Alabama Football
Serving Up Bar-B-Q Hog For Homecoming
 |
| Alabama QB Jalen Hurts has another good game Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - A clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning opened the Homecoming contest at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday night. No, not literal thunder and lightning, but the figurative narrative was just as, if not more, dramatic last night...at least to the Alabama faithful. Crimson Tide junior running back Damien Harris took a handoff from sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts headed to the right side of the field, then did a cut back move and bolted 75 yards on the first offensive play of the contest to paydirt last evening as the Bama Boys went on to roll over the Arkansas Razorbacks 41-9.
Alabama amassed 308 yards and four scores on the ground and 188 yards through the air en route to its dominating victory. The Tide's total yardage on the night was 486 while giving up 227 total yards to the Hogs last night. The Crimson Tide (7-0, 4-0 SEC) top-ranked rushing defense did its job, holding the Razorbacks (2-4, 0-3 SEC) to just 27 yards on the ground.
It was Harris picking up his seventh career 100-yard game and his third of the season, after rushing for a game-high 125 yards and two scores on just nine attempts. He also scored his second 75-yard rushing touchdown in as many weeks. Hurts and freshman running back Najee Harris also had rushing touchdowns in the win. Hurts was 12-of-19 for 155 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior Ronnie Harrison led the Tide with 10 tackles and one pass breakup, while senior linebacker Rashaan Evans tied a career-high with two sacks and six tackles.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban said, "I think we learned a lot of lessons in the Texas A&M game. I think we gradually responded. I didn't know how the team was going to play today, to be honest with you; I didn't know how exactly we would do it. I think we had a little better week of practice, and I was pleased with their effort today. We did prepare a little bit better for this game."
When asked about last night's big win over Arkansas, defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick said, "It was a good team win. We did a lot of good things, but we still have a lot of room to improve. There was a lot of improvement from last week, but I think we had a good game plan and it showed tonight. We're going to enjoy this win for 24 hours and get ready for Tennessee this week. The Volunteers are a tough opponent, so we're going to have to work in practice to continue to improve and be prepared for a big game."
Following last night's loss, Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema said, "Very disappointed as our guys put in a lot of good prep. Obviously, a tough situation for a new quarterback to walk into, but [quarterback] Cole [Kelley] makes you excited about some things. I thought our guys were excited to play for him, play with him. We knew during the course of the week that [quarterback] Austin [Allen] was not going to be there. We got some good news early in the week that it wasn't as bad as, well, wasn't one of the worst diagnoses. He got lucky in the fact that it's not anything that needs surgery. We'll get him back, and there's a chance for next week, but if not it may be a couple of weeks yet.
"I thought Cole [Kelley] did some things that were very, very positive. He's a fighter, a competitor. Just asked our guys to keep swinging, swing for swing, fight for fight. The way we started defensively was just very disheartening. Just a routine stretch play to our left, and we had some people just get caught up in the moment, get a little over zealous in their pursuit. They cut it back, and it goes for a score. Just something you can't do. All plays that bend back behind the backside linebacker, if they get a hit, turn into big plays, and that was frustrating. I thought they rebounded and played pretty good in the first half. Wanted to get some points on the board right before the half. Unfortunately, obviously, didn't get points. Would go for it a hundred times over again. I just thought we needed a touchdown there to stay where we needed to be and make a big statement. Obviously, didn't get points.
"Came back in the second half, fought. I thought when we had the pick early, we'd change that into something and make some points off the turnover. We'd have a chance to swing momentum back to our side, but we didn't do anything with that drive. And then just really back-and-forth. Defensively, I thought our guys, for the most part, battled even though they gave up a couple of scores there at the end. It just seemed like it was steam-willed against us. We had a turnover. The one that Cole [Kelley] tried to do a little too much. We knew that going in. He rides the highs and tries to do too much. There's some good teaching moments. The first start for a quarterback, obviously, there's going to be the good and the bad. We'll make some strides with him and keep moving forward. I don't think there's anything we can't correct on film.
