TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Ryan Grubb made no excuses.
"It's embarrassing," Grubb said of Alabama's offensive performance in the team's 26-10 loss to Tennessee."If I was a fan or a supporter, I'd be pissed off too."
The Crimson Tide scored 10 points, produced 201 yards of offense, and rushed for 47 yards, all season lows, while turning the ball over a season-high four times. The only touchdown of the day came after an interception set Alabama up at the Tennessee 14-yard line. The team went 2-for-13 on third downs, 1-for-3 on fourth downs, and the list of abysmal statistics and figures from Knoxville could go on for paragraphs.
Grubb's playcalling has drawn the ire of much of the fanbase. His perceived unwillingness to run the ball, reliance on slow-developing plays, and lack of halftime adjustments have made him an easy target for those looking for someone to pin the loss on.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer had a different perspective.
"I think he's a great play-caller," DeBoer said. "I think that putting an offense together to understand tendencies and things like that, I think you've got to look at, there are a lot of scenarios that go into struggling at times as an offense. And again, it comes down to execution."
Alabama's offensive execution was the worst it has been all season. The Crimson Tide failed to convert a pair of fourth-and-ones in opposing territory, as the heavy sets that had led to so much success on the ground through six weeks were bottled up by Xavier Gilliam and the Tennessee front.
"A lot of those moments, you know, fourth-and-one calls. I mean, I think they're really good calls," DeBoer said. "They're calls we were ready to run in that game."
Grubb described Alabama's scoreless second half as "pathetic." There are changes that need to be made if the offense, which averaged 49.6 points per game through five weeks, is going to reach anywhere near its full potential down the stretch of the season.
"The thing about Ryan is that he's evaluating and is critical in himself as anyone, and it's always been like that," DeBoer said. "It goes back 15 years, at least 20 years that I've known him, and so, you know, that's the beauty I think in our staff as a whole."
Grubb will be under a microscope for the rest of the season. If his contract, which expires in February, is going to be renewed, the offense has to begin to produce, and it has to produce fast, as the Crimson Tide's College Football Playoff odds now hang in the balance every single week.
"You're trying to fit what you do around your personnel, just have a system," DeBoer said. "We're plugging these guys in the system. We've got to continue to evolve around the players that we have and help them play fast."
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