SEC defensive coordinators discuss successfully planning for Alabama’s offense
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Stopping Alabama’s offense has proven to be incredibly difficult for defenses to accomplish this season. Seven times the Crimson Tide have scored at least 48 points and only twice has Alabama been held to fewer than 30 points in a game (24 vs. Washington, 10 vs. LSU).
Considering the strength of Alabama’s defense this season, the Tide are No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense, Clemson isn’t likely to win Monday night without holding Alabama’s offense to well below its season average of just over 39 points per game.
While the plan is easy, executing it will be the toughest challenge Clemson has faced all season.
How should Clemson’s DC Brent Venables go about slowing down the Tide? Steven Godfrey of SB Nation went and asked two defensive coordinators that would know best in LSU’s Dave Aranda and Ole Miss’ Dave Wommack.
According to Aranda, the secret to his unit’s success relied not on scouting Alabama’s offense, but by scouting his defense and what had successfully be done to them by opposing offenses from Auburn and Southen Miss:
“Auburn had a fly sweep with a wheel route off of it. We struggled with it when we played them, and it eventually led to our defeat. I knew we’d see that against Alabama, and we did.
“We were playing Southern Miss, and they’re in a two-two set [two receivers, two tight ends] with the back offset. The receivers are snugged, and the back runs a wheel unmolested into the boundary. [Southern Miss] hit us on that one, and then that was in Alabama’s offense against LSU. That specific play was there.
“They’ll run something that hurts you specifically. We knew they were going to, because we got hurt with it.”
As for Wommack and his Ole Miss defense, the Rebels are the last team to beat the Tide – and that was in Tuscaloosa no less. According to the former Ole Miss coach, it was all about confusing the Alabama offense by breaking out formations never before shown on film:
“We gave them as many looks as we could give them. (In 2015), we were ultra multiple. When you have an experienced defense, that’s something you can afford to do. We made it a goal to be the cat and not the mouse.”
The plan worked, as Alabama turned the ball over multiple times, which ultimately doomed the team’s chances of winning despite a late comeback attempt.
If the Clemson defense breaks out some unique looks and tightens up after studying the weaknesses that have plagued it at times this season, the Tigers may have a shot Monday night. That is, of course, assuming the offense can put up a fight against Alabama’s top-ranked defense.
Good luck finding any offensive coaches capable of drawing up that gameplan, as it currently does not appear to exist heading into the title game.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
