Saban accepts championship hardware
January 9, 2010
Nick Saban is thrilled to have brought another title to Alabama and a lot of joy to everyone involved in the Crimson Tide program.
Saban spoke at a news conference on Friday, sitting alongside four trophies crowning Alabama as the national champion following a 37-21 victory over Texas.
The Associated Press trophy honored the Crimson Tide for being voted No. 1 at season’s end. The others were from the National Football Foundation, the Football Writers Association and the crystal BCS trophy he received on the field Thursday night.
His wife reminded him this morning that a statue of him will be going up outside the stadium in Tuscaloosa. He says he hopes it serves as a model of the reward for working hard.
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Walmarts to host Bama’s BCS trophy
January 9, 2010
The University of Alabama is going to display its new national championship football trophy at a place where most anyone can see it: Walmart.
The school says the Coaches’ Trophy will be on display at a Walmart Supercenter in Tuscaloosa on Saturday and another Walmart store in Gardendale on Sunday.
Fans will be able to get their picture taken with the actual Coaches’ Trophy that was presented after the BCS win over Texas. The $30,000 trophy is topped with a football made of Waterford Crystal.
The school will permanently display the trophy on campus. The Walmart stops are part of a sponsorship deal.
Tags: Alabama, bryant denny stadium, coach nick saban, Crimson Tide, mark ingram, TweetsRelated posts
Mocs Fall To Alabama, 45-0
November 21, 2009
The No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide scored five touchdowns on five straight possessions in the first half in a 45-0 shutout of Chattanooga at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Senior Day.
UTC held the SEC foe on a three and out on Alabama’s first possession, then the Mocs got a first down. However, it was downhill after that.
UTC gained 53 yards on the ground and 36 in the air against one of the top defenses in the country.
Sophomore Mark Ingram ran for 102 yards and two scores on 11 carries before the break, and senior cornerback/returner Javier Arenas scored his seventh career punt return touchdown to break the Southeastern Conference record. Arenas also intercepted a pass on the afternoon.
Senior kicker Leigh Tiffin tied the Alabama record for career field goals and single-season field goals with a 41-yarder in the third quarter, giving him 78 for his career and 25 this season.
Before the game, the 27 members of the senior class were honored on the field.
It was the final game of the season for the Mocs, who finish with a winning record of 6-5 under new Coach Russ Huesman after managing only one win last season and two the season before.
Alabama goes on the road next week to face rival Auburn on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Central time, and the game will air on CBS.
Tags: alabama crimson tide, bryant denny stadium, career field goals, central time, cornerback, Crimson Tide, denny, final game, Insider, kicker, kickoff, leigh tiffin, m central, mocs, punt return, shutout, southeastern conference record, straight possessionsRelated posts
Don’t forget about Arenas
November 21, 2009
Alabama has so many good players, and it’s easy to get caught up in what Mark Ingram has done this season on offense and what Rolando McClain and Terrence Cody have done on defense.
But the unsung hero on this team is without a doubt senior cornerback Javier Arenas, who played his final home game Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium and went out in style in Alabama’s 45-0 rout of Chattanooga.
Arenas returned his seventh career punt for a touchdown, an SEC record, and has been one of the Tide’s best all-around defenders all season.
You could make a case for his being the the most valuable player on Alabama’s team this season with all the different things he does for this team.
Tags: bryant denny stadium, chattanooga, cornerback, denny, different things, home game, mark ingram, Punt, rolando mcclain, rout, sec record, Tide, touchdown, Tweets, unsung heroRelated posts
SECOND RANKED ALABAMA CRUSH CHATTANOOGA
November 21, 2009
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sports Network) – Mark Ingram had 102 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries in two quarters of action, as second-ranked Alabama thumped FCS foe Chattanooga, 45-0, at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Greg McElroy played only the first half, completing 6-of-11 passes for 80 yards and one touchdown for the Crimson Tide (11-0), who rested many first- stringers on the offensive side after building a 35-0 lead at the break.
