I think you're probably right in terms of keeping a team to field goals being a "win" against a HUNH team. They wear down their defense by keeping up that pace, if all they have to show for a possession is three points, it can quickly become a losing proposition.but limiting the damage they can cause by turning TD drives into FG's or forcing enough punts to keep the game from turning into a track meet.
If Alabama can figure out the right timing for personnel changes, they can still stiffen up in the red zone, and it's not like there's that much running around they can make a defense do when the end zone is only a few yards away...