Alabama football grades vs. Vanderbilt: One major blemish in blowout SEC win

Nick Kelly, The Tuscaloosa News
·2 min read
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Alabama football will have much tougher exams to come this season. Still, a strong score on the first SEC test of the year isn’t a bad way to start.

Even if it’s against Vanderbilt.

The Crimson Tide didn’t get perfect marks on this report card, but there are plenty of good things that happened in Alabama’s 55-3 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Here's how we graded No. 2 Alabama (4-0, 1-0 SEC) in its win over Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-1).

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Offense: A-

Bryce Young was having no trouble connecting on passes, and the receivers showed big-play ability. There were a couple drops and the running game could have been better early, strong offensive performance overall.

Defense: A-

Other than the 11-play, 52-yard drive from Vanderbilt that resulted in a field goal in the first half, the Crimson Tide didn’t give up much on defense on a consistent basis. Will Anderson Jr.’s fourth-down stop stands out, as does Henry To’oTo’o’s tackling.

Special teams: C-

Kool-Aid McKinstry and Brian Branch have shown they can make some big plays in the return game, but they also showed against Vanderbilt they need to work on taking care of the football. Each turned over a punt. McKinstry’s fumble was recovered, nullifying a big return. Branch was lucky a teammate fell on his muff.

Coaching: A

Nothing stood out poorly about the coaching in this game. Alabama was prepared and ready for a developing Vanderbilt team. Even after the Commodores had success on that first-half field goal drive, the Crimson Tide staff made the proper adjustments. The better tests for the coaches still await.

Overall: A-

Alabama had a bit of a warmup SEC opener, so there’s still much to learn about the Crimson Tide. But in this easier test, Alabama had only a few blemishes in an overall stellar performance.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football grades vs. Vanderbilt: One major blemish in SEC win