Tide’s red zone numbers no longer in the black

TUSCALOOSA | So the University of Alabama scored 27 points Saturday at Ole Miss, the offense tallied 378 yards of total offense and junior quarterback John Parker Wilson had his best game of the season even though he didn’t throw a touchdown pass.

Everything’s looking up, right?

“We didn’t punt in the first half,” Coach Nick Saban said. “We had 103 yards of total offense in the third quarter and fumbled the ball on the 3 going in, get a ball tipped and they get an interception when we’re ready to move in the red zone …”

Wait. There’s that term which was the bane of the offense last year, when the Crimson Tide couldn’t punch in touchdowns and was at times statistically better from beyond the 20-yard line even though Alabama led the Southeastern Conference in time of possession (32:05 minutes) and was second in turnover margin (plus-seven).

It caused the coaches to more than scratch their heads, had fans enormously frustrated and led to players like center Antoine Caldwell saying things like: “It’s one person here, it’s one person there.”

Sound familiar?

But that’s about where the comparisons end, even thought the Alabama players left Oxford shaking their heads a bit about missed opportunities.

“This game was kind of a kick in the butt for us, so to say,” Caldwell said Monday. “We fumbled inside the 5, we had a pick at like the 26, I don’t know if you would call that the red zone, but there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to go down and score on that drive. It’s happened a couple of times this year.

“It’s one of those things we’ve gotten better, because we couldn’t have gotten much worse than last year, but we know we could have cashed in and done better.”

This time a year ago, Alabama had had 32 possessions inside the 20, of which 24 resulted in points. However, the Tide only had 11 touchdowns – six by a pass and five on the ground. Overall, that worked out to a somewhat respectable overall percentage of 75, which ranked seventh in the SEC, with a horrendous 34 percent for the touchdowns.

“Last year, we’d get on the 1 and we …, ” said senior receiver Matt Caddell, who didn’t need to finish the sentence to get his meaning across.

Currently, the Crimson Tide actually ranks lower in the SEC, ninth, despite having much better results. On the same number of possessions, 32, Alabama has scored 27 times, for an overall percentage of 84.4, but with 19 touchdowns (59 percent).

“Up to this game, we’ve been doing everything we need to do in the red zone,” Wilson said. “We weren’t were we needed to be this week, but previous games we’ve been pretty good. It was one person, one play messing it up or we would have scored.

“It’s definitely working better.”

The biggest difference, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, is in the run-to-pass ratio of this year’s touchdowns, 13 rushing compared to six in the air – although that statistic is a little misleading because the passing game scored twice from just outside the red zone (both 23 yards against Houston on Oct. 6).

Granted, no score this season was more timely or dramatic than Caddell’s 4-yard touchdown to beat Arkansas, but it’s clear that Alabama’s preferred method of scoring in the red zone is on the ground.

“We don’t go out there and look at stats,” Wilson said. “We don’t have to throw two touchdowns and 200 yards to feel good about it. Touchdown passes are great, but when you can run it in from a yard, we’ll take it.”

The following are Saturday’s eight possessions inside the Ole Miss 20, which resulted in three rushing touchdowns and two field goals. The other three possessions concluded with a lost fumble, missed field goal and failed fake field goal.

1. Alabama went 66 yards in 11 plays down to the Ole Miss 5, but a false start and a miscommunication at the line killed the drive. Junior running back Glen Coffee also had the first of two fumbles in the red zone, which was recovered by Caldwell.

2. Once it reached the Ole Miss 17, the Tide had three incompletions out of four plays, but benefited from a pass-interference penalty on second-and-10. Coffee eventually scored on a 2-yard run.

3. Thanks to a Keith Brown reception coupled with a roughing-the-passer penalty, the Tide had first down at the 7. It didn’t mess around, with handoffs to sophomore Roy Upchurch and Coffee setting up Wilson’s quarterback 1-yard dive for a touchdown.

4. Alabama reached the 18, but didn’t get a snap off as quickly as it should, resulting in a time out with 4 seconds remaining in the half. Sophomore Leigh Tiffin missed a 35-yard field goal.

5. Coffee’s fumble was recovered by Ole Miss at the 3. It was his last carry of the day.

6. Following sophomore Javier Arenas’ 54-yard punt return, Alabama had first down at the 21, with the first-down play a 1-yard gain. Three carries later, Grant had a 3-yard touchdown, set up by his 18-yard carry.

7. Although junior linebacker Ezekial Knight’s interception resulted in first down at the 5, the Tide had to settle for a 24-yard field goal.

8. Alabama had fourth-and-four when it attempted a fake field goal, resulting in a 5-yard loss.

Statistically, here’s how it added up:

Passing ­— Seven attempts, two completions, 11 yards, one pass-interference penalty, no first downs.

Rushing — 18 carries, 40 yards, three touchdowns, two field goals, two fumbles (one lost), one missed field goal.

“Consistency,” said Wilson, when asked what’s the one thing he wants to improve the most. “Me and the whole offense, because I think we’re doing a lot of good things and then have it backfire for a play.”

Reach Christopher Walsh at christopher.walsh@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0196.