Alabama Breaks The Ole Miss Jinx
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Crimson Tide Defeats Rebels 48-43
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| Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
It was looking bad. Really bad.
The top-ranked University of Alabama football team was looking at a 21-point deficit in the second quarter, tying the largest game deficit in Alabama football history. The defense was leaking, the offense was impotent.
But.
Once again Alabama shook it off. Once again Alabama football became Alabama football.
The Crimson Tide erased that 21-point deficit by scoring offensively as expected, defensively as expected and by special teams as, you already knew, expected. In this particular contest the Bama defense crossed the goal line three times.
Oh yes, the final? University of ALABAMA 48, Ole Miss 43.
An over-capacity and stadium-record crowd of 66, 176 (capacity: 64,038) watched the No. 1 Crimson Tide defeat and spoil the trifecta that Ole Miss was looking to accomplish yesterday afternoon at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. It should be noted that this is the largest crowd to ever attend a college football game in the state of Mississippi.
The Crimson Tide improves to 3-0 overall, 1-0 SEC as it snapped a two-game losing streak to the Rebels. After trailing Ole Miss 24-3, Alabama began a 45-point scoring spree versus 13 for Johnny Reb with less than three minutes remaining in the first half and continuing until the last minute of the contest. Ole Miss falls to 1-2.
Alabama true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts became the first Tide signal-caller to rush for more than 100 yards in a single game since Tyler Watts did it back in 2001. Incidentally, Watts also did that against the Ole Miss Rebels to the tune of 110 yards. Not only did Hurts pick up more than 100 yards rushing (146 yards), he also passed for 158 yards for a total of 304 yards of offense against the Ole Miss defense.
Crimson Tide wide receiver Calvin Ridley picked up 81 yards on eight catches while Gehrig Dieter snagged two for 47 yards. Running back Damien Harris had a career-best day rushing for 144 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Hurts and Harris gave Bama two 100-yard rushers in the same game for only the 18th time in program history, and was the first time a quarterback was part of that mix since quarterback Jeff Rutledge and running back Johnny Davis back in 1977 against the Auburn Tigers.
Punctuating the scoring spree for the Tide were three Crimson Tide defensive players whose names everyone will be hearing throughout the 2016 season. Eddie Jackson returned a punt, Da'Ron Payne picked up a fumble, and Jonathan Allen returned an interception to score very big touchdowns.
Alabama had 492 yards of total offense on the day, with 334 coming through the air and 158 on the ground versus 239 total yards for Ole Miss (334 passing, 158 rushing). The Tide picked up 22 first downs versus 12 for the Rebels. Bama averaged 6.2 yards per play on the day versus 4.0 for Mississippi.
Leading the way for the Crimson Tide defensively was linebacker Reuben Foster with 12 tackles, included four solo. Overall Alabama recorded two quarterback sacks, four tackles for loss, intercepted one pass while breaking up six passes, forced one fumble and recorded two quarterback hurries.
Turning to the kicking game, placekicker Adam Griffith hit two of three field goals in the contest. He connected on kicks from 32 and 30 yards, while missing on the 47 yard attempt. Punter JK Scott had a somewhat off night with one badly muffed kick that killed his average on the day. He did, however, place two punts inside the Ole Miss 20. Scott also had two punts of more than 50 yards, with the longest of the day being a 63-yarder.
Concerning the contest, Alabama head coach Nick Saban said, "This is a good team. It really is. We beat a good team today and I'm really proud of our players, especially the way they competed for 60 minutes in the game."
Commenting on the big score fluctuation in the game, Saban commented, "I never, ever remember coming back from being 18 points down, and then get 18 points ahead, and in like...seconds...let them score twice to be back in the game. And the offense did a great job of taking the air out of it at the end."
Alabama won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Ole Miss took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in seven plays to put the first seven points on the board, giving the Rebels a 7-0 lead. Bama came right back to answer, going 61 yards on 17 plays on a 43-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3. The drive by Bama, incidentally, was the most plays on a single drive by a Tide offense since a 17-play drive against LSU two years ago.
