Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring Alabama Crimson Tide on SI's beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.
Watch the above video as Alabama Crimson Tide on SI football writer and assistant editor Katie Windham discusses whether it is the Alabama offense or Crimson Tide defense with more to prove in this Saturday's homecoming matchup with Texas A&M.
Alabama has lost two games in a row during the regular season for the first time since Nick Saban's first season with the Crimson Tide in 2007. Anytime Alabama loses, there's plenty of blame to spread around, but there is a lot of frustration after the 26-10 loss to Tennessee.
Which side of the ball has more to prove this Saturday against Texas A&M? Both the offense and defense had struggled, but the Alabama offense seems to have lost its identity over the last two games after starting the season as one of the highest-scoring teams in America.
Until the final drive of the Tennessee loss with a little over three minutes to go, Alabama had 139 yards of total offense and finished with 201. The Crimson Tide has scored three total points in the second halves of the last two games.
During the losing skid, Alabama has turned the ball over five times and gotten sacked nine times.
Granted, those were probably the two best defenses Alabama will face during the regular season, but if the offense has another sluggish performance against Texas A&M, the warning sirens will start blaring even louder in Tuscaloosa.
The defense has made critical mistakes in the fourth quarter, but it has had Alabama in a position to win the last two games.
The cop-out answer is that ultimately, both sides have a lot to prove. It doesn't really matter who does better, Alabama just has to find a way to win this game heading into the bye week and the final month of the regular season.
The Crimson Tide (5-2, 3-2 SEC) is ranked No. 13 in the country and still has a path to the College Football Playoff if it can win the remainder of its games, but for fans to feel any encouragement of that happening, Alabama needs to have a strong offensive performance this Saturday.
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