Many factors contribute to Tide’s success

Before winning at LSU, before Tennessee, before Georgia and even Clemson, the preseason perspective at Alabama looked so much different than the current landscape on the Sunday before the Iron Bowl.

Remember? 8-4 looked pretty good, considering that would probably mean either a road win over one of those teams or a home victory over preseason SEC West favorite Auburn.

Instead, barring a change in the polls, the undefeated Crimson Tide will play its biggest rival as the nation’s top-ranked team for the first time since 1979. Alabama’s 1992 national championship was ranked No. 2 going into the Iron Bowl.

So after a 6-6 regular season in his first year, how did Nick Saban bring his team so far, so fast?

First, the offensive identity didn’t just change to more physical, it also got more practical.

Second, the defense, particularly in the front seven, was much better than anyone expected.

Third, the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class contributed immediately, as much on the practice field as in games.

Finally, Alabama players have adopted Saban’s one-game-at-a-time approach.

“Our guys have done a pretty good job all year of managing the circumstances they’re in, managing the situation, staying focused on the task at-hand,” the coach said. “What we try to tell them is that we’re trying to play at our capacity all the time.

… The next game is the most important game, and that’s the game we need to be focused on.”

Saban relied on returning captains safety Rashad Johnson and center Antoine Caldwell to carry this theme each week. Senior quarterback John Parker Wilson’s experience has paid off when things weren’t going smoothly.

“You’ve got to count on the leadership and maturity on your team, so that your guys are thinking about and are focused on the right things,” Saban said.

Caldwell said the key to the offense has been the play of the line, which returned four starters. But that wasn’t enough.

“We’re a lot stronger than we’ve been since I’ve been here, and that starts with off-season conditioning,” Caldwell said. “I just think we’ve been so physical up front, we’ve been able, especially in the run game, to move some people around.”

The Crimson Tide is second in the SEC in rushing offense, averaging more than 198 yards per game. Florida leads the league in rushing with 213 ypg. Last season, Alabama averaged 149 yards per game.

That improvement up front has taken heat off Wilson, whose inconsistent play a year ago proved costly in several losses. New offensive coordinator Jim McElwain streamlined the offense to make Wilson’s reads simpler and faster.

“He’s managed the game for us,” Caldwell said of his quarterback. “We haven’t had that many times when we’ve had third-and-18 or third-and-20. We’ve been playing ahead of the chains a lot this season.”

Saban said his problems with Alabama’s passing game — protection, route running, people getting open — have little to do with Wilson.

“His efficiency is better, his interceptions are down,” the coach said. “That part of what he does, his judgment, decision making, has all been a positive for us.”

Caldwell credits McElwain’s effect.

“I don’t think there could have been a better pick in the country than McElwain,” the center said. “We do a lot of the same things, but we do it out of six, seven, eight formations. … He simplified a lot for everybody.”

The defensive improvement has been evident – and perhaps more surprising – than the offense.

Coming into the season, only middle linebacker Rolando McClain had started a game for the Crimson Tide in the linebacker corps. Up front, the Tide had to replace sack leader Wallace Gilberry.

Alabama opponents averaged 124 rushing yards per game last season. Those yards are much tougher to gain this season. Alabama is first in the SEC in rushing defense, giving up 75 yards on the ground per game. Johnson said his unit benefited just by being in Saban’s complex system for another year.

“Just the front seven is a lot better than it was a year ago,” the safety said. “(Defensive end) Brandon Deaderick didn’t play much. (Linebacker) Brandon Fanney didn’t play much. But they’re physical guys. So when they got the opportunity to play this year … it helped us a lot.”

That familiarity with the defense helped Alabama cut down on mental errors and surrendering big plays, Saban said.

“You know, most teams that give up a lot of big plays aren’t very good statistically,” he said. “But I think the most important statistic on defense is how many points do you give up? Being hard to score on. Whether you get off the field on third down, whether you stop the run … all those things make you hard to score on. I would rather be statistically good in that category and get a lot of turnovers than the yards.”

Alabama leads the SEC in third-down defense. Opponents convert less than 25 percent of the time. It also is second in the league in scoring, surrendering 12.5 points per game.

Of course, the addition of newcomers radically upgraded the talent level. Terrence Cody, the 6-foot-5, 380-pound nose tackle, had a bigger impact than anyone imagined. Freshman Dont’a Hightower started next to the sophomore McClain and learned on the job. He didn’t just survive, he thrived.

On offense, freshman receiver Julio Jones quickly developed into the threat Tide fans had hoped he’d be. Freshman Mark Ingram is eighth in the SEC in rushing as backup to Glen Coffee.

Cody said it was exciting to be in that recruiting class.

“We already had a lot of talent here before we came here, so we’re just helping each other out,” Cody said.

But Saban and veterans have praised the work ethic and focus of that first-year class throughout the season
. “We’ve just got a lot of discipline. Young guys, but they act like they’ve been here before,” Cody said.

Senior tight end Nick Walker noted that freshman class has upgraded speed and talent on the scout teams, too. He said that will pay off on the field next year.

“8 (Jones), 22 (Ingram) 1 (B.J. Scott), 5 on defense (Jerrell Harris), Mark Barron, all them guys. I’m pretty sure once they grow into it and learn what’s really going on out there, when they learn it and play extremely fast, they’re going to be tremendous to watch,” Walker said.

Actually, that pretty much describes watching the evolution of a 6-6 team into a national championship contender.