Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt.

Interception. Interception.

Punt.

The first nine Louisiana-Lafayette possessions were far from successful. It had 130 total yards at that point, down 56 to No. 1 Alabama. In came the reserves and the visitors scored on two long touchdown drives, but Xavier McKinney wasn't as much talking about that.

He wasn't satisfied with the first part.

"I thought it was OK," the Alabama safety said of the defense after winning 56-14. "They moved the ball a lot on us and I feel like that's unacceptable for us and we know that."

It's true, the Ragin Cajuns went 78 yards on six plays in the first touchdown drive and 80 yards in 11 plays on the second. McKinney was enjoying some water on the sideline at that point.

Even after those first nine possessions -- none of which netted more than 28 yards -- McKinney wasn't feeling it.

"Honestly we don't think we're really playing to the standard we think we should be playing at," he said. "There's still a lot of things we feel like we're not really dominating the way we feel like we should be dominating."

Allowing 74 offensive yards in the first half didn't qualify. That included three first downs (to Alabama's 17) before halftime when the visitors went 1-for-8 on third downs. There was that 26-yard run from Trey Ragas that accounted for more than half of the rushing yards in the first half.

Louisiana-Lafayette didn't cross the 50 until late in the second quarter and was sacked back into its own territory on the next play. The second time hitting midfield came early in the third quarter. One play later, McKinney intercepted a pass.

"I don't think we're a great defense right now," McKinney said, "but I think we're working towards that."

Are they in the neighborhood?

"I don't think it's close," McKinney said. "As a defensive unit, I don't think it's close. Like I said, we're working to it. I think we're getting better each week. But I don't think it's a perfect game. Nowhere near a perfect game."

It's true, Alabama's defensive resume isn't like the last few seasons. It entered Saturday at No. 26 in total defense allowing 325.0 yards a game and that will improve after giving up 288 Saturday. The run defense led the nation each of the three previous seasons but was No. 23 before the Louisiana-Lafayette game.

McKinney had a few ideas for getting closer to the range where greatness is possible.

"Just execution," he said. "Not letting the offense knock us back. Not missing tackles. No mental errors. For us, that's a big thing."

Nick Saban was more disappointed in the second-team defense. It allowed the two long touchdown drives with missed tackles and coverage breakdowns.

"We have too many guys on that group that really have to learn how to compete," Saban said. "They have to learn how to prepare and they have to figure out what it takes to play major college football."

Still, there was zero drama in Alabama's 56-14 win. It was 28-0 by the end of the first quarter when Louisiana-Lafayette had 32 yards.

Asked if Saban cracked a smile at halftime up 49-0, McKinney grinned.

"No, he doesn't ever smile," McKinney said, "If you can't tell by now. He makes some jokes here and there but he rarely smiles."