Tide Takes: Alabama is finding an identity on both sides of the ball

Every Monday, we present “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.

The Alabama Crimson Tide secured a massive win in the first road game of the Kalen DeBoer era, destroying the Wisconsin Badgers 42-10 on Saturday afternoon to get off to a 3-0 start.

After a shaky effort last week against South Florida in which both the offensive line and quarterback Jalen Milroe struggled, it was a heck of a performance from a line who got back a healthy Kadyn Proctor and Elijah Pritchett at both tackle spots.

The Tide had a balanced attack on offense, moving the ball effectively through the air in Jalen Milroe’s 17 passing attempts, as well as on the ground with 25 carries among Alabama’s top three rushers.

Milroe completed 12 of the 17 attempts for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns through the air — while also being the team’s leading rusher with 75 yards on his 14 attempts and another two touchdowns on the ground.

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It was complimentary football on the defensive side as well, allowing less than 300 total yards — 141 through the air, 149 on the ground — to a Badger squad that has better athletes than the South Florida team that gashed the Tide on the ground last week.

With Milroe at quarterback, this Alabama team is likely never going to be an ‘air it out, destroy you with the passing game’ team that perhaps some hoped for after the arrival of an offensive guru at head coach with a track record of developing quarterbacks. It’s just not Milroe’s game.

But if Milroe can simply be the best possible version of himself, excelling at the things he already does well, a vicious ground game and taking the deep ball when it’s there — his offense will have an extremely high ceiling.

The defense is a bit more of a process with a completely new system in place, along with a ton of inexperienced players logging major snaps. But in a similar fashion, the defense should improve every week and perhaps even become a strength by the time the season ends.

With a bye week this week before Georgia comes to town in less than two weeks for what promises to be an epic showdown, the Tide has an opportunity to build on Saturday’s performance with a week off to study, learn, and hopefully improve.