“We knew what was at stake,” quarterback AJ McCarron said. “We had to come out and play our game and that is what we did. We came out with a victory.

The Tide got on the board first in an unusual manner, when quarterback AJ McCarron connected on a 41-yard pass to wide receiver Kenny Bell off of a flea-flicker play.

“That’s a play we called and it was the right time,” McCarron said. “Coach McElwain made a great call. We felt like they were going to give us a certain defense and they did. Kenny [Bell] just went up and made a play for me.”

Brad Smelley would answer next for the Tide, catching a wide-open 35-yard pass and taking it into the end zone. The catch was one of six for the tight end for a total of 86 yards.

“It was huge,” Smelley said. “This was one of the most important games of the year. This game really had a lot riding on it and I’m glad we were able to come out here and do well.”

Auburn capitalized on a McCarron fumble, falling on it in the end zone and scoring its first points of the game. However, Alabama would answer back with 10 points in the second quarter to bring the score to 24-7 heading into halftime. The lead was significant for the Tide, as it was the same lead the team held before last year’s second-half meltdown.

“We sat in the locker room and we asked, ‘how are we going to finish better than we did last year,’” offensive lineman Barrett Jones said. “I think we did a very good job in the second half of just keeping the pedal on and just ending the game.”

Auburn running back put a scare into the hearts of the Tide faithful when he returned the opening kickoff of the second half 83 yards for a touchdown to cut the score to 27-14. However, the Tide, as they did all game, answered back.

[The next drive] was real important,” Jones said. “We only got a field goal out of it, but we took a lot of time and reestablished the momentum.”

After that, it was all Alabama as the Tide ran wild against a worn out Auburn defense. Running back Trent Richardson might have put the finishing touches on his Heisman candidacy, as he tallied 203 yards on 27 carries.

“He is a great player,” Jones said. “I don’t get a vote, but if I was voting, I would give it to Trent [Richardson]. He is a great guy, a great player and a great leader.”

Despite the Heisman hype the star running back will certainly receive, Richardson and the Tide remain focused on one thing, a rematch between Alabama and LSU in the BCS National Title.

“[I’m] very hungry for it,” Richardson said. “I speak on the team’s behalf. I didn’t feel like that [LSU] game was over. I can’t wait until we play them. Russell [Sheppard] already called me and told me ‘see you New Orleans’ and I can’t wait to meet him there.”

Back-and-forth battle goes to Bama

By Brett Hudson

Senior Sports Reporter

bbhudson@crimson.ua.edu

@Brett_Hudson

TUSCALOOSA| Georgia Southern is likely the only team in the FCS that can play withAlabama, and the Eagles showed just that, coming toTuscaloosaand hanging with the Crimson Tide for a good amount of time, but eventually falling by a final score of 45-21.

It was the game that many members of the fanbase expected in the first quarter, withAlabamaopening the game up with a Jeremy Shelley field goal after big plays from wide receiver Brandon Gibson and running back Trent Richardson.

The big plays continued for the Tide after Dre Kirkpatrick took a blocked field goal 55 yards to the end zone, which would giveAlabamathe 10-0 lead it took into the second quarter.

It was the second quarter where the Eagles finally executed well on the one biggest thing they brought that theAlabamadefense could not handle: the triple option attack.

“They do a really good job of running their offense, it’s a tough offense to prepare for,” head coach Nick Saban said. “It’s totally different than what we do on a day-to-day basis and we obviously didn’t execute the way we want to all the time.”

Defensive endDamion Squareadded, “It takes your athletes away. Your athletes really don’t matter because you have to play assignment football.”

The lack of execution paved the way for Eagles freshman running back Dominique Swope to have 126 rushing yards in the first half, including an 82 yard run on the first offensive play of the second quarter forGeorgiaSouthern.

“We’re all responsible for how they ran the ball on us,” Saban said. “We had a lot of guys hurt up front. We were down to three of four defensive linemen towards the end of the game.”

The defensive front was lacking after Nick Gentry was suspended for this game after violating team rules, Josh Chapman was held out because of his nagging knee injury, however Jesse Williams was able to play despite suffering from food poisoning on Friday night.

Saban added, “The biggest thing was, even though I thought the scout team did a really good job of giving us a look at this, it happens a lot faster than what you see in practice. The ball gets out on the perimeter quicker, the blockers get out there faster.”

Alabamafell back on another excellent second half performance to pull away from the Eagles.

“We did a much better job in the second half,” Saban said. “I thought our guys adapted and adjusted and did a good job in the second half.”

Alabamaheld Swope to only 27 second half yards and quarterback Jerick McKinnon to one rushing yard after getting 47 in the first half. What did hurt the Tide in the second half was kickoff coverage.

“Very disappointing on the kickoff return,” Saban said. “We had a guy that missed a tackle, a couple of guys got off of blocks the wrong way and the safeties were not in a good position. It just wasn’t good execution.”

What kept the Eagles from obtaining a lead in this game wasAlabama’s offense, which had one of its best games of the season. Quarterback AJ McCarron had 190 yards and three touchdowns through the air, finding seniors Gibson four times for 49 yards and Brad Smelley four times for 58 yards and two touchdowns.

Richardsonwas able to keep his Heisman trophy potential strong, with 175 net rushing yards and two touchdowns. Even more important was the fact thatAlabamadid not have a single turnover or punt againstGeorgiaSouthern.

“It was important that our offense did a fantastic job of controlling the ball,” Saban said. “They were always answering the bell and not allowing them to have the time of possession and that was really good for us.”

“We had lots of opportunities in the game that we did not take advantage of,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said.

Alabama found itself driving in LSU territory early in the fourth quarter as a 24-yard run from running back Trent Richardson took the Tide to the LSU 28. The Tide appeared ready to score and take control of the game.

However, the next play would turn any bit of momentum the Tide had in reverse.

On first down, Alabama came out with their bobcat package– a package that features wide receiver Marquis Maze taking the snap. Maze surprisingly dropped back to pass, floating a ball to the one-yard line where LSU defender Eric Reid snatched it out of the hands of Alabama tight end Michael Williams.

“I got a little pressure so I had to get it up,” Maze said. “I though (Williams) came down with it, but the call on the feel stood up. It is a hurtful feeling giving up a turnover.”

The play had proved successful in the past as Maze connected with Williams for a touchdown in last season’s game against Florida.

“We have that play and we use Maze back there a little bit,” Saban said. “He made a good throw, we had an opportunity to catch the play. We didn’t finish the play.”

After stopping the Tigers on a three-and-out it appeared Alabama would receive favorable field position on its next possession. However, Maze failed to receive the punt resulting in a 73-yard punt to place Alabama at its own 18.

“The camera that is on the field, (the ball) kind of hit the strings on it,” Maze said. “It kind of messed me up. It was better for us to get it back there than for me to try and field the ball and muff it.”

By rule, if the ball did indeed hit a wire it would be ruled a dead ball. However, Maze said that no one brought up the play to the officials.

Though the loss is a hard one for Tide players to swallow, Saban stressed that there was plenty of football still left to be played.

“We need to learn from this,” Saban said. “We need to make a commitment to the rest of the season in terms of the kind of football team we want to be and the way we want to respond to what happened here today.”

Due to the game’s close score, it is not impossible that the two teams could meet up again for the BCS National Championship game.

“If it happens it happens,” linebacker Nico Johnson said. “The only thing we can control is what we do down the road. It is never over, it’s football. We have another chance to play next Saturday.”

When Ole Miss quarterback Randall Mackey connected with Nickolas Brassell for a 59-yard strike on the third play of the game, the thought for Alabama was “oh not again.”

The play showed shades of previous games this season when the Tide had got off to poor starts.

