1Q ALA B. Sims pass,to C. Sims for 4 yds for a TD, (G. Raborn KICK)

WCU vs. ALA

1Q ALA B. Sims pass,to A. Stewart for 16 yds for a 1ST down

1Q WCU B. Sims pass intercepted, touchback.,T. Morgan return for 0 yds

2Q ALA D. Henry run for 10 yds for a TD, (G. Raborn KICK)

2Q WCU T. Mitchell pass,to D. Ramsey for 12 yds for a 1ST down,ALABAMA penalty, Personal Foul (15 Yards) for a 1ST down

2Q WCU T. Mitchell pass,to S. Robinson for 12 yds for a TD, (R. Sigmon KICK)

2Q ALA B. Sims pass,to C. Sims for 22 yds for a 1ST down

2Q ALA D. Henry run for 6 yds for a 1ST down

2Q ALA J. Fowler run for 0 yds

2Q ALA B. Sims pass,to A. Stewart for 18 yds for a 1ST down

2Q ALA T. Jones run for 7 yds for a TD, (G. Raborn KICK)

2Q ALA B. Sims pass,to O. Howard for 26 yds for a 1ST down

2Q ALA D. Henry run for 23 yds for a TD

2Q ALA B. Sims pass,to C. Black for 25 yds for a 1ST down

2Q ALA B. Sims pass,to D. Henry for 9 yds for a TD, (G. Raborn KICK)

3Q ALA T. Jones run for 13 yds for a 1ST down

3Q ALA T. Jones run for 13 yds for a 1ST down

3Q ALA G. Raborn 28 yd FG GOOD

3Q WCU T. Mitchell pass,to K. Benson for 30 yds for a 1ST down

3Q ALA R. Sigmon run for 0 yds

3Q ALA J. Coker pass,to M. Nysewander for 12 yds for a TD, (G. Raborn KICK)

4Q ALA J. Coker pass,to C. Black for 26 yds for a 1ST down

4Q ALA A. Tenpenny run for 23 yds for a 1ST down

The Fifth Quarter: Week 13 Rewind-cft

Report Card: Alabama’s early struggles, injuries cause for concern-sds

Handing out grades from Alabama’s 48-14 win over Western Carolina.

OFFENSE: B-

The Crimson Tide piled up 612 yards of total offense, but it came at a cost. Amari Cooper, Brian Vogler, Cam Robinson and Jalston Fowler all left the game after suffering injuries during the game, bad news for Alabama as they head into the Iron Bowl and a potential SEC Championship game. Blake Sims wasn’t as sharp as he has been at home, but he still completed 17-of-25 passes for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sims did throw an interception on what appeared to be a miscommunication between two receivers who bumped into each other. Jacob Coker played the second half and had his best performance to date, going 12-for-18 throwing the ball for 112 yards and a score. Alabama had 11 different players catch a pass and rushed for 275 yards on the afternoon.

DEFENSE: B

The Catamounts legitimately picked apart the Crimson Tide defense early in this game. Quarterback Troy Mitchell found receivers all over the field during the fourth quarter, with Alabama defenders apparently asleep at the wheel. Alabama clamped down outside of the Catamounts first drive, forcing three straight three-and-outs and four punts in row before Henry’s fumble near the Crimson Tide goal line led to a quick score. Alabama allowed just 76 total yards in the second half.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-

Alabama didn’t get many opportunities in the return game, with Western Carolina seemingly set on short kickoffs to limit any chance of a big return, but Landon Collins did break free for a 30-yarder on one of them. The Crimson Tide decided to try out a new kicker in this one, giving freshman Gunnar Rayborn a chance. He hit 2-of-3 field goals, with the miss coming on a 31-yard attempt in the fourth quarter. Alabama also snuffed out the Catamounts returners, limiting them to 18.8 yards per return.

COACHING: B-

Cameras caught Nick Saban expressing his displeasure in the offense’s execution on the sidelines, especially when the Tide turned it over on two of their first five possessions. Saban did the right thing by getting many of his starters out of what turned out to be a very physical contest after halftime, but it didn’t save him from losing multiple players to injury in the second half.

OVERALL: B-

Alabama pulled it together after a bit of a shaky start, pulling out to a 24-point lead by halftime. The win was costly and just about the worst-case scenario for the Crimson Tide, as they suffered a litany of injuries to key players throughout the game. Fans will have to hope the injuries were just dings and players were kept out for precautionary measures, as Alabama’s slate only gets tougher from here.

