Monthly Archives: September 2012

Christion Jones returns a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. (Copyright photo by Jeronimo Nisa of The Decatur Daily)

Gameday photos

Click here and here for galleries of pictures by Jeronimo Nisa of The Decatur Daily. These also will be stored under the “2012 Photos” tab at the top of the page, but just in case you’re not in the habit of checking there, I wanted to make sure you would see these.

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Derrick Lassic during a pregame ceremony honoring the 1992 national championship team Saturday night. (Copyright photo by Jeronimo Nisa of The Decatur Daily)

This is my column for today’s print editions:

—

TUSCALOOSA — Twenty years have passed since Derrick Lassic helped run Alabama to a 13-0 season and a national title, but it feels like yesterday to the former All-SEC running back.

These days, Lassic sits in the stands for two or three games a year instead of pulling on a No. 25 Alabama football jersey, but he said that other than that, it doesn’t seem like that much has changed for the Crimson Tide since 1992.
 
Lassic said it’s fun and kind of satisfying to see that Alabama still is winning consistently today under Nick Saban as his Crimson Tide team did under Gene Stallings.
 
And Alabama is doing it the same way: Strong defense, a powerful running game out of a pro-style set and a business-like approach to every game on the schedule. That includes Saturday night’s game against Ole Miss.
 
“Coach Stallings came to us from the NFL, too, like Coach Saban did,” said Lassic, 42, who was the Sugar Bowl most valuable player of the Tide’s title-clinching win over Miami.
 
“We won a certain way and went out it a certain way, and they do the same now.”

On Saturday, Lassic was in Tuscaloosa, participating in a golf chipping challenge outside of Bryant-Denny Stadium, which was sponsored by Travelers and benefitted Saban’s Nick’s Kids Fund charity.
 
Even though Lassic couldn’t quite chip the golf ball into a hole, he still gave about 200 fans a good show. He laughed at himself and cut up with fans. He still has the big smile, the fun personality and love of Alabama. He came to Tuscaloosa back in the late 1980s from Haverstraw, N.Y., but as he points out, “I live in Atlanta. I’m a Southerner now.”
 
And if you want to see him deliver the same big laugh that he had 20 years ago, just ask him this: What was it like to watch Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson play for Alabama recently and try to be the second best running back in school history?
 
“I makes me proud to see them do well,” Lassic said. “What I like most is that they not only were good players on the field for Alabama but you never heard bad things about them off the field. That’s the way I tried to be.
 
“I guess with them, we’re Running Back U.”
 
The big smile returned, and he added, “I’m glad to be a part of that.”
 
Lassic said that hardly a day goes by when he doesn’t think about something that happened during that 1992 season.
 
“It was a dream come true,” he said. “It was the 100th year of Alabama football. We hadn’t won a national championship in a while. It was great to bring one back to Alabama.”
 
He had hoped the winning would continue at Alabama, but even though it didn’t for a stretch, he’s happy where the Crimson Tide is now.
 
“We had some lean years after we left, but now we’re back on top,” he said. “Schools like Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan — you’re used to seeing them on top of college football.”
 
After Lassic finished at Alabama, he spent two years with the Dallas Cowboys and a year with the Carolina Panthers. He played in 10 games as a rookie but a knee injury kept him off the field after that — except for a small part as an extra in the 1999 football movie “Any Given Sunday.”
 
During his time in the NFL, Saban was the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator.
 
“I didn’t know him then, but I’ve met him a couple of times,” Lassic said. “He’s big on focus. He’s very focused.”

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Alabama’s T.J. Yeldon battles for yards. (Copyright photo by Jeronimo Nisa of The Decatur Daily)

It’s unanimous. Finally.

All 60 voters in The Associated Press poll have put Alabama at No. 1 on their ballots today.

The last holdout, Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News, moved the Crimson Tide to first after having LSU No. 1 the previous week.

Alabama is No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll, too, but the Tide didn’t sweep all the first-place votes. Alabama was No. 1 on 57 of 59 ballots. LSU and Florida State got one No. 1 vote apiece.

In the AP poll, Oregon is No. 2, Florida State third, LSU fourth, Georgia fifth and South Carolina sixth.

The coaches have Oregon second, LSU third, Florida State fourth, Georgia fifth and South Carolina sixth.

This marks Alabama’s fifth straight week at No. 1, which is matched by a five-week stretch at the top in 2008. Only three other stretches in Tide history beat that.

Alabama was No. 1 for seven weeks in a row in 1979, 1980 and 2009-10 (last two of 2009 and first five of 2010).

