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One of these areas could prove to be the key factor in who moves on to the national championship game as Alabama gets set to face Washington in the semifinal on Saturday.
1. Turnover margin
We have to start here. The Huskies lead the nation with a turnover margin of +1.62 per game (+21 in 13 games). How good is that? Well, no Power 5 team has posted a better average since 2008 Oklahoma, which lost to Florida in the national championship game.
After winning the turnover battle in five of its first six games, Alabama has actually lost it in four of the last seven, but the Tide were +3 against the mistake-prone Gators in the SEC Championship Game.
2. Gaskin’s yards per rush
Washington has weapons all over the field: a 3,000-yard passer (QB Jake Browning), a 1,000-yard receiver (WR John Ross) and a 1,000-yard rusher (RB Myles Gaskin).
Washington’s sophomore RB from Lynnwood, Wa. has gone for 1,339 rushing yards and 10 TDs this season. He averages 5.9 yards per rush, which is fifth-best among Power 5 players with at least 200 carries entering bowl season. The only guys that posted a better mark were Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey, D’Onta Foreman and Dalvin Cook.
However, Alabama has led the SEC in yards per rush allowed in each year since Nick Saban’s second season in Tuscaloosa all the way back in 2008. This season, it leads the country by giving up barely over 2 yards per rush.
3. Non-offensive touchdowns
Washington is going to have a hard enough time scoring against Alabama’s defense, it can’t afford to give away points.
The Tide have 14 non-offensive TDs on the season, which is twice as many as the next-best team (Ohio State) this season, and they’re tied with 2011 Southern Miss for the most among any FBS team in the last 20 years.
You don’t have to go back too far to find an example of the enormous impact this has had on Alabama’s season. The Tide held a 16-9 first-quarter lead on the Gators in the SEC Championship Game despite having minus-7 yards of offense and no first downs, thanks to a pick-six and a blocked punt for a touchdown.
Washington hasn’t allowed a defensive or special teams score so far in 2016.
4. Who’s winning at halftime?
The Crimson Tide rarely lose when they’ve got the lead at halftime. Under Saban, Alabama is 105-6 when up at the break. The only losses were:
2014 vs. Ohio State
2014 at Ole Miss
2013 at Auburn
2010 at LSU
2010 vs. Auburn
2007 vs. LSU
5. Big plays
Alabama’s offense has generated 46 plays that have gone 30 yards or longer. The only Power 5 team that can match that this season is Louisville. However, Washington has been adept at preventing them. The Huskies have given up just 12 such plays on the season, second only to Georgia State.
What’s impressive about Alabama is the balance it’s exhibited through the air (29 passes) and ground (17) in coming up with these big gains.
6. Punt returns
It’s bad enough that the Tide force so many punts, but they’re really good at doing something with them, too.
Bama averages 16.1 yards per return, which is sixth in the FBS, and it’s tied with Texas A&M for the most punt return TDs (four). Of course, Eddie Jackson isn’t around anymore, but Trevon Diggs and Xavian Marks have combined for an average of 13.6 yards on 17 returns in his absence.
The Huskies are 90th in the country, allowing 9.4 yards per return. However, Washington has only allowed 12 punts to even be returned despite forcing 73 punts on the season.
7. Pressure from everywhere
This is the second straight season that Alabama ranks among the top five in the country in sacks per game, but what makes Alabama so dangerous is the fact that you have to account for just about everyone on defense.
The Crimson Tide have three players with at least 8.0 sacks (Tim Williams 8.5, Jonathan Allen 8.5, Ryan Anderson 8.0) and five players with at least 9.0 tackles for loss (Anderson 17.0, Williams 15.5, Allen 13.0, Reuben Foster 12.0, Shaun Dion Hamilton 9.0), although Hamilton suffered a season-ending injury against Florida.
If you’re a Washington fan, this is scary considering the fact that Browning is coming off his worst performance of the season, throwing for season-lows in completion percentage (37.5) and passing yards (118) in the Pac-12 title game against Colorado.
8. Owning the money down
Offensively, no SEC team has been better than Bama when it comes to converting third downs, which the Tide did 47.5 percent of the time this season. That’s been helped by Jalen Hurts’ dual-threat capabilities (2,592 passing yards, 841 rushing yards).
The true freshman is one of only four Power 5 players to post at least 2,500 passing yards and 800 rushing yards this season along with Lamar Jackson, Joshua Dobbs and Jerod Evans.
Washington led the Pac-12 and is ninth in the FBS at getting off the field on third downs, allowing opponents to convert just 30.7 percent of the time.
9. Huskies racing out of the gates
Washington has been the best first-quarter team this season. The Huskies have outscored their opponents by an average of 10.1 points per game in the opening 15 minutes.
That’s the best mark in the country with Clemson (9.0) next in line. Putting Alabama in an early hole would do wonders for Washington’s confidence.
10. Red means stop
Alabama has only allowed seven touchdowns in the red zone this season, which is the fewest in the country. Opponents have made 20 trips to the Tide’s 20-yard line but have found the end zone just 35 percent of the time.
Washington has scored a TD on 43-of-57 visits (75.4 percent), and it’ll need to use its versatile offense — or a few of Chris Petersen’s patented trick plays — to find pay dirt.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
