Wede01 said:
OP - when you put these mistakes in perspective, do you see lack of preparation on our part? Did we abandon our game plan and fundamentals, or did they look completely unprepared by our coaches? Or was Alabama's game plan something so unique, we were on our heels the entire game?
I don't think it was a really lack of preparation. Bama's front 7 was just more physically dominant. That's what happens when you have a pipeline of 5 stars coming in every year. But it definitely tells you something that we were outmatched physically but still had a chance in this game. We were still in it up until 30 seconds in the 3rd Quarter.
I do think that Trevor struggles with making the correct read on a lot of the option plays. We've seen Trevor fight through and make up for a bad read with effort (see his UT touchdown). When you're up against a defense that is this good, you can't afford to have too many mental mistakes. I don't think it's coaching because you can see how successful the play would be had the correct read been made for pass plays and run plays. In my eyes it's more of a problem with decision making and execution. Now before I get bashed for hating on Trevor (which I'm not, but some of you will take it that way)...I think Trevor is obviously a big reason for our success. Trevor does have his shortcomings though. I think the zone read is one of those short comings.
Now our OL and DL got dominated at times. Getting beat physically doesn't always mean the play is a bust (chances are good, but the play could be to the other side), but making the wrong decision (a mental error) can immediately bust a play. Hopefully that makes sense to you guys.