Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 85: Strong Defensive Team
"14:40".

The whistle sounded and the game ended.

The Alabama Crimson Tide, playing at home, once again swept Texas A&M with an unparalleled performance, extending their season winning streak to eight games.

The spectators came with high hopes but left disappointed. They were destined to be disappointed:
In this game, the Texas A&M defense was unable to bring enough pressure to the Alabama offense. Although they showed the style of a traditional defensive powerhouse in the first and second gears, and did cause trouble for the Crimson Tide offense, when it came to the third gear, Texas A&M's intensity could not be sustained.

The reasons are two-fold.

Firstly, Garrett was still in fear and obviously did not dare to give his all due to his ankle injury, so the third-gear defense was unable to exert enough pressure.

Secondly, the Crimson Tide's ground offense was strong, and Levi once again showed his top level, with several wonderful ground advances to break the difficulties and overturn the balance.

Third, the Texas A&M defense did not give Garrett enough support, and Garrett was unable to make any progress alone. After all, football is a team sport.

After a few exchanges, the Crimson Tide Storm's attack was able to continue.

Throughout the game, Garrett still delivered a good report card despite being plagued by injuries, with seven tackles, three effective hits and one sack; but his invisibility at the critical moment of the game cannot be seen in the data. Without watching the game, it is hard to imagine how Texas A&M lost so badly.

And Levi?
160 yards on the ground and three running touchdowns.

Still stable and strong, continuing to output like clocking in for work; similarly, what is not visible in the data is Levi's three-speed conversion success rate -

100%.

In the game, the Crimson Tide faced third-gear transition situations a total of thirteen times, six of which Shaban chose to give the football to Levi, and one time due to an unexpected situation when Hurts temporarily handed the football to Levi. Levi successfully completed all of them and won the first attack. His tough performance at the critical moment became a nightmare for the Texas A&M defense and laid the foundation for the Crimson Tide's victory.

Brand looked at these data. As a scout, he knew that it was more than just the number of yards and touchdowns. It more represented the player's talent, the coach's trust and the ability to change the game.

Although it sounds a bit surprising, the reality is that Levi is indeed shouldering the vacancy left by Derrick Henry and doing what Derrick Henry has not been able to do, allowing other teammates to gain confidence and improve their status. The outstanding performances of Hurts and Jacobs are evidence of this.

Moreover, Shaban trusts Levi more and more.

Brand believes that this is far more important than winning or losing a game or the score.

Perhaps, one game is not enough to affect Garrett's draft prospects. After all, considering the impact of injuries, the scouts' assessment scores also need to be carefully considered. From the perspective of physical talent, personal ability, competitive state and psychological performance, Garrett is still undoubtedly a first-round pick.

But with the help of Garrett as a stepping stone, Levi's prospects have risen, and this dark horse that came out of nowhere is still continuing to output.

I don't know how young people like Jackson and Watson feel, but Brand knows that things are becoming more and more interesting.

Those haters who were expecting Alabama to stumble and waiting for Levi to hit a wall were all speechless and shut their mouths one by one.

Tennessee, ranked seventh, was crushed to death.

Texas A&M, ranked sixth, was unarmed.

In the face of the dilemma of consecutive tough battles with strong enemies, Alabama played at its top level and displayed its iron will. It not only won but also had an overall advantage, completing one massacre after another with an absolutely strong and tough attitude.

The defending champion was indeed bloodthirsty.

Next, any team that tries to challenge Alabama must weigh their own confidence, otherwise it may end up in a bloody situation. For a moment, all the spectators shut their mouths and there was a solemn silence.

However, in Brand's view, Alabama's challenge is not over yet. He is not in a hurry to evaluate Levi or draw conclusions. He will let the bullet fly for a while. Anyway, he has been following the red tide storm for a month and a half. He doesn't care about this little bit of time and will continue to observe patiently.

Next, there is another level, which is often the most dangerous and tense one.

LSU, currently ranked 13th in the NCAA, is known as the Louisiana State University Tigers.

It's the Tigers again, but unlike the Clemson Tigers, this is another Tiger team that may be the most dangerous opponent for Alabama.

Firstly, this is the last stage of Alabama's three-week tough schedule against strong opponents. After sweeping Tennessee and Texas A&M, the finish line is at hand, and it is inevitable that they will become relaxed.

Secondly, the LSU Tigers are also a strong defensive team, and unlike any previous opponent, they are basically another version of... the Crimson Tide.

Simply put, there is individual ability and team strength.

They are not like Clemson, which relies entirely on team tactical coordination and has many players with outstanding individual abilities; at the same time, they are not like Texas A&M, where only Garrett shines, and the team's tactical coordination is tacit.

Individuals and groups can achieve the effect of one plus one being greater than two.

Like the Crimson Tide, this is a very scary defensive group.

However, it is unreasonable that such a strong team is currently ranked only 13th.

The reason is, offense.

At the beginning of the season, LSU was the fifth seed and also the favorite to win the championship, but it struggled greatly after the start of the season. Even the victories seemed sloppy and chaotic, and the offense was a mess.

In the fourth week, they lost to their sworn enemy, Auburn University. This defeat ignited the powder keg and directly led to the dismissal of Les Miles, the meritorious head coach who led the team for twelve seasons, and the offensive coordinator, and the defensive coordinator Ed Orgeron took over.

Ogerlong, who used to be a defensive lineman and coached in college for many years, just joined Louisiana State last season and had never served as a head coach. But the opportunity came, Ogerlong seized it, and demonstrated his ability, and Louisiana State was completely transformed.

Ogerlong was good at defense, so he started with defense. In just three weeks, he successfully unleashed the talent of the Louisiana State defense team, not only winning three consecutive games, but also showing a brand new performance.

In three games, the average points allowed was controlled below 13 points. Although it is still not comparable to the Crimson Tide, taking over in the middle of the season and making immediate achievements in a short period of time, Ogerlong's authority was established.

at the same time!

Ogerlong also dared to imagine in offense, teaming up with the newly appointed offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger to open up possibilities. The average score per game in three games soared to 41.67, more than double that of the previous head coach Myles.

Using defense to stimulate offense and offense to drive defense, Ogerlong got Louisiana State back on the winning track in the shortest time possible.

Maybe, Louisiana State is only ranked 13th now, but in Brand's opinion, a combination of various factors makes Louisiana State a more dangerous opponent. The Crimson Tide needs to be cautious, otherwise accidents may occur.

Facts also prove this.

The ninth update.

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(End of this chapter)