Alabama Given Major Warning by Program Legend Ahead of Oklahoma Game

The No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide has proven to be one of the most complete teams in college football. However, ahead of their Week 12 showdown against Oklahoma, program legend Mark Ingram shared one serious concern for the team that he believes has been holding them back.

The ground game has been a staple within the program for the better part of the past two decades, playing a pivotal role in the team’s six National Championships since 2009.

This season, that rushing attack has largely been absent. Notably, Alabama has the second-least rushing yards of any team in the SEC this year, ahead of only LSU and South Carolina.

Some of this is due to just how great star quarterback Ty Simpson has been. Still, the one-dimensional nature of the Crimson Tide’s offense this year is a huge worry for Mark Ingram heading into Saturday’s matchup with Oklahoma.

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Previewing Saturday’s game on his podcast, “The Triple Option”, on Wednesday, Ingram expressed his concerns about the lack of a rushing attack. As a result, Ingram believes Alabama may be in for their toughest test to date against Oklahoma.

“This game is gonna be tough, man,” said Ingram. “Alabama, they’ve been winning but it’s been iffy. It’s been real iffy. We can’t run the football. We literally cannot run the football. That is alarming to me because we are one-dimensional on offense.”

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Despite his concerns, Ingram did outright pick his former team to come away with the win on Saturday, though he seemingly didn’t have too much conviction in his prediction.

“How I don’t like how it looks, five-and-a-half, I think it’s gonna be a close game,” he said. “I’m gonna say we’re gonna cover by six points. You have to. A revenge game. Last year, we went to Oklahoma and they stomped us, ruined our College Football Playoff hopes and this is a revenge game.

“”Everyone that was there, coach DeBoer, everyone that was there experienced it. This is a revenge game.We’ve gotta come out, we’ve gotta dominate. It’s in Tuscaloosa. We have everything to play for. I feel like we cover in this game even though I feel like it’s gonna be a hard-fought, tough game.”

Given the fact that Oklahoma only allows an average of 181.8 passing yards per game, Ingram’s concern is certainly a valid one. So it will be interesting to see whether Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer can find a way to spark some sort of life in the rushing attack in Saturday’s game, which may very well be necessary for the Crimson Tide to win to keep their CFP hopes alive.

For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.