“They had two weeks to prepare for us,” safety Robert Lester said. “We knew we were going to see something that we haven’t seen. We just had to adjust to it and come out and keep playing ball.”

After Ole Miss running back Jeff Scott ran in a three-yard touchdown, the thought among the Tide was “not again”­– as in not going to happen again.

Alabama quickly responded on a five-play, 72-yard scoring drive capped off by a Trent Richardson eight-yard touchdown run.

“I think it is critical, especially on the road to get the game back,” head coach Nick Saban said. “When you a good team, you have to be able to overcome adversity on the road. I think it was critical that we scored, and the defense really settled down after that.”

Alabama’s defense certainly did settle down, forcing the Ole Miss offense to punt on its next three possessions and shutting them down for the rest of the game. Overall Alabama limited the Rebels to only 141 yards of offense. Ole Miss managed only 28 rushing yards on 31 attempts, an average of less than one yard per carry. As the game continued the Tide defense only grew stronger and stronger.

“We want to be a fourth-quarter team,” Lester said. “As the game narrows down and gets to the fourth quarter, we don’t want the other team to score.”

As the Tide defense was busy putting an end to the Rebel’s offense, Richardson’s day was just beginning.

The Heisman hopeful would score early in the second quarter from seven yards out, putting the Tide up 14-7 on his second touchdown of the game.

“Trent had a great game,” Saban said. “I think the offensive line did a great job, and he’d be the first one to tell you that. I thought we had a really good plan against what they do to run the ball.”

At halftime Richardson had 84 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. However, the talented running back was not nearly done shredding the Rebel defense. Richardson’s third touchdown run came early in the third quarter as his eight-yard touchdown run put the Tide comfortably out of reach from the Rebels 24-7.

However, it was his fourth and final touchdown that might have moved the Heisman hopeful’s status to Heisman favorite. Richardson powered and dodged his way down field on a 76-yard touchdown run, highlighted by an ankle-breaking juke move on an Ole Miss defender.

“It was basically an A-gap play,” Richardson said. “I saw the cornerback cheating and I knew he was going to come hard. Then I cut right behind Barrett Jones, and it was wide open from there. The receivers were blocking the whole way; they had a wall for me… I saw Marquise Maze and DeAndrew (White) with good blocks, so I had to get in the end zone some type of way. I couldn’t waste those blocks.”

Though the play might have highly elevated his Heisman status, Richardson said he wasn’t concerned with the Heisman race.

“I don’t really pay attention to that stuff,” Richardson said. “It has been so long since I’ve watched SportsCenter, I don’t look at stuff like that for real.”

When asked if he would tune into SportsCenter to see his sure to be Top-10 play, Richardson admitted he give it a watch.”

“Yeah I might have to watch that.”

Richardson finished the game with 184 yards on 17 carries, scoring four touchdowns. The performance was his sixth-straight 100-yard game of the season

The Tide’s next challenge will come Saturday at 6:15 p.m. as Alabama faces the Tennessee Volunteers at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“For a lot of people in our state, Tennessee is the biggest game of the year,” offensive lineman Barrett Jones said. “Me personally, I am from Tennessee, so it will be a huge game for me.”

It started off rocky for the Tide when Florida quarterback John Brantley connected with receiver Andre Dubose for a 65-yard touchdown strike on the first play from scrimmage.

“I think at the beginning of the game we were a little bit too hyped up,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “We made some mistakes defensively, but it really shows the resilience of our team.”

In front of 90,888 fans, the second largest crowd in University of Florida history, it was quarterback AJ McCarron’s job to settle the offense and come back and respond.

“I just communicated with my guys,” McCarron said. “They like for me to communicate with them. We got a bunch of older guys, and I am the youngin’. I just try to throw my little two cents in and establish myself as a leader.”

Alabama would answer with a field goal on the drive, and Florida answered with a field goal of its own on the following drive. However, Trent Richardson would run in his first of two touchdowns on the day to bring the score even at 10. Richardson had another stellar day for the Tide, rushing for 181 yards on 29 carries.