Julio Jones had a touchdown reception in the win, and Javier Arenas set an SEC record with his seventh punt return for a touchdown, breaking the mark previously established by Kentucky’s Derek Abney.
“We were pleased to be able to play as many players as we played today,” said Alabama head coach Nick Saban. “It was great for the seniors who were acknowledged. I think that just about every senior on our team got to play in the game. It was good that the players came out and played Alabama football and got ahead in the game so that those players got an opportunity to play.”
B.J. Coleman struggled immensely for an overmatched Chattanooga (6-5) squad, throwing for just 36 yards and two interceptions on 7-of-25 passing.
The Mocs, who totaled 84 yards of offense, ended the regular season by dropping four of their last six games.
“Obviously it was a tough (loss) for us,” said Chattanooga head coach Russ Huesman. “We played a great football team. We’ll watch the film but I think our guys played hard. You could see they wanted to be in the game, even towards the end there.”
After going three-and-out to start the game, McElroy led the Crimson Tide on an 11-play, 51-drive on their second offensive series that culminated in a two-yard touchdown run by Trent Richardson.
Only two plays were required for Alabama to extend the lead to 14-0. The Crimson Tide got the ball at their own 31 following a punt. McElroy threw a 44-yard pass to Jones and the dynamic Ingram rumbled 25 yards for the score.
Chattanooga’s Jare Gault was picked off on the ensuing drive, and Jones caught a pass in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown with 54 seconds remaining in a productive first quarter for Alabama.
The Crimson Tide’s overwhelming defense limited Chattanooga to one yard on its next possession and Arenas returned the subsequent punt, sprinting down the right sideline for a 66-yard score 18 seconds into the second quarter.
A 40-yard dash by Ingram gave Alabama a comfortable 35-0 advantage at halftime.
Coleman threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Alabama transformed the turnover in a 41-yard Leigh Tiffin field goal.
Roy Upchurch’s 21-yard TD run with four minutes to go in regulation accounted for the final margin.
Game Notes
Upchurch and Demetrius Goode both rushed for 70 yards for Alabama, which totaled 313 yards on the ground…Chattanooga recorded just five first downs…Alabama has won all 11 meetings with the Mocs…The Crimson Tide battle Auburn on Friday before facing Florida in the SEC championship game on December 5.
Tags: alabama football, alabama head coach, bryant denny stadium, coach nick, Crimson Tide, derek abney, first stringers, jare, julio jones, mark ingram, offensive side, punt return, SEC, sec record, touchdown reception, trent richardson, tuscaloosa al, yard touchdownRelated posts
Jones’ TD catch sparks Crimson Tide
November 9, 2009
For three quarters and change, well before No. 3 Alabama would put away LSU 24-15, clinch the SEC West and remain at the front of the teams behind the BCS’s velvet ropes, the Crimson Tide gave the same frustrating performance it had in its previous three games.
The offense still looked like its best play began when place-kicker Leigh Tiffin ran onto the field. Against Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee, field goals had been enough. Against LSU, no. The Tigers held a 15-13 lead, and the Crimson Tide had a lengthening list of offensive misfires.
Tension hung over Bryant-Denny Stadium, tension borne of frustration. Head coach Nick Saban couldn’t take it anymore. The Tide trailed by two points because wide receiver Julio Jones failed to come off the field for a goal-line offense. Instead of third-and-goal at the LSU 2, Alabama got penalized 5 yards for having 12 men in the huddle, and Saban erupted. Who knew an AT&T headset could be slammed into the turf and still work?
That mental mistake resulted in Tiffin’s kicking a 20-yard field goal, which is how Alabama arrived at that 15-13 deficit. So much at stake, and so much wasn’t happening.
The Alabama defense had played its usual physical game. The Tigers’ starting quarterback, Jordan Jefferson, and starting tailback, Charles Scott, both had been knocked out of the game.
