dominant team in college football right now. And Alabama is the closest thing to that currently.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
