Alabama Football
Crimson Tide Manhandles Mercer
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| Touchdown Alabama Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – Despite the foe, this was a win the fans had been wanting. A blowout of huge proportions. A shutout. A game to allow all the players in all positions in which to participate. A game that would even allow a certain "comparison" to gauge the overall effectiveness between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers since both teams have now played this same foe that caused little brother some trouble early in the season. The No. 1-ranked University of Alabama football team mauled Mercer on Saturday in a dominating fashion in its final home game of the 2017 season. The Tide rolled up 530 yards of total offense in the 56-0 blowout over Mercer at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Alabama Crimson Tide remains undefeated, convincingly one might add, and is sure to retain the No. 1 ranking in all three major polls, the Associated Press, Amway Coaches and College Football Playoff polls. The Mercer Bears now fall to 5-6 on the year.
Besides a great day and a great win, it was Senior Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Seniors and their families were honored prior to the start of yesterday's contest, with each one's family receiving an autographed Senior Day football, flowers and a photo with the head coach himself. A few tears were shed, as one would expect, by seniors and family alike.
Besides a great day and a great win, it was Senior Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Seniors and their families were honored prior to the start of yesterday's contest, with each one's family receiving an autographed Senior Day football, flowers and a photo with the head coach himself. A few tears were shed, as one would expect, by seniors and family alike.
Tide quarterbacks were spot-on yesterday, connecting on 14-of-18 for 265 yards through the air and six touchdowns. Bama's ground game chewed up an identical 265 yards and picked up two additional touchdowns. On the day the UA offense averaged 8.8 yards per play.
Bama sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts was perfect passing on Saturday, going seven-for-seven passing for 180 yards and three touchdowns, now moving him to fifth on Alabama's career touchdown passes list with 37 during the course of his 26-game Tide career. The Crimson Tide's leading receiver was junior Calvin Ridley, who hauled down three passes for 103 yards along with a touchdown. That touchdown reception moves Ridley to third on the UA career touchdown receptions list with 17. He is also fourth in career receiving yards boasting 2,672.
Oh how the defense did also shine. Freshman linebacker Dylan Moses led the team with a career-best 11 tackles, four for loss, and added his first career interception which came at the end of the first half. In total, Tide defenders held the Bears' offense to only 161 total yards. Third downs for the Bears were a paltry 5-of-16 thanks to the domination of the Alabama defensive unit. Though he did not play yesterday, Minkah Fitzpatrick was very much a part of game, giving advice, pointing out coverages and the like for his teammates, an encourager and "coach" all the way.
Commenting on Saturday's game, Alabama football head coach Nick Saban said, "There were two things we wanted to try to accomplish today and I was pleased with the way we did both of them. I wanted our players to play with a standard to try to create momentum as we move forward in the season here. Everyone understands the challenges we have ahead of us and the importance of all those games. The second thing is we really wanted to do a good job for the last game with the seniors that played here today. We kept the ball on offense for seven minutes at the end so we got a couple of defensive players in. I think every senior, every senior walk-on; we dressed every player that was eligible for this game and tried to get every senior in the game and I think we accomplished that. It will be a best memory for them.
"I am really proud of the way we played. Obviously, there are things we can do better. We got the chance to play a lot of players out there today and I think that experience is very helpful to their development and growth and to the depth on our team. I do not think anybody got injured today that is of significance. Andy (Pappanastos) did not kick because he has a little bit of a pull and we felt we did not want to push it. I think he could have kicked today but it would have pushed the envelope. It was bothering him last week at Mississippi State so we shut him down for a while and the doctor felt it would be better if he did not have to kick so we decided to do that."
Commenting on Alabama's offensive performance, and the first five Tide touchdowns, Saban continued, "We were good, I think we did a great job. We came out and ran the ball and we were pretty effective with that. We had a couple play-action passes and Jalen (Hurts) was pretty efficient with what he did, seven-for-seven; Calvin (Ridley) made a couple big plays, it's great to see him continue to move up. Obviously, Julio (Jones) was a great player here and somebody we have a tremendous amount of respect for in terms of the culture of toughness that he left here. (The standard he set for the) receiving corps in the way he played here; for Calvin to move into that arena is pretty special, so I'm glad he had a really good day today. We executed well, their guys played hard. I have a lot of compassion for guys who play on those teams, and it's a great opportunity for them to come play in this kind of arena. I'm glad our players played to a standard, and I thought we were very efficient in our first line on the drives early. We were inefficient in the next one, and we fumbled to ball for an incompletion, so that has to get better."
