******************************************************************************************************
Title March Continues
______
Bama Beats Auburn 29-13
Derrick Henry 4th Quarter Touchdown Run
Photo Credit: John Reed/USA TODAY Sports
Alabama running back Derrick Henry ran the ball a school-record 46 times out of 76 total offensive plays for the Crimson Tide to carry Bama to a 29-13 Iron Bowl win over the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.
Tide head coach Nick Saban was ready to pull Henry from the game, but the running back was having none of it. Saban said, "He was not asking to come out. He was asking to stay in. And I asked him every time he came to the sidelines, 'Are you okay? Because we'll put somebody else in there.'
"He says, 'Coach, I'm good. I'm gon' win this game.'"
On those 46 carries, the leading Heisman Trophy candidate in the country picked up 271 rushing yards and one touchdown. That one touchdown kept Henry's rushing touchdown streak alive. Derrick Henry also broke Trent Richardson's single season rushing record of 1,679 yards. Henry's 2015 offensive output now stands at 1,796 yards and has two remaining games to add to that total.
Saban offered more praise of the great Bama back, "He's done a great job for us all year long. What a workhorse!" With a chuckle the coach said, "We needed to get somebody else to get in there to play some for him, but he just seemed to get better and better and better. I love the guy as a competitor, and I think he lifts the spirit of the whole team."
Derrick Henry, immediately after the game, said, "We all worked hard throughout the week... and I'm just thankful to have this opportunity."
Saban also commented on the season and upcoming SEC Championship game, saying, "We've had our backs against the wall ever since the Ole Miss game and these guys have responded every time to every challenge, and I'm really proud of them. We've got a lot of great competitors here. So, it'll be a big challenge against Florida but it's great to have the opportunity."
Derrick Henry wasn't the only reason Alabama won this contest. Of course it was a team effort, but besides the legs of Henry, it was the leg of Tide kicker Adam Griffith that put five field goals through the uprights to put 15 of the 29 Bama points on the board. He scored on kicks of 26, 40, 26, 50 and 47 yards. (That 'Kick 6' of a season ago is dead n stinkin'.)
The Alabama head coach made it clear the job doesn't have to get done just by running, or just by playing sound defense. Saban said, "I like to play how our players can play. I liked the way we played last year when we had Amari Cooper catching 115 balls and running all over the place. I liked that. I like however we can play. This just happens to be the best way this team can play. Our best workhorse is a running back. I'm not a run-and-play-defense guy. I'm a score-however-you-can-score-and-play defense guy."
Overall the Tide rushed 50 times for 294 yards versus 37 attempts for 131 yards for the Tigers. Bama was 17 of 26 for 179 yards and one touchdown in passing, while Auburn was 10 of 23 for 169 yards, 77 of which came on the incredible tap, tap, catch and score play. Total yards offensively were 465 for Bama to 260 for Auburn.
ArDarius Stewart caught the most passes in the game. He pulled down eight for 81 yards. Close behind was Calvin Ridley with 6 receptions and nine additional yards for 90.
J.K. Scott punted three times on the evening for 145 yards, averaging an impressive 48.3 yards. His longest punt of the night was a 50-yarder.
Geno Matias-Smith led the Alabama defense with eight tackles, followed by Humphrey and Foster with six apiece, Ragland and Allen with five each, and a host of other great Bama defensive players getting tackles.
Concerning the significance of the Alabama win over Auburn, quarterback Jake Coker said, "This game means a lot to me. I wanted to make sure I put everything I had into it and did everything I could to help this team win. All these guys played hard. It was awesome."
Linebacker Reggie Ragland commented concerning taking the SEC West title, "We have good character. We had our backs against the wall the whole year, but we had to focus on our goal and that's what we did. We did a great job and had fun doing it. We executed the game plan and it went our way."
On winning the Iron Bowl, defensive back Cyrus Jones said, "It's expected from us. We know what type of defense we have. We know what type of talent we have on that side of the ball. We kind of look forward to the challenge of being able to kind of respond when our offense maybe is kind of not really getting it going right now, maybe they make a play. We just pride ourselves in coming out there and putting a stop to some things and just trying to be effective."
Concerning connecting on five field goals against Auburn, kicker Adam Griffith said, "I'm just doing my job and just trying to win games. I don't think about all the other stuff."
The Crimson Tide heads to Atlanta, Georgia this next Saturday, December 5th for the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championship Game where they will face the Florida Gators, winners of the SEC East. The game will be televised on CBS and is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CT.
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southeastern Conference Football Scores
The ALABAMA Crimson Tide defeats Auburn in the Iron Bowl 29-13
South Carolina eventually falls to Clemson 37-32
The Tennessee Vols blast the Vanderbilt Commodores 53-28
Kentucky Wildcats succumb to Louisville 38-24
LSU tries to give Les Miles a hand to beat Texas A&M 19-7
The Georgia Bulldogs survived Georgia Tech 13-7
The Ole Miss Rebels defeated Mississippi State 38-27
Florida fell to their in-state rivals Florida State 27-2
Arkansas held Missouri to a single field goal to win 28-3