On paper, the Alabama Crimson Tide is ripping through the SEC schedule.

They’ve won eight games in a row and are entering the final stretch of the season with only one loss. The only two true tests remaining are against Oklahoma and Auburn with Eastern Illinois in between.

Since an embarrassing defeat during the first week of the season at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles, the Tide has fired on all cylinders, buckled down on defense, and quarterback Ty Simpson has had a Heisman quality season.

In theory, everything with this team — who is getting close to a lock to make the College Football Playoff — is solid on paper, but there’s a glaring flaw which could prove to be their undoing ultimately.

For whatever reason, no matter what they try or how many different ways they attempt to get it going, Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb’s offense cannot seem to run the ball with any sort of consistency. The latest example against LSU was particularly brutal, and the group accounted for a total of just 56 yards on the ground.

Daniel Hill was the leading rusher, but even he just had 21 yards on seven touches. Fortunately for Alabama, the Tigers happened to be even worse on the ground than they were and the game was never really in doubt during what proved to be a 20-9 win.

For most teams, a complete lack of a running game derails an offense, but that has not been the case for Simpson and the Tide. While it’s been a struggle at times, they have still been able to produce through the air due to the great year Simpson is having and his connection with the wide receivers.

A predictable offense though is one that becomes easy for a great defense to stop, and given the Tide’s complete lack of a ground game as of late, the unit has been as predictable as they come.

Ultimately, there’s an element here of they are what they are and this offense will not suddenly decide this Saturday they can now run the ball at an elite level. If they don’t improve though, it will prevent them from getting to the places they want to be and where at its best Alabama has looked capable of reaching this season.

This Tide team will never be a great running group, but they do not have to be great, they’ve already proven that. They do however need to at least get to a base level of average and allow a running game to open things up for Simpson and his arm.

If Alabama can do just that, a national title is very much in the realm of possibility.