“He did a fantastic job,” Saban said. “I think he would be the first to tell you that they did a pretty good job of blocking for him up front. He did a good job of cutting and executing, but I think he’d be the first one to tell you the line did a good job.”

With the game tied at 10, linebacker Courtney Upshaw intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. The Tide would not look back, using the momentum switch to bury the Gators for good.

“It was a turning point,” Upshaw said. “It was a tie game. After that first play, and then for them driving down and kicking a field goal, we just wanted to prove to everybody that we were a good defense and just go out and make stops. After that, they didn’t really do too much.”

Alabama’s defense shut down the run and held the Gators scoreless for the remainder of the game. The Florida offense, advertised as one of the nation’s best rushing attacks, only amounted to 15 rushing yards on the day. Defensive tackle Josh Chapman said that he took this game as a personal challenge to prove teams couldn’t run on the Tide.

“To me it is (a personal challenge),” Chapman said. “Being a nose guard, the one thing you don’t want is teams running the ball on you. They are a good running team and we worked on stopping the run all week.”

Saban said he was proud of the way his team played especially in the hostile environment, and said the win says a lot about his team.

“This is about as good as it gets,” Saban said. “We were able to come on the road and get a big win in a tough place to play against a good Florida team.”

Alabama’s next game is next Saturday when the Tide takes on Vanderbilt 3-1 (1-1) at 6:00 in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

But on the offensive line, that special talent is almost an expectation over a luxury.

This trend is becoming so commonplace that many fans don’t even notice or care when their team makes a change in the trenches. To the untrained eye, a revolving door on the offensive line may not seem chaotic, but each position on the line has different responsibilities and requires a different mindset and skillset.

The center, often called the quarterback of the offensive line, is responsible for reading the defense and making the necessary adjustments at the line of scrimmage. In the running game, the center has to make a quick read for the defensive alignment, most often either the 4-3 or the 3-4, and set up the blocks accordingly.

In the 4-3, the center is often the only offensive lineman without a defender lined up across from him, meaning he is responsible for making the first second-level block on a linebacker or a blitzing safety that can be the difference between a one-yard gain and a touchdown.

In the 3-4, the center often has a nose tackle right in front of him, meaning he has to handle the nose tackle and make sure the guards are blocking the correct linebackers so the play isn’t stopped for a loss.

The center is even more important in the passing game because he has to adjust the protection to the defense’s blitz, often being forced to guess where the pressure is coming from.

For example, if starting center William Vlachos were to see signs of an overload blitz coming on the left side, he would have to communicate with starting left guard Chance Warmack and left tackle Barrett Jones to set up the protection so no defender goes unblocked for an easy sack.

The guards are often the most athletic of the offensive linemen in the running game, required to make pull blocks in counter and toss sweep plays. A pull block is when the guard leaves his gap at the snap and runs around the tackle to the outside to create a seam for the running back to run through.

A more difficult version of the pull block comes through on counter plays, where the guard on the opposite side of the line will run behind the center and serve as a lead blocker for the play, being forced to flip his position on the line before the ball gets to the running back.

In pass protection, the guard is often forced to cover both the A gap (the gap between the center and the guard) because the center is dealing with a nose tackle or a linebacker, and the B gap (the gap between the guard and tackle) because the tackle is handling the defensive end, simultaneously.

The tackle also has a unique set of responsibilities. In the running game, the tackle is the most important block on the stretch play that Alabama uses so much. The running back often runs right at the tackle while receiving the hand-off and cuts away at the last second, which makes the tackle’s ability to hold the block crucial.

In pass protection, the tackle has to deal with an oftentimes much faster defensive end who will try to run around the tackle by taking the edge. The tackle can’t be too quick to step to the edge, though, because that would leave him very vulnerable to a bull rush, where the defensive end charges the tackle and knocks him over while he is off balance.

