Saturday, September 6, 2014

Alabama defeats Florida Atlantic in weather-shortened game

While the game was called with 7:53 remaining, the competition on the field was actually over by the end of the first quarter.

Courtesy of 400-plus yards through the air and a stingy defense, the Alabama Crimson Tide rolled the Florida Atlantic Owls by the score of 41-0.

-Click HERE for complete stats-


Sims and Coker

While Blake Sims once again looked sharp and confident at the quarterback position, Jake Coker looked rather lukewarm in his first game while playing significant minutes.

As has been noted on countless occasions, although Coker looks the part of a potent quarterback and probably has more talent than Sims, Coker's outing against FAU was marred by mental mistakes and a couple of time management blunders.

Sims knows the system, while Coker is a work in progress. Having said that, Coker, all things considered, had a nice afternoon in the numbers department.

Blake Sims 11/13 214 yards 2 TDs (Also rushed for a TD)
Jake Coker 15/24 202 yards 1 TD


Cooper shines again

For the second consecutive week, Crimson Tide wide receiver Amari Cooper had an all-world performance. After catching a total of 12 passes for 130 yards against West Virginia, Cooper snagged 13 receptions for 189 yards and one touchdown against FAU.



Eddie Jackson is back

Barring injury, defensive back Bradley Sylve will likely never play another significant minute for the Crimson Tide this season.

Why? Enter Eddie Jackson...

The star sophomore, who didn't see the field against West Virginia, took over the starting role against FAU and didn't disappoint. Jackson had a solid outing in respect to pass coverage while lowing the boom on several Florida Atlantic receivers and running backs.

Jackson, who tore his ACL in early April, appears to be the new starting corner for the long run, opposite Cyrus Jones.


Nick Saban's postgame presser

Tide coach Nick Saban shares his thoughts following Alabama's victory over Florida Atlantic.



Looking ahead

Next Saturday Alabama will tangle with Southern Mississippi, so Tide fans will likely see more of the same in respect to significant personnel rotations.

When it comes to the quarterback battle, Saban and company will likely play Coker and Sims in the same fashion they did against FAU. Barring something insane, the Crimson Tide should have a handle on USM by the second quarter...if not sooner.


While the competition, in respect to FAU, wasn't very stiff, Alabama looked much better from a fundamental standpoint. As noted in the game preview, Alabama biggest competition would be Alabama, and that was exactly the case.

Continued growth and maturity will be critical for the Tide as conference play begins in two weeks with a home clash against Florida.

Heater-home.com

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