The Main Issue with the Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama looked very sloppy in their 17-3 victory over the South Florida Bulls.

In a game where the Crimson Tide was favored by more than 30 points, the team struggled to even win the game.

Many college football analysts and fans believe that the problem with Alabama is the quarterback. The quarterback is not the biggest problem with Alabama, it's actually the offensive line.

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Ever since the team dominated Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl, the focus all offseason was to mold the 2023 Alabama team into a team that dominates their opponents. The Crimson Tide in the past won four national championships with this philosophy and the unsung heroes of those national championships were the offensive line.

The offensive line is arguably the most important aspect of an offense. Without an offensive line, the quarterback can not through his progressions, a running back cannot run and wide receivers can not get open in time. Throughout the first three games of the 2023 season, the Alabama offensive line has struggled to even be a consistent group.

Heading into SEC play next week, the Alabama offensive line needs to look themselves in the mirror and ask what they want to be. In three games, the offensive line has given up 12 sacks (2 to Middle Tennesee, 5 to Texas, 5 to South Florida).

The most frustrating thing about the offensive line is that most of the issues seem fixable.

When the offensive line did its job, Alabama dominated stretches of games. Most of the time though, Alabama has made mental errors in their run blocking and pass protection. Simple things like overstepping when a defensive end is coming off the edge, taking too wide of a step when trying to block a guy to the left and completely missing an assignment when linebackers come in through the A gap on a blitz.

It's only Week 4, though, and it's early in the season. On Saturday, Alabama takes on Ole Miss at home in the first SEC game of the 2023 season. The game will take place at 2:30 p.m. CST on CBS.

All I can say for the offensive line is, you better be ready for what's coming.