There’s no question top-ranked Alabama is one of the most complete teams in the country, with the nation’s second-best scoring defense and an offense that’s 15th in points per game.
But coach Nick Saban is still waiting for some improvement on special teams.
“Kickoff coverage and kickoff return are two areas that we need to do a little better job in,” Saban said during his Monday news conference.
Alabama’s average of 20.3 yards per kick return is 78th in FBS, while its kickoff coverage team ranks 80th nationally with 21.7 yards per kick return. This issue manifested itself in the Crimson Tide’s 10-0 win at LSU last weekend, when Alabama gained just 14 yards on its one kickoff return and the Tigers gained 27 yards on theirs.
Knowing the kind of stickler Saban is, he’ll be harping on special teams all week long.
Marcus covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
