Today may not be the greatest day to be an Alabama defender.
After surrendering 391 yards and giving up 10 third-down conversions out of 17 opportunities during Saturday night's 41-23 home win over Colorado State, members of the Crimson Tide defense were hardly celebrating afterward. They yielded just 250 yards to Florida State in the season opener and 274 against Fresno State on Sept. 9, but the Tide struggled during the final three quarters against Mike Bobo's Rams.
Which is why a meeting that may not be overly pleasant has been scheduled for today.
"We're definitely going to have a talk - defensive players and no coaches," senior defensive back Hootie Jones said. "We're going to talk among each other."
Senior inside linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton labeled it a "Come to Jesus" gathering and is expected to assume a prominent role.
Colorado State wide receiver Warren Jackson makes a touchdown catch while wrapped around Alabama defensive back Anthony Averett during Saturday night's game in Tuscaloosa. The top-ranked Crimson Tide won 41-23 but were unhappy with their performance on defense.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Hamilton said. "That was pathetic. We were on the field entirely too long. We're getting into SEC play, and we've got to get all 11 to execute. All it takes is for one person not to do his job.
"We've got to get better as a unit and get all 11 guys doing their job. In the first quarter, we did OK, but you can see what can happen."
Top-ranked Alabama opens Southeastern Conference play this week with a trip to Vanderbilt, which improved to 3-0 with a 14-7 win over Kansas State on Saturday night. The Wildcats were ranked No. 18 at the time but fell out of The Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday.
In the first quarter, Alabama (3-0) racked up a 17-0 lead and held Colorado State (2-2) to a measly 11 yards. The Rams flipped the script in the second quarter by consuming 11 minutes and 43 seconds of game clock and pulling within 17-10 before the Tide struck for a 52-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to Robert Foster with a minute left in the half to go up 24-10.
The Rams moved the ball in the third quarter but were undone by interceptions by Ronnie Harrison and Jones that enabled the Tide to build a 38-10 lead, but Colorado State continued to consume the clock in the fourth quarter to the tune of 11 minutes and 24 seconds. Veteran quarterback Nick Stevens finished 21-of-38 passing for 247 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was never sacked.
"Most of their passes came out quick, so I don't think we were going to get a whole lot of pass rush, and I don't think we executed pressures very well," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "We made a couple of interceptions, which were huge in turning the game around, but it's an issue. We've got five linebackers who aren't playing, and I don't care who you are or what team you are, that creates some issues and problems.
"It hurts us in nickel, because we're not as big, and it hurts us playing the run. It forces us to play guys at different positions, and we've got to get the guys we have better."
The Rams, who opened the game with a trio of three-and-outs, wound up making four trips into the red zone and came away with three touchdowns and a field goal.
"I don't know what it is," Hamilton said. "It all comes down to execution, and we stopped executing on third downs. We could never get off the field."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.