With so many different techniques and talents required for each position, the possibility of moving around can have an effect on an offensive line, especially in pregame preparations.

“I practice a little bit everywhere,” Jones said.

Jones knows the rigors of the position change all too well. Having started at right guard for 25 of the Tide’s 27 games in the 2009 and 2010 seasons (he was injured for the 2010 Iron Bowl and the Capital One Bowl that followed), he has started at left tackle every game thus far in the 2011 season.

When asked if the possibility of a position change affects makes their job harder, Jones said, “Yes and no. Once you learn the offense, you can play any spot up front. I mean, I have been here for four years and I know the offense really well so I can play anywhere. But at the same time, it looks a little different. It’s hard to describe it. It’s getting your eyes accustomed to seeing things that way.”

Jones is not the first person to endure these changes. In head coach Nick Saban’s first year at Alabama in 2007, the Crimson Tide used seven different combinations of starting offensive linemen, using nine different players and having several start at more than one position.

While the Tide has yet to change the starting rotation this season, the possibility is always there as the rigors of a Southeastern Conference schedule can help one player separate himself as the clear-cut starter or cause injuries, requiring backups to step into starting roles.

One good possibility is that true freshman Cyrus Kouandjio could develop and take over the starting left tackle position, which would move Jones to either left guard or right guard, thus taking Warmack or Anthony Steen out of their starting spot.

“[Kouandjio] is coming along really well,” Jones said. “He’s working really hard and is continuing to study the offense. I’m really proud of how hungry he is and his willingness to learn. There’s no doubt that he has the skills necessary, as you all can see.”

Even with all the difficulties that come with a position change in the offensive line, the right type of athlete can handle it, and Jones is just that.

“It just benefits me having him out there,” running back Trent Richardson said. “Most of the time I tell coach to run the ball to Barrett’s side.”

As SEC play begins with this week’s matchup against the Razorbacks, the offensive line’s performance for each individual and as a unit will become more important.

Even when Arkansas wasn’t considered a contender for the SEC West division, this game has always had a direct impact on the rest of Alabama’s season. Lately, it has become even more crucial for the Crimson Tide to win, because both teams have risen to the top of the SEC.

Alabama’s all-time record against Arkansas is 14-7. Since 2002, Alabama has gone 6-3 against the Razorbacks, coinciding with six winning seasons, two losing seasons and one tied.

Last year’s game was the Tide’s first big challenge of the season. Not only was it a road game and the SEC opener, but Arkansas was ranked No. 10 going into the game, with its Heisman-hopeful quarterback Ryan Mallet.

That game was a close call, as Alabama pulled out the win late in the fourth quarter. However, the Tide did win 24-20 and followed up that win with a huge home win over the then-No. 7 Florida Gators, 31-6.

The last time Alabama lost to Arkansas was in 2006. After a 10-2 season in 2005, Tide fans were hopeful that 2006 could be another step toward glory. However, in a disappointing 24-23 overtime loss, those hopes were squashed at the end of September. It was the team’s first lost of the season, and then Alabama followed up that loss with a loss to Florida.

That year also happened to be Mike Shula’s last year as head coach. Not to be dramatic, but after that particular loss to Arkansas, I expected that Shula’s time at Alabama would soon come to a close. For those of you who don’t remember, it was the game in which Alabama missed three field goals and the extra point in overtime. Why Shula kept going for field goals when the kicker consistently missed showcased his conservative nature, which eventually resulted in him being fired.

Taking the importance of this series just one step further, in Nick Saban’s time at Alabama, it seems the closer the score in the Arkansas game, the worse a season the Tide has.  In 2007, Saban’s first year, the final score was 41-38, and Alabama’s record that season was 7-6 overall, 4-4 in the SEC. In 2008 and 2009, Alabama defeated the Hogs soundly and had two undefeated regular seasons, plus a national championship. Then after a close game last year, the Tide lost three crucial games later in the season.