Ole Miss widened the lead over Alabama 10-3 on a field 23-yard field goal with 7:43 remaining in the first half. That lead jumped to 17-3 just three minutes later on a 63-yard touchdown pass with 4:30 remaining in the half, stunning the Alabama fans. But that wasn't all. A fumble by Hurts on a sack gave the Rebs another score and a bigger lead, 24-3, with only 2:47 remaining in the half. These 24 points are the most points given up by a Nick Saban defense while at Alabama, and tied the largest deficit in a game with the 2009 contest with Utah.
Then a little lightning. Figuratively speaking.
The Crimson Tide then scored two touchdowns in just 65 seconds brought the score back to where the stunned and sluggish Bama fans stirred and made some more noise. Calvin Ridley took a direct snap from center to score on a six-yard scamper capping a 50-yard drive and closing the gap 24-10 with 2:10 remaining in the half. Then Eddie Jackson took a punt at the 15 and returned it 85 yards for the score. Now it was a game again, with Bama trailing at the half 24-17.
Alabama's opening second half drive stalled and was forced to punt. Scott nailed a punt putting the Rebs on their own six-yard line. Chad Kelly was unable to get anything going, eventually being sacked at the one by Tide linebacker Ryan Anderson. Kelly then fumbled the ball, with Bama nose guard Da'Ron Payne scooping it up and stretching it over the goal line as he was going down. This tied the game at 24-all.
Bama's next score came on a 30-yard Griffith field goal on a 54-yard, 10-play drive to go ahead by three points, 27-24, with 6:03 remaining in the third quarter. This was now 24 unanswered points scored by the Crimson Tide.
It was then the Rebels turn, picking up three and the tie on an 18-yard field goal.
Alabama again took the lead after another seven points after the Tide took possession on the kickoff after the Ole Miss field goal. Bama started at the 25, then on first down Harris picked up seven yards to the 32. On second down, Harris took a handoff and dashed for 67 yards to the Ole Miss one-yard line. On first and goal, running back Bo Scarborough carried up the middle for no gain. Scarborough then dove into the end zone at left guard on the next play for a one-yard touchdown run. Griffith's PAT was good, giving the Tide a 34-27 lead with 16 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Crimson Tide was able to hold the Rebels to a 38-yard field goal on the next series, but Ole Miss had pulled to within four at 34-30 with 13:17 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Fast forward to 7:33 and another score for the Tide. On a second and goal Harris took the pigskin across the goal line to give Bama a 41-30 lead. But that wasn't all. Kelly was hit by Bama linebacker Tim Williams, causing an errant pass right into the waiting hands of defensive end Jonathan Allen who caught the ball at the Tide 25 and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. Griffith's PAT gave the Tide a 48-30 lead with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter.
With only 2:59 remaining in the game, Ole Miss drove 78 yards in 12 plays to score on a five-yard pass from Kelly to Stringfellow. The Bama lead had now slipped to 48-37. The Rebels then recovered an onside kick at the Tide 37 scoring on the next play on a 37-yard pass from Kelly to wide receiver A.J. Brown with 2:51 on the clock. A two-point pass play fell incomplete. The Tide's lead was now cut to five, 48-43, which was also the final.
Next up for the Crimson Tide is Nick Saban's alma mater, Kent State, this next Saturday, September 24th, at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live on The SEC Network.
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| Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
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| Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
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| Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
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Bama Women's Golf Holds 18-Shot Tournament Lead
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| Cheyenne Knight Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
It's Alabama sophomore Cheyenne Knight continueing to lead individually after shooting five under par to move to nine under (67-68/135) for the tournament. Freshman Kristen Gillman is tied for second place at five under par (71-68/139) after a four under par round on Saturday. It is Tide sophomore Lauren Stephenson in a tie for eighth after a four under par day. She is now two under (74-68/142) through two rounds. Junior Lakareber Abe is tied for 16th at two over (71-75/146) and senior Mia Landegren is in a tie for 46th place at seven over (75-76/151).
