Alabama Crimson Tide Prepares For Iron Bowl
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team has its work cut out for them this week. This is the week. The big week. Iron Bowl week. Bama returned to the practice field yesterday afternoon for an approximately 75-minute workout in shells to get ready for the Auburn Tigers coming to Tuscaloosa this Saturday. The Tide got in a good practice at the Thomas Drew Practice fields with the temperature hovering in the upper 50s.
The boys from Bama were focused. Their "arch-nemesis" is coming to town, and the Crimson Tide worked hard on fundamentals and the correcting of mistakes following Saturday's 31-3 win over Chattanooga. Now the Tide has perhaps its biggest task of the season...in-state rival Auburn, ranked sixteenth in the country.The kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT, and will air live on CBS with Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Allie LaForce on the call.
Running back Bo Scarbrough continues to show improvement. Scarbrough was absent from the last two games continuing to recover from a knee injury in Bama's November 5th win over LSU, but according to Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban, he could have played in either or both if he had been needed. Allowing Scarbrough to fully recover was Saban's first priority.
Concerning Scarbrough playing in this past week's contest in Chattanooga, Saban addressed that in yesterday's press conference, saying, "I talked to Bo before the game. He practiced, he wanted to play. I said 'Look Bo, we're going to use you in the game if we need you. Which, to me, meant if one of the other two guys got hurt and we needed another runner in the game, we would have played him."
Starting offensive linemen Cam Robinson and Korren Kirven are "better than expected," according to Saban. They were both going through drills and practiced yesterday, and hopefully be ready for Saturday's contest with Auburn.
Receiver ArDarius Stewart was working out with the team yesterday and expected to play this week. He missed this past Saturday's game due to a violation of an unspecified team rule.
Right guard Alphonse Taylor was once again not seen during the media viewing period yesterday. Saban had previously said that Taylor may be through for the season. He hasn't played, and practiced only very little, since suffering a concussion on October 8th in the win over Arkansas.
Reuben Foster was once again at practice sporting the heavy wrapping on his hand.
While Alabama got a slow start last week with Chattanooga, Auburn relatively easily cruised to a 55-0 victory over Alabama A&M, improving their overall record to 8-3 while owning a 5-2 slate in the SEC. The Gus Bus will be pulling into Tuscaloosa led by Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, boasting a 44-19 overall record, 25-14 in the Southeastern Conference, including a four-year mark at Auburn of 35-16 (25-14 in SEC play).
This will be the 81st Iron Bowl game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers, with Bama holding a 44-35-1 advantage. The series dates back to 1893. Alabama has won six of the last eight contests, with four of those wins leading to a Crimson Tide national championship. The Tide defeated Auburn last season 29-13 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
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Alabama Men's Basketball Suffers Loss
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Jonathan Allen Is Bednarik Finalist
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O.J. Howard Finalist For John Mackey Award
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Reuben Foster Named Butkus Award Finalist
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Cam Robinson Finalist For Outland Trophy
Alabama Men's Basketball Suffers Loss
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics/Robert Sutton |
Tough loss for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. In a game that didn't start until 11 p.m. CT and lasting into early this morning, Bama fell to the Valparaiso Crusaders by a score of 68-60. Last night's contest was a semifinal game of the Las Vegas Main Event at
the MGM Grand. The Crimson Tide will take on Saint Louis in the
consolation game scheduled for tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. CT.
The game was a back-and-forth affair featuring five ties and six lead
changes. In the end, however, the Crusaders held back the Tide.
"It was a tough, hard-fought game," Alabama men's head basketball coach Avery Johnson
said. "We didn't get off to a good start. And because we didn't get
off to a good start, they kind of set the tone early. We got a little
bit stagnant on offense, we got in the bonus too early when we were on
defense. So the aggressor won the game tonight, and the team that played
the smartest."
In the first half, Alabama shot 50 percent from the field and 20
percent from the three-point arc. The Crimson Tide did, however, outscore the Crusaders 24-8 in the
paint while picking up 18 points from the bench, compared to four
points from its counterparts. Alabama trailed by three points at the half 34-31.
By game's end Bama was 23-of-56 (.411) from the floor and 6-of-21
(.286) from beyond the arc, while Valparaiso was able to hit 23-of-49 (.469)
shots from the field and went 7-of-18 (.389) from beyong the three-point arc. The Tide held a 35-32 lead on rebounds.
Leading Alabama in scroing were senior Corban Collins and junior Riley Norris with 10 points each. It was sophomore Donta Hall finishing the game with nine points along with a career-best 12 rebounds. Redshirt freshman Dazon Ingram had eight points and a game-high five assists.
Alabama and Saint Louis are scheduled to tip it off at 8:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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Alabama Football
Jonathan Allen Is Bednarik Finalist
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| Crimson Tider Jonathan Allen Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Crimson Tide senior defensive end Jonathan Allen has been selected as a finalist for the 2016 Chuck Bednarik Award. The announcement was made by the
Maxwell Football Club on Monday afternoon. The Bednarik Award is
given annually to college football's top defensive player.
Alabama has been one of the country's best defenses this season, and Allen has been one of the reasons for that on the Tide's defensive line. He has racked up a team-best 13 quarterback
hurries and has made seven sacks (-55 yards). All also has 9.5
tackles for loss (-70 yards) to his credit as part of his 46 tackles on the season.
The Bama senior lineman has returned a team-leading two fumble recoveries for
105 combined yards and two touchdowns. Allen has
totaled 25 career sacks to place him second on the Tide's all-time list this season behind former Crimson Tide standout and NFL Hall of Famer Derrick
Thomas.