"We'll lick our wounds, go back and try to make it as positive as we can for the week. Get ourselves ready to play Auburn. The only other thing I shared with the guys there at the end: The only people that can change this answer are the people in this room. Everybody on the team, all the coaches, all the people involved can change the answer in a hurry, and we can't give up free plays on every aspect of the game. It was a solemn, quiet locker room, but we'll get back and strap up and play."
Concerning this coming Saturday's contest with Tennessee, Saban said, "The Tennessee game means a lot to us, but we're not going to get caught up in the hype. We're not going to get into any of the external factors and let those affect us this week. Tonight, we just want to enjoy this victory after a win over a good Arkansas team. They came out and gave us a battle, but I think the offense really had a good night, was able to put some points on the board, and I'm happy to get out of here with another win in conference play."
The Alabama Crimson Tide will next host the Tennessee Volunteers this next Saturday, October 21st at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will air on CBS.
| Game Stats | AR | UA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 227 | 496 |
| Pass Yards | 200 | 188 |
| Rushing Yards | 27 | 308 |
| Penalty Yards | 5-25 | 6-66 |
| 1st Downs | 15 | 23 |
| 3rd Downs | 5-18 | 5-11 |
| 4th Downs | 2-3 | 0-0 |
| TOP | 29:33 | 30:27 |
 |
| Lightning Strikes Twice! Damien Harris scores his second 75-yard touchdown in 2 weeks Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
 |
| The Alabama defense did its job Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama Again Number One In Both Major Polls
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide is again the Number One football team in the land in both major football polls. The Tide picked up all first place votes in both polls this week.
AMWAY COACHES POLL
1 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
2 Penn State
3 Georgia
4 TCU
5 Wisconsin
6 Ohio State
7 Miami
8 Clemson
9 Oklahoma
10 USC
11 Oklahoma State
12 Washington
13 South Florida
14 Virginia Tech
15 Michigan
16 Notre Dame
17 North Carolina State
18 Washington State
19 Michigan State
20 Central Florida
21 Auburn
22 Stanford
23 West Virginia
24 Texas A&M
25 LSU
ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL
1 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
2 Penn State
3 Georgia
4 TCU
5 Wisconsin
6 Ohio State
7 Clemson
8 Miami
9 Oklahoma
10 Oklahoma State
11 USC
12 Washington
13 Notre Dame
14 Virginia Tech
15 Washington State
16 South Florida (T)
16 North Carolina State (T)
18 Michigan State
19 Michigan
20 UCF
21 Auburn
22 Stanford
23 West Virginia
24 LSU
25 Memphis
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama Homecoming
George Teague Serves As Honorary Captain
 |
| Click HERE to view interview via Tide TV |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick Saban Post Game Press Conference
 |
| Press HERE to view press conference via Tide TV |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southeastern Conference Football Scores
Upsets, major upsets, were the order of the day in college football on Saturday with several of the nationally-ranked teams falling victim to the recent upset-bug. Upsets were seen in Southeastern Conference play as well.
One of the biggest upsets of the day, especially in the SEC, was the LSU win over tenth-ranked Auburn. Texas A&M added to Florida's fall from grace yesterday and South Carolina may have helped put the nail in the coffin of Butch Jones with the win over Tennessee at Knoxville. Though it may not have been an upset, the way Ole Miss manhandled Vanderbilt was a surprise.
The University of Alabama was still Alabama as the Crimson Tide rolled over Arkansas. Georgia made a bid to become the number two team in the nation with a big win over Missouri, but showed holes in the defense giving up 28 points to lowly Missouri.
Here are the scores of all 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference yesterday as all contests were in-conference games:
1 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE 41 Arkansas 9
4 Georgia 53 Missouri 28
10 Auburn 23 LSU 27
Vanderbilt 35 Ole Miss 57
Florida 17 Texas A&M 19
Mississippi State 35 BYU 10
South Carolina 15 Tennessee 9
