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Tour de Rock @ Burns Park — 06/01
Some brave cyclists endured the rain and rode a modified 30, 50 and 68 miles while organizers canceled the Fun Ride and 100-mile event.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - What took so long?
Top-ranked Alabama continued its impressive march through the college football season Saturday with a 33-14 trampling of No. 6 Texas A&M before a packed house of 101,821 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide won their 20th consecutive game dating back to last year's loss to Ole Miss and scored a non-offensive touchdown for a 10th straight game in a streak that also dates to last season.
A 30-yard fumble return by Alabama senior defensive end Jonathan Allen put Alabama (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) up 26-14 with 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter, making it the latest point in a game this season in which the defense or special teams scored.
"We really don't think about it," Allen said. "We just go out there and try to do our job, and if the opportunity presents itself, you just have to take advantage of it. That's what we did."
Alabama has nine defensive and three special-teams scores this season, and its streak of non-offensive touchdowns is the longest in at least the last 20 years. Florida, in last year's Southeastern Conference championship game, was the last team to keep Alabama from scoring on defense or special teams.
Crimson Tide linebacker Ryan Anderson ripped the ball from Texas A&M tailback Keith Ford, causing the fumble that Allen collected for his second score this season.
"It was a long-yardage situation, and we had guys coming off the edges," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "They ran kind of a counter type of play. We had good edges, somebody knocked the ball out, and I think that was the real turning point of the game. Those plays are always huge in games, but that one was especially huge in this game."
Said Allen: "It was a great defensive play, and you've got to give a lot of credit to Ryan."
A 37-yard touchdown run by Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts made it 33-14 with 12:27 remaining in the game.
Texas A&M trailed 13-7 at halftime but went ahead by zipping 75 yards in six plays, grabbing a 14-13 advantage on Trevor Knight's 25-yard touchdown pass to Christian Kirk. Knight had a 33-yard completion to Jeremy Tabuyo to set up the score.
That marked Alabama's first deficit since the early stages of the second half at Ole Miss on Sept. 17.
"Honestly, a lot of people didn't know," Tide sophomore tailback Damien Harris said after a 125-yard rushing performance. "The coaches always talk about not looking at the scoreboard, and we've been in situations like that before this year and have come from behind. Even though we were down, we knew we could build some momentum and make some positive plays to try and influence the game."
Alabama responded with a 14-play, 77-yard drive that consumed six minutes and 21 seconds and culminated with a 4-yard pass from Hurts to Calvin Ridley at the 6:33 mark of the third quarter. Hurts had a third-and-10 pass sail incomplete from Alabama's 34-yard line during the possession, but Aggies linebacker Shaan Washington was flagged for roughing the passer after pushing Hurts by the facemask.
"We got a break on the roughing the passer that gave us a first down on third down, but we took advantage of it," Saban said. "We scored a touchdown in the red zone, which was really, really important."
Alabama took the game's opening possession 60 yards in nine plays and took its second drive 62 yards in 13 plays before settling on 32- and 28-yard field goals by Adam Griffith and a 6-0 lead. The Crimson Tide did not settle for anything on their third possession, swiftly moving 88 yards on nine plays - a 30-yard Harris run to the Texas A&M 15 was the big gain - and went up 13-0 on a 5-yard pass from Hurts to tight end O.J. Howard.
A 45-yard pass from Hurts to ArDarius Stewart to the Aggies; 30-yard line with 4:30 remaining in the half put Alabama in position to break the game open, but the Tide stalled and came away empty when Griffith missed a 29-yard attempt.
Texas A&M awoke after the Griffith miss, driving 80 yards in eight plays and pulling within 13-7 on a 9-yard pass from Knight to Josh Reynolds with 38 seconds left in the half. Knight had a 25-yard pass to Ricky Seals-Jones to get the Aggies across midfield, and he kept on fourth-and-2 from the Alabama 36-yard line for 27 yards to the 9.
The Tide drove to Texas A&M's 35-yard line with five seconds left in the half, but they were flagged for procedure, and Hurts was intercepted on a Hail Mary attempt as the half expired.
"I was really proud of the way our guys competed in this game and finished the game," Saban said. "I thought we really started out well in the game, but we just left some money on the table in the first half in terms of not scoring touchdowns in the red area. I thought we controlled the momentum of the game until they scored at the end of the half and the first drive of the second half, but I was really proud of our players after we went down 14-13 and how they played in the second half."
Alabama is off this week before traveling to LSU on Nov. 5.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.