The Third Saturday In October is Back!
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Crimson Tide Begins Preparation For Volunteers
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Now Alabama prepares for one of its biggest football rivalries. The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team hit the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields yesterday afternoon for approximately 75 minutes of prep work in shells to prepare for battle in Knoxville, Tennessee this week.
Freshman running back Joshua Jacobs was at practice going through drills. Jacobs was injured in this past Saturday's contest with Arkansas and came out of the game with some sort of nerve injury to his elbow.
Linebacker Reuben Foster as well as right guard Alphonse Taylor were both at practice yesterday afternoon. Both were in black, non-contact jerseys after having suffered concussions this past weekend.
This will be the second consecutive top-20 road test for the Tide. Last Saturday Bama beat the No. 16/18 Arkansas Razorback by a score of 49-30 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This Saturday it's an even bigger matchup, with Alabama taking on the No. 9/11 University of Tennessee Volunteers in Neyland Stadium in what is called the annual "Third Saturday in October" contest. The game time is set for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff, and will be broadcast live on the CBS Network. Calling the game this Saturday will be Verne Lundquist handling play-by-play, Gary Danielson handling color/analysis and Allie LaForce walking the sidelines. Eli Gold and Phil Savage will handle the radio call from the booth on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, with Chris Stewart handling the sidelines.
The Alabama Crimson Tide is 6-0 overall, 3-0 in Southeastern Conference competition. The Tennessee Volunteers are 5-1 overall, 2-1 in the SEC. Tennessee lost last week's game in double-overtime to the Texas A&M Aggies.
The Volunteers enter Saturday's game with a 5-1 overall record, including a 2-1 mark in Southeastern Conference play. Tennessee is led by head coach Butch Jones, who owns a 26-16 mark in his fourth season in Knoxville and a 76-45 career record between Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Tennessee.
This will be the 99th meeting between the two programs in a series dating all the way back to 1901. The Crimson Tide leads the series with a slate of 52-38-7 (53-37-8 actual), and has won the last nine matchups, Alabama's most recent win was this past year at Bryant-Denny Stadium, with the Tide on the high side of a 19-14 score.
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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What Saban Said...At Monday's Press Briefing
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban met with the press on Monday afternoon as is his custom to begin every week. Saban talked about last week's contest with Arkansas, injury report, the upcoming contest with the Tennessee Volunteers and more.
In his opening statement, Saban said, "I have some of the same comments after watching the film against
Arkansas. I think we had some lapses in the game. We are still searching
to be able to play a complete game. When we got ahead in the game, we
sort of relaxed a bit and didn't play with the same intensity, and it
really affected how we played in the second half. We didn't control the
ball at all; we only had the ball for 17 plays and turned it over a
couple of times. The defense ended up playing over 50 plays in the
second half, and you're not really in control of the game when you do
that regardless of what the score is. I think we all need to learn some
lessons from (the second half of play). It was a great win for us, and I
am really happy some of our players were recognized. Minkah Fitzpatrick is the national defense player of the week and SEC Player of the Week. J.K. Scott on special teams and Jalen Hurts
as a freshman (were also named SEC Players of the Week). These guys
have played extremely well, and we are very pleased with that.
"Tennessee. This game is a really big rivalry game and a special one for a lot of people in our state that are our supporters and fans. Obviously it's a big game for our players, as well. It's very challenging to play this game on the road, as it always is, because there is always a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Tennessee, I think, has an outstanding team. They lost one game this year to Texas A&M – who also has a really good team – in overtime. They have a lot of veteran players returning, I think 18 starters from last year. Their quarterback is doing an outstanding job for them. He's a dual-threat guy, and he's very difficult to defend. They have a very good offensive scheme in terms of being able to run the ball. They have made a lot of explosive plays. The skill players that they have make them very difficult to defend, and I think they have gotten better each year on defense and certainly their defense has played a lot better this year and has been very, very difficult to defend. This is a very, very good team, for sure a top-10 team in the country, and it's going to be a very challenging game for us."
Concerning the injury to Foster, Saban said he believes the young man hit his head on the turf in the third quarter of this last week's game with Arkansas, causing the concussion. He said he isn't sure about Taylor, though, and didn't spot the problem reviewing the game film. Concerning Taylor, Saban said that it wouldn't be "that unusual" playing on the offensive line.
Saban said proper protocol will be followed by the athletic department when it comes to concussion treatment. "But these things are all player safety things that I think have to be looked at. And I think the protocol for how we do things now in terms of concussions is really, really in the the best interest of the player with the testing that we do. We know a baseline on every player when he's normal and we can test him back to normal before we ever let him resume activity."
