When your offense scores 47 points and your quarterback rearranges the school record book, it is tough to argue with a pass-heavy approach.

“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” said coach Nick Saban after Alabama’s 24-point win over South Carolina in the Tide’s SEC opener. “If we’re making it work -- if we’re moving the ball and making plays -- why change?”

But as Saban lauded the play of Tua Tagovailoa and his teammates who contributed to 495 passing yards in the runaway victory, it was clear from Saban’s words and body language afterward that he was not perfectly comfortable with an offense that seems to be leaning more toward the passing game than ever.

Alabama’s 76 rushing yards were the Tide’s eighth-fewest since Saban arrived at Alabama in 2007 and the fewest since 66 in a 14-13 win over Arkansas in 2014.

Volume played a large part in the smaller rushing total. Alabama ran only 25 times, tied for the third-fewest of the Saban era -- more than only 23 in a win over The Citadel last season and 21 in a win over Colorado State in 2013.

Meanwhile, South Carolina ran 86 plays against Alabama’s defense, which Saban partly attributed to not being able to control the clock with the running game.

“We need to have more balance on offense," Saban said.

It might not be as easy as dialing up more running plays. Saban estimated that at least half of Alabama’s play calls Saturday were run-pass options, or RPOs. South Carolina’s defense kept six defenders in the box, which Saban said caused Tagovailoa to read pass.

“You can’t really run with that so you have to throw the ball,” Tagovailoa said.

When Alabama’s decision to run or pass is not influenced by the defense at the snap through an RPO, offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian faces a dilemma in his play calling.

Sarkisian’s best talent is at quarterback and wide receiver, and Saban was pleased after Saturday’s game that the offense has featured its best players -- often through the passing game.

“But I also think from a team standpoint, we need to be able to run the ball effectively as well,” he added.

Alabama tried establishing its traditional ground game in its first two games, against Duke and New Mexico State, but was off to its slowest start in that phase in Saban’s 13 years as coach.

The backfield picked up the pace early against South Carolina, with Najee Harris gaining 19 yards on his two first-quarter carries.

“When we did run the ball, we ran it fairly effectively," Saban said. “We got a hat on a hat. We had a lot of positive runs. We just didn’t run it very much.”

With the strength of his offense at receiver and his backfield not consistently producing, Sarkisian has continued to explore alternate ways of moving the ball on early downs. Saturday’s game featured a heavy dose of bubble screens, which Tagovailoa said was an emphasis in the game plan against the Gamecocks’ stacked defensive boxes.

The quarterback said it was too soon to determine whether the shift away from the traditional running game would be permanent.

“I think you can come back after the last game and ask me that question,” he said.

The final -- and most important -- games of Alabama’s season seemed to weigh on Saban’s mind when he made his postgame comments Saturday.

“I don’t think you can totally depend on [the passing game]," he said. “I think last year we got to where we were so good [passing] we didn’t do other things well. And when we played other teams at the end, we couldn’t do enough other things to be effective.”