Top-Ranked Tide Posts 34-6 Homecoming Win
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| Calvin Ridley doing a little high-stepping Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
The Alabama Crimson Tide improved their season record to 5-0 overall, 2-0 in Southeastern Conference action as top-ranked Alabama defeated out-manned Kentucky (2-3 overall, 1-1 SEC) by a score of 34-6 as part of the Homecoming celebration in front of a capacity crowd (101,821) at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-33 passes. Those two touchdowns came on strikes of 10 and 19 yards to receiver Calvin Ridley. Freshman running back Joshua Jacobs had a big night himself, rushing for 100 yards on 16 carries as well as catching three passes for 54 yards yesterday evening.
The Crimson Tide picked up 488 total yards on the night, 315 through the air and 173 on the ground. Bama picked up 25 first downs while averaging 6.5 yards per play in the contest. The Wildcats accumulated 161 total yards, 89 passing and 72 yards rushing, with 12 total first downs on the night and averaged only 2.8 yards per play.
Leading the way for the Tide defensively was Shaun Dion Hamilton with a team-best eight tackles, four of which were solo. All-in-all Bama sacked the Kentucky quarterback four times, accounted for nine tackles for loss, forced three fumbles, had six quarterback hurries and scored one touchdown. The touchdown came on a 55-yard fumble recovery returned for a score by linebacker Ronnie Harrison in the second quarter.
Bama kicker Adam Griffith was good on two of three field goal attempts, missing from 35 yards out while connecting on kicks of 44 and 24 yards. Punter JK Scott only punted once the entire evening, a 58-yarder.
Bama got off to a slow start on the day, failing to convert on the opening possession after winning the coin toss and electing to receive. In fact, It was the Kentucky Wildcats who got on the scoreboard first to take a 3-0 lead on a 45-yard field goal from Kentucky kicker Grant MacKinnis. Despite a stalled first drive and then a fumble on the second, the Tide came pounding back to build a 17-3 lead when the teams headed to the locker rooms at the half.
The Tide's first score came on a 44-yard field goal by Griffith to tie the game following an 11-play, 35-yard drive with just 1:15 remaining in the first quarter. Alabama's first touchdown came on a seven-play, 61-yard drive with Jacobs punching the ball in from one yard out. Jacobs accounted for 57 of the 61 yards on that drive. Griffith's PAT was good, giving the Tide a 10-3 lead.
It was then the Alabama defenses turn to put points on the board. Tide linebacker Rashaan Evans sacked Wildcat quarterback Stephen Johnson for a three-yard loss, causing the ball to come loose. That's when safety Ronnie Harrison grabbed up the fumble at the Tide 45 and rumbled 55 yards for a touchdown. Griffith's PAT was again good, and Alabama led 17-3 with 6:56 remaining in the first half. Harrison's score marked the seventh-consecutive game in which the Tide has scored a non-offensive touchdown.
Alabama scored on its first possession of the second half on an eight-play, 78-yard drive. Hurts went to the air on six of those eight plays, capping the drive with a 10-yard reception by Ridley from Hurts with 10:58 remaining in the third. The PAT was again good, giving Alabama a 24-3 lead.
Kentucky was once again unable to move the ball, and the Tide began their next drive at its own 24 yard line. The drive ended with a Hurts to Ridley 19-yard touchdown through the air with just 4:31 remaining in the quarter. After the PAT, Bama was in control 31-3.
This was Ridley's second touchdown catch of the game, and his tenth overall of the contest, a new career single-game high for the sophomore. He accumulated 131 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the game.
On the Crimson Tide's next possession, Hurts hit Ridley on a 43-yard strike to the Kentucky six, putting the young receiver at 174 yards on the evening on 11 receptions. The Tide was forced, however, to settle for three on the drive, giving Bama a 34-3 lead on a 24-yard Griffith field goal with 14:51 remaining in the contest.
Kentucky then marched 63 yards in 16 plays for a 30-yard field goal to end the scoring, giving Alabama the 34-6 homecoming victory. Cooper Bateman came into the game in relief of Hurts, completing all five of his passes for 53 yards on an eight-play 69-yard drive to eat up the clock.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban commented, " I thought that we executed a little bit better in the second half. I thought we were a little bit sloppy in the first half. Our quarterback (Jalen Hurts) struggled a little bit, especially in the passing game. I thought we ran the ball effectively.
"Defensively, we played pretty well. We got some sacks and turnovers, and we scored on defense. All in all, I think that it's a good win for us. I knew this would be a tough game, as I said to many people all week." (See accompanying story.)
