LEXINGTON, Ky. -
Quarterback AJ McCarron passed for a career-high 359 yards and
linebacker C.J. Mosley led a suffocating performance by the Alabama
defense as top-ranked Alabama (6-0 overall; 3-0 in the Southeastern
Conference) smothered Kentucky (1-5 overall; 0-3 SEC) Saturday night
before a crowd of 69,873 at Commonwealth Stadium.
McCarron
completed 21 of 35 pass attempts, including one touchdown, and the
Alabama offense churned out 668 total yards while producing two
100-yard rushing performances and a 300-yard passer in the same game
for the first time in the Crimson Tide's illustrious football history.
Running backs T.J. Yeldon (16 rushes, 124 yards, 2 touchdowns) and
Kenyan Drake (14 for 106, 2 TDs) became the 16th Alabama duo to surpass
the century mark in the same game. The Tide tied a school record for
first downs in a game with 35, equaling the mark set against Western
Carolina in 2007.
Mosley led the Alabama defense with seven
tackles, and engineered a performance that held Kentucky to 170 total
yards (94 rushing, 76 passing). Alabama controlled the ball for 35
minutes, 59 seconds on the night.
Alabama won the coin toss and
chose to receive the opening kickoff. Christion Jones returned the
kickoff for 21 yards and the Tide set up shop at its 21-yard line. T.J.
Yeldon took a handoff on first down and gained a yard. On second down,
McCarron completed a wide receiver screen pass to DeAndrew White, who
split several defenders and gained 16 yards for a first down at the
Tide 38. After an incomplete pass on first down, Yeldon took a short
pass for nine yards to the Tide 47 to set up third-and-one. Yeldon
gained the first down via a three-yard run to the 50. On first down,
McCarron's pass was incomplete. On second down, Yeldon gained three on
a rush. On third-and-seven, McCarron passed to a wide open Kenny Bell
across the middle, but Bell couldn't hold on and Alabama had to punt.
Mandell punted 47 yards into the end zone and Kentucky set up its
offense at its own 20.
After
a Kentucky punt, Alabama took the next possession and marched 52 yards
to the Kentucky 13 before a Kenyan Drake fumble ended the drive. The
Tide defense forced another Kentucky three-and-out and Jones took the
punt from the Tide 35 to the UA 48. Kentucky starting quarterback Jalen
Whitlow was injured on the possession and left the game.
On
first down, Yeldon ran for three yards into Kentucky territory at the
49. Then Yeldon gained nine more on a rush to the Wildcats 40. After
another Yeldon rush for four yards, McCarron hit a wide open tight end
O.J. Howard on a wheel route for a 25-yard gain to the UK 11. On first
down, Yeldon found running room at left tackle but fumbled when hit at
the UK 5. Linebacker Avery Williamson recovered for Kentucky at the
one-yard line.
The Wildcats' turned to backup quarterback
Maxwell Smith, who led the Cats to a couple of first downs before the
Tide defense forced another punt, which went out of bounds at the Tide
26. After an incompletion and a four-yard run by Yeldon, an illegal
substitution penalty on Kentucky changed a third-and-six into a
third-and-one that Yeldon converted via a short rush. On the next play,
McCarron and Howard connected again, this time for 12 yards to the Tide
49. A long pass to Jones was broken up at the goal line, but the
incompletion was erased by a 15-yard penalty for illegal hands to the
face by Kentucky, setting up Alabama at the Wildcat 36. A six-yard run
by Yeldon moved the Tide to the UK 30 as the first quarter ended.
On
the first play of the second quarter, Yeldon was wide open on a pass
play but dropped what surely would have been a touchdown. A pass to
White gained six before McCarron hit Amari Cooper for 10 yards to the
UK 14. A Yeldon rush gained four and another run by Yeldon gained two
before an incompletion forced a 25-yard field goal attempt by Cade
Foster. Foster's kick was true to give the Tide a 3-0 lead with 13:08
left in the second quarter.
The Tide defense forced another
Kentucky punt that Jones fielded at the Tide 27 and weaved 30 yards
behind good blocking to the UK 43. On the first play, McCarron faked a
handoff and threw deep to receiver Kevin Norwood who made a leaping
catch in double coverage for a 42-yard gain to the UK one-yard line. On
the next play, Drake took a handoff over left tackle for a touchdown.
Foster's kick gave Alabama a 10-0 lead with 9:50 left in the second
quarter.
Another
punt by Kentucky went out of bounds at the Tide 12 with 8:50 left in
the second period. On first down, Drake took a handoff and bulled for
10 yards to a first down at the Tide 22. McCarron gained two yards when
he was flushed from the pocket on an intended pass play.
Drake
took a McCarron screen pass for 11 yards and a first down on a
third-and-four play to the Tide 39. After an incompletion, McCarron
rushed for six more after being flushed from the pocket again. On
third-and-four, McCarron passed to Norwood for six yards and a first
down at the UK 49. Drake gained one on a run before McCarron connected
with Jones on consecutive pass plays for 10 and 14 to the UK 24. After
an incompletion, Yeldon took a handoff to the left side and ran 24
yards for a touchdown. Foster's kick gave the Tide a 17-0 lead with
3:39 left in the second quarter. The 88-yard drive took 12 plays and
consumed 5:11 of game clock.
