The Alabama Offensive: Tide Annihilate Duke

Alabama running back Mark Ingram rushed for 48 yards on the first play of the game…and the lights went out in Durham.

The cliché is as old as time, however, “it was over before it ever began” is the perfect summary for what took place at Duke University.

Mark Ingram rushed for 151 yards on nine carries and scored two touchdowns, as the Alabama Crimson Tide destroyed the Duke Blue Devils, 62-13.

The 62 points amassed by the Crimson Tide was the highest scoring output in 19 years. The Tide scored 62 against Tulane in 1991.

Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy passed for three touchdowns in route to a solid performance…in limited action.

McElroy finished the day 14 of 20 for 258 yards, including one interception.

On the receiving end, Julio Jones caught five passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Arguably the most exciting play of the game came when Trent Richardson mishandled a kickoff, yet proceeded to recover the ball and race 91 yards for a touchdown.

The “drop” caused Duke to overrun the play which resulted in Richardson going virtually untouched to the end zone.

When the day was done, Alabama gained 626 yards of total offense. The Crimson Tide broke the 600-yard mark for the first time since 1989.

The first-half output of 45 points was the most in any half by 'Bama since 1973.

The Alabama offense was a juggernaut against Duke, especially in the initial half. The Tide offense was so efficient, Alabama didn’t face a third down scenario until the third quarter of play.

In his return to the gridiron, Mark Ingram became the first running back from a BCS conference to rush for 150 yards while carrying the ball less than 10 times.

As mentioned above, Ingram rushed for 151 yards on nine carries in his 2010 debut against the Blue Devils.