Lord knows, the Tide offense had tried to change its ways. Quarterback Greg McElroy, who went from poster boy to whipping boy over the course of October, had come out firing.
He threw on the Tide’s first seven plays from scrimmage. McElroy had already thrown for 193 yards, but — stop me if you’ve read this before — Alabama had scored one touchdown in three trips into the red zone.
Jones, frustrated all season by injury and double teams, had two catches for 19 yards. In addition to the penalty, he also had a pass go through his hands at the Alabama 8. On the next play, McElroy got hit in the end zone by LSU defensive tackle Drake Nevis and threw the ball as he went down. That brand of intentional grounding earns the defense a safety. Those two points represented the difference in the game.
The clock showed 10:26 remaining when Alabama came onto the field to begin a drive at its own 27. Offensive coordinator Jim McElwain called a wide receiver screen, a play that Alabama had not run all season. Left tackle James Carpenter would release to the outside to escort Jones.
“I looked at James,” said offensive co-captain Mike Johnson, the left guard, “and said, ‘You’re up, buddy.’”
A crowd of 92,012 that began the game in a roar hadn’t been loud for a while. That was about to change. So was this game, and the Crimson Tide’s season.
McElroy flipped the ball out to Jones, who shook off defensive back Brandon Taylor. Carpenter, rumbling toward the sideline in front of Jones, blocked one defender, spun around and took out another. Jones cleared the line of scrimmage, sprinting past the Alabama bench all by himself.
The next guy to lay a hand on him would be teammate Darius Hanks, high-fiving him in the end zone.
“I thought he stepped out,” McElroy said. “I didn’t react until pretty late. I think the next thing that went through my mind when I saw him high-stepping down the sideline was, ‘Who am I going to celebrate with?’”
“They wanted me to make a play,” Jones said, “and I did.”
This was no mere touchdown. It was 73 yards of catharsis, 13 seconds of massage that unleashed every hunched shoulder in the stadium. Alabama made a two-point conversion to lead 21-15 with 10:24 to play.
No one could have felt better than McElroy. When he missed a wide-open Jones in the end zone in the second quarter, McElroy sank to his knees and put his hands on his helmet. His body language screamed, “What did I just do?” The drive ended in, you guessed it, a 28-yard field goal.
But after the game, having completed 19 of 34 passes for 276 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, McElroy felt better. It wasn’t relief. He’s too much of a competitor. McElroy felt satisfaction for himself and for Jones.
“He’s had a lot of pressure on him, too,” McElroy said. “I’ve had to deal with a lot of animosity, a lot of hatred from a lot of different people, some of it undeserved I feel like, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. He’s dealt with the same thing. The fact that he was able to make a play really made me excited for him and the team.”
Someone asked if McElroy felt as if he had come through the other side. Before Saturday, he hadn’t completed a pass longer than 27 yards in his last four games. He hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass in his last three. The fans touting him for the Heisman in September had turned on him.
“Every game is its own animal,” McElroy said. “You can never say you won’t face adversity again, because you will. This is the SEC and you play great teams week in and week out. Is it frustrating to me that people did lose faith in me? Yeah. It really takes a toll.
“But I never lost faith in myself, I never lost faith in my teammates, and I never lost faith in what we were able to do offensively. It really made me feel good to go out and silence everybody tonight and obviously get a big victory.”
Through three quarters and change, the Alabama offense looked as if it hadn’t changed. In the course of one play, maybe it has. With this victory, Alabama guaranteed itself a date with No. 1 Florida in the SEC championship game. And maybe, just maybe, Alabama has an offense that can take it one game farther.
Tags: 12 men, bryant denny stadium, coach nick saban, Crimson Tide, end zone, field goals, game lord, goal line, greg mcelroy, leigh tiffin, physical game, place kicker, poster boy, red zone, SEC, sec west, three quarters, velvet ropes, whipping boy, yard field goalRelated posts
Crimson Tide hold back Tigers for 2nd straight SEC title-game berth
November 9, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Julio Jones left defenders grasping at his heels and Alabama’s defense was typically immovable. The Crimson Tide is riding that combination to the SEC championship game for the second consecutive season.
