Two weeks in a row, Alabama football’s defense has been torched by similar plays. Vanderbilt gained big yardage twice with inside shovel passes in its win over the Crimson Tide.

Then, South Carolina, having apparently done its job in film study, gained 14 yards with one in the second half. The Gamecocks scored a touchdown on that drive, to temporarily take the lead.

On Monday, Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack described what makes the play so challenging to defend.

“When teams sprinkle it in just here and there, it’s really challenging for your guys who are up front in terms of eye progression,” Wommack said. “You’re getting an action at you that looks like sprint out for a quarterback or option for a quarterback. Then all of sudden, they’re pitching the ball back underneath behind us to pursue. You’ve got to be very disciplined and very detailed in doing that. And your backside pursuit has to be able to fit and get back overtop.”

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said he used to run the play a fair amount himself. He agreed with Wommack’s assessment of how tricky it can be to defend.

“It’s a play that you have to defend, “DeBoer said “It might be presentation off of a boot, it might be presented off a sprintout, option. But you’ve got to identify and everyone’s got to fit their gaps and apply your rules is really the significance of it.”

The South Carolina shovel pass came on third down, one of five the Gamecocks converted on their go-ahead drive. The Tide struggled to get off the field in the second half of that game, and the entire Vanderbilt loss.

The Commodores also converted a third down with one of their shovel passes. With even tougher opponents coming up, figuring out a way to stop the shovel pass will be critical.

“It’s a really good wrinkle,” Wommack said. “It’s one we’re probably going to continue to see every single week. We’re looking at the different ways they can do those plays and run those things so we can be prepared. Nobody is going to do it exactly the same way necessarily, but they’re going to have their own nuance. It’s a hard play that we’ve got to get prepared for.”

Alabama faces Tennessee Saturday in Knoxville. That game is scheduled to kick off at 2:45 p.m. CT and will be aired on ABC.