Every Monday right here you can read Tide Takes, where we’ll get into a different topic on the Crimson Tide, break down the previous game, preview the upcoming game, and everything in between.

In this week’s edition, after things looked lost coming off a blowout defeat at the hands of Tennessee in Knoxville, Alabama responded with back-to-back huge wins at home and now sit at 6-1 and in the lead in the SEC:

All season, the Crimson Tide had been missing something on the court. The team struggled to replicate any of the success that last year’s historic 31-win team had.

A staple of last year’s team that this year’s team did repeat was defeating some of the elite team’s on its non-conference schedule. The 2022-23 iteration of the squad defeated Michigan State, UNC, and Houston while this year’s team lost all three of its brutal stretch to Purdue, Creighton, and Arizona.

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Another principle from last season, and really Nate Oats’ entire system was defense, something that according to Oats, still has not been good enough. Last year’s team ranked 3rd in the nation in adjusted defense, while this year’s team currently ranks 66th.

The offense may be even better, scoring over 100-points in a program record for a season six games. It is actually currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in adjusted offense, while it finished at No. 20 in the same category last season.

But still lacking on the defensive end, giving up 88 points to LSU on Saturday in what was a 21-point victory.

Even with the issues the team still has, the magnitude of this past week cannot be understated for Alabama. A win over top-ten ranked Auburn followed up with a beatdown over LSU, the Tide now turn its focus to a road matchup against a Georgia team that has offered a pleasant surprise in the conference as well this season.

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Sitting at 6-1, Alabama has put itself in a position where it can compete to defend its conference title.

But games like the one in Athens are now must-wins in order to get that done, and it will start on the defensive end.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP