If you’re reading this, you ran for more yards than Alabama did against Georgia last season. The Bulldogs completely stifled the Crimson Tide on the ground in the SEC championship, holding them to -3 rushing yards in a resounding 28-7 win.
It was the low point of a rough season running the ball for Alabama. The Crimson Tide had the second-worst rush offense in the SEC last year, averaging just 104.1 rushing yards per game.
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer made improving the run game his top priority before the 2026 season. Unprompted at SEC media days, he came out and said it in his opening statement.
“We want to be able to run the football better,” DeBoer said. “I think that will help the overall team, overall when it comes to protecting your quarterback. Makes play calling easier. So that's something we've addressed and stressed within our team.”
Alabama's run game has taken a step in the right direction
So far this season the Crimson Tide have done a much better job of running the ball. They’ve crept back up to the middle of the SEC in rush offense, ranking a respectable seventh in the conference with 186.4 rushing yards per game.
Alabama went and got two offensive linemen out of the transfer portal, tackle Jayvin James from Mississippi State and center Racin Delgatty from Cal Poly. Both have been good starters this year.
The backfield tandem of junior Daniel Hill and freshman Trae’Shawn Brown have led the way for Alabama so far this season.
Hill looks the part of the prototypical SEC bruiser. He’s listed at 6-foot-1, 234 pounds and runs with a physical style that seems to get better later in games. His best game of the season was a 104-yard, one touchdown effort at Kentucky about a month ago.
Brown is lighter and quicker. He’s coming off a strong game against Mississippi State, rushing for 66 yards and two touchdowns in the Crimson Tide’s 56-23 win.
The improved rushing offense has helped Alabama’s offense stay on schedule and put quarterback Keelon Russell in more favorable situations than Ty Simpson was working with last year. It’s aided the redshirt freshman’s sensational start to the season.
Georgia's run defense will be up for the task against Alabama
Georgia, who has bottled up the run for most of this year, is looking forward to the challenge. The Bulldogs have only surrendered 57.4 rushing yards per game, the third-fewest in the country and the fewest in the SEC.
“I feel like we play well in stopping the run,” defensive lineman Elijah Griffin said. “ We stop the run, and Alabama's really good at running the ball. So it would be a great challenge for us, but we never run away from it.
The Bulldogs, however, did slip up a little bit in defending the run against Vanderbilt last week. The Commodores ran for 72 yards on 18 attempts in the first half as Georgia only led 21-14 when they entered the halftime locker room.
“There were some looks that–non-traditional looks–where we didn't play the run real well,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “Some of it was scheme-related. Some of it was not.”
For what it’s worth, Georgia held Vanderbilt to 13 rushing yards in the second half.
The Bulldogs have rugged run defenders up front. Defensive tackle Jordan Hall has become a force against the run, and Ekene Ogboko and Josh Horton have been quality depth. Gabe Harris and Quintavius Johnson set quite the edge. Griffin hasn’t been fantastic against the run, but has all the physical talent in the world.
The linebackers are all menaces as well, Raylen Wilson, Justin Williams and Chris Cole are as good of a trio as you’ll see in the country.
This will be the biggest test of the season for Alabama’s run game and Georgia’s run defense. Neither has encountered an opponent nearly as good as the other.
If the Bulldogs can shut down the run and get Russell and the offense living in second and third-and-long, it allows them to pin their ears back and potentially fluster the quarterback. Russell hasn’t looked mortal much this season, but that’s Georgia’s path to making that happen.
If Alabama can stay ahead of the sticks by running it well, it can control the flow of the game and gas the Bulldogs’ vaunted defense. In a game that might have some bad weather, that could make all the difference.
We’ll see how good these respective units really are Saturday.
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