Game 3 Review: No. 1 Alabama 62, Duke 13

Alabama's first road trip of the season was hardly a nailbiter.  The Tide scored on its first four possessions,  did not experience a third down or a punt until late in the game, and scored the most points it has since the 1991 game against Tulane.  Greg McElroy and Mark Ingram finished their day early.  The first team defense, however, displayed some areas of concern as Alabama heads into SEC play next week.

My Seven Points on Game 3:

1.  Yeah, Mark Ingram's knee is okay.  Knee surgery sure 2ain't what it used to be.  Merely 19 days after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, Ingram reminded everyone why he won the Heisman Trophy last year.  Ingram had a mere nine carries for 151 yards and 2 TDs.  He made a great cutback move on his second touchdown that made it clear he has returned with the full range of motion.  The budding "running back controversy" that some fans tried to start this week died on the vine as Ingram ran all over the Blue Devils in very limited action.

2. Alabama's offense is starting to live up to the hype.  Preseason speculation about the Tide and its returning weapons on offense was that the offense might be Alabama's best ever.  It's hard to make an evaluation about that after game three, but the Tide has scored early and often in each of its three games.  Alabama has had a 100-yard rusher in each game this season, and they have been three different players.  Greg McElroy has completed over 70% of his passes and has only thrown one interception.  Five different receivers have caught touchdown passes.  Bama has a lot of looks and a lot of ways to beat you on offense.

3.  Secondary play may not be the defense's biggest issue.  The defensive secondary is young, and Bama has looked inexperienced and out of position at times.  Against Duke, however, the problems seemed to be up front.  The Blue Devils finished with over 300 yards of offense, and many times plays that should have been stopped in the offensive backfield made into the secondary.  The defensive line and linebackers did not play very well overall today.  Josh Snead didn't break the Tide's 36-game streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher, but he came within hailing distance.  The Tide tightened up a good bit in the second half, so its unclear if early problems were a lack of effort or if the large lead caused Duke to slack off.  Either way, its an area of concern when the Tide faces better competition.

4.  Again, the second half gave Alabama plenty of opportunity to get young players some time on the field.  For the third straight week, Alabama has had the opportunity to put a number of second, third and fourth string players in meaningful game action.  We shouldn't expect to see as much of that now that SEC play is starting for Alabama, but the chance to get the younger, less experienced men into the games may turn out to be critical as the season rolls along.

5.  Wallace Wade Stadium doesn't really do the coach justice.  We fully understand why Duke turned down lots of money to get Alabama into the on-campus stadium rather than selling the game to a large city.  And while it's great that there is a stadium that honors the coach that established Alabama football as a national power, the 36,000-seat horseshoe that bears Wallace Wade's name looks more like a product of Wade's era than a modern football complex.  After spending two weeks celebrating the expansion at Bryant-Denny, the contrast is pretty stark.  One would hope that Coach Cutcliffe will be able to have enough success at Duke in years to come to do something about that.

6.  The defense may not match up well against Arkansas.  Arkansas has steadily improved each week, and after a confidence-building defeat of Georgia, the Razorbacks will be gearing up to ruin Alabama's season next week.  We're not sold on Ryan Mallett as the "best quarterback in college football," but he can throw the long ball.  The Hogs' receivers know how to catch the ball too.  Alabama's secondary will be sorely tested in Fayetteville next week.

7.  So far, the Tide looks like the best team in the country.  Despite problems on defense, the Tide has still outscored its opponents 134-19 in three games.  Alabama has taken the lead in each game and has never relinquished control.  None of its opponents have scored in the second half.  Each game has been completely in the bag at halftime.  After watching other top teams struggle at times to put decent opponents away, the Tide appears to be unstoppable at its best.  Alabama isn't perfect - there have been enough issues each week to give the coaches plenty to work on for the next game.  The Tide, however, is a solid number one.