After a Kentucky punt, Alabama took
over at its 30 with 2:11 left in the first half. Drake ran for 11 on
first down to the Tide 41. McCarron then passed to Norwood for 13 yards
to the UK 46 and a 15-yard facemask penalty moved the ball to the
Wildcat 31. McCarron and Drake hooked up for 24 yards to the UK seven
before an incomplete pass set up second-and-goal from there. A false
start by Alabama created second-and-goal at the 12. Drake took a
handoff and bulled for 11 yards to the UK one-yard line, then leaped
over right guard for a one-yard touchdown behind a block by freshman
guard Grant Hill. The score gave the Tide a 24-0 lead following
Foster's kick with 27 seconds left in the first half.
After
forcing a Kentucky punt to start the second half, the Alabama offense
powered 79 yards in four plays to a touchdown. After a dropped pass on
the first play, Yeldon rushed for 34 yards to the Kentucky 45. On the
next play, Cooper took a short McCarron pass and weaved for 42 yards to
the Kentucky three-yard line. Yeldon took a handoff on the next play,
slipped out of a tackle in the backfield, avoided another tackler, then
bulled through three more defenders for a three-yard touchdown run.
Foster's kick gave Alabama a 31-0 lead with 11:38 left in the third
quarter.
Kentucky's offense put together a scoring drive of its
own in response to the Tide's score. The Cats drove 75 yards in nine
plays to a score on a 30-yard pass play from Smith to Javess Blue. Joe
Mansour's kick was good and the Wildcats had narrowed the margin to
31-7 with 7:05 left in the third period.
Alabama then marched 70
yards in 12 plays to the Kentucky two-yard line before settling for a
field goal. McCarron passed to Jones for nine yards. Drake rushed for
eight more to the Tide 45. McCarron had a 40-yard hookup to White to
the UK 15 but the play was erased by a holding penalty that moved the
ball back to the Tide 35. McCarron passed to Cooper for 12, then to
White again for 30 to the UK 19. After an incompletion, Drake ran for
four yards to the UK 14, then took a McCarron pass for nine more to the
UK five-yard line. After a Drake rush for three yards to the Wildcat
two-yard line, an incompletion on third-and-goal set up Foster's
20-yard field goal with 1:10 left in the third period.
After a
punt, the Tide raced 80 yards in four plays to another touchdown. A
12-yard run by Yeldon started the four-play march, followed by a
21-yard pass from McCarron to Yeldon to the UK 47. McCarron then
connected for 27 yards with DeAndrew White to the UK 20 and capped the
drive with a 20-yard scoring pass to Norwood. Foster's kick gave the
Tide a 41-7 lead with 10:04 left in the game. On the drive, McCarron
surpassed 300 passing yards for the game marking the first time in
Alabama history that a quarterback has thrown for 300 yards in the same
game in which two Tide rushers surpassed 100 yards individually on the
ground.
The reserves took over for Alabama on the next
possession and moved to another touchdown, going 57 yards in 12 plays.
Reserve running back Altee Tenpenny rushed five times for 21 yards on
the drive, scoring on a seven-yard run for a touchdown. That gave the
Tide a 48-7 lead after Foster's kick with 1:41 remaining.
Game Notes:
Alabama Captains
•
Alabama's captains for tonight's game at Kentucky were AJ McCarron,
C.J. Mosley and Kenny Bell. The Crimson Tide won the coin toss and
elected to receive the opening kickoff.
Series Notes
•
With the win, Alabama is 36-2-1 against Kentucky and has won five
straight in the series. The Tide now boasts a 16-2 record in the state
of Kentucky (15-2 in Lexington & 1-0 in Louisville).
General Notes
•
Alabama now holds a 17-game winning streak away from Bryant-Denny
Stadium, which is the longest active streak in the FBS. The 17-game
streak includes both true road games and neutral-site games and dates
back to a 24-21 loss at LSU on Nov. 6, 2010.
• Under head coach
Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide has held opponents to 10 points or fewer
44 times since the start of the 2007 season. Alabama has shut out the
opposition 11 times during the Saban era.
• For the seventh time
in its last 10 games, Alabama has held its opponent scoreless in the
first half. In addition to today's game, the Crimson Tide shut out
Georgia State (Oct. 5, 2013), Ole Miss (Sept. 28, 2013), Colorado State
(Sept. 21, 2013), Notre Dame (Jan. 7, 2013), Auburn (Nov. 24, 2012) and
Western Carolina (Nov. 17, 2012) during the first two quarters of play.
•
With Cade Foster's 25-yard field goal in the second quarter, Alabama
has scored in 162 consecutive games - the longest streak in program
history.
• Attendance for tonight's game was 69,873.