Concerning this group of seniors playing their last game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Saban commented, "This senior class has been phenomenal. I think that's their 51st win, which probably ties some kind of record somewhere? In terms of what they have been able to accomplish while they've been here – they've won three SEC championships and have been a part of national championship team. I think the players that play here develop a real affinity for the tradition and how special it is to be a part of the program here at The University of Alabama. It's something for them to know that, for two or three of the guys, they were walking out for the second half and saying 'this is the last time I'm going to walk down this tunnel with you'. I'm glad to see them do well. They played well today, and I think the other guys played well for (Mercer) and that was a big motivator. It's almost the old thank you I-O-U when you thank somebody for something and you think you owe them. We thank the seniors for their service, but we also owe them for all that they've done, and I want to help them with their future as much as I can."
Commenting on Alabama's offensive performance, and the first five Tide touchdowns, Saban continued, "We were good, I think we did a great job. We came out and ran the ball and we were pretty effective with that. We had a couple play-action passes and Jalen (Hurts) was pretty efficient with what he did, seven-for-seven; Calvin (Ridley) made a couple big plays, it's great to see him continue to move up. Obviously, Julio (Jones) was a great player here and somebody we have a tremendous amount of respect for in terms of the culture of toughness that he left here. (The standard he set for the) receiving corps in the way he played here; for Calvin to move into that arena is pretty special, so I'm glad he had a really good day today. We executed well, their guys played hard. I have a lot of compassion for guys who play on those teams, and it's a great opportunity for them to come play in this kind of arena. I'm glad our players played to a standard, and I thought we were very efficient in our first line on the drives early. We were inefficient in the next one, and we fumbled to ball for an incompletion, so that has to get better."
Concerning this group of seniors playing their last game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Saban commented, "This senior class has been phenomenal. I think that's their 51st win, which probably ties some kind of record somewhere? In terms of what they have been able to accomplish while they've been here – they've won three SEC championships and have been a part of national championship team. I think the players that play here develop a real affinity for the tradition and how special it is to be a part of the program here at The University of Alabama. It's something for them to know that, for two or three of the guys, they were walking out for the second half and saying 'this is the last time I'm going to walk down this tunnel with you'. I'm glad to see them do well. They played well today, and I think the other guys played well for (Mercer) and that was a big motivator. It's almost the old thank you I-O-U when you thank somebody for something and you think you owe them. We thank the seniors for their service, but we also owe them for all that they've done, and I want to help them with their future as much as I can."
Tide defensive back Hootie Jones, concerning his last game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, commented, "It's was a great feeling playing here one last time. I had four years that were great to me at The University of Alabama. The fans were great to me, the school was great to me. It was a great time wearing the 'A' while playing in Bryant-Denny. "
Concerning his feelings in his last home game in T-town, wide receiver Cam Sims said, "It was really emotional for me today. This being my last game, it didn't really hit me until we ran out to go get our family for the senior ceremonies. It didn't hit me until then, and I almost shed a tear, but I knew I couldn't shed a tear before the game. It meant a lot to my mom and my family, and I really appreciate my four years at Alabama playing for Coach Saban."
And how did the opposing coach feel about this game? In his opening statement, Mercer head football coach Bobby Lamb said, "Obviously it was not the result we wanted, but when you're playing the No. 1 team in the country and you don't execute the way you need to execute on offense and defense, you get exposed. We were exposed today early. Alabama is very powerful on offense and they have a great offensive line, a great system, and we couldn't seem to slow them down.
"I thought we moved the ball well enough on offense in the first half; however, we'd get across the 50 and we'd stall a little bit. The three turnovers really hurt. I thought we started playing a little bit better in the second quarter on defense, but there is a reason that Alabama is Alabama. They have a very good football team. I guess the only stat we won today was time of possession, and that's because they were scoring so doggone quick. You want to say it was a great experience for our football team, a great experience for our seniors, and one that we'll learn from and take into next year as we continue to build this program."
As to a comparison between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers, since Lamb and his Mercer team has had to face both, he commented, "Well, if you look at the Auburn game early, I don't really think Auburn had found themselves yet. They were kind of spinning. They didn't know which way they were going. They racked up 500 yards on us, but we got five turnovers. We were able to move the ball a little bit better. This team here [Alabama] is really good in all phases of the game and you add their punter who can punt it to the moon and back, it's a very difficult football team."
Concerning his feelings in his last home game in T-town, wide receiver Cam Sims said, "It was really emotional for me today. This being my last game, it didn't really hit me until we ran out to go get our family for the senior ceremonies. It didn't hit me until then, and I almost shed a tear, but I knew I couldn't shed a tear before the game. It meant a lot to my mom and my family, and I really appreciate my four years at Alabama playing for Coach Saban."
And how did the opposing coach feel about this game? In his opening statement, Mercer head football coach Bobby Lamb said, "Obviously it was not the result we wanted, but when you're playing the No. 1 team in the country and you don't execute the way you need to execute on offense and defense, you get exposed. We were exposed today early. Alabama is very powerful on offense and they have a great offensive line, a great system, and we couldn't seem to slow them down.
