Alabama Football
Crimson Tide Preps For Fresno State
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - The University of Alabama football team is back at work this week after its big season-opening 24-7 victory over then-No. 3 Florida State. The Crimson Tide put in a 75-minute practice session in shells on Monday afternoon outdoors on the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields. UA is readying for this weekend's home opener against Fresno State in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Tide will be working this week to correct the flaws found in the home-opening, and to shore up positions where injuries have already taken their toll. Alabama is fine-tuning its offensive and defensive schemes to be ready for a visit by the Bulldogs and will be looking to improve on its 1-0 start. Bama and the Bulldogs are scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium, with the game being broadcast on ESPN2.
This one won't be a cakewalk for the Alabama defense. Practices will be focused on both improving an offensive attack that could use a little extra juice as well as a defense that is injured already this season and must stop a Fresno State offense that put together 613 total yards and 66 points last Saturday against Incarnate Word.
Christian Miller, Terrell Lewis, Rashaan Evans and Anfernee Jennings did not practice due to injuries. Miller and Lewis are lost for the year and have surgeries coming in the near-future. Evans and Jennings are listed as "day-to-day."
Evans was on the field yesterday, though he was dressed in a black non-contact jersey. He was not, however, involved in the drills. Jamey Mosley and Mekhi Brown led the rotation of outside linebackers with the absence of Miller, Lewis and Jennings.
Prior to Monday's practice session, Alabama football head coach Nick Saban met with the media. Here is his opening statement:
"The players really played hard and competed well in this last game. The effort was really good along with the toughness that we played with. I liked the competitive spirit that we had in the game to overcome adversity. Those were all things that I was very encouraged by, very pleased with and very proud of. The execution, play in and play out, fundamentally, was not where we want it to be and not where it needs to be. Certainly, this leads to a lack of consistency, whether you're playing offense, defense or special teams. The fact of the matter is that we didn't make as many errors as they made in the game, which was probably the difference in the game, whether they were special teams or whatever you might want to call it. The major goal for us is to focus on the importance of improvement between the first and second game. That's always something that every team has a great opportunity to maybe improve as much as any time all year long (from week one to week two).
"With players of the week, I think you got that information. With injury updates, Christian Miller and Terrell Lewis will be out for the year. Both of them have season-ending surgeries coming up. Rashaan Evans and Anfernee Jennings both have significant injuries that won't be long-term. We'll list them as questionable, so they'll be day-to-day, but it's uncertain as to when they'll be able to come back and play. We're hopeful that it will be sooner than later.
"We're looking forward to coming back and playing at home. This is a great opportunity for our players; I know how much they love playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Our fans are always very supportive. Their passion, energy and enthusiasm is something that is special in college football, and we always look forward to that.
"On another note, Mike Locksley, our wide receivers coach and assistant offensive coordinator, had a family tragedy – his son was killed. I just want everybody to understand that our thoughts and prayers go out to Mike, Ms. Kia and the entire Locksley family over this tragedy. We'll do everything that we can to support Mike and his family in this time of tragedy.
"With Fresno State, Jeff Tedford is one of the best coaches offensively in the country. He was the head coach at Cal for many years, won lots of games and went to lots of bowl games. Fresno State returns lots of starters – nine on offense, six on defense and a couple specialists. This is a much-improved team; they played really well and looked really good in their opening game, where they scored 66 points and shut the other team out. They've got a good quarterback, they've got a couple good receivers and they've got some good players on defense. This is going to be a different kind of challenge for us and something our players will have to respond to because this a much-improved team."
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Football Coaching Staff Names Players Of The Week
Harris stepped up for Alabama last Saturday, leading the Bama rushing game, finishing with a team-high 73 yards on just nine carries. One of those carries, an 11-yard run, went for a touchdown. The junior also hauled in one pass reception, totaling 11 yards. Ridley led the wide receivers with seven catches for 82 total yards and one score. That score came on a 53-yard touchdown strike from Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts for Bama's first touchdown of the evening.
Hamilton led the Tide defense, finishing the night with eight tackles. He added one sack and registered a career-high and team-leading 3.5 tackles for loss in his first game back since last year's SEC Championship contest. Wallace came in off the bench, but made an impact during his time on the field. The senior picked off one interception and notched two stops, including being in on one tackle for a loss of one yard.
Anderson and Fletcher provided significant help in the punt game, giving JK Scott with time to get off six punts for 211 yards, including a long of 53 yards. Fitzpatrick turned in a stellar performance with a blocked field goal to send the game to halftime with the Crimson Tide still in front by three. Harris also stepped up, blocking a punt at the FSU 6-yard line as he came off the edge to smother the punt. That particular block would lead to a UA field goal that gave Alabama a six-point lead and continued a streak of 21 unanswered points by the Tide in the win.
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Nick Saban Press Conference
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| Click HERE to view press conference via Tide TV |
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Southeastern Conference Football Scoreboard
SEC Goes 12-2 In Long Opening Weekend
The Southeastern Conference had a very respectable outing during this long holiday weekend against out-of-conference competition, going 12-2 overall, with the last contest being last night. Leading it all was, of course, the big No.1 versus No.3 matchup in Atlanta, Georgia with the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide defeating ACC power Florida State University. Here's a look at how the SEC fared:
1 Alabama Crimson Tide 24
3 Florida State 7
11 Michigan 33
17 Florida 17
Kentucky 24
Southern Miss 17
Charleston Southern 0
Mississippi State 49
Appalachian State 10
15 Georgia 31
Georgia Southern 7
12 Auburn 41
South Alabama 27
Ole Miss 47
Vanderbilt 28
Middle Tennessee 6
BYU 0
13 LSU 20
Texas A&M 44
UCLA 45
25 Tennessee 42
Georgia Tech 41
Florida A&M 7
Arkansas 49
Missouri State 43
Missouri 72
North Carolina State 28
South Carolina 35
