UK Grades

It was one of those perfect early fall days in west Alabama. A deep blue sky provided abundant sunshine.  A high temperature in the low 80s made parade watching and tailgating pleasurable. Homecoming activities, alumni events and class reunions combined to make it a splendid day to be in Tuscaloosa.

Yes. It was great to be back home for a football game on campus. And after a less than awesome first quarter, the team delivered a perfectly satisfying 34-6 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats, who drained two scores from three-point range ..... no wait a minute .... wrong sport. 

The Tide defense held the Cats to two field goals and less than 200 yards of total offense. Alabama's offense spent the first quarter sputtering around and squandering opportunities. Jalen Hurts was failing to spot wide open receivers, and the offensive line seemed at times to be confused by what Kentucky was doing defensively with its front seven. 

Things started to settle down in the second quarter. The offense put together a 61-yard drive, all on the ground, that ended in a Josh Jacobs touchdown. Safety, Ronnie Harrison, recovered a fumble by the Cats QB and returned it 55 yards for the Tide's second TD of the first half. The scoop-'n-score was the seventh non-offensive touchdown recoded by the Tide so far this season.

Alabama's first possession of the second half ended all doubt about the game's outcome and set up one lucky fan with pizza to last through graduation. There is a Domino's franchise in Tuscaloosa that sponsors a "Drive For Dough" promotion. Here's how it works: if the Tide scores a touchdown on its first possession of the second half, a Domino's customer drawn at random, gets as many pizza's as the yardage gained in the scoring drive. Bama's first drive of the third quarter covered 78 yards and ended with Calvin Ridley catching a 10 yard pass for the first of his two touchdowns. Hence, 78 pizzas. From the stat sheet, I do not know the break-down between deep dish and thin-crust.

At times the game failed to measure up to the heightened expectations that accompany Alabama football. But it was a convincing win over a conference opponent, so here's how I grade the game:

Offense:   B-     Alabama gained 488 yards of total offense [173 rushing], earned 25 first downs and converted 9 of its 3rd down opportunities. Jalen Hurts started at QB and completed 20 of his 33 passing attempts for 262 yards and 2 TDs [Calvin Ridley]. Jalen started off very much out of synch, but finished strong completing 9 of his last 11 passes. Cooper Bateman, was a perfect 5 of 5 for 53 yards, a performance that adds yet another reason why Blake Barnett decided to finish his college education elsewhere. 

Calvin Ridley had a career-high 11 receptions for 174 yards and 2 TDs, both in the third quarter. Josh Jacobs caught 3 passes for 44 yards. Robert Foster returned to action after recovering from an injury and caught 2 passes for 42 yards. Trayvon Diggs and OJ Howard both caught two passes. The Alabama air attack gained 315 yards and 10 different receivers caught passes.

Jacobs made the most of his first career start by gaining 100 yards on 16 carries; making him the leading Tide rusher for the game. Jalen ran the ball 9 times for a net gain of 25 yards. Bo Scarbrough ran the ball 5 times for 21 yards, but really impressed me with his blocking. Several times during the game, he picked up a blitz, and his blocking on run plays looks very effective.

Alabama engineered 6 drives that gained 40 or more yards [61, 62, 78, 76, 43, 69] and that produced 3 TDs, 1 FG, a missed FG and the end of the game. In the second half, the offense converted on 4 of 5 third down opportunities. 

Neither Tide QB threw an interception, but the line surrendered 4 tackles for lost yardage and Hurts lost a fumble on one of his two sacks.

Defense: A- Kentucky was held to 161 total yards [72 rushing] and limited to only 12 first downs. The Cats converted only 6 of 17 third-down plays. Alabama recorded 9 tackles for lost yardage including 4 sacks and recovered 2 of 3 forced fumbles. 

Jonathan Allen led all defenders with 8 tackles [6 solo]. Sean Dion Hamilton recorded 8 tackles as well [4 solo].  Ronnie Harrison made 7 stops [3 solo], and scored a touchdown on the second quarter fumble recover. Reuben Foster was credited with 5 tackles [4 solo]. Tim Williams, playing only in the second half, recorded 4 solo stops, each for lost yardage. Coach Saban, answering a reporter's question, said the first half suspension was all the corrective action Williams would receive as a consequence of being detained by police at 2:00 o'clock one morning in the week leading up to the Kentucky game.

Tide defenders recorded 9 tackles for 41 lost yards, forced 3 fumbles and hurries the Cats' QB 6 times. Kentucky was only able to mount one sustained drive. That 16 play, 63 yard drive came in the 4th quarter on the Cats' final possession of the game, and produced a field goal.

Special Teams:

Place Kicking: B Griff missed a 35 yard FG attempt, but converted from 44 and 24, and on all 4 PATs.

Punting: A- JK Scott punted only once for 58 yards. Tony Brown was in position, but was unable to make a play to down Scott's punt on the UK 1. Eddie Jackson returned 1 punt 17 yards under circumstances where a mere mortal would have been denied any yards. Xavian Marks returned one punt 15 yards.

Kickoffs: B Griff seemed to be trying to place his kicks right at the goal line in order to force the opposition to attempt a return in the expectation the coverage team would make a tackle short of the 25. I'm not so sure that was such a great idea. UK returned one kick 25 yards and another 35.  The Tide return game was marred by an unwise decision by Xavian Marks to return a kick from the endzone. He was tackled inside the 15.  Coach Saban was.....how to say it......not pleased.

Coaching: B Alabama was penalized 4 times for 20 yards. Two of those were false start infractions called on talented true freshman RT, Jonah Williams [6-5, 288; Folsom, Cal.] The participation report lists 58 players who saw action against Kentucky.

Some notable Tide players came home to Tuscaloosa for the UK game. The 1966 team was honored on the field before the game. Reggie Ragland, Marcel Dareus, Kenyan Drake and Kevin Norwood were among recent graduates to cheer the Tide from the sidelines. Siran Stacy and Ray Perkins were the game's honorary captains.

Yes. It really is great to come home to the Capstone. The Commissioner and his Long-Suffering Wife had a splendid weekend in Tuscaloosa, but the time has now come to turn the page on Homecoming 2016. The rest of October is dominated by daunting road trips, first to Arkansas, then Tennessee before hosting a very good Texas A&M. 

Before any road trip, it's a good idea to take your car to The Tire Store for a good bumper-to-bumper inspection. In a way, that is what the Kentucky game seems like. The results? Well, we've still got some things to fix. Alabama needs more consistency. Jalen needs to continue to improve. The defense can't wait a play or two to turn up the intensity. But, this team is loaded with talent. Here's hoping the lessons learned in the first five games will carry forward over the remainder of the season. Alabama will need to apply those lessons, and then some, if it is to head to Baton Rouge the first weekend in November still undefeated. 

It all starts this coming Saturday in Fayetteville........as always, the next game is the most important one of the season.....so far.....

Roll Tide, Y'all

The Commissioner