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What's Happening At UA This Week
If you really enjoy a variety of sports, then you'll find a-plenty going on this week involving University of Alabama athletics. The Crimson Tide this week will provide you with action in not only football, but volleyball, cross country, soccer, swimming & diving, women's golf, as well as men's and women's tennis. If you can't attend them all, there are even some on television for your enjoyment.
8 p.m. CT – Volleyball vs. Mississippi State (Foster Auditorium)
Thursday, October 13
6 p.m. CT – Soccer vs. Georgia (UA Soccer Complex)
Friday, October 14
9 a.m. CT – Cross Country hosts Crimson Classic (Harry Pritchett Running Course)
12 p.m. CT – Swimming & Diving at Missouri (Columbia, Mo.)
All Day – Women's Golf at Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
All Day – Men's Tennis at USTA/ITA Regional Championships (Auburn)
All Day – Women's Tennis hosts USTA/ITA Regional Championships (UA Tennis Center)
Saturday, October 15
2:30 p.m. CT – Football at Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.)
All Day – Women's Golf at Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
All Day – Men's Tennis at USTA/ITA Regional Championships (Auburn)
All Day – Women's Tennis hosts USTA/ITA Regional Championships (UA Tennis Center)
Sunday, October 16
1:30 p.m. CT – Volleyball vs. Missouri (Foster Auditorium)
2 p.m. CT – Softball vs. Alabama State (Rhoads Stadium)
All Day – Women's Golf at Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
All Day – Women's Tennis hosts USTA/ITA Regional Championships (UA Tennis Center)
Catch Alabama Athletics on the SEC Network
The following is a list of athletic events that can be view via the ESPN family of networks:
Tuesday, October 11
8 p.m. CT - REPLAY: Football at Arkansas (SEC Network)
Wednesday, October 12
11 p.m. CT - REPLAY: Football at Arkansas (SEC Network)
Thursday, October 13
6 p.m. CT - Soccer vs. Georgia (SEC Network)
Friday, October 21
7 p.m. CT – Volleyball at Arkansas (SEC Network +)
Enjoy!
And Roll Tide Roll!
*Schedules provided by Alabama Athletics
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Alabama Football
Tide Coaches Recognize 11 As Players Of The Week
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| Graphic/Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Hurts rolled up 273 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in the Saturday road win. He completed 13-of-17 passes for 253 yards, with a career-best 228.54 pass efficiency rating on the road. Bozeman, Robinson, and Williams provided Hurts with the protection he needed in order to accomplish what he did, not allowing a quarterback hurry or a sack.
Fitzpatrick, Hamilton and Williams were instrumental in the Alabama defense forcing a season-high five turnovers. Fitzpatrick tied the Alabama single-game school record with three interceptions, and also had five tackles on the night as well as breaking up two passes. He set the Crimson Tide record for the longest interception return in program history, taking his third pick back 100 yards to score. Hamilton led the Crimson Tide with a game-high tying nine total tackles. He also accounted for one sack and a forced fumble. Williams scored a defensive touchdown by recovering an Austin Allen fumble and returning it 23 yards for a score. The senior linebacker also recorded a sack, a pair of quarterback hurries and broke up one pass.
Evans and Jones helped limit Arkansas to an astounding zero punt return yards in the game, and allowed only 87 yards on kickoff returns. Scott punted a total of four times for 206 yards for an average of 51.5 yards per punt. The 51.5 yards per punt was his single-game high for 2016 thanks to a season-long 63-yard boot as part of his two kicks of 50-plus yards on the night. Griffith was good on all extra point attempts and very consistent in his kickoffs.
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Najee Harris No Longer 100% Alabama
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| Photo Credit: 247Sports |
When is a commitment not really a commitment? When they admit they're not.
Yes, all high school football players have that little lingering sense of "wonder" in their minds once they commit to a school, but other schools continue to woo them. But most don't usually vocalize it.
The nation's number one recruit, according to USA Today, has now vocalized his "lack" of commitment to the University of Alabama football program. Najee Harris, the nation's most sought-after high school prospect, has said he isn't 100% in his commitment to the Crimson Tide.
Though he has been committed to Alabama for more than a year, the five-star running back told USA Today, "I'm going to take my five visits, but I just don't know where. Let's say this: my mind isn't set on Alabama. I'm not 100 percent set on Alabama. I'm trying to see what else is out there for me. I'm using my visits to see. As much attention as I've gotten, I feel like I have helped my teammates get some offers, too."
He is still "technically" listed as an Alabama commitment until he officially rescinds it.
