Behind all the statements of reassurance, there’s a looming uneasiness as No. 9 Alabama prepares for its first-round playoff matchup at No. 8 Oklahoma on Friday. After all, the 10–3 season saw the team’s run game struggles become evident for quite some time. That has sparked questions about the approach taken by head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. When asked about the issue, Grubb offered a blunt response: everything.

“I’ve used them all. I’ve used the throw the deep ball early and run later, run early, throw the deep ball after,” Grubb said at the pre-game press conference. “So I think some of it obviously comes down to whatever schematic advantage you think you have against a particular defense and what they give you early in a game or don’t give you.

And I think sometimes there’s a feel-out process during the game, and you can see what you think you have success with. But, you know, for us, whether the ball’s going down the field or running the football, we just have to be more consistent with the ball moving forward, period. Whether it’s an explosive play, five-yard run, we just got to get first downs and be consistent on early downs.”

The Crimson Tide’s rushing leaders, Jam Miller, Kevin Riley, and Daniel Hill, have had very few big and explosive plays on the ground this season. The running backs have been struggling to exploit the gaps that their offensive line creates. That is something that left tackle Kadyn Proctor agrees on as one of the main reasons for the poor run game.

“I mean, we just need to stay on blocks longer,” Proctor said on November 5. “We need to finish, and that comes back to preparation in practice. It has to start there, and you have to have that mindset as an offensive lineman that you’ve got to finish.

You have to get comfortable in a sense, you have to keep running the ball, and you have to show the OC that he can trust y’all running the ball. So that’s really what it is, but yes, it is a mindset, and it’s a tough life out there. It ain’t for the weak.”

Then came the LSU game on November 8, where Alabama put together its worst rushing effort of the season in the win. They finished with their lowest rushing total (56 yards) and lowest yards per attempt (2.2) in 2025. As it is, the run game was a struggle, but two weeks before the LSU game, it had gotten worse.

In every SEC game prior to South Carolina, the Crimson Tide reached at least 117 rushing yards. But Alabama had rushed for only 72 and 56 yards against South Carolina and LSU, respectively.

Quarterback Ty Simpson also acknowledged that the run game struggles could be improved if the team practices mid-game offensive designs. He admitted that solely relying on the pass game would not help the Crimson Tide win games. Currently, Alabama is ranked 117th in rushing yards (116.2) nationally. In contrast, they are ranked 23rd in passing yards, which showcases how underused the run game is for Alabama.

With Oklahoma next in the playoff tie, Kalen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb, and the whole Alabama squad will have to fix this recurring run game issue before it’s too late, because the last time they met, Alabama’s offensive line surrendered its second-highest sack total of the season.

Can Kalen DeBoer lead Alabama to a playoff victory?

As fate would have it, Alabama now faces Oklahoma again, a team that handed the Crimson Tide a narrow 23-21 loss on November 15. In that game, Alabama actually outrushed the Sooners 80-74, one of the few occasions this season where the Tide showed signs of a functional run game. Now, they get a chance at redemption in the first round of the playoffs.

A win is crucial for both teams to keep their playoff hopes alive and finish the season on a high note. However, the path forward won’t be easy. The winner of this matchup will advance to face the No. 1-seeded Indiana in the quarterfinals.

To have any chance against the unbeaten Hoosiers, Kalen DeBoer must ensure Alabama’s offensive line creates consistent running lanes, something that he has been advised. That would allow the running backs to exploit gaps and control tempo. DeBoer will also need quarterback Ty Simpson to be sharp and decisive with his passing, pulling the strings in the offense if the Crimson Tide is to get past Oklahoma and potentially challenge Indiana next.

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