Alabama’s defense may not have the experience of last year’s unit following the departure of nine starters, but that desire for turnovers hasn’t waned.
The Crimson Tide led the Southeastern Conference with 31 forced turnovers last season (2.2 a game) and are ahead of that pace after collecting four Florida miscues during Saturday night’s 31-6 throttling at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama has gained 13 turnovers (2.6 a game) through its 5-0 start.
“That’s the second thing we emphasize, with number one being affecting the quarterback,” redshirt sophomore linebacker Dont’a Hightower said. “I feel like when we affect the quarterback we cause turnovers. I think that helped us against Arkansas and Florida as well.”
A week after intercepting Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett three times, Alabama intercepted John Brantley twice and Trey Burton once. Sophomore linebacker Nico Johnson intercepted Burton in the end zone to snuff Florida’s first drive, and freshman linebacker C.J. Mosley returned a pick 35 yards for a touchdown with 6:10 left in the third quarter to cap the scoring.
Alabama tallied two interceptions in the first half, when the Crimson Tide held the Gators to 96 yards and three points. Might their defense no longer be so young?
“It shows at some points, but for the most part we try to let the guys who are new or young know that being young is not really an excuse,” junior safety Mark Barron said. “You have to step up and be grown.”
Said junior tailback Mark Ingram: “The defense played with a chip on their shoulder, because everybody has been telling them that they’re not as good as last year. I believe they silenced some critics.”
Leading the nation in scoring defense, which Alabama now does at 9.0 points per game, is an effective silencer as well.
Barron tallied the Crimson Tide’s only sack, but Alabama had eight lost-yardage stops and eight pass deflections. Saturday marked the first time Florida failed to score a touchdown since its 31-3 loss at Bryant-Denny in 2005.
“Affecting the quarterback just doesn’t mean sacks,” Tide coach Nick Saban said. “It means violating his space, that little box he gets in where he wants to get comfortable and then step into a throw. I thought we did a good job of pushing the pocket and making him move in the pocket.”
Saban did not downplay the importance of the victory but was quick to point out this Saturday’s trip to South Carolina, which had this past weekend off. He was not pleased with the second half offensively and admitted he may have shut things down too early.
Quarterback Greg McElroy had four passing yards in the second half, while Ingram had 19 rushing yards and Trent Richardson seven.
“We might have shut things down a little early mentally,” McElroy said. “When you have a lead like that, it can be so hard to stay focused. That just shows a little bit of the immaturity of this team, and it’s something we will have to work on and something we will learn from.”