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Coker helps No. 2 Alabama roll past Middle Tennessee, 37-10
There is plenty of good, bad and ugly for Alabama football coach Nick Saban to dissect this week following Saturday’s 37-10 victory over Middle Tennessee at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Reducing the bad and the ugly could be paramount with Ole Miss scheduled to arrive this Saturday night.
“We really wanted to improve and play better this week than we did last week,” Saban said Saturday in a news conference, referencing the Crimson Tide’s opening 35-17 win over Wisconsin. “I’m not sure that we accomplished that in all areas.”
Alabama outscored the Blue Raiders 30-3 in the second and third quarters and led 37-3 before backup quarterback Cooper Bateman threw an interception that was returned 77 yards to set up MTSU’s lone touchdown with 6:11 remaining. The Crimson Tide wound up racking up 532 yards to 275 for the Blue Raiders.
The yardage numbers were very similar to last week’s opener, but Alabama was vastly improved in terms of snatching turnovers.
“The goal this week was to show people that we can get to the ball,” senior inside linebacker Reggie Ragland said. “I know that we are much faster than the other team and we are getting better each week, especially with this fast ball style. A lot of people don’t think that we can play fast ball, so we tried to come out and show that today.”
Said Saban: “The defense did a great job getting turnovers, and we had four total. We played better on defense as the game went on. They did a lot of things we weren’t very well-prepared for, and we had to make a lot of adjustments, but I thought the players did a really good job of that.”
It was the first four-turnover game collected by Alabama since a 2012 win over Western Kentucky. The Crimson Tide did not gather any turnovers against the Badgers and had a minus-2 turnover margin last season.
Another plus for Alabama was the reduction in penalties. The Crimson Tide were flagged five times for 40 yards Saturday after drawing 11 for 120 against Wisconsin.
Saban was not as impressed Saturday with his offense, which was guided by Jacob Coker in the first half and Bateman in the second half. Coker completed 15 of 26 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw an interception into double coverage.
“Both guys really need to improve,” Saban said. “I think that, offensively, we started to establish an identity against Wisconsin. I don’t think we had much of one today, but that’s not all the quarterback’s fault. There are many things that the quarterbacks can do better, and we will certainly focus on trying to get them to play better.”
The ugly continues to be the troubling start for redshirt junior kicker Adam Griffith. The former Calhoun High standout opened last season by going 4-for-4 on field-goal attempts against West Virginia, but he has missed his first four attempts this season.
Griffith missed a 49-yard attempt against the Blue Raiders and a 24-yarder.
“A lot of these kinds of things are mental,” Saban said. “I think he needs to make some kicks. I think that would be really good for him, and I think it would be really good for us.”
Saban added that he still believes in Griffith but that there may come a point when someone else is given an opportunity.
Tide tidbits
Freshman defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick and redshirt junior tight end Dakota Ball were first-time starters Saturday. Senior linebacker Denzel Devall had a career-high seven tackles, while junior tight end O.J. Howard had a career-best four receptions that went for 68 yards. Alabama has won 17 straight at Bryant-Denny since being upset in November 2012 by Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.