Quarterback grade: Jalen Hurts, 69.8
Hurts struggles through the air but does it all on the ground
If you look solely at his passing performance, it’s not a pretty sight for Alabama freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts. His accuracy was all over the place, and he threw a wobbly crossing route with 10:25 remaining in the second quarter that was one of the ugliest off-target passes you will ever see. As a runner, however, Hurts was on the complete opposite end of the scale. He averaged 14.3 yards per carry on 10 designed runs, and broke two tackles.
Top offensive grades:
C Bradley Bozema, 82.5
RG Lester Cotton, 77.7
WR ArDarius Stewart, 77.2
RT Jonah Williams, 76.1
LG Ross Pierschbacher, 73.7
Bama’s offensive line dominates
If 2015 Heisman-winning Bama running back Derrick Henry would have been running through holes like the ones created by the Tide offensive line Saturday a season ago, 3,000 yards wouldn’t have been out of his reach. Alabama runners averaged a ridiculous 4.9 yards before contact and totaled 235 such yards on the day. Right guard Lester Cotton was particularly impressive, as he bulldozed the Tennessee defensive tackles into the dirt on multiple ocassions.
Top defensive grades:
DT Jonathan Allen, 88.5
S Ronnie Harrison, 85.9
LB Shaun Dion Hamilton, 84.4
DT Dalvin Tomlinson, 83.2
OLB Ryan Anderson, 82.8
No weaknesses for Tennessee to exploit in Tide’s defense
All three levels of the Alabama defense came to play in this one. The defensive line pressured opposing quarterbacks on 18 of their 34 dropbacks, the linebackers didn’t miss a single tackle while combining for eight stops, and the secondary broke up three passes to go along with a pick-six. Cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick was the only starter to finish the day with a below-average grade.
Bama Game Thread: Bama Gymnastics - NCAA Championship Semi-finals (ESPN2 | 4/18 @ 8pm CT)
No. 1 Visits Tuscaloosa for Second Straight Week as Alabama Hosts Top-Ranked Texas A&M