Rushing yards per game: 268.4 (9th nationally, 1st in SEC)
Passing yards per game: 229.6 (68th, 6th)
Total yards per game: 498.0 (15th, 3rd)
Scoring average: 43.9 (7th, 1st)
Rushing yards allowed per game: 70.1 (1st, 1st)
Passing yards allowed per game: 204.4 (35th, 4th)
Total yards allowed per game: 274.5 (4th, 2nd)
Defensive scoring average: 14.9 (7th, 3rd)
Turnover margin: +4 (t-35th, 5th)
1. This stat will probably hold this spot and be updated weekly from here out. Alabama has now scored 351 points this season and is averaging 43.9 points per game. The school record for points is 542 scored in 2014 and the school record for points per game is 43.0 in 1945. Alabama has to score 191 total points to break the school record for points, which would be 38.2 points per game across 5 more games (13 total), 31.9 across 6 more games (14 total games) and 27.3 points across 6 more games (SEC championship plus two playoff games).
2. Eddie Jackson’s career at Alabama is done after fracturing a leg in yesterday’s win on his final punt return. He finishes his career with 9 interceptions for 303 yards and 3 TDs, 11 punt returns for 253 yards and 2 TDs, 2 fumble recovery for 35 yards. That’s 591 yards on 22 total touches (26.9 yards average), averaging a touchdown 22.7 percent of the time.
3. This one took some time to calculate. Alabama’s defense has forced 13 turnovers (8 interceptions, 5 fumbles) and scored 9 touchdowns (5 on interceptions, 4 on fumbles). That means the defense is scoring touchdowns 69.2% of the time it gets the ball. The offense has 101 total possessions this year and has scored 34 touchdowns (33.7%). The defense is twice as efficient at scoring touchdowns as the offense.
4. Alabama got 5 sacks yesterday to push its total to 32 on the season. They lead the nation in total sacks and in sacks per game (4.0). That’s actually ahead of last year’s rate, when the defense got 52 sacks in 15 games (3.47 per) to lead the nation. And the sacks are getting bigger, too. Alabama is averaging 8.7 yards per sack this year and averaged 6.5 yards per last year.
You could hear Tim Williams yelling about it on the sideline as the game was ending yesterday.
5. Damien Harris had two runs of exactly 30 yards yesterday and now leads the SEC with 7 total runs of 30+ yards this season. He’s not reaching the end zone a ton and hasn’t gotten the buzz of Alabama backs in previous years but he’s played very, very well. He’s averaging just a hair over 8 yards per carry (697 yards on 87 carries) and is tied for fourth in the conference in rushing yards despite missing almost all of two games (he had six carries combined against Kent State and Kentucky with that high ankle sprain).
6. Time of possession isn’t a stat that means a lot to teams like Texas A&M, but it does mean something to Alabama. And the Tide dominated yesterday. It won the overall battle 35:40 to 24:10 but it was really even more impressive than that because there was never a point where A&M got control of the game and held on. Here’s the breakdown of quarters:
1st - A&M 5:34/Alabama 9:26
2nd - A&M 5:43/Alabama 9:17
3rd - A&M 6:12/Alabama 8:48
4th - A&M 6:41/Alabama 8:19
Passing yards per game: 229.6 (68th, 6th)
Total yards per game: 498.0 (15th, 3rd)
Scoring average: 43.9 (7th, 1st)
Rushing yards allowed per game: 70.1 (1st, 1st)
Passing yards allowed per game: 204.4 (35th, 4th)
Total yards allowed per game: 274.5 (4th, 2nd)
Defensive scoring average: 14.9 (7th, 3rd)
Turnover margin: +4 (t-35th, 5th)
1. This stat will probably hold this spot and be updated weekly from here out. Alabama has now scored 351 points this season and is averaging 43.9 points per game. The school record for points is 542 scored in 2014 and the school record for points per game is 43.0 in 1945. Alabama has to score 191 total points to break the school record for points, which would be 38.2 points per game across 5 more games (13 total), 31.9 across 6 more games (14 total games) and 27.3 points across 6 more games (SEC championship plus two playoff games).
2. Eddie Jackson’s career at Alabama is done after fracturing a leg in yesterday’s win on his final punt return. He finishes his career with 9 interceptions for 303 yards and 3 TDs, 11 punt returns for 253 yards and 2 TDs, 2 fumble recovery for 35 yards. That’s 591 yards on 22 total touches (26.9 yards average), averaging a touchdown 22.7 percent of the time.
3. This one took some time to calculate. Alabama’s defense has forced 13 turnovers (8 interceptions, 5 fumbles) and scored 9 touchdowns (5 on interceptions, 4 on fumbles). That means the defense is scoring touchdowns 69.2% of the time it gets the ball. The offense has 101 total possessions this year and has scored 34 touchdowns (33.7%). The defense is twice as efficient at scoring touchdowns as the offense.
4. Alabama got 5 sacks yesterday to push its total to 32 on the season. They lead the nation in total sacks and in sacks per game (4.0). That’s actually ahead of last year’s rate, when the defense got 52 sacks in 15 games (3.47 per) to lead the nation. And the sacks are getting bigger, too. Alabama is averaging 8.7 yards per sack this year and averaged 6.5 yards per last year.
You could hear Tim Williams yelling about it on the sideline as the game was ending yesterday.
5. Damien Harris had two runs of exactly 30 yards yesterday and now leads the SEC with 7 total runs of 30+ yards this season. He’s not reaching the end zone a ton and hasn’t gotten the buzz of Alabama backs in previous years but he’s played very, very well. He’s averaging just a hair over 8 yards per carry (697 yards on 87 carries) and is tied for fourth in the conference in rushing yards despite missing almost all of two games (he had six carries combined against Kent State and Kentucky with that high ankle sprain).
6. Time of possession isn’t a stat that means a lot to teams like Texas A&M, but it does mean something to Alabama. And the Tide dominated yesterday. It won the overall battle 35:40 to 24:10 but it was really even more impressive than that because there was never a point where A&M got control of the game and held on. Here’s the breakdown of quarters:
1st - A&M 5:34/Alabama 9:26
2nd - A&M 5:43/Alabama 9:17
3rd - A&M 6:12/Alabama 8:48
4th - A&M 6:41/Alabama 8:19
