Fansided

5 reasons Alabama will repeat as national champions

By Brendan Dlubala

Oct 15, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide players celebrate their 49-10 victory with a traditional victory cigar after defeating the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide players celebrate their 49-10 victory with a traditional victory cigar after defeating the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 15, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) runs for a touchdown against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) runs for a touchdown against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Jalen Hurts and the Rushing Game

Alabama as a team is No. 4 in the country in rushing yards with 1860. They also have 20 touchdowns, average 6.2 yards per carry, and average 265.7 rushing yards per game. They’ve been all about the running back for a long time now it is Saban’s bread-and-butter and it looks like Jalen Hurts is the perfect fit for it.

Alabama regularly runs zone slices or counter runs and with Jalen Hurts as the QB, they’ve become more versatile. Just as he is relied on to be efficient throwing the ball, he is relied upon to literally run the offense. He has 428 rushing yards and averages 5.8 yards per carry. He also is tied for 17th in the nation with eight rushing touchdowns.

Damien Harris joins him as the starting running back for the Tide. Harris has rushed for 572 yards this season and averages 8.3 yards a carry. He’s one of the hardest running backs in the country to tackle and is relied upon for the bulk of the yardage per game.

His partner, Joshua Jacobs, has an equally impressive 8.0 yards per carry. His 345 yards this season have allowed Nick Saban a lot of flexibility in the backfield as Hurts and Harris carry the bulk of the offense. The Crimson Tide have also been able to score more than 40 points in five of their seven games.

As teams struggle to figure out Alabama’s offense, Hurts, Harris, and Jacobs provide a three headed trio for the run game. And it seems like with most of Saban’s teams, if one head is cut off, two more magically takes it’s place.

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