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.
After the Tide built a 24-0 lead and looked to run out the clock, Jacobs obliged with six consecutive carries for 46 yards.
"He really did a good job, especially at the end of the game," Alabama coach Nick Saban said in a news conference. "That was a great drive. I know we didn't score a touchdown there at the end, but we took seven or eight minutes off the clock, which is what you want to do in a situation like that.
"Josh was a demon running it, and I was really impressed with the way he played."
Saturday marked a second consecutive occasion in which Jacobs frustrated the Bulldogs. With the Tide trailing 24-17 early in the fourth quarter last November at Mississippi State, he had runs of 18 and 7 yards to ignite a 10-play, 82-yard drive that knotted the score in a 31-24 comeback triumph.
The former three-star signee from Tulsa, Oklahoma, has rushed for 381 yards and nine touchdowns and has averaged 4.8 yards per carry this season, when he also has 10 catches for 103 yards. His 20 carries Saturday marked his most in a college game, and he loved every one of them.
"It's neat that we've put more emphasis on running the ball," Jacobs said. "We just want to show people that we can. I know I try to mix it up. I try to run people over sometimes, and sometimes I try to juke them, so every time they see me, they don't know what's coming.
"Today, we just wanted to be more physical."
Alabama's defense has now gone 10 straight quarters without allowing a touchdown, with Tennessee's lone second-half score on Oct. 20 the result of a 27-yard interception return by Kyle Phillips. The consecutive shutouts against LSU and Mississippi State (6-4, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) have vaulted the Tide (10-0, 7-0) into a tie for first nationally in scoring defense with Clemson at 12.7 points per game.
Alabama could notch a third straight blanking this week when Football Championship Subdivision program The Citadel (4-5) visits.
"Guys have made improvement all year long, and I think we've practiced better," Saban said. "The preparation has been better, and I think that's helped us make fewer mental errors. Guys are playing together more."
Tide tidbits
Alabama's past five opponents have managed just 329 rushing yards, an average of 65.8 per game. Tagovailoa's season efficiency rating slipped to 207.7, and he remains second nationally to Oklahoma's Kyler Murray (212.9). Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen told The Columbus (Mississippi) Dispatch he has contacted the SEC office about his concerns regarding the officiating in Saturday's game.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.