There was plenty of offseason conversation about Alabama having the potential to showcase a defense reminiscent of the early Nick Saban years in Tuscaloosa.
Then came Texas and the 349 passing yards by Quinn Ewers that included touchdown tosses of 44 and 39 yards.
Yet the Crimson Tide have rebounded in respectable fashion from that 34-24 defeat on Sept. 9, opening Southeastern Conference play the past two weekends with a 24-10 win over Ole Miss and a 40-17 victory at Mississippi State. Another league test awaits this Saturday afternoon (3:30 on CBS) as No. 11 Alabama visits Texas A&M in a matchup of 4-1 teams that are 2-0 in SEC play.
“I feel like we’re starting to come together a lot more,” Crimson Tide junior outside linebacker Dallas Turner said this week in a news conference. “We’re starting to bond and play for each other instead of playing for ourselves. There are a lot of things starting to happen and a lot of good things starting to come together as well.”
Ole Miss is averaging 53.25 points in games not involving Alabama, but the Rebels were held without a touchdown in the final three quarters of their Sept. 23 loss inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide followed that up by sacking Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers four times and forcing him into three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.