Instant reactions to Alabama's dominant win vs. Eastern Illinois
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On Saturday afternoon, the Alabama Crimson Tide hosted what was the lone FCS opponent on their 2025 schedule in the Eastern Illinois Panthers.
An opponent from of the OVC-Big South, Alabama was a massive favorite over the Panthers entering Saturday, and the Crimson Tide showed exactly why, defeating Eastern Illinois in blowout fashion, 56-0.
Against the Panthers, Alabama never trailed, claiming an early 14-0 lead following a pair of rushing touchdowns, as well as some dominant defense in the first quarter. The Crimson Tide also eventually owned a 28-0 lead at halftime, and never looked back in the second half following an all around impressive performance.
Following are some instant reactions to Alabama's dominant win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon.
Alabama's rushing attack leads the way
The Crimson Tide have struggled to run the ball for a majority of the season, but that was not the case against the Panthers on Saturday. In all, Alabama's accounted for 269 of their 539 total yards on the ground, led by Jam Miller with 62, and saw six different players run for a score.
Alabama dominates defensively
Another massive story from Saturday's win was the play of Alabama's defense, who simply dominated the Eastern Illinois offense. Holding the Panthers off the scoreboard entirely, Alabama's defense held Eastern Illinois to only 34 total yards offensively, as well as 1-of-11 on third downs.
Qua Russaw returns from injury
Alabama outside linebacker Qua Russaw made his return from injury Saturday against Eastern Illinois. Finishing the game with two total tackles, Russaw did not play much in the contest, but it was still positive to see the outside linebacker make his return ahead of next week's game at Auburn, something that would be huge for Alabama's defense should the redshirt sophomore be available.
Multiple Alabama reserves impress
A game where many of Alabama's reserves saw significant action, the Crimson Tide had multiple backups impress Saturday. Included in this group were quarterbacks Austin Mack and Keelon Russell offensively, as well as others such as Cayden Jones, Luke Metz, and Ivan Taylor on defense.
Alabama now enters must-win Iron Bowl
Following the Crimson Tide's win over Eastern Illinois, Alabama now fully turns their attention to a Week 14 road trip against Auburn for the latest edition of the Iron Bowl. Owning two losses on the season, this will be a true must-win scenario for the Crimson Tide in Auburn to keep their College Football Playoff, as well as SEC title, hopes alive.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama football instant reactions to win vs. Eastern Illinois
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