The popular Jones made the biggest play of what has been a relatively quiet sophomore season, breaking free for a 73-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and No. 3 Alabama locked down No. 9 LSU in a 24-15 victory Saturday.
Leigh Tiffin booted a 40-yard field goal with 3:04 left to seal it and the Tide (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) earned a rematch with No. 1 Florida for the league championship.
The hard-hitting affair left the Tigers (7-2, 4-2) without injured quarterback Jordan Jefferson and running back Charles Scott for most of the second half.
“It was a tough, physical game,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban, who beat his former team for the second straight year. “Man, those games are fun to be a part of.”
The win touched off another big celebration for Alabama, which survived a 12-10 victory over Tennessee two weeks ago with Terrence Cody’s two blocked field goal attempts in the fourth quarter. Tiffin came up big in that one, too, with four field goals.
Jefferson had an ankle injury and Scott hurt his right shoulder in the third.
LSU coach Les Miles, who said Scott’s injury was probably the more serious, didn’t shed much light on their status.
On Jefferson, Miles said the quarterback was “trying to get back in the game. We felt like it would be best that he sit.”
“I still like our chances, injuries or not. No excuses,” he added.
LSU would have taken control of the West. The Tigers, whose only other loss came to the Gators, took a 15-10 lead into the fourth but managed only 9 yards in the quarter. They had won four straight games at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Once again, though, LSU is left taking a backseat to its former coach.
Saban & Co. moved a step closer to their second straight perfect regular season. The Tide outgained LSU 452-253, and narrowed the number of SEC national championship contenders to two.
Alabama is 9-0 for a second consecutive season, which hasn’t happened since 1973-74 under Bear Bryant.
Greg McElroy completed 19 of 34 passes for 276 yards with two touchdowns and an interception as the Tide aired it out 25 times in the first half against a defense that was putting extra defenders near the line.
The second half was more typical Tide. Mark Ingram gained 106 of his 144 yards after the half to continue to mount a strong campaign for Heisman Trophy consideration.
Jones had his best game of the season, with four catches for 102 yards, including his second touchdown.
“We practiced that all week,” he said. “A situation like that, I feel like I should just step up and make the play. I did what I had to do.”
And the Tide defense — as it has all season — came through in the end.
Needing two scores, backup quarterback Jarrett Lee and LSU couldn’t get it to midfield in the final minutes.
Alabama hadn’t left them much time, anyway, milking more than six minutes off the clock in setting up Tiffin’s final kick, made possible when a running into the kicker call led Saban to go for it on fourth-and-1 just across midfield.
Ingram got the first down after taking a direct snap.
“That gives everybody confidence,” McElroy said. “It’s coach Saban having faith in us.”
Tiffin, who became Alabama’s all-time leading scorer in the game, also had a 20-yarder early in the fourth after a drive that took nearly six minutes.
LSU had failed on a 2-point try late in the third quarter trying to push its lead to seven points. Trent Richardson’s 2-point run after Jones’ touchdown made it a two-score game at the end.
Alabama gave fans two things they covet in the process: The lead and big plays from Jones, who hasn’t made as many as he did in his fantastic freshman year.
He caught a short pass from McElroy, juked a defender and sprinted down the sideline for a touchdown.
“Put it in his hands, and you never know what’s going to happen,” McElroy said.
Then Richardson made it 21-15 Alabama.
Alabama forced the short-handed LSU offense into a three-and-out, then pushed the ball across midfield.
After Patrick Peterson nearly picked off McElroy’s pass — he was ruled out of bounds — Jones’ catch converted a third-and-7 to help move the Tide into field goal position.
“There’s not one part of the team that didn’t play well,” Saban said. “The offense played extremely well. Greg played well. The receivers played well. We ran the ball. The offensive line did a fantastic job.”