The Crimson Tide will be grouped today with SMU and Northwestern for the final round. Bama's Mia Landegren will tee off at 9:40 am CT, followed by Lakareber Abe at 9:50 a.m., Lauren Stephenson at 10 a.m., Kristen Gillman at 10:10 a.m. and Cheyenne Knight at 10:20 a.m.
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Amway College Football Poll
Amway College Football Poll
The latest edition of the Amway Coaches Poll is out, with The University of Alabama Crimson Tide still ranked as the No. 1 team in the land. Several changes have occurred this week as a result of the loses and close games played this past Saturday.
Eight teams from the Southeastern Conference are in Week 4 of the rankings. ALABAMA is No. 1, followed by Georgia (11), Tennessee (12), Texas A&M (13), Florida (16), LSU (17), Arkansas (18) and Ole Miss (21). The only other team from the SEC to receive votes was Auburn, coming in 48th.
The Amway Coaches Poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season
using a panel of head coaches at FBS schools. The panel is chosen by
random draw, conference by conference plus independents, from a pool of
coaches who have indicated to the American Football Coaches Association
their willingness to participate. Each coach submits a Top 25 with a
first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one
point for 25th.
1 ALABAMA
2 Ohio State
3 Clemson
4 Louisville
5 Michigan
6 Stanford
7 Houston
8 Michigan State
9 Washingtong
10 Wisconsin
11 Georgia
12 Tennessee
13 Texas A&M
14 Florida State
15 Baylor
16 Florida
17 LSU
18 Arkansas
19 Miami
20 Nebraska
21 TCU
21 Mississippi
23 Utah
24 Texas
25 Iowa
| Others receiving votes: Oklahoma 106; North Carolina 95; San Diego State 87; UCLA 81; Boise State 62; Oregon 50; Oklahoma State 46; Arizona State 34; South Florida 32; Georgia Tech 28; Notre Dame 23; West Virginia 19; Western Michigan 16; Minnesota 11; Navy 10; California 6; Central Michigan 6; Toledo 6; Maryland 4; Memphis 4; Kansas State 4; Army 2; Auburn 2; Western Kentucky 2. | |||||||
Bama Volleyball Extends Win Streak To Seven
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| Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
The Crimson Tide (11-2) opened the day with a five-set win over Presbyterian (2-11) before sweeping Georgia Southern (7-8) in the weekend finale.
Combining the two matches, Krystal Rivers and Brittany Thomas paced the Bama offensive attack with 27 and 25 kills, respectively. Hayley McSparin had a team-leading eight blocks on the day, including three solo blocks, with Thomas leading the defensive effort in the back row as well with 34 digs.
Thomas and Quincey Gary were named to the All-Tournament team while Rivers was named the Crimson-White Tournament MVP.
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Associated Press Top 25 Football
Once again the University of Alabama Crimson Tide is the number one football team in the land according to the Associated Press. Ohio State moved up to second, followed by Louisville, Michigan and Clemson to round out the top five. Alabama (1) and Texas A&M (10) are the only teams from the SEC to make the top 10.
1 ALABAMA
2 Ohio State
3 Louisville
4 Michigan
5 Clemson
6 Houston
7 Stanford
8 Michigan State
9 Washington
10 Texas A&M
11 Washington
12 Georgia
13 Florida State
14 Tennessee
15 Miami
16 Baylor
17 Arkansas
18 LSU
19 Florida
20 Nebraska
21 Texas
22 San Diego State
23 Ole Miss
24 Utah
25 Oklahoma
Others receiving votes: TCU 132, UCLA 74, North Dakota St. 74, Boise St.
69, Iowa 47, California 44, Oklahoma St. 42, Notre Dame 32, Oregon 23,
North Carolina 17, Georgia Tech 17, Cent. Michigan 16, South Florida 7,
W. Michigan 6, Toledo 6, Maryland 3, Arizona St. 3, Virginia Tech 1.
