Alabama rebounds like no other in college football

Alabama tailback Derrick Henry celebrates with fans after Saturday's 29-13 win at Auburn, which was the ninth straight victory for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama tailback Derrick Henry celebrates with fans after Saturday's 29-13 win at Auburn, which was the ninth straight victory for the Crimson Tide.

Tide, take three

1. Alabama holds a 24-14 series edge over Florida but is 3-4 against the Gators in SEC title games.2. The Crimson Tide lead the nation in rushing defense, allowing 78.9 yards per game and 2.47 yards per carry.3. Alabama is making its 10th SEC title-game appearance, which trails only Florida, which is making its 11th.

SEC players of the week

OFFENSIVE: Alabama running back Derrick Henry, who rushed a career-high 46 times for a career-best 271 yards against the Auburn Tigers, who had 260 total yards.DEFENSIVE: LSU defensive back Deion Jones, who compiled 11 tackles, two pass breakups and 1.5 tackles for lost yardage during his final game inside Tiger Stadium.SPECIAL TEAMS: Alabama kicker Adam Griffith from Calhoun, Ga., who was 5-for-5 in field-goal attempts at Auburn, including from 47 and 50 yards. He also kicked seven touchbacks.FRESHMAN: LSU defensive end Arden Key, who had eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss on a unit that limited Texas A&M to 250 yards in the Tigers' 19-7 win.OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: Tennessee left tackle Kyler Kerbyson, who helped pave the way for 331 rushing yards and 523 total yards in the 53-28 victory over Vanderbilt.DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, who had four tackles and 1.5 sacks on a unit that sacked Dak Prescott seven times in the Egg Bowl.DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: Arkansas defensive end Deatrich Wise, who had a sack for a fourth consecutive game and also forced a fumble in the 28-3 win over Missouri.

On the night of Sept. 19, Alabama was unraveling against Ole Miss inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Five Crimson Tide turnovers. An ill-advised pass by the Rebels ricocheting off an Alabama helmet and resulting in a long touchdown. A 43-37 loss, and a flood of opinions that Alabama's dynasty under Nick Saban was at an end.

"We had to stay locked in and stay focused," Alabama junior tailback Derrick Henry said after Saturday's 29-13 win at Auburn. "We got that loss, and we didn't want to lose anymore, so everyone just kept working hard in practice."

The Iron Bowl triumph was Alabama's ninth consecutive victory and kept the Crimson Tide well-positioned for a second consecutive berth in college football's four-team playoff. The No. 2 Tide (11-1) can reach the playoff with a win Saturday over No. 18 Florida (10-2) in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.

Rebounds are typically reserved for basketball, but no team seems to bounce back better in the autumn months than Alabama.

The 2011 Crimson Tide rebounded from an overtime loss to LSU in early November and won the national championship. The 2012 Tide recovered from an early-November loss to Texas A&M to capture the national title, and last year's Alabama team lost to Ole Miss in early October before winning eight straight to reach the inaugural playoff.

"I don't really know exactly what our ability has been to do that," Saban said. "I think our players have always responded, and we sort of approach every game the same as far as what its importance is and what they need to do in terms of being well-prepared. Sometimes players are a little more apt to respond when things don't go well."

Said senior linebacker Reggie Ragland: "Our backs were against the wall the whole year, so we had to come out and be mentally tough. That's what our guys did."

Alabama's win at Auburn clinched a fifth consecutive 7-1 record in SEC play for the Crimson Tide. The only instance in which the Tide didn't regroup after a loss occurred in 2013, when Alabama lost a 34-28 Iron Bowl thriller that catapulted Gus Malzahn's Tigers to a league championship and a berth in the final BCS title game.

The Tide have won eight of their last nine games by double digits, with the 19-14 escape of Tennessee on Oct. 24 the lone exception.

"It's just a testament for how Coach Saban trains and how he teaches the season," Florida first-year coach and former Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain said. "No matter what happens, you've got to win the now, and if you start worrying about stuff, that's when clutter starts jumping in, and you don't focus on what you need to do to win.

"The consistency of what he's done year in and year out is hard to do in college football, and he's gotten his players to learn from games and move forward. They continually get better year in and year out, and it was fun to be a part of that and see how he does that."

Tide tidbits

Alabama is a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, which is given annually to the nation's top offensive line, along with Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Stanford. Senior outside linebacker Denzel Devall, who sprained his knee at Auburn, was not spotted by reporters in Monday's 75-minute workout. Florida redshirt junior defensive end Alex McCalister (foot) will not play in Atlanta, McElwain said Monday.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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