More specifically, Alabama football past defensive struggles are with one facet of the RPO arsenal. The bane for Tide and other defenses is when the RPO looks to be a run and a beat or two later becomes a pass.
All the heavy RPO teams use the “pop pass” that lures the defense into reading run before the QB zips a pass to an uncovered receiver. Ole Miss has had good success with this wrinkle and Auburn’s Nick Marshall was adept at running it.
The Kick-Six TD at Auburn in 2013 would not have won the game, if not for an earlier play.