The 2011 game between the two has been hyped because Arkansas is yet again an offensive machine. Tyler Wilson has thrown for 822 yards through week three with five touchdowns and two interceptions. The Hogs are averaging 517 yards per game, with most of it coming from the passing game.

On top of that, Arkansas’ top two wide receivers, Jarius Write and Cobi Hamilton, are fifth and sixth in reception yards in the SEC this season.

Alabama’s passing defense is currently No. 5 in the country and No. 1 in the SEC, holding its opponents to 115 passing yards a game. Last year’s defense was young, which made the game a close call, but this year’s defense is more experienced and among the top in the nation.

Alabama is the higher ranked team, and the Tide has the home advantage. The team has the talent and the drive to overcome any and every opponent this year. Alabama should win this game, but that doesn’t mean it will.

Hooligans, located at 1915 University Blvd., might very well be Tuscaloosa’s cure to the fast paced stress of game days.

“Hooligans is awesome because it has this really great combination of really good and affordable food,” said Alex Hollinghead, a senior majoring in math and philosophy. “They have this whole environment where you can go and hang out with your friends. They have a patio where you always see people hanging out with their friends. It is just really good.”

The restaurant that specializes in both Mediterranean and American cuisine offers Alabama fans a more relaxed setting for game days. However just because Hooligans offers a change of pace from the norm does not mean they lose out on any of Alabama’s football traditions.

“I think it is just because everybody here loves football,” manager Khalid Ismael said. “90 percent of workers are not American, they didn’t grow up with football, but everybody over here loves football. The atmosphere over here is like you are at the stadium.”

Just like the Crimson Tide, Hooligans has had its share of success in recent years. The restaurant has had its burger voted best in the town five years running.

“Oh man their burger is good,” Hollinghead said. “They definitely make a mean burger at Hooligans. It tastes really homemade, it’s really appealing.”

The juicy down home burger, must have a secret to its success. However, Ismael said he wasn’t about to let his competitors in on the secret.

“It’s our secret stuff man,” Ismael said. “We make it with love.”

If you are not in the mood for a burger Hooligans has plenty to offer especially from the Mediterranean variety.

““My favorite thing to get there is the gyro,” Hollinghead said. “It is really savory, if you like the gyros at Tut’s you will like them at Hooligans. They come with a big side of fries, and the fries have a great seasoning on them. The combination of quality and atmosphere make it my favorite place for Greek food.”

On game days Hooligans is the perfect place to catch a burger with friends. Unlike some other restaurants in Tuscaloosa, Hooligans is not over packed before games. Its location on University Boulevard makes it accessible on your way to the game.

“It is really not that far from the stadium,” Hollinghead said. “If you are looking for someplace to go on game day, it would definitely be a good place to go before or after the game.”

So if you are a fan who is fed up with rushing around on Saturdays, take a change of pace and hit up Hooligans for a relaxing home-style experience.

Some of football’s biggest innovators include Emory Bellard, Red Hickey, Walter Camp and Amos Alonzo Stagg, for inventing the wishbone, shotgun, Power T and I-Form offenses, respectively. The glory may go to these coaches, but most recent of these innovators, Bellard, coached in the 1970s and 1980s, and Camp goes all the way back to the late 1800s.

The glory of football’s most recent innovator should belong to Nevada head coach Chris Ault, the inventor of the Pistol formation.

Ault invented the offense to combine the big play capabilities and aerial attack options of the shotgun formation with the running abilities of the I-formation of the Ace singleback formation.

He did this by having the quarterback line up four yards behind the center and have a running back behind him, about seven yards from the line of scrimmage, thus letting the QB see the defensive alignment from further back — making reads more easily but having the running back run downhill to the ball in a run play.

Ault did so very successfully, as you would know if you watched his Wolfpack last season, who dashed Boise State’s BCS dreams in a big upset on the way to a 13-1 record and a 20-13 win over Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl as the co-Western Athletic Conference champions.