Jefferson and Scott were thriving before going to the sidelines.
Scott ran for 83 yards and his 34-yarder was the longest run play given up by Alabama this season. Jefferson passed for 114 yards and also had some success running the option.
“Losing those two guys was a big blow to our offense,” receiver Terrance Toliver said. “It was a letdown to lose both of them, but Jarrett came in and played hard.”
Lee was 4 of 10 for 44 yards with an interception on a fourth-down play at the end, and the Tigers were held to 95 yards rushing.
LSU’s defense held its own through three quarters. Drake Nevis sacked McElroy in the third quarter for a safety, cutting Alabama’s lead to 10-9.
Fullback Stevan Ridley bounced off 354-pound nose guard Terrance Cody for an 8-yard touchdown run and the 15-10 lead. Scott’s big run set up the TD, but also ended his day. The pass for 2 did not connect.
Tags: backseat, bryant denny stadium, coach nick saban, consecutive season, Crimson Tide, field goal attempts, field goals, former team, julio jones, lsu coach, physical game, SEC, sec championship game, sophomore season, southeastern conference, straight games, yard field goal, yard touchdownRelated posts
Cody’s two blocked field goals, Tiffin’s four FGs save No. 1 Tide’s undefeated season
October 24, 2009
TUSCALOOSA – Who needs offense?
Terrence Cody
When you have the nation’s top-ranked defense and you have Leigh Tiffin, you have enough to win.
And when you have Terrence Cody.
At least that was enough today for the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
Barely.
Alabama’s defense almost held a third-consecutive opponent without a touchdown and Tiffin kicked four field goals to lead the top-ranked Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference) to a 12-10 victory over Tennessee (3-4, 1-3) in a defensive battle today at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
A late Tennessee touchdown and a successful onside kick added late drama to an intense physical battle.
The Vols drove to the Tide’s 28-yard line in the last minute, but Cody blocked a 44-yard field attempt. It was the senior nose guard’s his second blocked field goal of the game.
Tiffin’s field goals included kicks of 50 and 49 yards.
The Tide kept the Vols out of the end zone until there was 1:19 left in the game. Jonathan Crompton threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Jones.
Tennessee was held to one field goal in three attempts by Daniel Lincoln. He missed a 47-yard attempt at the end of a first half that ended with Alabama leading 9-3. He also had a 43-yard attempt blocked early in the fourth quarter by Cody.
The Vols drove into field-goal position on one other possession in the third quarter but were pushed backward by the Alabama defense and had to punt.
Alabama’s offense, which averaged 40 points in its first five games, has averaged only 18 points in its past three, but its top-ranked defense has stepped up.
But this game wasn’t about red-zone failures. The Tide only reached the red zone once, but with 1:11 left in the second quarter, it settled for a 24-yard field goal by Tiffin.
Alabama now only has 16 touchdowns in 37 red-zone opportunities this season for a 43.2 percent rate. Fifty percent is considered average.
Tags: alabama crimson tide, bryant denny stadium, Crimson Tide, denny, end zone, field goals, goal position, jonathan crompton, jones tennessee, leigh tiffin, nose guard, onside kick, ranked defense, red zone, SEC, southeastern conference, touchdown pass, vols, yard field goal, yard touchdownRelated posts
Saban says Alabama on its way, not there yet
October 20, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — If you think Nick Saban is going to stop for a nanosecond to enjoy Alabama’s football resurgence, think again.
He’s not wired that way.
There’s always another meeting, something else to plan for, a defensive breakdown to correct or a key recruit to call.
Spend a little time in Alabama these days, and you’ll hear it often.
“We’re back!”
Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide have won 20 of their last 23 games.
Saban, who wrote the book on living in the present, cringes at such talk.
Sure, the Crimson Tide might be No. 2 in the BCS standings this week and working on their second consecutive unbeaten regular season — which hasn’t happened at Alabama since 1973 and 1974 — but they’re far from being a finished product in Saban’s mind.