Click here for both polls in full. That link takes you to the poll page on this blog.

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Jesse Williams (54) and Nick Perry (27) after Perry brought down the Ole Miss quarterback for a loss. (Copyright photo by Jeronimo Nisa of The Decatur Daily)

The Commercial Appeal of Memphis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It wasn’t a blowout, or an embarrassment, or a devastating loss that could affect a football team for the rest of the season.

Instead, there was a tangible measure of improvement for Ole Miss, even in a 33-14 Southeastern Conference loss at No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Alabama on Saturday night in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

After almost a 12-minute meltdown in the second quarter when Alabama rang up three touchdowns, one on a 99-yard kickoff return and two following Ole Miss interceptions, the 30-point underdog Rebels (3-2, 0-1 in the SEC’s Western Division) showed enough moxie to give Alabama (5-0, 2-0 in the SEC West) its closest call by far this season.

Ole Miss even became the first team to take a lead on Alabama since Tennessee did so last October. The Rebels of first-year coach Hugh Freeze managed that when Jeff Scott scored on a 1-yard run and Bryson Rose added an extra point kick twenty seconds into the second quarter for a 7-6 lead.

But the Rebels’ one-point advantage lasted 15 seconds. Fired up, the Ole Miss kickoff coverage team sprinted too deep downfield and didn’t break down into the return lanes. Alabama’s Christion Jones found an opening and didn’t quit running until he had scored on a 99-yard return with 13:25 left before the half.

The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss.
TUSCALOOSA — For 15 seconds Saturday night, Ole Miss led the No. 1 team in the country.

Then Alabama got the ball back, and Christion Jones ran a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. With that went any of Ole Miss’ hopes of beating the Crimson Tide on Saturday, even if the Rebels kept on coming at the defending national champions during a 33-14 loss.

What stuck out to Ole Miss was the three second-quarter turnovers, which may have prevented a surprisingly close game from being more than that.

“They kill you,” said quarterback Bo Wallace, who threw two interceptions. “Put a defense in a bad spot. I don’t really have much else to say about. I killed my defense.”

The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss.
TUSCALOOSA — Ole Miss defensive coordinator Dave Wommack admitted last week he would have to get bigger in the box against Alabama.

He did, abandoning his base 4-2-5 defense for long stretches of the game in favor of a more traditional 4-3 defense. Alabama ended up rushing for 134 yards on 24 carries against Ole Miss’ defense, which gave up 354 yards on the ground to Texas while playing the 4-2-5.

Junior Joel Kight started at outside linebacker, replacing huskie Dehendret Collins. Kight, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 222 pounds, has been the backup to Mike Marry at middle linebacker. Denzel Nkemdiche started on the other side of Marry.

SB Nation
here was nothing spectacular about Alabama’s win over Ole Miss. There didn’t need to be.

After a 15-second lead that Ole Miss took early in the second quarter, there was never really a moment in this game where Alabama’s lead was in doubt. The Rebels did cut their deficit to 27-14 with a touchdown in the third quarter, and you started to think that another score might make something interesting. But another score never came.

Instead, it was Alabama doing what Alabama sometimes does in games like this: Slowly put them further and further out of reach. AJ McCarron had some ups and downs in this game, but he ended up 22-of-30 for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Eddie Lacy ground out 82 yards on 19 carries. Freshman wideout Amari Cooper had a breakout game, catching eight passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, struggled to get anything going against the Tide defense. The Rebels barely cleared the 200-yard mark and averaged just 2.3 yards per carry on the ground. They threw three interceptions. Any hopes of an upset generally came from the defense, which actually didn’t do that poorly when you look indicators like Alabama’s total offense (305 yards).

Oxford (Miss.) Eagle
Two weeks after getting beat by 35 points by then No. 14 Texas, the Ole Miss Rebels performed much better against the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday night.Ole Miss may have lost 33-14 to Alabama in its Southeastern Conference opener at Bryant-Denny Stadium, but the feeling after the game was more upbeat thanks to a much more physical showing on defense and offense.

The Rebels (3-2 overall) made some mistakes and had several gaffes on special teams, but coach Hugh Freeze like the effort and attitude of his team compared to the game with the Longhorns. Ole Miss led 7-6 early in the second quarter when Jeff Scott scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive. The Rebels’ lead was short lived, however, as Alabama’s Christion Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to put Alabama back ahead to stay.

