Category Archives: North Texas

Before I head out of Tuscaloosa, here’s a tease of what you can expect in Sunday’s paper.

By Michael Casagrande
sports@decaturdaily.com 340-2460

TUSCALOOSA ― For two weeks, the style points were missing from early-season Alabama wins.

Both counted. Neither was pretty.

But, as if on cue, the sun poked out from behind rain clouds as just before game time late Saturday morning. And what followed on the soggy Bryant-Denny Stadium turf gave Alabama reason to believe it was resolved its issue with starting slow.

The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide scored on seven of its first eight possessions as it pounded out-manned North Texas 53-7 on the Saturday. Timing was opportune coming a week before opening the Southeastern Conference season with Arkansas.

Having such a complete victory reassured Alabama coach Nick Saban.

“I feel like until today, I wondered: Was this team really going to fulfill its full potential?” Saban said. “Are they going to be responsible for their potential? I just wasn’t pleased with the lack of consistency we played with in the first two games. We played really well at times, and at other times, we didn’t, but I feel like we were much more solid today and we made some improvement. I know we have much bigger challenges coming up; the competition is going to get better.”

The flip card roster revealed a few interesting tidbits.

• Jerrell Harris not only won’t play Saturday, he isn’t even on the depth chart. The sophomore linebacker had been on the depth chart for the previous two games, now only Dont’a Hightower and true freshman Tana Patrick appear under Will linebacker. Harris has yet to be ruled eligible by the NCAA following an undisclosed rules violation.
• Julio Jones is listed atop the wide receiver depth chart. Whether or not he plays remains to be seen.
• At running back, Mark Ingram tops the list followed by Terry Grant or Roy Upchurch. Trent Richardson is fourth.

On a side note, the rain stopped and the sun actually peeked out for a few minutes. I am interested to see how many fans show up today with the game on T.V. and a non-conference opponent in town.