ALABAMA SECONDARY LOOKS TO BOUNCE BACK AFTER STRUGGLES AGAINST FLORIDA STATE

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama survived against Florida State on Saturday, taking down the Seminoles 50-36. Many were surprised to see the Crimson Tide’s secondary allow nine explosive plays.

“Appreciative to be able to get the win despite a highly disappointing and uncharacteristic past defense,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “I think the worst that I've seen since we have been here.”

Sophomore cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. allowed three of those explosive plays, as he struggled to contain Seminoles wide receiver Duce Robinson, who had six catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. 

“Nobody's harder on himself than Dijon Lee,” Wommack said. “I mean, he works his butt off every day. He was highly disappointed after the game. But I've got a lot of confidence in Dijon. I know that he will work to get those things fixed.”

Lee wasn't the only member of the Crimson Tide secondary who struggled against the Seminoles' downfield passing attack. Junior cornerback Zabien Brown allowed three receptions for 88 yards. 

Wommack and former Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban talked in the offseason about playing more man coverage in the offseason, and that was clearly the game plan on Saturday. But that plan backfired as Alabama's young defensive backs were consistently left on islands without safety help, resulting in catastrophic blown assignments and 377 passing yards allowed. 

The aggressive shift completely abandoned the disciplined, matching zone coverages that limited opponents to a historic 1-for-23 on third downs during the first two weeks. The Seminoles went 8-for-15 on third-down attempts and 2-for-3 on fourth-down attempts. 

The Crimson Tide also struggled to tackle at times, with 13 missed tackles leading to numerous explosive plays. Most notably, at the beginning of the second half on third down and 14, Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels threw a screen to Samuel Singleton Jr. and it looked like the Crimson Tide had him stopped short of a first down, but Abduall Sanders Jr. and Isaia Faga were unable to make the tackle. Those missed tackles led to a 65-yard gain, putting the Seminoles at the two-yard line, where they would find the end zone two plays later to take a 28-26 lead. 

“And really, the opportunity to put the game away on a third-and-14 that we gave up a screen, which is probably the worst play that I can remember also being a part of here,” Wommack said. “That totally let them back in the game. And so you take that third-and-14 opportunity, and you go get off the field, and we're probably talking about a very different ballgame in the second half and finding a way to put people away.”

But despite a lackluster performance from the secondary, Wommack says the plan remains the same. 

“Go right back to work,” Wommack said. “We had a great week of preparation last week. Our guys have done a really nice job in terms of the sense of urgency that they have in practice or habits or at a very high level, but those things have to translate to game day. And so my job as a coordinator, and us as a coaching staff, is to make sure that that happens.”

The Crimson Tide’s secondary will look to improve before Saturday's matchup against South Corlina, which has kept it very close the last two years. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium.