More than once over the last couple weeks, Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer has spoken about the importance of winning the "middle eight," referring to the last four minutes of first halves and the first four minutes of second halves. A fairly logical argument can be made that only in-game situations can make one particular minute of a 60-minute clock more important than another, and therefore, identifying critical minutes before the game is folly.
Coaches, after all, also insist their teams need fast starts and strong finishes. Throw in the middle eight, and what's really left?
HIGHLIGHTS: Alabama football vs South Carolina score today: Live updates, highlights from Week 7 game
HOOPS GLORY: Alabama basketball Final Four banner unveiled in Coleman Coliseum
But to whatever extent those eight minutes are crucial − good and bad clock management, certainly, is on display near halftime in lots of college games, and momentum swings can often coalesce on either side of the half − Alabama's middle eight in a 27-25 win over South Carolina were an unmitigated disaster. The Gamecocks piled up all 12 of their first-half points in DeBoer's middle-eight zone, burning Alabama's secondary deep for a 36-yard TD pass with 1:37 left. That was followed by a personal foul on the kickoff that backed Alabama up to its own 12-yard line, after which QB Jalen Milroe was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone for a South Carolina safety. And when Alabama got the ball back on a fumble recovery, a Milroe interception set up South Carolina's half-ending field goal.
In the blink of an eye, the Crimson Tide lead slipped from 14-0 to 14-12.
UA didn't exactly atone for those mistakes after the break, as South Carolina marched 85 yards in 16 plays with the second-half kickoff, moving the chains five times on third down and consuming 8:35 off the clock. By that point, the middle eight was long gone, and so was Alabama's lead, as the Gamecocks took control 19-14.
"That drive coming out in the second half set the tone and made it hard for us the rest of the game," DeBoer said. "We talk about the middle eight, going into the (halftime) locker room. Coming out, they got the ball (to start the second half), and they had those points at the end of the first half."
A week ago, Alabama dominated the middle eight in Nashville, scoring touchdowns on either side of halftime to slash Vanderbilt's lead from 23-7 to 23-21, and still managed to lose. This week, a middle-eight debacle wasn't quite enough to beat the Crimson Tide, but it tried awfully hard.
As for the course of the game's final minutes, and how they were managed, DeBoer and staff have a long meeting ahead on that as well. Somehow, with a 27-19 lead and under two minutes remaining, Alabama allowed South Carolina a touchdown and a chance to tie with a two-point attempt that failed, and followed that by blundering an onside kick that the Gamecocks recovered for yet another crack at the upset. Perhaps that UA staff meeting should include discussion on whether more wide receivers should be on the "hands" team in obvious onside kick situations. It's worth noting that Alabama was without two sure-handed receivers in the injured Kendrick Law and Kobe Prentice. That said, UA went with three linebackers and two tight ends, both of whom touched the ball but couldn't hang onto it, along its front against the onside kick.
Not exactly a strong finish, despite a late interception by Domani Jackson that saved the Crimson Tide.
Pile all those miscues on top of seven penalties, three of which were personal fouls, plus Milroe's two-point grounding flag, and the middle eight isn't Alabama's only problem.
There's cleanup needed in the full 60.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football's DeBoer has more than 'middle eight' to fret over
