After dazzling their way to eight consecutive high-flying victories to open the season, the Alabama Crimson Tide have pounded out 29-0 and 24-0 wins the past two weeks against LSU and Mississippi State.
It’s been big-boy football this month, with Josh Jacobs serving as a big boy in Saturday afternoon’s home win.
With starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa hobbled and backup quarterback Jalen Hurts sidelined, the 5-foot-10, 216-pound junior running back was up for some dirty work. Jacobs rushed 20 times for 97 yards and a touchdown, accounting for more than half of the 186 rushing yards the Tide and Bulldogs combined to amass in the hard-fought showdown at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“It’s why we rotate,” Jacobs said in a news conference afterward. “All the backs are really fresh this year. I still have fresh legs.”
Jacobs was somewhat tame Nov. 3 at LSU, rushing four times for 17 yards and catching two passes for 17 more, as senior Damien Harris and sophomore Najee Harris combined on 25 rushes for 190 yards against the Tigers. Against Mississippi State, however, he had a 1-yard run late in the first quarter for the game’s second touchdown and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa just before halftime to help Alabama take a 21-0 lead into the locker room.