Alabama lost its second game of the season to No. 10 LSU in Tiger Stadium on Saturday.
The 32-31 overtime loss to Brian Kelly and Co. marks the first time since the 2010 season that Nick Saban's Crimson Tide team has lost multiple games before the Iron Bowl. The first of those losses came in Week 7 in a 52-49 defeat at No. 6 Tennessee.
The vast majority of college football programs — and their fans — would understand that such losses occur on occasion. But Alabama is not just some program, and Crimson Tide fans have become used to an unreal level of success from Saban, who has coached the team to six national titles since 2009.
Which will beg the question: What is wrong with Alabama football in 2022? The Crimson Tide are certainly not lacking for talent, but myriad issues from coaching to discipline issues to road woes — all of which have bubbled under the surface this season — reared their heads in losses to the Volunteers and Tigers.
MORE: Alabama vs. LSU final score, highlights: Tigers earn overtime win in classic SEC West clash
The Sporting News looks at some of the rarely-seen issues plaguing Alabama's football team in 2022, and how the Crimson Tide can address them moving forward:
Coaching
The buck has to stop somewhere, and that means it stops with Saban (and, to a lesser degree, coordinators Bill O'Brien and Pete Golding). Saban said as much following Alabama's loss to the Tigers on Saturday:
Nick Saban is saying a LOT in this answer following #Alabama’s 2nd loss of the season, effectively eliminating the Tide from the College Football Playoffs:
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) November 6, 2022
“Look, I can’t blame the players. I’m responsible for all this stuff. So if we didn’t do it right, that’s on me.” pic.twitter.com/5w96x78W1S
Indeed, Saban has been out-coached in each of his last two losses (and three of his last four, counting the 2021 defeat at Texas A&M).
The Crimson Tide could not adjust to Tennessee's Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt, who connected six times for 207 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-49 loss. The Tide also had a horrid muffed punt and committed several costly penalties in the loss.
Notably, the defense couldn't keep the Volunteers from traveling 45 yards in 15 seconds for a last-second field goal. Tennessee had that much time on the board because Alabama's would-be go-ahead drive stalled with three straight incompletions and a missed field goal, allowing the Volunteers to have time for a winning field goal attempt.
The Tide defense played better against LSU in Week 10, but did not account for or adjust to Jayden Daniels' rushing ability in the loss; with that, he rushed 18 times for 95 yards, including four rushes of at least 13 yards and three of 20 yards or more. That includes LSU's overtime score, a 25-yard quarterback keeper.
The Tide also may look at two separate failed 2-point conversions against the Tigers. Without them, Alabama was forced to settle for a game-tying field goal as opposed to a game-winning one.
That this could happen off a bye week is unconscionable for Saban.
MORE: Alabama vs. Tennessee final score, results: Hendon Hooker leads last-second win over Crimson Tide
Penalties
The most visible aspect of Alabama's struggles this season have come in the form of penalties. Entering Saturday's game, the Crimson Tide ranked 127th out of 131 teams with 69 penalties. That includes15 in a 20-19 win at Texas (at the time, the most ever for a Saban-coached Alabama team) and 17 against Tennessee, a program record.
The Tide added nine more for 92 yards in the Week 10 loss to LSU.
A significant number of penalties have also come in the secondary, where the Tide's defensive backs have been besieged by pass interference calls (such as the one that negated a Kool-Aid McKinstry interception against Tennessee).
While it's true that officials are more likely to give the benefit of the doubt to offenses, it still reflects a shocking inability this year by Saban and Co. to clean up something over which they have direct control.
MORE: Did officials miss LSU block in the back on overtime score vs. Alabama?
No true top receiver
Through nine games in 2021, top receivers Jameson Williams and John Metchie combined for 106 catches for 1,544 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns.
In 2022, the Tide's top three receivers are Ja'Corey Brooks (473 yards, five touchdowns); Georgia Tech transfer Jahmyr Gibbs (365, three touchdowns) and Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton (325, three touchdowns). The three combined have not matched Williams or Metchie's touchdowns.
Alabama's lack of a true top wideout is made more stark considering the team had players such as Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy as recently as the 2019 season. Those players' ability to stretch defenses took Alabama's offense to another level.
Without that true playmaker in 2022, defending Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young has struggled to keep the offense consistent. While he certainly has shown flashes of the Heisman winning-campaign from 2021, the offense has stalled without a go-to receiver.
That also allows more teams to load the box against Alabama, which is going with a running back by committee approach with Gibbs, Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams. The lack of a consistent receiving threat has made the offense more difficult to operate as a whole.
MORE: Alabama vs. Texas final score, results: Crimson Tide survive Longhorns in mistake-filled thriller
Road woes
Each of the Tide's last four losses have come away from Bryant-Denny Stadium, including three in true road contests. Following the Crimson Tide's near-miss vs. Texas in Week 2, Saban bemoaned the Tide's lack of "hateful competitors."
“We used to play better on the road than what we played at home,” Saban said, “because we had some hateful competitors on our team and when they played on the road, they were mad at 100,000 people and not the 11 guys they were playing against. And they wanted to prove something to everybody.”
That has manifested in a 41-38 loss at Texas A&M in 2021; a 52-49 loss at Tennessee; and the 32-31 loss at LSU. The Tide were rattled in each of those games, committing costly penalties and turnovers that affected the ultimate outcome.
Even in wins this year, Alabama has struggled: The Crimson Tide needed a last-minute drive by Young to eke out a controversial win over unranked Texas in Austin, then gave up 23 unanswered points to Arkansas in Fayetteville after going up 28-0. The Tide's last road game of the season is at No. 11 Ole Miss in Week 11.
If Saban and Co. can't address those issues before they take on the Rebels, it could result in just the team's first three-loss season since 2010.
