Mercer Grades

                The Alabama home crowd paid tribute to the 2017 senior class. Anthony Averett, Bradley Bozeman, Tony Brown, Hunter Bryant, Rashaan Evans, Robert Foster, Joshua Frazier, Bo Grant, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Da’Shawn Hand, Joseph Harvey, J.C. Hassenauer, Swade Hutchinson, Austin Johnson, Hootie Jones, Vohn Keith, Jr., Jamar King, Rogria Lewis, Andy Pappanastos, Jacob Parker, Jonathan Rice, JK Scott, Cam Sims, Turner Skehan and Levi Wallace.

What an outstanding group of young men these seniors have been! With at least one regular season game to play, they have compiled a record of 51-4 (.927), tying the NCAA record for wins set by last year’s Tide class. The 2017 seniors have won a national championship, three consecutive SEC championships, and made three appearances in the College Football Playoff, twice in the CFP championship game. 

Coach Saban told reporters after the game one objective set for today was to get every eligible senior, including walk-ons, into the game. Put a check mark next to that item on the To Do List. “It will be a best memory for them.” Saban said. Indeed it will.

“This senior class has been phenomenal.”, he added. Indeed it has.

You know what else is phenomenal?  The 2017 freshman class. It was Senior Day in Tuscaloosa, but it could just have easily been Freshman Day as well.

Three true freshmen, DeVonte Smith, Henry Ruggs, III, and Major Tennison caught touchdown passes; each pass thrown by true freshman, Tua Tagolaivoa. Two true freshman, Najee Harris and Brian Robinson, Jr., scored rushing touchdowns.

The Tide’s leading tackler was Dylan Moses, a true freshman from Baton Rouge who started at Mike Linebacker. He made 11 tackles [10 solo; 4 for lost yardage]. He also intercepted a pass and returned it 11 yards.

Daniel Wright, Christopher Allen, Jerry Jeudy, Xavier McKinney, VanDarius Cowan, Kendrick James, Thomas Fletcher, and Alex Leatherwood, rounded out the roster of true freshmen who saw action in the game. If you are keeping score at home, that is 15 players who were in high school this time last year.

Last week, Coach Saban said he believed Alabama was regularly playing more true freshmen than any other FBS team. He should know.

This weekend, the combination of 2017 seniors, 2017 freshmen and the rest of the Alabama roster fielded 75 players to deliver a 56-0 victory against the over-matched Mercer Bears. I don’t know how much Alabama had to pay the ursine visitors to make the journey from Macon to Tuscaloosa. I hope the Bears thought it was worth it. They certainly gave a good account of themselves.

Earlier in the season, Mercer traveled to The Village where they frightened all the Villagers by keeping the game close well into the fourth quarter. Archival research does not disclose what the world travelers from central Georgia thought about the charms, architectural and otherwise, of the Jewel Of Lee County. My money is on: “What a dump!” But I suppose: “Gee, look at all those double-wides” was a close second.

This was an important game for Alabama. Young players needed to gain experience, Expect Dylan Moses to see the field a lot against the Tigers on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. More about next week’s game in just a bit. For now, here is how I grade the game:

Offense:                      B+                   Readers will well recall the standard protocol of a one grade reduction on offense and defense for quality of opponent when Alabama plays non-conference opponents. Alabama amassed 530 yards of total offense [265 rushing], earned 22 first downs, and converted 4 of 6 possession downs. The offense lost 2 fumbles.

Jalen was a perfect 7 for 7 passing for 180 yards and 3 TDs. Tua completed 7 of 11 attempts for 85 yards and 3 TDs. Neither QB threw an interception, although only the velocity with which he throws the ball kept one of Tua’s passes from being picked off.

Calvin Ridley led all receivers with 3 catches for 103 yards and a TD. Josh Jacobs and Cam Sims caught 2 passes each and both caught throws for TDs. Ten different players caught passes.

Bo Scarbrough ran the ball 5 times for 54 yards. Brian Robinson, Jr. gained 50 yards on 7 carries. Josh Jacobs and Damien Harris each carried the ball 6 times. Nine different players ran the ball including walk-on sophomore, Austin Johnson [Jr. QB; 6-2, 202; Elba]

The Tide offense sustained 7 drives that gained 40 or more yards on its 13 offensive possessions [75, 65, 98, 40, 49, 58, 42] which produced 6 TDs and one punt.

Defense:                      B+                  Mercer was held to 161 yards of total offense [107 rushing] and 9 first downs. The Bears converted only 5 of 16 possession downs. They lost no fumbles, but Alabama intercepted 3 passes and forced 2 turnovers on downs.

Dylan Moses was the defensive star of the game. Ten of his 11 total tackles were solo stops. Deionte Thompson [R-So.; DB; 6-2, 194; Orange, Tx.] and Raekwon Davis were both credited with 5 tackles. Tony Brown and Ronnie Harrison each made 4 stops. Thompson and Hootie Jones accounted for two of the Tide’s 3 interceptions. Bama defenders broke up 5 passes and hurried the Bears’ QB once.

Special Teams:

Place Kicking:             A         JK Scott, subbing for Andy Pappanastos [or as Coach Cochran calls him: “Pappa-Nasty”] was perfect on 8 PATs. Coach Saban explained that Pappanastos had “a little tweak” during the week, and the training staff recommended rest.

Punting:                       A         Scott punted only twice for an average of 52.5. One of his punts resulted in a touchback, the other was downed deep in the Bears’ end of the field. Xavien Marks returned 2 of Mercer’s punts for a total of 52 yards. His longest return was 26 yards. His fielding decisions still make each punt reception a stressful play to watch.

Kickoffs:                     D         Scott’s punting was much improved over last week’s game in Starkville, but his kickoffs this week were not good. He averaged only 39.2 yards per kick. The coverage team allowed one return of 40 yards and another of 47. The return team had no opportunity, as Mercer’s lone kickoff was a touchback.

Coaching:                    A         If you like running the football…..and who doesn’t? … you would love the Tide’s game plan which included 42 called runs against 18 passes. Alabama was only penalized once. And a special hat tip to Coach Saban for awarding a full scholarship to former walk on, Levi Wallace. That young man has gone from freshman walk on to senior starter. Trust the Process? You better believe I do.

            Just in case college football’s most heated rivalry needed a few more BTUs, the winner of the 2017 Iron Bowl will claim the SEC West title, and enter the SEC Championship Game as the odds-makers’ favorite to beat the Eastern Division Champion, Georgia.

            The Tigers started the season with a loss to Clemson and did not reach the month of October without losing to LSU. Since that bungle on the bayou, Auburn has improved every week. They enter the Iron Bowl with a ferocious defense that features the best front seven Alabama has faced in the last ten games. They have an excellent running back and a seasoned, tough offensive line. The biggest improvement has been at quarterback, where Stidham has become a legitimate double threat.

            The Tide are going to need all of the seniors honored during the Mercer pre-game ceremony to bring their best game. They are also going to need all those talented freshmen and everyone else wearing Alabama colors to do the same.

            Keep in mind, however, notwithstanding how good the Tigers are playing right now, if Thomas Jefferson had founded API instead of UVA, he would not want that fact carved into his headstone.

Let’s all go be champions!

Roll Tide, Y’all.

The Commissioner

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