Alabama appears to be the clear number two team in the nation right now, with their only slip up against Texas A&M in College Station.

While they were starting to look more and more like the Crimson Tide we are used to seeing under head coach Nick Saban, season progression seemed to stop during last week’s home game against LSU. The issue seemed to rely more with the Bayou Bengals playing above their means in a fierce rivalry.

However, as Saban would say, there is always room for improvement.

LSU had two chances in the fourth quarter to take the lead late in the game, but they couldn’t get it done. Credit Alabama’s defense and a terrible LSU offense for keeping them down in the closing minutes.

Saban is big on not overlooking opponents, but believe that he has been using this week as a bye week scenario to prepare for the final stretch of the season.

Here are two things Nick Saban and the Tide will do against New Mexico State today to tune up and get ready for the weeks that will follow.

Running back by committee

Brian Robinson, Jr. has been a key to Alabama’s success, and when he is running the ball well, the rest of the offense becomes electric. Robinson has 724 yards so far this season, and he has a realistic shot of hitting the coveted 1,000-yard mark.

While Robinson is carrying the bulk of the weight for Alabama’s offense, the Tide find themselves up in the game. Yet, Sophomore Roydell Williams is a sort of super-star of his own accord. Williams is averaging 5.8 yards per carry for 273 yards on the ground.

Also, no one needs to be surprised if Trey Sanders gets to grab up a few extra runs today against New Mexico State, and there couldn’t be a better game for the team to have some competition in the running back room.

Defensive stunts and blitz

Many have said that Pete Golding is not the solution for the Bama defense. Golding has managed to turn a slightly young defense into a national brand this year.

Look for Golding to test out new stunts and different blitz packages this week against New Mexico State. These are not to be used in the exact same way in the following weeks but are instead intended to see what his team can do.

For instance, Will Anderson, Jr. is great at taking advantage of a blitz, but will he be able to execute different defensive stunts on a play? That is one of the things Alabama will be looking for this week.

Also, Henry To’oTo’o is another great linebacker for the Tide, but his coverage on pass plays has left some room for improvement to this coaching staff and team.

Cupcake weeks can be very boring, but look for the Tide to roll while fixing some little things for the final stretch of the season.

Alabama and New Mexico State kick off at 11:00 a.m. CT today.

Hayden Crigler is a contributing college football and college basketball writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him through email: Hayden@yellowhammernews.com or on Twitter: @hayden_crigler.