This offense was wildly successful on the stat sheet, too. Last year, Nevada running back Vai Taua ran for 1,610 yards and 19 touchdowns. His quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, also ran the ball for 1,206 yards and 20 touchdowns while keeping the aerial attack deadly, throwing for 3,022 yards and 21 touchdowns with only eight interceptions.

The offense clearly showcased his talents since the San Fransisco 49ers traded up in the draft to take Kaepernick with the 36th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

The offense has spread like wildfire throughout college football and even the NFL, now being utilized by the UCLA Bruins, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and, of course, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Thus far, Alabama has seen success from using the Pistol formation, as evidenced by most of the 2009 BCS National Championship season.

Mark Ingram’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter against Virginia Tech came out of the Pistol. Three touchdowns against Florida International in 2009 came out of the Pistol, and North Texas gave up 229 yards to the Pistol in 2009, according to a Tuscaloosa News unofficial count.

Trent Richardson has had some success out of the formation, too. His run against Arkansas, in which he broke four tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage, and outran at least two more (yes, the one that made the tradition video), came out of the Pistol formation.

The Pistol is one of the most versatile offensive formations in use right now, and it is more important to Alabama’s success this year and in the future than many fans realize.

It starts with head coach Nick Saban’s modern recruiting. In Alabama’s history, all Alabama has needed was an offensive line and a good running back to make national championships possible. National championship quarterbacks Jay Barker (1992) and Greg McElroy (2009) were better game managers than anything else.

It has been said that Alabama quarterbacks don’t have to win games, they just have to not lose them. It makes sense, when you think about it. When you have running backs as good as Alabama has had throughout its history, as long as the QB didn’t throw interceptions in obvious passing situations and got a few key first downs through the air, the game was won.

Now, under Saban, Alabama has talent at the quarterback position that can win football games, going beyond simply not losing them. This gives Alabama the potential for a very big threat offensively: perfect run-pass balance. Why not use it?

Breaking things down, Alabama has the perfect setup to run the Pistol offense to perfection. Offensive linemen Barrett Jones, D.J. Fluker and William Vlachos are experienced and show a great level of balance in run blocking and pass blocking skills, giving the Tide an edge in the trenches in a balanced Pistol offense. This will continue in years to come with upcomers such as Cyrus Kouandjio.

In the aerial attack, AJ McCarron is known especially for his deep ball, which works perfectly with the speed Alabama has at wide receiver, especially in youth such as Marvin Shinn and Danny Woodson, Jr.

When the deep ball is covered, McCarron can always go to the play action pass, which often uses crossing routes to big targets such as 6-foot-4, 210-pound Duron Carter.

To compliment the play action pass, Alabama will always have the running game, the traditional Alabama bread-and-butter with Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy, Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart, when he returns from his knee injury.

With all these weapons that complement each other so well, the Pistol is the obvious choice. Balance on offense is extremely hard to defend, since at any time the run or the pass can get the yards necessary to keep the drive alive, and the Pistol is the most balanced alignment seen in college football today.

If the experts are correct in thinking national championships are in Alabama’s future, it’s safe to say the Pistol is in the future, too.

Trent Richardson rushes against Penn State in the Tide's first away game. CW| John Michael Simpson

Over the past few years at Alabama, everyone has grown accustomed to a running game that always dominates and wears down opponents. So far, the 2011 season promises the same. With the departure of Heisman winner Mark Ingram, a new set of running backs have stepped up to fill the spot.

Junior Trent Richardson served as backup during his first two seasons. This season, Richardson has the starting position, with sophomores Eddie Lacy and Jalston Fowler backing him up.

In 2010, Richardson rushed for 700 yards, with six rushing touchdowns on 112 carries. Lacy broke onto the scene last year, playing in 12 games, getting 56 carries for 406 yards and two touchdowns. Fowler also had good freshman year numbers, with 111 yards off 14 carries and running for a 36-yard touchdown against Georgia State.