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said, "You know, I felt like we did some better things in this game. The bad thing is, we're still capable of so much more and that's what aggravates you. I definitely feel like we grew. Talking about improvement and growing as a team, you know, I think we did that in certain phases and maybe took a step back in others, but we'll keep on working. That's a quality football team (Alabama) in a hostile environment. We started the game much better than the last time we were in this situation. We had a chance to do some good things and go up by at least six and we gave up the turnover there early. That we can't do. They have a lot to do with that, by covering people and putting a lot of pressure on you with their front four. Again, we'll give them credit. We need to get some first downs. I thought, defensively, we had some good stops. They're always going to be a lot to handle. We weren't efficient enough on third down. They were, on both sides of the ball, and that's where the game's going to get won and lost. Again, I feel like we did some better things and we'll continue to improve. I'm looking forward to getting back to work. I told the team we'll get back late tonight and tomorrow they've got to get their rest and their treatment. We've got to get back to work on Monday before we have an off-week. We've got to put a lot into this next week to try to get to .500."
Next up for the Crimson Tide is a trip to the Arkansas campus on October 8th to face the Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1 overall, 0-1 SEC) at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The game will be broadcast live by ESPN with a 6 p.m. CT kickoff planned.
| Game Stats | UK | UA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 161 | 488 |
| Pass Yards | 89 | 315 |
| Rushing Yards | 72 | 173 |
| Penalty Yards | 2-15 | 4-20 |
| 1st Downs | 12 | 25 |
| 3rd Downs | 6-17 | 9-14 |
| 4th Downs | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| TOP | 30:13 | 29:47 |
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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| Ainsley LeBlanc 2016 Homecoming Queen Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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What Saban Said Following The Tide's Homecoming Win
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban spoke to the media following Alabama's 34-6 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats in their 2016 Homecoming clash at Bryant-Denny Stadium last night.
In his opening statement, Saban said, " I thought that we executed a little bit better in the second half. I
thought we were a little bit sloppy in the first half. Our quarterback (Jalen Hurts) struggled a little bit, especially in the passing game. I thought we ran the ball effectively.
"I was pleased with the way our guys came out in the second half and played. I challenged them a little bit at halftime. I didn't think we imposed our will in the first half like we could've, or should've, or wanted to, however you want to say it. I thought we did a much better job in the second half. We left some points out there by not finishing some drives in the red area. There are lots of things that we can improve on and there are lots of things to correct. There are certainly a lot of lessons to be learned in this game. We'll be anxious to make those improvements this week."
Concerning the forced fumble returned for a touchdown, Saban said, "We wanted to attack the ball, especially on the quarterback. I thought he was a little loose with the ball. I thought the players did a good job of noticing that today, and that was certainly a big play in the game because we were struggling a little bit on offense. The score was 10-3 and they were hanging in the game, so that was a big momentum swing for us. That's what we work on, trying to strip the ball out, every day in practice, and that will be something that we can show the other players. When you do it correctly you certainly have a chance to get the kind of consequences that you like and get the ball out."
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Associated Press College Football Poll
Week of October 2nd
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Amway Coaches Poll
Week Of October 2nd
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Associated Press College Football Poll
Week of October 2nd
The Associated Press released its weekly college football Top 25 today for the week of October 2, 2016. The University of Alabama Crimson Tide is again ranked No. 1 in the nation, though with not as many first place votes as in past weeks. Alabama picked up 53 of the 61 first place ballots. Ohio State is second, with six first place votes, followed by Clemson with one first place vote and Michigan with the other first.
Six teams from the Southeastern Conference made this week's Top 25, with three breaking the Top 10. Those teams from the SEC are Alabama (1), Texas A&M (8), Tennessee (9), Ole Miss (14), Arkansas (16) and Florida (18).
Here are the Top 25 teams in America according to the Associated Press:
1 Alabama Crimson Tide
2 Ohio State
3 Clemson
4 Michigan
5 Washington
6 Houston
7 Louisville
8 Texas A&M
9 Tennessee
10 Miami
11 Wisconsin
12 Nebraska
13 Baylor
14 Ole Miss
15 Stanford
16 Arkansas
17 North Carolina
18 Florida
19 Boise Stat
20 Oklahoma
21 Colorado
22 West Virginia
23 Florida State
24 Utah
25 Virginia Tech
Amway Coaches Poll
Week Of October 2nd
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide again sits atop the Amway Coaches Poll for Week 5, October 2, 2016. Alabama had 57 total first place votes, followed by Ohio State at second with three first place votes and Clemson in third with the last two first place votes.