But, then, in his mind, there’s no such thing as a finished product.
“I only think there are three or four of what I’d call dominant programs in the country, and I don’t think we’re there yet,” Saban said during a wide-ranging interview with ESPN.com. “Florida is probably there. Texas is probably there. Oklahoma is probably close to being there. I know they’ve had issues this year, but who could afford to lose two top-5 picks, one of them being your quarterback, and not have it affect you in some kind of way? USC is certainly there.
“You get there when your players just go play because they want to be as good as they can be, and they’re going to do it every time they play. There doesn’t need to be some external factor that’s going to motivate them.”
How close are the Crimson Tide to being there?
“I’ll tell you at the end of this year,” Saban said.
Even the most zealous Alabama fan probably wouldn’t have predicted this much success this soon for the Crimson Tide. After all, they went 7-6 and lost to Louisiana-Monroe in Saban’s first season there.
But since that embarrassing loss, Alabama has won 20 of its last 23 games and put together back-to-back recruiting classes that were ranked among the top two in the country.
While it might be human nature to enjoy some of that success, it’s not Saban’s nature.
“Probably to a fault, what happens to you when you’re like that is that you don’t enjoy what you accomplish because you live in a constant state of anxiety with small moments of relief,” Saban said. “And that’s something that just doesn’t change.”
In each of the last two weeks, Alabama has beaten nationally ranked foes.
“But by the time I’m showered and walking out of the building, I’m thinking about the next game,” Saban said.
Not even his wife, Terry, has been successful in getting him to soak at least some of it in.
“She’s done trying … quit trying a long time ago,” Saban said with a guilty smile.
But that doesn’t mean he’s a complete football droid, which he’s been accused of being in certain circles.
“I enjoy it in a different way,” Saban said. “My positive self-gratification comes from knowing that you’re getting the right people in your organization and the organization is functioning at the top end.
“It’s not about me and my ego and how many games we win. It’s about having everybody in the organization playing and doing what they need to do, not just as football players, but doing what they need to do to be successful as people.”
And believe it or not, Saban can live with losing.
He’s still peeved about the loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl last season. But the loss to Florida a month earlier in the SEC championship game, a contest that carried much bigger stakes, doesn’t haunt him nearly as much.
Marvin Gentry/US Presswire
Nick Saban says he enjoys working with college kids and having an impact on other aspects of their lives.
“A lot of times, the winning and losing part of it gets blurred for me,” Saban said. “Even though I hate to lose, we played a damn good game last year against Florida and they played a damn good game and it was a hell of a game. We had a chance to win it, but they made the plays at the end of the game they needed to make to win the game. I’m not happy about it, but I don’t feel like our team was ill-prepared and didn’t play well or whatever.
“Now, the Utah game, I felt horrible as a coach. For whatever reasons, I don’t feel like we put our players in a position where they were going on that field to be as good as they can be and play their best. I think there was an arrogance about us in terms of how we approached the game, and I don’t care what anybody says. Utah was a very good team.”
While the talent on Alabama’s team is obvious, Saban still isn’t ready to say it’s on a par with what he left LSU after taking the Miami Dolphins job following the 2004 season.
“No, we don’t have as many good players as we did there,” Saban said. “We still don’t have the depth we need.”
LSU had a record 47 players on NFL opening-day rosters this season, and 33 of those players were signed by Saban.
One of the things that’s happened this season is that Alabama has been able to evolve both offensively and defensively. They’re much more diverse on offense and have been able to do even more on defense.
“Each year, the guys who run your [defensive] system can do a little more, especially when you’ve got an experienced group like we have and then you’ve got a guy like Ro [linebacker Rolando McClain], who’s really smart at getting it implemented on the field and called right,” said Saban, who likes to joke that he’s defensive coordinator Kirby Smart’s graduate assistant.
“We always have a lot on defense. We practice a lot. We don’t do it all in the game, but we’ll take something we haven’t done and do it in the next game. But it’s not the first time we ever did it.
