Alabama Football
Crimson Tide Prepares For Annual Iron Bowl
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - The University of Alabama football team is getting ready for its annual matchup with Auburn in the 2017 Iron Bowl classic. The Crimson Tide hit the practice field with temperatures in the low to mid-50s yesterday for a 75-minute session in shorts and helmets on the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields.
Alabama is well aware of the improved Tiger team, seeing as Auburn knocked off then CFP No. 1 Georgia just a couple of weeks ago. The Tiger rushing attack ranks fourth in the Southeastern Conference, averaging 244.0 yards per game. Then there's Auburn's defense to heed, with a line that ranks third in the SEC in rush defense to add to the Bama prep work.
Defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick was back on the field to practice on Monday. He missed the game against Mercer this past Saturday recovering from a hamstring injury but will be ready to go against Auburn. His left leg, incidentally, was wrapped.
Terrell Lewis (elbow), Christian Miller (biceps) and Mack Wilson (foot) still weren't practicing and need to be medically cleared.
This will be the 82nd Iron Bowl contest, and will be held this year at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. The Crimson Tide leads the series with a ten-game advantage of 45-35-1 in a series dating back to 1893. Bama has won seven of the last nine games, with four of those leading to a national championship for Alabama. The game will be broadcast live on CBS with a 2:30 p.m. CT start scheduled. The game will air live on CBS with Brad Nessler handling play-by-play duties, Gary Danielson on analysis and Allie LaForce walking the sidelines.
University of Alabama football head coach Nick Saban met with the press on Monday afternoon as is his custom. Here is his opening statement:
"I don't think many people are interested in talking about the last game, but as I said afterwards, we played to a standard in the game, which is what we wanted our players to do. We wanted to play well for the seniors, which is what I think everybody responded to and did. We got an opportunity to play a lot of players and that will certainly help the development of those players and maybe add to their ability to play winning football on a consistent basis if needed in the future.
"You guys got the players of the week and obviously J.C. Hassenauer being the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week is great for him. From an injury standpoint, Minkah (Fitzpatrick) will practice. Andy (Pappanastos) will be day-to-day. Terrell Lewis and Christian Miller are in the functional phase of rehab and are not cleared medically to play. Mack Wilson has not practiced yet and has not been medically cleared to play, so whatever is out there, I'm giving you the facts from here. I'm not saying that those guys are out for the game and I'm not able to say whether they'll be able to play in the game.
"The most important thing in games like this is that players can stay focused on the things they need to do to prepare. Stay focused on what's happening now so you can utilize each day in preparation and practice so that you can have the poise to execute in what's going to be a big game. It's going to be an emotional game and there are going to be a lot of people talking about it, but we need to focus on what we need to do to prepare in the game.
"The Iron Bowl is a tremendous rivalry game and there's a lot of passion on both sides. Lots of people are interested in it and it's got lots of ramifications this year. As a competitor, this is always a game you look forward to having the opportunity to play in. Our team has put themselves in a position where they have an opportunity to accomplish something in terms of taking the next step that we need to take to be able to have a chance to win the West or have an opportunity to play in the SEC Championship Game.
"Gus (Malzahn) has done a phenomenal job, in my opinion. His team has improved throughout the course of the year and is playing as well as anybody in the country right now; all you've got to do is look at statistical information. They're ranked very highly in offense; they're ranked very highly in defense; and they've got some real special people on special teams, including the kicker Daniel Carson, who is weapon himself. They're very disciplined and they don't get a lot of penalties. Jarrett Stidham, their quarterback, has made a lot of explosive plays. Not only do you have to stop their running game with Kerryon Johnson, but also vertically down the field, the way they've been able to attack people and make explosive plays with their receivers is very complimentary to the balance that they create on offense. This is all around an outstanding team and obviously one of the top-ranked teams in the country for good reason because that's how they play."
