Alabama's run of defensive and special teams touchdowns this season has been absolutley absurd. After the Tide finished beating down Tennessee 49-10 Saturday the Tide were up to 11 non-offensive touchdowns, which at the time was more touchdowns than some teams had scored in total.
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Alabama has scored more touchdowns on defense and special teams than Stanford, South Carolina and Buffalo have scored on offense
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) October 15, 2016
Just let that sink in. Even discussing something likes this is nuts.
Seven of Alabama's 11 defensive starters have scored at least 1 non-offensive TD this season. That's unreal.
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) October 15, 2016
That's remarkable for an entire season. It's Week 7. https://t.co/oRR9pI8xfM
— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomon35) October 15, 2016
Trying to force turnovers and score on defense has become contagious amongst the Tide defense and the season is only seven weeks old.
"The confidence in players believing and having faith in what they're doing certainly contribute to their success," head coach Nick Saban said after the game according to 247sports. "So when you have punt returns, I think guys that are blocking and holding up, they think that if we do this right, we have a chance to make an impact on the game here. I think it's the same thing with the defense.
"We emphasize stripping the ball out, we emphasize attacking the ball, we give somebody the belt every day in practice with who gets the most ball disruptions. It's a point of emphasis, and when players start to get them, the others feel like, 'I'm gonna get me one.'"
I'm gonna get me one, one heck of a theme for the Alabama defense in 2016. They'll have their chance again next week when the Tide face off against Texas A&M.
With that punt return, #Alabama now has 11 non-offensive TDs this year which sets a single-season record in the Nick Saban era. #RollTide
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 15, 2016