Offensively, Saban said the Crimson Tide probably relied too much on their offensive line a year ago.
“Last year, we kind of fell into a little bit of a trap,” Saban said. “We had such a good offensive line. It got easy to play to that strength and not develop it and do enough other things. When you play really good teams, you need to do that. It’s hard to just dominate really good teams up front.”
Saban balks at the notion that he somehow had the reins on offensive coordinator Jim McElwain last season, but what he does say is that Alabama has branched out of its bunker mentality.
“My feeling on it is that you can’t win the war unless you get out of the bunker,” Saban said. “There’s not a lot of battles won if you stay in the bunker.”
His reputation as a demanding boss is legendary, but Saban says he’s probably not as hard to work for as he once was.
“I still don’t think I’m hard to work for,” Saban said.
What he is anal about is the details. He’s unwavering when it comes to doing things the way he wants them done.
Doug Murray/WireImage.com
Nick Saban says he has no plans to return to the NFL.
“I think what happens to most guys, and this is what people tell me, is that most guys have an issue with all the attention to detail we pay in everything that we do — recruiting, academics, how we get ready for the season, how we do quality control, how we research, how we work, how we do things,” Saban said. “It’s a little tough on them because they’re not used to it, especially guys who’ve been college coaches. But that’s really how pro coaches work, because that’s all there is.”
Saban is as comfortable as he’s ever been with his staff, although he has at least two guys — McElwain and Smart — who will undoubtedly be commodities in the head coaching market sooner rather than later.
“I want our guys to get those opportunities,” Saban said. “They deserve those opportunities.”
The only opportunities Saban is thinking about are right there at Alabama. His contract was just recently extended and will approach an average of $5 million per year toward the back end of the deal.
He doesn’t have a buyout, but says he doesn’t need one.
He’s exactly where he wants to be for the rest of his coaching career and agrees that it would be foolish to want to go anywhere else after investing everything he has into getting Alabama’s program back to where it is.
“I don’t want to go anyplace else,” Saban said. “I never would have left LSU if it weren’t for the NFL. I never would have gone to another college, and I’ll never go back to the NFL. I’ll never have another opportunity to go back, but I’d never go.
“It wasn’t fun for me. I enjoy so much more the kids at this age, this level and the impact you can have on them in other areas of their life. This is where I belong, and this is where I’m going to be.”
SEC, Nick Saban, Alabama Crimson Tide
Tags: 60 minutes, alabama team, ap poll, associated press top 25 poll, balls, blowout, bryant denny stadium, center, coach nick saban, College Football, College Football, five games, Florida, formalities, game winning streak, greg mcelroy, ground game, intermission, kickoff returns, little time, lsu game, mississippi st, mountain brook, offensive guard, offensive line, outburst, pre conference, Quarterback, rolando mcclain, Roll Tide, score, SEC, sun belt conference, superdome, title game, touchdown pass, true freshman, yard performanceRelated posts
Ingram’s career night fuels Bama’s late charge past South Carolina
October 18, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama put the game in Mark Ingram’s hands — and he put it away.
Alabama's Mark Ingram (22) runs away from South Carolina defenders Devin Taylor (98) and Chris Culliver (17) in the first half of their NCAA college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. At rear is Alabama's Drew Davis (79).
The bulldozing tailback churned out a career-high 246 yards and the game-clinching touchdown to power the second-ranked Crimson Tide to a 20-6 victory Saturday night against No. 22 South Carolina when the rest of the offense wasn’t clicking.
Ingram’s tackle-breaking, defender-dragging runs and a punishing defense helped the Tide (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) overcome four turnovers — doubling their season total — and 10 penalties. It also helped ‘Bama sidestep the down-to-the-wire scares No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Texas had — or an upset defeat like No. 4 Virginia Tech endured.
