Crimson Tide Begins Prep For Rebels
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| Photo Credit: AL.com/Vasha Hunt |
Preparation got underway on the practice field yesterday for the battle in Mississippi this coming Saturday. The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team got in a hard 90-minute practice session in shells on Monday afternoon on the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields. This weekend's contest will be Bama's Southeastern Conference, facing the only team to hang two consecutive victories on the Tide, No. 19/17 Ole Miss.
Alabama focused on stopping a very potent Ole Miss passing game, one of the best in the SEC. Now in his fifth season at Ole Miss, head coach Hugh Freeze is looking to make it three in a row against the Tide. The game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and will be broadcast live on CBS. Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Allie LaForce will handle the call. Eli Gold and Phil Savage will be handling the call on The Crimson Tide Sports Network, with Chris Stewart on the sidelines.
Alabama owns the series, 47-11-2 in a series that goes all the way back to 1894. The Tide is 7-4 when playing in Oxford, and has won four of the last five at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Bama's last trip to Oxford resulted in a 23-17 loss in 2014.
Alabama enters the contest at 2-0, while Ole Miss sits at 1-1 with a loss to second-ranked Florida State.
The quarterback order for yesterday's practice was Jalen Hurts, Blake Barnett followed by Cooper Bateman.
Injured wide receiver Cam Sims was back at practice. Though he didn't play last week due to a shoulder injury he should be available for the Ole Miss game according to head coach Nick Saban.
Practice continues today, with two more sessions planned. Friday will be Alabama's travel day, making their way to Oxford for the contest.
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What Saban Said
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| Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban met with members of the media prior to yesterday afternoon's practice session. He spoke of practice, execution, the need to get better and the quarterback situation among other things.
In his opening statement, Saban said, "I think the focus for us needs to be on better execution. I talked
about this after the game and after viewing the film. When we have
issues, when we give up plays on defense, when we have negative plays on
offense; it really comes from the fact that our fundamental execution
is not really what it needs to be. I think that we have to spend the
time in practice to get the fundamental execution that we need. I think
this helps everyone play better, it benefits everybody, and I think it
benefits the unit that you play on. Playing in the SEC, playing against
better teams, playing on the road; all these things are definitely
things we need to emphasize and improve on.
"We don't have any significant injuries. Cam Sims should be back. We'll have some guys in black jerseys today [yesterday], but I don't think it will be an issue for the game.
"Ole Miss – we are certainly looking forward to starting the SEC season. It's a great challenge for us early in the season against a very, very good team. Playing on the road early on has its own challenges, but this is a team that has been a really prolific offensive football team. They have a really good quarterback, a really good tight end in (Evan) Engram and a lot of other really good players, young players that are really good players. When we have struggled in the past, we have given up explosive plays, which is something that their offense is constantly trying to create. It is going to be important for us to really play well on the back-end, control the line of scrimmage so they can't run the ball effectively against us. Defensively, these guys are very aggressive and very quick; a very quick, aggressive front and they have a lot of movement, they always have against us. It's going to be a challenge for our offensive line and our up-front people. That is where it is going to start in terms of better execution on the offensive side of it. They are very well coached. Hugh Freeze has done a fabulous job there. I think this guy is one of the best coaches in our league, and he certainly does a great job with the players that he has. The fastball pace that they use offensively is challenging and it is something our defensive players are going to have to do a good job with. We played against it a lot more, and hopefully our players are more adapted to it, because we'll be able to play a little better (if we are prepared)."
Saban also said not only should the quarterbacks get better, but the players around the quarterbacks needed to play better. He said that's a "bigger issue for us at this point."
The coach spoke of the abilities of Ole Miss and head coach Hugh Freeze, saying he is a really good coach and has installed a lot of movement on the defense, especially against the Tide. He said they are quick and aggressive and strong.
Saban says emotion doesn't last long in a game, that it was more about "doing your job."
He spoke of what a good quarterback Chad Kelly is, and the need to push the pocket and not allow him to run around in the backfield.
Execution. Saban says execution is the key this week.
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Tide Soccer's Chatham DeProspo Is Named
Southeastern Conference Offensive Player Of The Week
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| Chatham DeProspo SEC Offensive Player Of The Week Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
A native of Goshen, New York, DeProspo scored on each of her shot attempts in Bama's SEC opener with the Vols. The three goals surpassed her season total of two from last year, and she is the first Alabama player to record a hat-trick since 2014.
DeProspo is the first Crimson Tide soccer player to earn weekly conference accolades since the 2014 season, when goalkeeper Emily Rusk.
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Alabama-Samford Soccer Tonight
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| Alabama's Lacey Clarida Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
The University of Alabama soccer team is back in action tonight. The Bama gals head just a little ways down the road to Birmingham, Alabama to do battle with the ladies representing the Samford Bulldogs. The match will be played at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium, with the first kick scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
The Crimson Tide is sitting pretty at 6-1 on the season, with the only loss coming at the hands of nationally-ranked USF. This is the best start for Alabama soccer since the 2005 season, also 6-1.
Alabama is ranked 10th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 2.86 goals per contest. The Tide's 20 goals scored so far this season ranks No. 15 in the NCAA, and is 19th in points per game averaging 7.86. In the category of winning percentage, Bama is 21st with a 0.857 percentage. The offensive is also ranked No. 22 in the nation in total points with 56, and is 36th in total assists with 16 now on the young season. Defensively, Alabama is ranked No. 30 in shutout percentage with a 0.571 percentage.
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Krystal Rivers SEC Offensive Player Of The Week
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| Krystal Rivers Photo Credit: RollTide.com |
Rivers offensive performance led the Tide with 59 kills (5.90/set) and 66.5 points (6.65/set) over the weekend's three matches, earning her Hampton Inn Bama Bash MVP honors. Rivers' 38 kills in the five-set win over Southern Miss are a career best and the highest total for any Alabama player since 1998. Rivers has now also moved up one spot in the all-time kills list at Alabama to third with a total of 1,656. She is just 52 away from second place.
With 213 kills and 240 points so far this season, Rivers is the only Southeastern Conference player with over 200 in either category. This is her fifth weekly honor, tying Erin Heffner for the most weekly conference honors in program history.
