There was something just not right during the first half of the Alabama-Southern Miss game. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but things just weren't working they way they were supposed to. For starters.....there was the start of the game! Or to be more accurate....the end of the race, which had not arrived by kickoff, and I was desperately scrambling around, looking for the broadcast of the game.
The SEC Network has three.....count 'em THREE....channels set aside on the cable system here in Franklin. At 5:00 pm Saturday evening, one of them was showing LSU and Louisiana Lafayette [it was either that or one of those cooking shows....I didn't linger long enough to figure it out] while the other two channels were showing.....wait for it......THE SEC NETWORK LOGO!
According to the crawl at the bottom of the NASCAR broadcast, something called the "NFL Goal Line" channel had the game.....but I don't have the NFL Goal Line.....So, I fired up the Watch ESPN app on my phone.
At least I got to see the opening kickoff and watch in horror as USM's passing attack cut through the Tide defense like it was standing still. Because my phone was now my TV set, I didn't get the In Game Discussion Thread going with The Professor, my Son And Heir, and the Correspondent From The Real Thing [The Correspondent From The Tire Store was at BDS and blissfully unaware of the civilizational meltdown taking place on the electro-magnetic grid!
When the TV broadcast finally switched to Tuscaloosa, the Golden Eagles were lining up to kick off after having scored a field goal on their opening drive. On my phone, they were still at the Tide 35 yard line.
Things continued to be out of sorts. The Discussion Thread wasn't working right, a solid Tide scoring drive was followed by a three-and-out, USM had over 100 yards total offense in the first quarter, and the whole Game Day Experience was teetering on the edge of disaster.
Somehow-thankfully-we managed to get to the half. Finally, an opportunity to re-group. On his way off the field, Coach Saban told the reporter: "It's all about execution." From the look in his eyes, I was not ruling out the possibility that Coach Saban was planning to shoot somebody in the locker room. Nevertheless, I decided to make some much-needed half-time adjustments.
The Commissioners Long Suffering Wife put the finishing touches on some Mexican food, I switched seats, changed my beverage glass, put on my Game Day hat, and reconfigured the Discussion Thread. .... Readers of The Commissioners Blog know what I have to say about sports and superstitions: When it comes to sports, it is bad luck not to be superstitious.
The second half proves my point. Alabama played with much more intensity-especially on defense-and the offense seemed to get better with each possession. When the clock ran to all zeros, the score stood at Alabama 52 - USM 12. The Tide extended its series record against Southern Miss to 34-6-2, and increased its overall record to 63-1 when rushing for 140 or more yards. Defensively, Alabama once again held an opponent to less than 300 yards total offense, as it has done 64% of the time under Nick Saban's coaching, and did not allow a touchdown.
Scoff if you will. Say that what happens on the field has nothing to do with extraneous things like where fans sit, what we wear, or how we watch the game. All I know is, after a shaky first half, changes were made, Alabama played better, and here's how I grade the game:
Offense: A- Alabama gained 547 [333 rushing] yards of total offense, earned 31 first downs, scored 6 TDs, and only punted once. Blake and Jake combined for 17 completions on 24 pass attempts for 214 yards and 2 TDs [Blake to Amari Cooper and Brian Vogler]. Along the way, Alabama converted 7 of 11 possession downs and possessed the ball for 34:40 of the game.
Derrick Henry ran the ball 11 times for 73 yards. Kenyan Drake gained 59 yards on 9 carries and scored 3 rushing TDs, setting a career record. Tyren Jones scored a rushing TD while gaining 58 yards on 7 plays. TJ Yeldon added 57 yards on 9 runs and Altee Tenpenny gained 39 yards on 5 plays. Amari Cooper rushed the ball once on a sweep. Between the initial route, and an across the field cutback, Cooper ran for over 50 yards, but gained a net of 9. It was a highlight reel play, but one that against better competition may well have resulted in a big loss of yardage.
Blake threw for 168 yards on 12 completions out of 17 attempts. Jake completed 5 of 7 for 46 yards.
Amari Cooper once again led all receivers with 8 catches for 135 yards and a TD. Christian Jones caught 4 passes for 50 yards. Seven different receivers caught passes, including-for the first time this year-TE Brian Vogler-and walk-on TE Michael Nysewander. The 6-1 238 lb senior from Hoover gained 9 yards on his debut catch.
Alabama had 7 sustained offensive drives [70, 80, 75, 68, 99, 46, 69] that produced 6 TDs and a FG].
Defense: B Take away the first quarter, where the Golden Eagles gained nearly half of their total offensive yards, and the Stop Troops played a stellar game. However, the necessary intensity, focus and execution was nowhere in evidence for most of the first half. For the game, USM gained 263 yards of total offense [56 rushing] and there were times when the play in the secondary was baffling. The Golden Eagles had 10 meaningful offensive possessions, only 3 ended after 3 plays and USM put together scoring drives of 59, 59 and 62 yards.
Landon Collins was the leading tackler with 12 [6 solo]. Trey DePriest recorded 6 stops while Gino Smith was credited with 4. Maurice Smith and Xzavier Dixon each had 3 tackles. Dixon also had a tackle for lost yardage, broke up 2 passes and hurried the USM QB 3 times.
For the game, the Tide D recorded 4 tackles for loss, 3 breakups and 10 hurries.
Special Teams:
Punting: F JK Scott only punted once; a 34 yard effort that was not returned. The failing grade comes from the muffed return of a USM punt in the first half that resulted in a points producing turnover.
Kick Offs: A Adam Griffith and JK Scott shared kickoff duties and combined for a gross average of 62.7 yards per kick. The coverage unit missed some excellent opportunities to put USM in untenable field position, but nevertheless, still achieved an respectable net average of 42.1 yards. Christian Jones returned 4 kicks for 111 yards.
Place Kicking: A+ Adam Griffith was good from 30 yards out on his lone FG attempt and perfect in each of 6 PATs.
Coaching: A- Although the team started slow, the necessary adjustments were made. The participation report lists 70 players who saw action in the game and Alabama gained 672 all purpose yards [Ch. Jones was the leader in AP yards with 175]. Penalties have been a problem so far this season and yesterday was no exception. Although the total number decreased dramatically to only 3 for 25 yards, one of them-targeting-resulted in safety NIck Perry being red-carded. With Vinnie Sunseri playing for the New Orleans Saints instead of the Tide, losing an experienced contributor at safety is something Alabama can ill-afford.
Around the league, there are several other teams that ought not feel well this morning. The Commodores escaped OT only because the U Mass kicker missed a chip-shot FG attempt as time expired. In The Swamp, Florida managed to put away Kentucky only after 3 OT periods. Georgia fans are Dawg cussing Mark Richt, Steve Spurrier and the officials in equal measure this morning after losing to the Fighting Chickens 38-35 [a first and goal at the So. Carolina 4 at game's end resulted in no points after a penalty and a missed field goal attempt]. And up on Rocky Top-where they are perpetually rebuilding [exactly what they are rebuilding remains a mystery]-the Volunteers got reacquainted with realty at the hands of the Sooners 34-10.
An embarrassed Florida comes to Tuscaloosa this weekend. The days for slow starts and poor execution are over. Our Tire Store Correspondent may well have some thoughts about games that are supposed to be "tune ups" and whether the 2014 Crimson Tide is now hitting on all cylinders.....I will leave that up to Andy.....here in Franklin there will be no more experimenting with how we watch the game, where we sit, and what we wear. The SEC opener is here....it's the Gators....and I can't wait for Game Day!
RTR
The Commissioner
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