He instead combined the run and the pass by embracing
the RPO evolution, incorporating more of it as the season wore on.
Instead of having receivers like Amari Cooper constantly blocking, Bama ran routes Blake Sims could read and throw to if the defense packed the box with extra run defenders.
The linemen are still blocking zone, but the receivers are running a screen to one side and double slants to the other, each designed to keep the secondary from aggressively playing the run.
With RPOs, defenses often had to choose in real time whether to stop Heisman finalist Cooper or All-SEC T.J. Yeldon, with Sims punishing them for either choice.
Cooper saw his production go from 45 catches and 736 yards in 2013, while battling double teams and bracket coverage, to 124 balls for 1,727 yards, working against defenses whose attentions were divided.
Here's another way Kiffin divided and conquered. Cooper lines up as a running back, drawing an Auburn safety into the box to help stop the run.
Kiffin motions Cooper out wide, which threatens the perimeter with a quick screen. That would mean him running behind blocks by the two receivers already up there.
This accomplishes two things: it results in the boundary safety dropping back and giving away Auburn's coverage, and it removes him as an extra run defender.
Auburn's field safety drops down, where he'll be occupied by Cooper's route. He isn't in position to help against what's coming. But had this safety not responded to Cooper's motion, Sims could immediately throw to Cooper after the snap.
Alabama runs a zone read. Sims reads the unblocked defensive end to determine whether to keep the ball or hand off to Yeldon. With the secondary scrambling out wide to stop a screen pass, the end has to play contain and get the ball out of Sims' hands (Sims ran 83 times for 350 yards last year, both by far the highest for a Bama QB in the Saban era), allowing Sims to hand off.
Alabama is now running inside zone with five blockers to account for five defenders. The only DBs who can help are a cornerback playing man coverage and a deep safety who was backpedaling at the snap.
Alabama's line opens a crease, Yeldon finds it, and he picks up 16 yards before the secondary can track him down.
If Alabama can recruit the best linemen, backs and receivers in the country, what chance does anyone have of stopping them if they're able to get one-on-one matchups for multiple players on every play? The art of playing defense by taking away what the offense does best becomes exceptionally difficult when the offense can use RPOs like this.
This is no longer the imposition of will. This is a prepared process for attacking specific defenders. This is the offensive equivalent of pattern matching, giving the QB options after the snap to make sure he can always deliver the ball where his team is at an advantage.
Then there's pace. Kiffin has applied the lesson that the traditional powers should have learned from 2008 Oklahoma. When a team has as much NFL talent as Alabama does, it behooves it to create as many scenarios as possible in which opponents have to out-execute that talent. With every additional snap, Alabama reduces its risk of becoming a victim of chance.
At the Tide's pace in 2014,
opposing defenses had five fewer minutes of rest per game than in 2013. Alabama reduced its average time between plays by more than four seconds. Tempo is the best friend of the RPO. It forces defenses to simplify responses and limit disguises. It allows the QB more chances to zero in on the conflicted defenders who have both run and pass responsibilities.
As difficult as it is to out-execute Saban's players, doing so with one hand tied behind your back is even more difficult. Add in the Tide's superior depth, and you have a monstrous unit.
