Cecil Hurt begins his review of Saturday night's game against Mississippi by quoting William Faulkner from The Sound And The Fury, and equating Bryant-Denny Stadium to "the mausoleum of all hope and desire." Hurt is always required reading. Nobody covers Alabama football better. The imagery evoked by equating Bryant-Denny Stadium to a tomb into which the hopes and desires of this season have been prematurely buried is compelling. Nevertheless, for reasons I will try to set out below, I believe Hurt's metaphor is wrong.
But let's start with the unvarnished and ugly truth: Alabama played an awful game. The Tide deserved to lose the game by the way it played and got exactly what it earned, a bad 43-37 loss in front of a capacity crowd of 101,283 and a primetime viewing audience.
One statistic tells you all you need to know: the turnover margin was -5. To the insult of 2 lost fumbles on kick returns, the Tide offense added the injury of 3 interceptions. You cannot turn the ball over five times and beat very many teams in the SEC......OK, perhaps Vanderbilt......but you certainly cannot beat the likes of LSU, Georgia, and Mississippi State.
Oh, sure, Ole Miss got 14 points off of two plays that ought never to have happened. The first, was a wounded duck of a pass no QB should ever attempt, that ought to have been intercepted but instead ricocheted off a DB's helmet into the hands of a receiver otherwise out of the play who took it for a touchdown. The second involved inexcusable officiating incompetence where the zebras made two blown calls on the same play, and the rules constraining video review required one to be corrected [illegal forward pass] and the other ignored [ineligible receiver downfield].
I do not want in any way to diminish what Ole Miss accomplished. The Tide gave the Rebs plenty of opportunities, and the visitors proved to be opportunistic. Ole Miss has some really fine football players, not all of whom are named "Nkemdiche." Although held for only 92 yards rushing, Ole Miss compiled 341 yards through the air, and when Alabama put the ball up for grabs, Ole Miss was happy to grab it.
The salient fact emerging from this game is that the 2015 edition of the Crimson Tide is woefully lacking in experience at quarterback. Coach Saban has made no secret of this fact. Neither Jake nor Cooper Bateman has stepped up to take leadership of the offense. Although Jake's performance in relief of Bateman got the Tide back into the game, his two interceptions, could not be overcome. Moreover, in 3 games, the Tide Offense is yet to complete a deep pass. To be sure, there have been pass plays that have accounted for lots of yards, but these have all been yards after the catch. Bama's three top receivers from 2014 were lost to graduation or the NFL, and so far the 2015 receiving corps has done nothing to cause opposing defensive coordinators to lose sleep. With Robert Foster now out for the season with a torn rotator cuff, the chances of that changing anytime soon have gotten even more remote.
The running game at least, seems to be serviceable. The Tide gained 215 net yards rushing against Ole Miss, which ought to have been more than enough to secure a victory. But even a punishing ground attack and domination of the clock [35:26 to 24:34] could not compensate for those five turnovers.
The broadcast crew noticed Tide fans leaving early. I know at least some readers of The Grades may have gone to bed with the game still in the third quarter. So, let me get to the business at hand, and here is how I grade the game:
Offense: F Did I mention that we had five total turnovers? I thought so.....well, three of the five were committed by the offense; all interceptions. Nevertheless, Alabama gained 503 total yards [215 rushing], earned 29 first downs, converted 11 of 20 third downs, and held the ball for 35:26.
Derrick Henry gained 127 net yards rushing on 23 carries and scored a rushing touchdown. Jake ran the ball 7 times for a net of 58 yards and a TD. His longest gain running was 26 yards. Kenyan Drake added 33 yards on 11 carries.
Jake completed 21 of 44 pass attempts for 201 yards and 3 TDs. He threw two really bad interceptions and could have thrown a third but the Reb DB dropped the ball. Cooper Bateman started for the Tide and completed 11 of 14 pass attempts for 87 yards. He threw one interception and the only points he accounted for were from a successful FG attempt.
Ardarius Stewart caught 8 passes for 73 yards and a TD. Oregon State graduate transfer, Richard Mullaney [6-3, 208] caught 7 passes for 61 yards and 2 TDs. True freshman, Calvin Ridley [6-1, 185] from Coconut Creek, Florida, added 28 yards on 6 receptions. Robert Foster accounted for 17 receiving yards on 2 catches prior to leaving the game due to injury.
The coaches started Bateman, and pulled him mid-way through the second quarter in favor of Jake. Based on post-game remarks, it seems as if Bateman's decision-making was as much a factor in the switch as execution. Under Bateman's direction, the Tide had four legitimate offensive possessions; they resulted in a turnover on downs, one punt, a FG and an interception.
The Tide had 8 drives that gained 40 or more yards [41, 57, 68, 75, 41, 69, 46, 75] achieving a FG, 2 turnovers on downs, 4 TDs and a punt.
Defense: D+ It is tempting to award a higher grade to the defense based on the horrible field position it was forced to defend. However, it still looks as if the Tide defensive secondary suffers from technique issues principally associated with a failure to look for the ball. This results in unnecessary interference penalties and missed interception opportunities.
For the third game in a row, Reggie Ragland led all tacklers with 9 stops [4 solo]. The next three most prolific tacklers were DBs: Marlon Humphrey with 6, and Eddie Jackson and Cy Jones who had 5 each.
In total, the Tide defense accounted for 6 tackles for 18 yards of lost yardage, 5 breakups and 4 hurries.
Special Teams:
Kickoffs: F Although Griff averaged a respectable net of 41.8 yard per kick, and the tide recovered an on-side attempt, the return game was awful. Both lost fumbles came on kick returns.
Punting: B Scott punted twice for an average of 42 yards per kick, and one of those was a pooch kick that nailed Ole Miss at the Reb 2 yard line.
Place Kicking: B Griff made his only FG attempt [20 yards] and each of his 4 PAT attempts.
Coaching: F We opened league play without an established quarterback. Every week brings a new problem with special teams. Penalties were improved; only 4 for 36 yards. By comparison, Ole Miss had 8 infractions for 57 yards and ought to have had at least one more for ineligible receivers downfield on one of the fluke TD plays.
The participation report lists 53 players who saw action. Derrick Henry continues to be the leader in all purpose yardage, adding 166 to his season total in the game against the Rebs.
Now, with all that being said, why do I disagree with Cecil Hurt's invocation of Faulkner? Do not misunderstand what I am about to write. I think it is entirely foreseeable that Alabama will lose again this season. Did you see the way LSU destroyed the Barn? What about Georgia's route of the Fighting Chickens? Zack Prescott is still playing QB for State, and the Aggies are getting better each week. Granted, Auburn looks like a program picking up speed, as any object in free fall will do, but this year's game is played in The Cow Pasture and stuff happens in that venue that makes the two Ole Miss fluke plays look routine.
No, I do not discount the possibility that Alabama will lose again. A return trip to Atlanta, much less the CFB Playoffs is, at this point, only hypothetical. My disagreement with Cecil Hurt's column is its funeral imagery.
Hope for Alabama is not dead. Desire certainly isn't ready for burial. For Alabama, the tomb is never the right mental image.
The 2015 season may well be like a bleak winter compared to the recent sunny years of championship success. Just remember, the first phrase of our alma mater is "Alabama, listen mother...." The Tide-Nation is vast, and the University of Alabama, like the capable wife of Proverbs, Ch. 31, "...is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all her household are clothed in crimson."
So, get out your crimson, and wear it proudly. ... And, of course,
Roll Tide, Y'all.
The Commissioner
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