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Nick Saban Press Conference
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| Click H E R E to view press conference via Tide TV |
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Official College Football Playoff Rankings
---------------Week 4--------------
1 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
2 Miami
3 Clemson
4 Oklahoma
5 Wisconsin
6 Auburn
7 Georgia
8 Notre Dame
9 Ohio State
10 Penn State
11 USC
12 TCU
13 Washington State
14 Mississippi State
15 UCF
16 Michigan State
17 Washington
18 LSU
19 Oklahoma State
20 Memphis
21 Stanford
22 Northwestern
23 Boise State
24 South Carolina
25 Virginia Tech
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Alabama Swiming & Diving
Crimson Tide Records 16 Wins & 3 School Records
During 3-Day Georgia Tech Invitational
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The University of Alabama swimming and diving teams had a very strong showing at the Georgia Tech Invitational, winning nine individual races and seven relays during the course of the three-day event. It's a good thing they were in the water because the Crimson Tide was on fire!
Alabama junior Robert Howard led the Tide men during a very busy three days, posting individual wins in the 50 (19.11), 100 (41.99) and 200 (1:33.75) freestyle events as well as swimming legs on all five winning relays. He now ranks first in the nation in the 100 freestyle, third in the 50 freestyle and fifth in the 200 freestyle. Howard's times in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles, all career-best marks, in the 100 freestyle ranks him second all-time at Alabama in all three events.
It was Crimson Tide senior Luke Kaliszak clocking a 45.85 to win the 100 backstroke, now giving him a No. 3 ranking nationally. Senior Laurent Bams had preliminary time of 52.73 in the 100 breaststroke to remain in the top-five nationally in the event.
Coming in first in the 100 butterfly event was Bama sophomore Zane Waddell with a time of 46.34, ranking him eighth in the event nationally. He also came in second to Kaliszak in the 100 backstroke (46.01) and Howard in the 100 freestyle (42.68), ranking him fifth and sixth in the nation respectively.
The Alabama men's team has been phenomenal this season, going undefeated in relay events this season, winning the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle as well as the 200 and 400 medley relays in Atlanta. They are ranked in the top-four nationally in all five relays and have earned automatic NCAA standards in the 200 and 400 freestyle and medley relays while Howard has an "A" cut in the 100 freestyle.
Kaliszak, Bams, Waddell and Howard won the 200 medley relay (1:24.60) and 400 medley relay (3:07.04) in Atlanta. Waddell, Howard, Kaliszak and Bams (1:16.68) won the 200 freestyle relay, while Bams, Waddell, Reid and Howard (2:50.46) combined to win the 400 freestyle relay. Howard, senior Matthew Adams, junior Christian Arseneau and Reid (6:25.19) won the 800 freestyle relay.
Turning to the women's team, freshman Leonie Kullmann set school records this weekend on the way to winning the 500 freestyle (4:41.95) and taking second in the 200 freestyle (1:45.88). She is the top-ranked freshman in the nation in both events.
Kullman also participated in the Tide's school-record-setting 400 freestyle relay, combining with fellow freshman Flora Molnar and seniors Temarie Tomley and Bailey Scott to post a 3:15.39, earning them an automatic NCAA berth.
It was junior Justine Macfarlane winning the 200 breaststroke with a career-best 2:09.58 that ranks fourth all-time at Alabama. She also captured second place in the 100 breaststroke, clocking a career-best 59.82, ranking her third all-time at Alabama.
Senior Mia Nonnenberg captured the win in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 16:23.62. She also combined with freshmen Kullman, Lydia Jackson and Julia Kukla to win the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 7:12.05. Junior Katie Kelsoe, Macfarlane, Molnar and senior Bailey Scott recorded a time of 1:37.55 to win the 200 medley relay. The Bama women's 200 and 400 medley and freestyle relays are all ranked in the top-10 nationally coming out last weekend.
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Alabama Men's Basketball
John Petty Is Named SEC Freshman Of The Week
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| John Petty Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
Petty averaged 22 points, five rebounds and two assists in wins against Lipscomb and Alabama A&M. in Bama's opening week of play. It is the first freshman weekly honor for any Crimson Tide player since Braxton Key back on January 30, 2017.
In Friday's contest with Alabama A&M, Petty set a new school record hitting 10 three-pointers to propel the Crimson Tide past A&M 104-67. Those 10 three-pointers tied Petty for fourth place all-time in SEC history and is the first time an SEC player has scored 10 or more three-pointers in a game since Michael Frazier of Florida in 2014. His 76.9 percent shooting percentage from beyond the arc was the highest in SEC history for any player who has made at least 10 threes in a contest. He is also the first Alabama player to go for 30 points since Retin Obasohan scored 35 points at LSU on February 17, 2016.
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