Offense: 3.8
Maybe Alabama doesn’t even need defending Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. The Crimson Tide looked great through the air and on the ground, validating its depth by continuing to pile on points after the starters were pulled. Eddie Lacy’s fumble on the goal line in the first quarter was the only thing that kept the offense from a 4.0.
Defense: 3.6
There weren’t many signs of nine lost starters on the defensive side of the ball Saturday, as Alabama only gave up three points to the Spartans. The defense did, however, give up a 32-yard run and a 49-yard pass to a much inferior opponent, rare occurrences when it came to last year’s unit.
Special teams: 4.0
Freshman punter Cody Mandell wowed fans with two high-arching, 52-yard punts, and freshman kicker Cade Foster went 2-for-2 and booted most of his kickoffs to the end zone. The return game didn’t get many opportunities, but one of the few they did get was a long kickoff return from Trent Richardson.
Coaching: 4.0
AJ McCarron’s appearance early in the second quarter brought confusion, but head coach Nick Saban said after the game that was his plan all along. In a 48-3 victory, you really have to nit-pick to knock any points from the coaching staff. Everything was clicking offensively and defensively.
