Sunday, September 29, 2013

Alabama’s “Iron Curtain” blanks uptempo Ole Miss

While many fans and experts predicted the Ole Miss/Alabama contest to be a track meet, the Crimson Tide defense spoiled the show with an “iron curtain” defensive performance. Placed on “upset alert” by many pundits, ‘Bama blanked the Rebels by the score of 25-0.
Ole Miss, which entered the contest averaging 38 points per game, was held scoreless courtesy of an angry and determined Alabama defense.

The Rebels, on countless occasions, entered Alabama territory and were turned away without fail. Three times the Crimson Tide would derail the Ole Miss offense on fourth-down conversion attempts. Tide linebacker C.J. Mosley, courtesy of a pass deflection, was responsible for arguably the most critical fourth-down stop of the game.
On the offensive side of the equation, Cade Foster, who has been rather inconsistent during his Alabama career, connected on field goals from 53 and 42 yards during the second quarter of play. The latter kick concluded the initial half of action to give Alabama a 9-0 lead at intermission.

As for the “meat and potatoes” of the UA offense, AJ McCarron had a steady effort and the Tide ground attack proved fruitful, especially in the second half of play. T.J. Yeldon rushed for 121 yards against the Rebels including a 68-yard touchdown run during the early portion of the third quarter. Not to be upstaged, running back Kenyan Drake, who had 99 yards rushing in the game, had a touchdown effort of 50 yards during the latter stages of the contest.

While Alabama didn’t achieve the much sought-after “complete game,” the Crimson Tide certainly rose to the challenge. While several pundits expected (hoped) the Tide to achieve “face plant status” on national television, Alabama made sure the only thing “planted” was the Ole Miss offense.
---Complete Stats---

Injury report

In various postgame comments, the play of reserve center Chad Lindsay was heralded as a tremendous effort. Lindsay, who "appeared" to take control of the line with his calls and overall aggression, seemed to "improve" the offensive front in the second half.

On the flipside, Lindsay's "game action" came as a result of Ryan Kelly's knee injury. Kelly, who went to the locker room in the second quarter of play, never returned to the game and was later seen on crutches.

In his postgame presser, Nick Saban addressed Kelly's status as well as the condition of running back T.J. Yeldon.

Saban on Kelly...
Saban on Yeldon...
It goes without saying that both players will be reevaluated (several times) in the days to come.

'Bama secondary proved primary

The knock on the Alabama defense, even in the preseason, was the lack of depth and experience at the defensive back position. As many have seen, fans and detractors alike, the Crimson Tide secondary has been a disaster much of the 2013 season.

However, not only did the Alabama corners answer the bell against the uptempo Rebels, the Crimson Tide finally found a corner to complement Deion Belue. True freshman Eddie Jackson is the new stud in town.
Jackson, who didn't play in Alabama's first two games, earned his first playing time (start) against Colorado State. While Jackson did a "decent" job against the Rams, the three-star talent (Rivals) brought new life to the secondary against the Rebels and appeared to have all the tools of a seasoned player.
If center Chad Lindsay is the critical piece the offensive line has been missing, Eddie Jackson is a Christmas present come early for the Tide secondary.

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Posted by The Crimson Elephant at 11:24 AM

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