Ole Miss played three quarterbacks — Randall Mackey saw some snaps in both halves – and finished with 218 total yards against a defense that was only allowing 185 to opponents coming in and ranked No. 3 overall in the nation. The Rebels also held Alabama’s vaunted running game in check as they only gave up 125 yards on 34 carries.

Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — No. 1 Alabama actually trailed for a change, a predicament that lasted a grand total of 15 seconds.

Amari Cooper caught two touchdown passes from AJ McCarron and Christion Jones returned a kickoff 99 yards for another score, leading the Crimson Tide to a 33-14 victory over Mississippi Saturday night after a rare and early deficit.

The Tide (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed briefly, 7-6, for the first time in regulation since last year’s Tennessee game, a span of about 10 games. The Rebels (3-2, 0-1) put up a fight against a team that had been walloping opponents by nearly 37 points on average, but still lost their ninth straight SEC opener.

“It was a hard-fought win for us,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I think people probably don’t give Ole Miss enough credit. They played hard. They were physical. Their offense is difficult to defend.”

Sports Network
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sports Network) – AJ McCarron threw a pair of touchdown passes to Amari Cooper and No. 1 Alabama handled Ole Miss, 33-14, on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

McCarron completed 22-of-30 passes for 180 yards without an interception and Cooper finished with 84 yards on eight catches for the Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0 SEC).

“Coop did an excellent job for us running the right routes and being on time,” said McCarron. “We had good chemistry the whole night, so we definitely were good in that area.”

Christion Jones returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the win, while Eddie Lacy had 19 carries for 82 yards and Jeremy Shelley went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts.

Bo Wallace threw for 123 yards with two interceptions on 15-of-26 passing for the Rebels (3-2, 0-1), who were coming off a 39-0 shutout of Tulane.

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As usual, Alabama coach Nick Saban provided an injury report after Saturday’s 33-14 win over Ole Miss:

–Noseguard Brandon Ivory (ankle) did not play.

–Wide receiver DeAndrew White hurt his knee, was taken to the locker room on a cart and eventually returned in street clothes. Saban said he will be evaluated Sunday.

“He was really playing well for us on special teams and really playing his position well offensively,” Saban said.

–Running back Dee Hart has a possible knee injury, and Saban said he will be evaluated Sunday. Hart left the field but he returned in uniform with about three minutes left in the game, although he didn’t return to the action.

Late Saturday night, Hart posted on his Twitter account: “Easy with the rumors I’m A1.”

–Tide cornerback Deion Belue hurt his shoulder and didn’t return to the game.

“I don’t think that’s serious,” Saban said. “It’s a week or two type deal. He’s hurting right now, but I don’t really feel like it’s something that’s going to keep him out for a long time.”

Fortunately for Belue, Alabama is off next Saturday.

–Defensive end Ed Stinson left the game with an apparent leg injury late in the fourth quarter, but Saban didn’t address him.

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Want to watch the replay of Alabama’s 33-14 win over Ole Miss?

ESPN3 has it online, and you can see it here. The link will take you to a menu page, and you can navigate to Alabama/Ole Miss from there.

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We have highlights for you from Alabama’s 33-14 win over Ole Miss. It was the Tide’s closest game of the season, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of good things for Alabama fans to see.

This video is about a minute and comes from the professionals at ESPN, which is kind enough to make them available for me to post here:

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Nobody has connected like Alabama’s Jeremy Shelley this season.

He hasn’t missed a kick this year and put together his best game of the year Saturday as the Crimson Tide beat Ole Miss 33-14.

He made field goals of 38, 38, 26 and 24 yards. He also booted through three extra points.

For the year, he is 7 of 7 on field goals and 24 of 24 on extra points. Even last season, when he was awfully good, he wasn’t at this level.

He managed 115 points last year, which is the fifth highest total in school history, making 52 of 54 extra pointsa nd 21 of 27 field goals.

Fans gather for Alabama’s Walk of Champions, even though it was about 90 minutes before the team arrived.

There just seems to be a little more excitement in the stadium. The fans sound a little louder. They’re cheering more before the game.

Outside the stadium, the place was packed four hours before kickoff. At the Walk of Champions, a pretty good crowd had gathered about 90 minutes before the team arrived.

Alabama had a pretty decent number of recruits come to tonight’s game, and certainly, this is what the Tide coaches wanted them to see.

We had some rain about an hour before kickoff, but it’s dry now.

On the injury front, noseguard Brandon Ivory (ankle) doesn’t appear able to play tonight. Wide receiver Kevin Norwood (ankle), who played only sparingly at the start of last week’s game, is going through pregame warmups.

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