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Rapid Reaction: Perfect? No, but Alabama rolls to another big, expected win
By Dave Hooker
Published:
Alabama didn’t consume enough rat poison to lose to Mercer.
The Crimson Tide weathered the storm of positive reviews about their dominating, season-opening win against Miami last week to post a 48-14 win against Mercer on Saturday. I’m sure you’ve heard that Alabama head coach Nick Saban likes to refer to positive reviews as “rat poison.” However, there wasn’t enough rat poison in the entire state of Alabama to keep Mercer in the game for more than a few minutes. There certainly wasn’t enough rat poison to allow the Bears to pull one of the most historic upsets in college football history.
The Crimson Tide was never in danger of losing. It was a money-game, lopsided matchup that everyone expected. The contest ended in the ho-hum fashion that everyone saw coming. Alabama certainly never trailed and led 31-0 at halftime. However, the game didn’t exactly begin quite as one-sided.
Alabama struggled just a bit early. The Crimson Tide looked mortal at times in the first quarter. Bama ended the first set with a 14-0 lead, overcoming more than its usual share of mistakes. There were offensive line issues in pass blocking, a dropped pass, some errant throws and even an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. All in the first quarter.
Receiver Jameson Williams seemed to embody Bama’s slow start. He retaliated to a questionable block by a Mercer defensive back with a shove that resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Williams, who dropped a pass shortly before the penalty, seemed frustrated. So did Alabama’s defense at times in the first quarter as they faced Mercer’s funky offense, which included the Wing T.
Was it the poison? Probably.
Remember that Alabama has several key players, especially on offense, who are just now becoming stars after watching from the sidelines last season. Those are the type of players that are most affected by hype. Quarterback Bryce Young even looked human early after his stellar debut as Bama’s starter last week. Still, it was Alabama versus Mercer. We all knew how it would eventually end.
Young threw 3 TD passes. Bama ran for 3 more TDs. Will Reichard made 2 field goals, though he missed one attempt, his first miss since 2019.
There’s no denying Alabama has elite talent, which looks as good and as deep as ever. However, maturity is another thing altogether. The ability to handle an overmatched opponent is a sign of a mature team. With the Miami win behind them and Bama traveling to Florida next week, Mercer was a classic “doughnut” game. Bama probably didn’t handle things as perfectly in practice as Saban would have liked last week. That’s why he eluded to rat poison after practice before the Mercer game.
The semi-flat start against Mercer will likely make Alabama better. Saban can now point to some plays in which the Crimson Tide made mistakes or could have played smarter or harder. Meanwhile, Alabama was still able to get some of its backup players in the game to help build depth. There were some mistakes when the second unit came in, but Mercer could never mount any sort of comeback.
Alabama is now 2-0 just as things get serious. Crimson Tide players had better not look past the Gators, who beat South Florida 42-20 on Saturday. That won’t likely happen. Opening the conference schedule and playing Florida will get everyone’s attention. A flat start at The Swamp wouldn’t solely undermine the Crimson Tide against Florida. There would have to be more mistakes throughout the game for the Gators to beat Bama, which is simply that good. If the Crimson Tide plays a relatively clean game, it will most likely beat any team it plays. Could Bama come out flat against Florida?
I don’t think so, especially now that Saban can prove that the effects of rat poison are real.
Dave Hooker started covering Tennessee in 1998. He hosts an SEC radio show out of Chattanooga and covers the SEC for Saturday Down South.