Against Penn State, Richardson surpassed 100 yards in rushing for the first time this season, getting 111 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

“I think it was pretty solid,” Richardson said. “I know I need to work on my pass protection a little more. I have to punch my holes a little bit more and be more patient. Overall, I think I did pretty well. I went out there and played every play like it was my last.”

While Richardson has had 148 rushing yards and five touchdowns this season, he knows he’s also got talent behind him.

“Everybody’s going to key on me just because they think I’m the running back, the man of the show, which I like,” he said. “I mean, I’m glad they do, because Eddie Lacy gets his carries, and he does it just as good as me. And he does better than me, so I’m not the one they really have to worry about.”

So far in 2011, Lacy has 143 rushing yards and one touchdown, and Fowler has 69 yards on the ground with one touchdown.

The three running backs each have something different that they bring to the field. Richardson has his experience and his strength. Known for loving the weight room, he’s strong enough to run through tackles.

Lacy’s nickname, “Circle Button,” comes from his spin moves, which the fans have seen a few of so far this season. In some plays, he’ll use two or more spin moves to evade defenders.

Then Fowler, a converted linebacker, has his size. At 6-foot-1 and 246 pounds, Fowler is both taller and heavier than Richardson and Lacy. He uses his size to power through the defense and get those hard short-yard downs.

Opposing defenses try to stack the box to stop Alabama’s run game, but neither Kent State nor Penn State have been successful so far this year. In the first game, the Crimson Tide had 183 rushing yards; they then had 194 rushing yards in the second game. Richardson said the defenses stacking the box won’t stop them from running the ball.

“They’re always bringing seven, eight, nine, however many they can get in there,” he said. “They’re always bringing it. But it really doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, we win the ball game. That’s what we need.”

While the other defenses try to put a lot of pressure on the running backs, Alabama’s offensive line works hard to fight back and make holes. Up front are two very experienced linemen, William Vlachos and Barrett Jones.

“Both have done a really good job, from a leadership standpoint, with the offensive line,” said head coach Nick Saban. “I do think as the game wore on at Penn State, we started to win the line of scrimmage, and we started to insert our will as an offensive line.”

During the game, Saban said they changed their game plan from game one, when the team ran on the perimeter, to taking it up the middle more in game two.

“A lot of fans would say, ‘Well, you run the ball inside a lot,’” Saban said. “Well, when you’ve got big, powerful guys, maybe that’s the best way to do it.”

Richardson said it doesn’t matter to him if he runs outside or up the middle.

“I just want the ball,” he said. “I just love to run the ball. Try and get it anyway I can. Coach [Saban] made the best decision. He put us in the best place for where we can make that decision. I think it’s going to go good, because I’m sure I’m going to get outside next game or down the line. I’m not too much worried about it.”

Saban said this past game, the offensive line did a better job of blocking, which created holes for the running backs.

“Trent’s done a good job so far,” he said. “When you carry the ball, it’s a little bit of how we block and what we do. I think early in the game, especially, in two games in a row, we haven’t done a very good job up front. We did a much better job from an offensive line standpoint this week as the game went on. Trent took advantage of that, and Eddie took advantage of it as well. Trent had some tough yards.”

Another way the running backs get more room is when the wide receivers open up the passing game.

“Our receivers get open,” Richardson said. “They’ll back [the defenders] up for us, and we need the big runs. I know our receivers are going to get [the defenders] out the hole for us, go down the field, catch a pass for us.”

Defensive lineman Josh Chapman, who has faced these backs in practice, gets good reps in trying to tackle them.

“It’s about tackling them the right way,” he said. “It’s hard for me to go against two great backs every day, but it helps you also.”

Linebacker Courtney Upshaw said it’s a good challenge for both the running backs and the defense to face each other in practice.

“But for other teams, I’m sure it’s pretty hard to try to top them both [Richardson and Lacy], and Jalston Fowler also when he comes in the game, so I feel it’ll be a good challenge for our defense versus our offense,” he said.