Alabama's Cyrus Jones (5) looks for room during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014. No. 11 Mississippi won 23-17.By this point in a season, Alabama football coach Nick Saban typically has the identity of his team either formed or forming.
This year's Crimson Tide have been quick to find dynamic receiver Amari Cooper for explosive plays, and they again are dominant in run defense. Yet there are aspects to this year's team that have Saban far from amused entering Saturday night's game at Arkansas.
In their two Southeastern Conference contests against Florida and Ole Miss, the Crimson Tide have committed 19 penalties to go along with six turnovers.
"I think it's a lack of discipline, to say it like it is, especially the number of what I call undisciplined penalties," Saban said. "Whether they're false starts or illegal formations or that type of thing, we've had way too many of those. We've been emphasizing that, and it's always something we've emphasized.
"It's a goal of ours not to have very many penalties, especially on offense, where it puts you behind relative to the down and distance."
Alabama committed 11 penalties and had four turnovers against Florida, which enabled the Gators to hang around through nearly three quarters before the Tide broke free for a 42-21 win. Quarterback Blake Sims threw for 445 yards and Cooper had 201 receiving yards to help Alabama overcome nine offensive penalties.
In last week's 23-17 loss in Oxford, the Tide offense was responsible for seven of the eight penalties -- three false starts, one delay of game, two holding calls on tight end O.J. Howard and an illegal block on running back Jalston Fowler.
"It's just been a lack of focus on the details," guard Arie Kouandjio, who was responsible for the first false start against the Rebels, told reporters this week. "Making mistakes is something we always try to minimize."
It would have been worse for Alabama last Saturday had cornerback Cyrus Jones been flagged for a facemask infraction during the strip and 13-yard fumble return for a touchdown he produced in the final minute of the first half. That score gave Alabama a 14-3 advantage.
"You can argue it both ways," Jones told reporters this week. "I didn't even realize I had hit him in the facemask. It happened so fast. You could have called it, but I didn't really grab it. I just hit it."
Alabama's average of 9.5 penalties for 66 yards the past two games is a clip Saban obviously wants reduced. Last year's Tide averaged 5.7 penalties a game for 40 yards.
The Tide played a turnover-free game last Saturday until the final six minutes, when Christion Jones fumbled a kickoff return and Sims was intercepted in the end zone. Alabama is minus-4 this season in turnover ratio, ranking ahead of only Vanderbilt among the 14 SEC programs.
"It's not really an added emphasis, but it's obviously something our kids can see on film," Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said of the Tide's turnover troubles. "We start every practice with a ball-disruption drill, and it's paid off very well for us so far. We've been able to get our hands on a lot of footballs -- not just stripping runners but balls deflected in the passing game and balls disrupted at the line of scrimmage."
In last season's 52-0 win over the Razorbacks inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama did not turn the ball over or commit a single penalty. Saban would love another squeaky clean performance this year, but the Crimson Tide seem a long way from that right now.
"We try to teach them exactly what they have to do to eliminate these types of mistakes, and that's what they need to focus on," Saban said. "I'm hopeful that's what our players are trying to do. We don't get a lot of turnovers, either, and that's another area of emphasis we have to really work on as well."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.