Offensive Notes
•
For the first time in program history, Alabama had a 300-yard passer
and two 100-yard rushers in the same game. AJ McCarron finished with a
career-best 359 yards passing, while Kenyan Drake and T.J. Yeldon added
106 yards and 124 yards rushing, respectively.
• Kenyan Drake
and T.J. Yeldon both eclipsed the 100-yard rushing milestone, marking
the 16th time in Alabama history that a pair of Tide rushers has done
so in the same game. It is also the third time in the last eight games
it has occurred, with Eddie Lacy and Yeldon achieving the feat against
Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship game and against Georgia in
the SEC Championship.
• The Tide's 668 yards of total offense is
the most for Alabama in the series, surpassing the previous high of 464
set on Sept. 13, 2003.
• AJ McCarron finished the game with 359
yards passing, bringing him to 7,306 yards for his career. McCarron is
now 618 shy of John Parker Wilson (7,924) for No. 1 on the Tide's
career passing leaders list.
Defensive Notes
• The
Alabama defense limited Kentucky to only 62 yards of total offense in
the first half (21 passing, 41 rushing). Kentucky was 0-6 in third down
attempts and had only four first downs.
• The Crimson Tide did not allow Kentucky to cross the 50-yard line until its second drive of the third quarter.
•
C.J. Mosley continues to lead the Crimson Tide defense, finishing with
a team-high seven tackles. The senior linebacker now has 48 total
tackles on the season.
• In head coach Nick Saban's 86-game
tenure at Alabama, the Crimson Tide has limited opponents to under 300
yards of total offense 57 times, or 66.3 percent of the time.
•
During head coach Nick Saban's last 74 games at the Capstone (since the
start of the 2008 season), the Crimson Tide defense has held the
opposing offense to fewer than 200 yards of total offense 28 times.
Special Teams Notes
•
Kicker Cade Foster set a career high for points in a game with 12.
Foster had two field goals, first from 25 yards, then from 20 yards,
and six extra points.
Quotes:
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
Opening statement …
“I’ve
had some tough games up here and we knew coming up here that we would
face a very motivated team. Coach (Mark) Stoops comes from a really
good coaching family. I knew his dad for years and years. I have a
tremendous amount of respect and I think he’s done a great job with his
players because they play hard. We’re just trying to do things the Bama
way and that’s what we’re trying to get our guys to do. Play physical,
play with effort and play with more toughness. We need to improve and
try to dominate the competition, I think we did that tonight, but I
also thought we made a lot of mistakes. We turned the ball over a
couple times, dropped some passes. If you want to be the best, you
can’t be satisfied with that, so there are some things we definitely
need to improve on. I was really proud of the way we dominated the line
of scrimmage. Offensively, A.J. (McCarron) had a really good game. We
made a lot of plays; we made a lot of explosive plays. Everybody has to
be accountable to do their role, so we can be the best team we can be.
I think we’re a better team now than we were (before the game). We’re
making improvements, but I still think there are things we need to
continue to work on.”
On the explosive plays tonight…
“We
have a pretty good group of receivers and we have a couple of pretty
good running backs, so we want to involve as many of those players as
we possibly can. I thought early in the game we didn’t get the
receivers involved in the game like we needed to, but they certainly
made some big plays in the second half as the game wore on. A.J.
(McCarron) obviously does a very good job of making decisions and
choices with the ball. Some guys made some plays out there, but we also
dropped some balls that would have been critical. We stopped ourselves
the first three drives of the game. We dropped a third down, wide-open
big play. We drove into the red zone twice and fumbled it. We need to
improve on those things, but we were still dominating the game. We were
dominating the line of scrimmage. People say ‘what happened early in
the game’? Well, nothing happened early in the game, we fumbled the
ball, that’s what happened. We moved it right down the field and
fumbled the ball, but I’m pleased with the way our skill guys are
playing. I think they have a lot of confidence in A.J. and I think he
has a lot of confidence in them.”
On if he is pleased with how the defense is improving…
“We’ve
had a lot of missing parts and we’ve had to move guys around a lot, but
we think the players have done a good job adapting each week. I think
we’ve started three or four different guys at corner. In the front
seven, we’ve had a couple guys get injured, so every guy that has had
to step up and play for us has done a really good job. I think C.J.
Mosley has done a fantastic job of being a leader. That has a really
made a big difference in our development and how players work in
practice. I still think we have a long way to go. It would be nice to
get some continuity so we could get guys back to practicing the roles they are used to. I think our focus has to be on continuing to get better in the future.”
On how the running backs recovered from the two fumbles early in the game:
“I
thought they did pretty well, they didn’t fumble anymore. They ran the
ball well; we had two backs over 100 yards. I think that says a lot
about the offensive line and the job they did, but I thought both guys
ran well. We haven’t had a lot of turnovers this year and we haven’t
fumbled the ball a lot. That’s something we really don’t ever need to
have happen and I think if our guys want to be the best, those are the
kind of things they have to eliminate.”
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