Western Carolina at Alabama an embarrassment? Hardly-sds

You could almost hear the flipping of television channels from all around the region. Eastern Kentucky at Florida.
Charleston Southern at Georgia.
South Alabama at South Carolina … Hey that’s 17-9 at halftime.
Samford at Auburn. Yeah, never mind.
OK, so it wasn’t the most exciting weekend of the Southeastern Conference’s schedule, even if it did include another impressive win by Arkansas, 30-0 over No. 8 Ole Miss, and a tight game between Missouri and Tennessee.
Florida won 52-3, Georgia 55-9, and South Carolina prevailed 37-12.
This was the flip side to rivalry week, however Saturday morning ESPN’s College GameDay went too far calling it an embarrassment that so many teams from the conference were playing Football Championship Subdivision opponents — all except Lee Corso, the only analyst on the pregame show who had been a coach.
“I take it personal when they say that this is an embarrassment,” Western Carolina coach Mark Speir said after Alabama’s 48-14 victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and good for him.
Granted, his school got a big check to make this trip and with the Catamounts not making the FCS playoffs closed their season 7-5. So this was their moment and WCU even had the lead for a few minutes after getting a big break on an early whistle that nullified a turnover.
Alabama, meanwhile, already had the monstrous trifecta of visiting LSU, No. 1 Mississippi State and then the rivalry game with Auburn on its November schedule.
Imagine for a moment that there was another SEC game in there instead, and for the sake of argument we’ll say the .500 league team, Florida.
The Crimson Tide’s chances of making it through a month like that undefeated? Zero.
Not just this year, but any year.
Moreover, the SEC is taking fire for not having a ninth conference game, yet the schedule is already more than tough enough. According to Jeff Sagarin’s ratings, which factors in strength of schedule, Alabama came into Saturday 7-1 against teams in the top 30.
That’s out of 10 opponents.
“I would like to see SEC teams play more non-conference games but your body breaks down throughout a season,” former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said on ESPN’s other pregame show, SEC Nation. “It is hard to sustain it physically. Would I want to go play a Texas or USC? Sure. But is it better for your body or your team? I think it’s probably better to recover. “
For those of you who are wondering why teams simply don’t schedule an off week before facing their primary rivals remember that championship games have to be played during the final week of the regular-season window, so for the league’s other 12 teams it’s considered an off week.
Consequently, most years they’ll only have one other bye during a 12-game regular season. Factor in a month-long training camp and that’s a really, really long time to go without a break in such a physical sport.
Go back to 2010 when Alabama was the reigning national champion and the last seven opponents on its regular-season schedule all had a bye the previous Saturday. That was a year in which each SEC team only had one open date too.
Alabama went 3-4 during that stretch, and while it became obvious that team didn’t quite have the same focus and determination as its predecessor, it obviously was a factor. It’s the Crimson Tide’s only three-loss season since 2008.
Auburn in particular made a point to schedule a bye before facing its in-state rival, and it was a smart thing for Tommy Tuberville to do. Isn’t that what every coach wants, to have his team playing its best in the biggest games?
College football has never been bigger and ratings are through the roof, yet there’s not doubt that with the playoff the smaller schools are getting squeezed.
So yes, the easy reaction is to say, “We shouldn’t have weekends like this,” but I disagree.
To me this just adds to the buildup for next weekend, which is the best of the year in college football.
It seemed appropriate that Alabama’s homecoming was a little more about the school and renewing acquaintances, and a little less about football.
I liked that Saturday’s marquee game was Yale at Harvard and the College GameDay guys went and froze their rears off. If you’re a big-time college football fan “The Game” should be on your bucket list right after Army-Navy.
Western Carolina at Alabama wasn’t a sellout. The student section wasn’t packed and after getting blasted 153-6 the first three meetings the Catamounts reached the end zone (gasp) … twice.
But it was anything but an embarrassment, and it certainly wasn’t worse than Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. They went into overtime scoreless, with a 6-3 final in double-OT after the Hokies missed a – get this — 53-yard field goal.
Every game can’t be Alabama-Auburn, which makes that kind of game only that more special.
“It’s the game we’ve had circled for 365 (days),” Alabama junior linebacker Reggie Ragland said.

