Tuscaloosa, AL The prep for halftime starts the moment the ball is snapped in the first quarter. In order for Alabama football coaches to show players key plays from the first half, a staffer details every concept on a template. Then, according to Nick Saban, coaches formulate an offensive plan. The process is streamlined, built for quick translations in the 20-minute break teams are afforded. And in the majority of the 2023 season, the Crimson Tide has maximized the intermission to great results. “I would say it just comes from regrouping when it comes to halftime,” senior Malachi Moore said. “Sometimes, we feel like we’re not playing our best, or the offense gives us some crazy looks we might not have seen before. So we just fix those things.” Excluding sloppy wins over Mississippi State and Arkansas, Alabama is dominating opponents in the second half, often by necessity to either win a slugfest (against LSU) or mount a rally (Ole Miss and Tennessee). The Crimson Tide has outscored opponents 108-35 in the latter halves of its seven-game winning streak, dating back to Week 3 against USF. No. 8 Alabama’s (8-1, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) plus-73 differential in that time span is more than No. 2 Georgia’s (+66), No. 4 Florida State’s (+65) and No. 5 Washington’s (+4) margins. It’s a sign of a team fulfilling Saban’s goal of weekly improvement as well as a data point that supports Alabama in the impending College Football Playoff debate. “We all contribute to trying to make adjustments in the games. (Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele) has done a really good job,” said Saban on Monday. “He’s in the box, so he has a really good perspective of what we didn’t do correctly, what we need to fix, what’s not working, what might work better. But I think we also do a great job on the sidelines of showing the players the series before.” 
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Friday, November 10, 2023
• Adjustments powering Bama through 7-game streak •
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