This is such a weird feeling for me because I see a litany of problems that have landmined championship caliber teams here before. Our back seven, especially at linebacker, looks lost way too often. It ain't a footspeed problem nor starting experience issue either. Gotta lay the blame with the defensive staff leadership at some point. The kids are not really getting any better the further we get into the season. We were getting beat by the same concepts all day. Maybe they were trying to adjust but it didn't look like it in practice. So either the players are not taking coaching or the coaching they're getting ain't staying ahead of the opponent. This OL reminds me way too much of the 2013 unit for my comfort. That unit was really high quality in pass pro but couldn't move a pile in short yardage. People want to remember the 2013 Iron Bowl for the kick six but the real reason that game was lost was due to 3-4 short yardage situations where the OL flat out didn't get the job done. Placekicking, well it is University of Alabama placekicking since Tiffin graduated.
I'm really concerned about what happens when the offense inevitably runs into a defense that can cover well enough and get some pressure on our QBs. Especially if said team can maintain balance and not let our DL pin their ears back en route to the quarterback. Mizzou may be some heartburn next week but that trip to Baton Rouge is gonna be a litmus test for this team.