Six Southeastern Conference teams made the Top 25, with three in the Top 10. Those from the SEC are Alabama (1), Texas A&M (7), Tennessee (9), Ole Miss (14), Arkansas (17) and Florida (18).
Here are the Top 25 football teams in the country according to the Amway Coaches Poll:
1 Alabama Crimson Tide
2 Ohio State
3 Clemson
4 Michigan
5 Houston
6 Washington
7 Texas A&M
8 Louisville
9 Tennessee
10 Miami
11 Baylor
12 Nebraska
13 Wisconsin
14 Ole Miss
15 Stanford
16 North Carolina
17 Arkansas
18 Florida
19 Boise State
20 West Virginia
21 Florida State
22 Oklahoma
23 Colorado
24 Utah
25 Western Michigan
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Southeastern Conference Football Scores
This week's winners in the Southeastern Conference are Alabama, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Florida, Auburn and LSU.
#1 Alabama 34 Kentucky 6
#9 Texas A&M 24 South Carolina 13
#11 Tennessee 34 #25 Georgia 31
#16 Ole Miss 48 Memphis 28
#20 Arkansas 52 Alcorn State 10
#23 Florida 13 Vanderbilt 6
Auburn 58 UL-Monroe 7
Missouri 7 LSU 42
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Andie Daniell, Erin Routliffe Victorious
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Alabama Women's Tennis
Andie Daniell, Erin Routliffe Victorious
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
The University ofAlabama women's tennis' No. 34 nationally-ranked doubles pair came through in fine style. Bama sophomore Andie Daniell and senior Erin Routliffe
won the doubles championship of the 2016 ITF 10k LTP Charleston
tournament Saturday morning in Charleston, South Carolina. The win gives the pair their fourth consecutive match won in straight sets.
Daniell and Routliffe "woman-handled" Whitney Kay and Quinn Gleason of the
U.S., 6-4, 6-2, to capture the championship. This was the first contest for Daniell and Routliffe in the 2016 season.
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Crimson Tide Men's Basketball Practice Underway
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| Bama Head Coach Avery Johnson Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
The 2016-17 edition of The University of Alabama men's basketball season is about to get underway, thus the first preseason practice of the year has taken place. The Alabama men met on Friday for their first workout. Two Friday practice sessions took place, one morning and one afternoon practice, in the Coleman Coliseum practice gym.
Gone is All-SEC guard Retin Obasohan, but two starters and eight lettermen from last season's NIT squad will be back. In addition to that two transfers who are battle-tested and four newcomers will be on hand to to bolster the Crimson Tide.
Johnson said, "Our team's been working hard and we've had a
pretty grueling off season to say the least. Our
off season program was one that needed to be seriously evaluated. We did
it. I like some of the things I experienced in our evaluation, and
there were others that we needed to tweak and improve upon. We think we
got that done and we think our players are in a little bit
better shape and are a little bit stronger. Some are still not where we
want them to be from a mental and physical standpoint, but they're young
and they're maturing and they're developing so they'll get there."
The Crimson Tide opens the new season with an
exhibition game against Faulkner on November 3rd. The regular season will begin on
November 11th with a double header shared with the Bama women’s team. The ladies will host New Orleans at
5 p.m. CT, followed by the men facing Coastal Carolina at 8 p.m.
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Colin Cowherd Shoots Off His Mouth...Again
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| Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd Photo from Bing.com |
It's really nothing new for Colin Cowturd, uh, Cowherd of Fox Sports. Open mouth, say something stupid. Cowherd had a comment, again, concerning Alabama head football coach Nick Saban. He mentioned that Saban said he would never quit a team.
So, get ready for it. Cowherd said that he thought Saban was fine with quitting...just as long as it benefits him. "So he's okay with quitters as long as he gets them and doesn't lose," was the statement made on "The Herd" by the UNillustrious one.
He went on to mention that Saban won a national championship with a quitter...a transfer from Florida State...Jake Coker.
Cowherd said, "No coach has benefited from a transfer like Nick Saban in the past two years. "
So, get ready for it. Cowherd said that he thought Saban was fine with quitting...just as long as it benefits him. "So he's okay with quitters as long as he gets them and doesn't lose," was the statement made on "The Herd" by the UNillustrious one.
He went on to mention that Saban won a national championship with a quitter...a transfer from Florida State...Jake Coker.
Cowherd said, "No coach has benefited from a transfer like Nick Saban in the past two years. "