Roll Call
Mark Ingram
Mark Ingram found himself in excellent company on Saturday. His 246-yard performance against South Carolina was the third-best single-game total in Crimson Tide history. Here are the rest:
Most Rush Yards in Game,
Alabama History Player Opponent Yards
‘96 Shaun Alexander LSU 291
‘86 Bobby Humphrey Mississippi St. 284
‘09 Mark Ingram South Carolina 246
‘51 Bobby Marlow Auburn 233
“Mark did as fine a job today as anybody I’ve ever been around, and that includes Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown and some really good ones,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “He was fantastic.”
Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2) had never beaten a team ranked higher than No. 3 and were hoping for their second win over a top-five team this season, and third in 34 tries.
Ingram didn’t let it happen. He was practically a one-man show on the decisive drive. He took the direct snap for five consecutive runs — including a 24-yarder and 22-yarder — and then took a pitch in from 4 yards out with 4:54 left. Ingram covered all 68 yards on the drive and finished with the third-best rushing game in Alabama history. Shaun Alexander ran for 291 at LSU in 1996 and Bobby Humphrey had 284 at Mississippi State a decade earlier.
“To take the air out of the ball at the end of the game the way we did was a great drive,” Saban said.
Ingram said the Wildcat look caught the Gamecocks off guard. His punishing runs helped, too.
“That drive was probably the best drive we had all game as an offense,” Ingram said. “We struggled a bit but when the time came, we came through in the clutch. There were times where I thought about coming out, but I stayed with it.”
Ingram’s previous career-high was 172 yards set last week against Mississippi, which also didn’t manage a touchdown against the Tide. He has now gained 568 yards in three games against ranked teams.
“He’s just as good as anyone in the country,” Tide quarterback Greg McElroy said. “I wouldn’t trade him for anyone.”
The game’s only other touchdown fittingly came from a defense that sacked Stephen Garcia five times and kept him firing blanks into the end zone at the end of promising drives.
Safety Mark Barron stepped in front of Garcia’s first pass attempt in the middle of the field and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown.
“The pick six really changed the game a lot,” said Garcia, who completed just 4 of 18 passes in the first half. “I know it was only the second play of the game, but it did. I missed a tackle on the play too, which made it even worse.”
Garcia wound up 20 of 46 for 214 yards, and South Carolina managed just 64 yards rushing.
McElroy also was shaky against the nation’s No. 6 pass defense. His first pass — and two of his initial four — was picked off after he had gone 135 straight passes without an interception.
He wound up completing half of his 20 attempts for just 92 yards. Ingram made up for it on his 24 rushes and also caught two passes for 23 yards.
“It was an interesting game in that even though they were running for a lot yards, we were right there,” Spurrier said. “Obviously we couldn’t score touchdowns. We had a lot of backward plays, a lot of penalties. They are a very good team and for us to win we had to play real smart and we didn’t.”
Leigh Tiffin kicked field goals of 25 and 35 yards for the Tide, which had 10 penalties for 113 yards.
South Carolina couldn’t get points off two drives into Alabama territory late in the third quarter. The Gamecocks marched just across midfield on 12 plays before having to punt. Then Clifton Geathers stripped the ball from McElroy to give them back the ball.
But the Alabama defense held again and Spencer Lanning’s 50-yard field goal attempt was short.
The Gamecocks scored on field goals of 22 and 31 yards by Lanning in the final 3:14 of the first half but missed chances for more points. Garcia threw a combined five incompletions into the end zone, mostly on fade routes.
Both teams were missing key players. South Carolina’s No. 2 rusher Jarvis Giles was suspended. Alabama cornerback and return man Javier Arenas watched from the sidelines with a rib injury that Saban said acted up before the game.
Tags: alabama history, bryant denny stadium, chris culliver, coach nick saban, college football game, Crimson Tide, down to the wire, gamecocks, Insider, mark ingram, marlow, mississippi st, ncaa college football, ricky williams, rush yards, shaun alexander, southeastern conference, steve spurrier, tailback, yard performanceRelated posts
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