Younger players give impressive glimpse of Crimson Tide’s future-sds

University of Alabama coach Nick Saban wanted to get a lot of reserves into Saturday’s game against Western Carolina, and he did, but not necessarily the way initially hoped. With some starters held out of the 48-14 victory and numerous others sustaining injuries many backups were pressed into service early. With the Crimson Tide giving up two controversial touchdowns the first unit stayed in the game until about midway through the third quarter.
Regardless, fans still got a good glimpse of the Crimson Tide of the future, especially offensively, as Alabama tallied 612 yards of total offense and broke the school record for first downs in a game with 36.
“We played a lot of guys,” Saban said, while Alabama’s statisticians put the number at 71.
The Crimson Tide gained 275 rushing yards despite not having junior T.J. Yeldon (hamstring). Instead, sophomore Derrick Henry scored three touchdowns while making his first career start, but had his first career fumble.
Henry had 92 rushing yards on 12 carries, which put him over the 1,000-yard mark for his career (1,064).
“I haven’t done that since high school, so it’s definitely something to be proud of and something to build on,” said Henry, who had a 9-yard touchdown reception to go with scoring runs of 10 and 23 yards.
Redshirt freshman Tyren Jones and sophomore Altee Tenpenny both had 11 carries, resulting in 75 and 64 rushing yards, respectively. Senior fullback Jalston Folwer contributed five carries for 30 yards as well.
Meanwhile, the receiving corps had 337 yards despite being without senior DeAndrew White (hamstring) and junior Amari Cooper had just three catches for 46 before being pulled due to a bruised knee.
Instead, topping the list of 11 players with a reception was sophomore Chris Black with six catches for 101 yards, and Stewart – who started for White and sustained strained knee ligaments – had five receptions for 51 yards.
“It was very good,” Sims said about the chemistry with the younger receivers. “They worked very hard in practice and we’re just happy that they came in and did what they had to do.
“Chris Black did a great job, Cam Sims too and ArDarius Stewart.”
Although Sims said he’d take the blame for his interception – his first in 158 attempts, the third longest streak in the Crimson Tide history – he essentially had two receivers run to the same spot, with the quarterback airing one out into the end zone for the easy pick.
Sims completed 17 of 26 attempts fro 222 yards and two touchdowns, while junior Jake Coker was 12 of 18 for 115 yards and a 12-yard touchdown pass to walk-on senior tight end Michael Nysewander.
“I thought he did better and managed the game better than the last time he got to play,” Saban said about Coker. “The guy made some really good throws out there.”
When freshman left tackle Cam Robinson headed to the locker room with a sprained ankle senior Austin Shepherd switched from right tackle to left tackle, with sophomore Grant Hill inserted.
The second-unit players, who will look to replace the three senior starters of Leon Brown, Arie Kouandjio and Shepherd, entered the game one series after Coker.
“On the defensive side, we probably played more players all year long. It was good to get those guys some opportunities,” Saban said before adding about linebacker Tim Williams and defensive lineman Josh Frazier recording sacks, “That was really good for them.
“I thought those guys did a pretty good job when they went in the game, in terms of the way they executed.”

They said it after Western Carolina at Alabama …sds

From Alabama sports information:


