Alabama Football: Is Lane Kiffin to Blame for 2014 Losses?
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Lane Kiffin’s offense at Alabama flat out produced. From a statistics standpoint (thanks to sports-reference.com), his offense was scary good.
Quarterbacks:
Blake Sims threw for 3,487 yards against 10 interceptions. Add in a completion percentage of 64.5 and a 157.9 quarterback rating playing against the defenses of the SEC West, and it is easy to see why Sims was on the Heisman shortlist for a period of the season. And of course, he also rushed for 350 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Running Backs:
Anytime you hear an analyst talking about Bret Bielema and his offense, having two 1,000 yard rushers invariably comes up. T.J. Yeldon had 979 yards on 5 yards per carry (YPC) to go along with his 11 touchdowns, 180
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receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Derrick Henry was even more impressive with 990 yards on 5.8 YPC, 11 rushing touchdowns, 133 receiving yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. Alabama’s rushing offense was 31 yards (combined) away from having two running backs rush for 1,000 yards in 2014. Add in Sims’ rushing stats and you have enough offense to carry most teams.
Receivers:
Amari Cooper is obviously the name to know here. Kiffin seemed to game plan as many ways to get Cooper the ball as possible each game. The result was 124 receptions, 1,727 yards, 16 touchdowns, a Fred Biletnikoff Award (for college football’s top wide receiver), and third place in the Heisman voting. While no other receiver had more than 40 receptions or 4 touchdowns (both Deandrew White), it is hard to argue with the overall production of the passing game.
Overall:
According to ESPN.com, Alabama’s 2014 offense was 9th overall in “Team Total Offense Statistics”. Also of note is that they were the highest ranked team from the SEC. 2014 was a departure from the typical standardized offense we have seen at Alabama under Nick Saban. With results like Kiffin’s, though, it is hard to argue the switch to his style of play calling was not the right decision.
Next: Kiffin the Game Loser