Joining Allen as finalists are Texas A&M's Myles Garrett as well as Jabrill Peppers of Michigan. The 2016 Bednarik Award winner will be
revealed during The Home Depot College Football Awards show airing live
on ESPN from the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta on
Thursday, December 8th at 6 p.m. CT.
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Alabama Crimson Tide Football
O.J. Howard Finalist For John Mackey Award
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| University of Alabama's O.J. Howard Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Another outstanding Alabama football player. Another award.
Alabama senior O.J. Howard
was selected as one of three finalists for the prestigious 2016 John Mackey Award. The announcement came yesterday afternoon by The Friends of John Mackey organization.
Week after week Howard has proven himself a valuable commodity to the Crimson Tide football team. As a senior he has caught 30 passes for 359 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 12.0
yards per catch. Howard has caught at least one pass in every game this season, and has shown continuous improvement throughout the year. He has 16 receptions for 150
yards and a touchdown in just these last four games. He has also shown significant blocking skills and assisted a proud Bama ground game this year.
The Mackey Award is given annually to the most outstanding tight end
in college football and has been presented each year since 2000. In addition to Howard, Jake Butt of Michigan and Clemson's Jordan
Leggett were also named.
The 2016 John Mackey Award recipient will be announced on December 7,
2016, and presented live on December 8th at The Home Depot College Football
Awards Red Carpet Show. The broadcast will air at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
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Alabama Football
Reuben Foster Named Butkus Award Finalist
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| Reuben Foster Is A Butkus Award Finalist Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
University of Alabama Crimson Tide senior linebacker Reuben Foster yesterday was selected as one of five finalists for the 2016 Butkus Award as announced by the
Dick Butkus Foundation on Monday. The Butkus Award is
presented annually to the nation's top linebacker.
Foster is the signal-caller of the Crimson Tide linebacking corps, Foster has helped to lead one of the
nation's top-ranked defenses. He has collected a team-high 75 tackles
while adding 9.0 tackles for loss (-39 yards) as well as two sacks (-18 yards). A native of Auburn, Alabama, Foster has totaled three quarterback hurries and a
pair of pass breakups for the 2016 football season.
Foster is joined on the award list by Kendall Beckwith (LSU), Zach
Cunningham (Vanderbilt), Jarrad Davis (Florida) and Josey Jewell (Iowa).
This year's winner will be selected by an independent panel of
recruiters, scouts, coaches and journalists and will be officially
announced on or by December 6th.
The Butkus Award recognizes linebackers at three levels of competition while
helping spread the word about Butkus' 'I Play Clean' initiative which
encourages teens to eat well, train hard, and play with attitude instead
of resorting to steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.
The Alabama Crimson Tide has had three players previously win the Butkus Award,
including Derrick Thomas (1988), Rolando McClain (2009) and C.J. Mosley
(2013).
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Alabama Football
Cam Robinson Finalist For Outland Trophy
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| Alabama Crimson Tide's Cam Robinson Outland Trophy Finalist Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
And the awards, like the Tide, just keep on a-rollin' in. University of Alabama junior left tackle Cam Robinson has been selected as one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy. The announcement was made yesterday afternoon by the Greater Omaha Sports Commission.
Robinson has started all 40 games of his career at the Capstone protecting the blind side.
He is the anchor of a Crimson Tide offensive line that has blocked for the Southeastern
Conference's top scoring offense, as well as helping the Alabama rushing
attack to accumulate 249.8 yards per game, second in the SEC.
There have been ten 100-yard rushing games
this season as well as twenty-seven 100-yard rushers during the Monroe, Louisiana native's three year career. This
season, Robinson has recorded 23 knockdown blocks in 11 games.
Joining Robinson as finalists for the Outland are Pat Elflein of Ohio State and Cody O'Connell of
Washington State. The 2016 Outland Trophy winner will be named during
The Home Depot College Football Awards show that will air live on ESPN from the
College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta on Thursday, December 8th at 6 p.m. CT.
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What Saban Said In Press Conference
Watch Nick Saban Preview The 2016 Iron Bowl
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| Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban Photo Credit: AL.com/Vasha Hunt via Bing |
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban met with the press on Monday as is his custom on game week. He briefly referred to past Saturday's game against Chattanooga, but previewed the upcoming contest with the Auburn Tigers in the 2016 Iron Bowl.
This is Saban's opening statement:
"I think this is one of the greatest rivalry games in the country. I know it means a lot to a lot of people in this state as well as nationally. For the competitors in the game, they probably enjoy this competition, this kind of rivalry as much as any game that they play.
"It is Senior Day on Saturday for us, and we have 23 seniors who have done a fantastic job here – a 48-5 record is pretty admirable – so we are looking forward to being able to honor them in their last home game in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"Auburn, I think, is an outstanding team. Gus Malzahn has done a really good job there since he's been there, especially this year in how his team has developed and improved throughout the season. They made adjustments thought the year relative to issues that they have had on their team, whether it be injuries or whatever, but they still managed to score a lot of points. They run the ball very effectively. They have been able to make explosive plays in the passing game. Their defense is probably as good as any defense that we've played against all year long. They are very good up front. They have good pass rushers. They create negative plays. They play well on the back end. They are very well-coached; Kevin Steele has done a really good job with them. I think Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams are especially a handful up front. They do what they do on offense regardless of who plays quarterback, and they do that pretty effectively all year long relative to how they have been able to run the ball on people and make explosive pays in the passing game. They probably have one of the best placekickers in the country in Daniel Carlson and this is a very good team."
Below is the video of the entire press conference with Saban's opening statement as well as addressing questions posed by media representatives.