Nick Saban
“I don’t think that we started the game out the way we’d hoped to or how we planned. We wanted to maintain focus, and I thought the players did a really good job all week of practicing well and preparing for the game. It’s really up to me to make sure that the guys have the right psychological disposition when we come out and play a game. We just didn’t have much energy in the beginning of the game, and just didn’t have much energy and enthusiasm in pregame. As the game wore on, I thought our guys played better. I was proud of the way they competed throughout. Their (Western Carolina’s) players did a really good job in the game. They had a really good plan and did a really good job of executing it.
“It’s a good win for us. A lot of guys got to play, which is a good thing, because we haven’t had a lot of games this year where we’ve been able to play a lot of players. We obviously didn’t play some guys today while trying to get them well. T.J. Yeldon, DeAndrew White and Griff (Adam Griffith) probably could’ve played in the game if they had to, but we chose not to play them so they wouldn’t keep having reoccurring problems. We tried to use this as a window to get them healthy. Coop (Amari Cooper) just has a bruised knee. He could’ve gone back in the game and played – we don’t have a problem with him. A’Shawn Robinson has an ankle sprain and should be okay. Cam Robinson has an ankle sprain and should be okay. (Brian) Vogler and (ArDarius) Stewart both have stretched knee ligaments and are probably the guys that will be most questionable. Denzel Devall had an ankle (injury) in practice on Thursday. We held him out of the game and hopefully he’ll be back. That’s kind of the injury report.
“At this time of the year, other people have opportunities and need to step up. I thought some of the receivers did a really nice job. I thought Jake (Coker) did a really good job in there. We got to play a lot of defensive players, so it was a really good game from that standpoint.”
On reserve players that stood out in the game today:
“We played a lot of guys. Chris Black had some catches. I thought Tyren Jones did a good job of running the ball when he had the opportunity. Altee (Tenpenny) did okay, too. I already mentioned Jake (Coker) as a guy that did a good job. Robert Foster got to play a little bit; he’s got ability and he’s been making a lot of improvement. On the defensive side, we probably played more players all year long. It was good to get those guys some opportunities. I know a couple of those guys got sacks — No. 56 (Tim Williams) and No. 62 (Josh Frazier). That was really good for them. I thought those guys did a pretty good job when they went in the game, in terms of the way they executed.”
On keeping players focused on the game at hand and not looking forward:
“I obviously don’t have the answer to that question, so it’s more difficult than what I can figure out. We were as flat as a pancake when we went out there today, so I didn’t do a very good job. I really thought our guys practiced pretty well all week and didn’t look at this game as if, they really tried to keep focus. They tried to keep the momentum of what we’ve been doing going. But when we went out there for pregame warm-ups today, I was really surprised that we didn’t have a little more energy and a little more juice than we did. We had to play our way into it.”

Chris Black, Wide Receiver
On how the offense played and got into a rhythm:
“I think we did a pretty good job. I think the coaches are proud of how we kind of got things together after a while. Overall, I think everybody did great.”
On his first 100-yard game at Alabama:
“It feels great. I haven’t done that since high school, so it’s definitely something to be proud of and something to build on.”

Cyrus Jones, Defensive Back
On overcoming adversity after an early Western Carolina score:
“I just think it all comes with preparation. I just don’t think we prepared for those guys as we should have, and we didn’t do a good job of focusing on the opponent at the time. We got a lot of guys banged up, so it’s just important this week of practice to get everyone healthy and be ready to play Saturday.”

On focus and preparation for next week’s matchup with Auburn:
“It’s no secret how big of a game this is for us – the tradition, the whole community. It’s just big for us to come in and prepare like we are supposed to, to come out and put a good effort on the field.”

WESTERN CAROLINA
Head Coach Mark Speir
“Well, first of all, congratulations to Alabama. What a first-class organization. It starts right with the governor in this state, Robert Bentley-just a classy man-all the way down to the highway patrolmen, to everybody involved with this program and this state. People at The University of Alabama and the state of Alabama, do things right. There’s a reason why they’re No. 1 in the country, and I know the Catamounts wish them all the best in their efforts to win a National Championship.
“Coach Saban’s built a dynasty, and we got a lot of respect for that. We try to emulate a lot with what he does philosophy-wise. Congratulations to The University of Alabama. I wish them the best of luck and hope all their players are okay.
“As far as Western Carolina, I’m so proud of our football team. This has been a program that the last 20 years has been at the rock bottom. We have a group of seniors that have stuck it out through coaching changes and all, and to be able to win seven games: that’s the first time that’s happened, that’s only the 12th time in 84 years of history, 12th time a Catamount team has won seven. First time I believe since 1986 that a Western Carolina team has finished second in the conference, in the Southern Conference. So, that’s little bit about our where our program’s been. I’m proud of our guys to be able to come and battle the way our guys did the first half and take that opening drive and score. There’s a point there where you look up in the second quarter and you’re at the No. 1 school in the country, and its 17-14 and our guys are just battling. I’m just so proud of this group of men. I sat in the hotel this morning watching a bunch of guys that sit behind these microphones saying that FCS shouldn’t play a game like Alabama. There’s one guy, Coach Corso, he’s been here. That guy was the only guy that talks about an FCS playing Alabama. They’re a great school and because they played Western Carolina today, they’re still a great school, and they’re still going to win a National Championship.
“These fans were rocking today and there’s a little ole FCS school here. These kind of games, there’s Troy Mitchell, our quarterback, he got 93 yards today and became the single-season, total-yardage, career leader on the season for us. A guy from Mobile, Ala. Being quite honest, coming in the game, I didn’t know if we’d get 93 yards with him. But, how special is that going to be? That guy wouldn’t have got to go to college, get an education – and remember this – if you don’t play schools like Alabama. I hope we got Alabama ready to play for Auburn because we’re a similar kind of offense. I take it personal when they say that this is an embarrassment. Coach Saban had a lot of great things to say before and after the game about FCS playing the big boys. Alabama needed this game. Like I said, whether they win or lose, Alabama, I think those fans had a good time today. I’m just proud of FCS football. I’m proud of our football team, and I hope America doesn’t listen to a guy who sits behind a mic, who hadn’t ever done it. And guys get an education playing games like this. And playing games like this, we battled our butts off. Playing games like this, it gives people an opportunity to go to college and have a great memory. Troy (Mitchell) sits there and sets a record today at The University of Alabama. You tell me that isn’t special. I’ll get off my soapbox.
“I’m proud of our football team. I wish The University of Alabama luck, they’re classy people. You got a governor, who until the employment rate went down, he isn’t taking a paycheck. I wish some of those guys behind a mic would work for a living too, instead of putting their opinions out there. I love your governor here. I love this program here, and I’ll give you a ‘Roll Tide!’ Open for questions.”