"I thought we moved the ball well enough on offense in the first half; however, we'd get across the 50 and we'd stall a little bit. The three turnovers really hurt. I thought we started playing a little bit better in the second quarter on defense, but there is a reason that Alabama is Alabama. They have a very good football team. I guess the only stat we won today was time of possession, and that's because they were scoring so doggone quick. You want to say it was a great experience for our football team, a great experience for our seniors, and one that we'll learn from and take into next year as we continue to build this program."
As to a comparison between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers, since Lamb and his Mercer team has had to face both, he commented, "Well, if you look at the Auburn game early, I don't really think Auburn had found themselves yet. They were kind of spinning. They didn't know which way they were going. They racked up 500 yards on us, but we got five turnovers. We were able to move the ball a little bit better. This team here [Alabama] is really good in all phases of the game and you add their punter who can punt it to the moon and back, it's a very difficult football team."
Next week is Iron Bowl week, when Alabama resumes Southeastern Conference play on the road against Auburn on Saturday, November 25th. The game will be broadcast live by CBS with a planned start of 2:30 p.m. CT.
| Game Stats | MER | UA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 161 | 530 |
| Pass Yards | 54 | 265 |
| Rushing Yards | 107 | 265 |
| Penalty Yards | 2-10 | 1-5 |
| 1st Downs | 9 | 22 |
| 3rd Downs | 5-16 | 4-6 |
| 4th Downs | 1-3 | 0-0 |
| TOP | 34:48 | 25:12 |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athetics |
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Southeastern Conference Football Scores
1 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE 56 Mercer 0
6 Auburn 42 UL Monroe 14
7 Georgia 42 Kentucky 13
16 Mississippi State 28 Arkansas 21
20 LSU 30 Tennessee 10
20 LSU 30 Tennessee 10
Florida 36 UAB 7
South Carolina 31 Wofford 10
Texas A&M 31 Ole Miss 24
Missouri 35 Vanderbilt 17
Texas A&M 31 Ole Miss 24
Missouri 35 Vanderbilt 17
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Alabama Football Continues Its Reign,
Remains No. 1 In Amway Coaches Poll
Here is a look at the Amway Coaches Poll:
1. Alabama
2. Miami
3. Oklahoma
4. Clemson
5. Wisconsin
6. Auburn
7. Georgia
8. Ohio State
9. Notre Dame
10. TCU
11. USC
12. Penn State
13. UCF
14. Washington State
15. Washington
16. Mississippi State
17. Memphis
18. Oklahoma State
19. LSU
20. Stanford
21. Michigan State
22. South Florida
23. Northwestern
24. Virginia Tech
25. Boise State
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Alabama Football Defensive Lineman LaBryan Ray
Undergoes Surgery For Injured Foot
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| LaBryan Ray Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - The University of Alabama football team has had more than its share of injuries this season, and another injury has put another player out of commission. Crimson Tide reserve defensive lineman LaBryan Ray has undergone surgery to repair a broken bone in a foot he injured at the end of this past week.
Though having been used sparingly this far, Ray has helped to fill in and has stepped up in a depleted Alabama defensive unit to keep the Bama boys in the playoff picture. Ray has racked up five tackles, 2.5 for loss, and one sack during his limited playing time.
Ray joins Christian Miller, Terrell Lewis, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Minkah Fitzpatrick as well as Mack Wilson as one of those either out for the remainder of the season, has missed a significant amount of playing time, or out for a game or two to allow proper healing. It should be noted that a couple of players are expected to return in time for next week's in-state battle with Auburn in the 2017 Iron Bowl.
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Alabama Swimming & Diving
Takes Big Wins On Final Day Of Georgia Tech Invitational
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
The Alabama women's team opened their day with a 1-2 finish in the women's 1,650 freestyle. It was senior Mia Nonnenberg picking up the victory with a time of 16:23.62, while sophomore Alexis Preski took second place with a 16:27.89 finish. Preski's time was a career best and ranks her fourth all-time at UA.
Turning to the men, the Tide also went 1-2 in the men's 100 freestyle. Bama junior Robert Howard finished with a time of 41.96, while sophomore Zane Waddell stopped the clock at 42.68. Howard's career-best time now ranks him second all-time at UA, while also making him just the second Alabama swimmer under 42 seconds.
It was Alabama senior Christopher Reid winning the men's 200 backstroke with a 1:41.74, while junior Justine Macfarlane won the women's 200 breaststroke with a career-best 2:09.58, making her fourth all-time at UA.
The Crimson Tide then closed out the meet by capturing the win in the men's 400 freestyle relay. Junior Laurent Bams, sophomore Zane Waddell, Reid and Howard posted a 2:50.46 for the victory. With the win, the Tide men was a perfect five-for-five in relays over the weekend, and have won every relay race of the season.