On what’s going through the minds of the players after scoring on the first drive:
“They’re jacked up. They came here to play a big game. We told them, we came here two years ago with not a very good football team. From the time we got here, we were in the four-minute offense just trying to shorten that game. We came into this game saying, ‘Hey, our players are good. We’re a good football team, they’re good players. They deserve to go down there to play, and let’s go see what happens. Let’s go play ball.’ Our guys go right down, Troy (Mitchell) and these receivers and our running backs and our offensive line protecting, and that shows, maybe not for a 60-minute, we belong here. But I know Coach (Nick) Saban didn’t say take it easy on them, these are good ol’ boys. It gives us a lot of confidence that we can move the ball. If you can move it on Alabama, you can move it on anyone. That gave our guys confidence, and then we got a big turnover and punched it in. At 41-14, I kind of went with, ‘let’s have a little bit of fun and see if we can go get 21 on the board’. That was my fault, I shouldn’t have done that, but our kicker is a senior, and I wanted to try and get him a touchdown. We came into this game saying, ‘hey, we’re going to go play’. Our players deserve that, because what they’ve done and what they’ve built at Western (Carolina)…we’re trying to do what Alabama has done and that’s get to the top. I applaud our players. They are awesome.”


On Alabama being ranked No. 1 and if they have a good chance to win the national championship:
“Oh, no question. It’s hard. Before I got here, I was at Appalachian State; I was a part of that team that went in and we beat Michigan. It’s hard as a coach to get players to understand that this team coming in here is a pretty good football team and it’s hard to turn it on at halftime. We proved that when we went up to Michigan. I know Coach Saban and Alabama went in there and did a good job at halftime, regrouped, and came out and did what they were supposed to do. There’s no question. I hope all of those guys that were injured are okay. This was our Super Bowl and our guys don’t want to hurt anybody. Man, I hope we didn’t do anything to No. 9 (Amari Cooper) because you don’t want to be a part of putting them behind the eight-ball against Auburn. Yes, to answer your question, when you’re playing Nick Saban and Alabama, no question. Shoot, I’m pulling for them because this place is a class-act and we’re trying to emulate them. Sure, I think Alabama is the No. 1 team in the country and I hope they win it.”

Troy Mitchell, Quarterback
On scoring on the first drive:
“We came in, tried to have fun and we played our game. We moved the ball and ended up scoring. We just got out there and had fun.”
On being from Mobile, Ala., and playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium:
“To come back here and play is an honor. It was fun. My family came (for the game). To be here with my teammates and the seniors on the team was awesome.”

Spearman Robinson, Running Back
On if he thought Western Carolina was going to upset Alabama:
“We just went out and played Cat football. We came out and gave them a game. We run a no-huddle, high-tempo offense. We went out and moved the ball. We expected them to come back, because it is Alabama. At the same time, we wanted to come in and play our game.”

On if he thinks Alabama has a chance to win the National Championship:
“I give Alabama respect. They’re all-around (a good team). They played all four quarters.”