Weird game yesterday, what with the interceptions and Alabama DBs running up and down the field almost as much as Derrick Henry. Writing this from the airport today, so let's get a move on before my laptop battery dies.
Points per game: 35.6 (31st nationally, 5th in SEC)
Total yards per game: 430.1 (47th, 6th)
Passing yards per game: 231.4 (68th, 8th)
Rushing yards per game: 198.7 (33rd, 4th)
Points allowed per game: 16.7 (14th, 2nd)
Total yards allowed per game: 271.9 (6th, 1st)
Passing yards allowed per game: 201.0 (41st, 5th)
Rushing yards allowed per game: 70.9 (3rd, 1st)
Turnover margin: +3 (38th, 4th)
And now, six key numbers to break down yesterday's 41-23 win over Texas A&M in Aggieland.
1. Alabama ran the ball 45 times yesterday and passed it 25. Texas A&M passed it 45 times and ran it 25. Those numbers aren't as perfect as it sounds, because things like the 6 sacks Alabama got count as runs for Texas A&M instead of passes. But it was illustrative of how things went. Each team got exactly 70 plays, and Alabama's offense produced 5.7 yards per play with no turnovers, while Texas A&M produced 4.5 yards per play with four turnovers.
2. After posting six more sacks yesterday, Alabama is 8th nationally in total sacks and 15th in sacks per game. Jonathan Allen leads the way with five sacks, but other than him, no one has more than 3.5 (Tim Williams). Alabama has six players with multiple sacks this season, so they're coming from all over. There are more than two dozen teams in college football with single-digit sacks on the year, and Alabama had six yesterday alone.
3. Derrick Henry. "What can you say?" as Nick Saban said. There are a bunch of good numbers in this story on the front, so digest those first. From a national perspective, he's 7th in rushing yards, t-4th in rushing touchdowns, 7th in carries, and 11th in yards per game. Assuming a 14-game season, he's on pace for 1,801 yards and 24 touchdowns on 304 carries, all of which would be records. If you think that's unreasonable to assume as the schedule gets tougher, remember that he had just 31 carries for 148 yards against MTSU and ULM combined. They saved his touches in those games and are cashing in now. He had the most rushing yards of any player against Texas A&M since Cedric Benson of Texas in 2003.
4. Speaking of touchdowns, Derrick Henry is the only player with more touchdowns than Minkah Fitzpatrick. He has three on the season after running two interceptions back yesterday (had the blocked punt against Georgia). Calvin Ridley and Richard Mullaney also have three each. Yesterday, he became the first Alabama player to return multiple interceptions for a touchdown in a game. No one has ever returned more than 2 INTs for touchdowns in a season, and the career record at Alabama is 3. Those records could fall on any given play now, and the guy is seven games into his college career. Aaron wrote about the defense yesterday.
5. Kyle Allen's passer rating by game this year:
Opponent - Rating
Arizona State - 139.3
Ball State - 234.5
Nevada - 167.4
Arkansas - 206.0
Mississippi State - 143.1
Alabama - 98.4
He was completing 64% of his passes with 13 TDs and 2 INTs before yesterday, when he completed 50% of his passes with 1 TD and 3 INTs. The pass defense isn't as dominating as the run defense, but it's not a weakness.
6. Some praise for the offensive line: Texas A&M had 19 sacks entering the game, averaging 3.8 per game, among the top 5 in the country. Yesterday, even with Cam Robinson nursing some injuries and Ryan Kelly out for half of the game, they had one sack. Good job by the line and nice playcalling to keep Coker upright and not get behind the sticks on downs.
One more note as I wrote this: Wisconsin is seventh nationally in total defense, allowing 272.3 yards per game. Alabama hung 502 yards on the Badgers at 7.61 yards per play. Other than that game, their worst performance was when they gave up 325 yards at 5 yards per play to Nebraska.
Points per game: 35.6 (31st nationally, 5th in SEC)
Total yards per game: 430.1 (47th, 6th)
Passing yards per game: 231.4 (68th, 8th)
Rushing yards per game: 198.7 (33rd, 4th)
Points allowed per game: 16.7 (14th, 2nd)
Total yards allowed per game: 271.9 (6th, 1st)
Passing yards allowed per game: 201.0 (41st, 5th)
Rushing yards allowed per game: 70.9 (3rd, 1st)
Turnover margin: +3 (38th, 4th)
And now, six key numbers to break down yesterday's 41-23 win over Texas A&M in Aggieland.
1. Alabama ran the ball 45 times yesterday and passed it 25. Texas A&M passed it 45 times and ran it 25. Those numbers aren't as perfect as it sounds, because things like the 6 sacks Alabama got count as runs for Texas A&M instead of passes. But it was illustrative of how things went. Each team got exactly 70 plays, and Alabama's offense produced 5.7 yards per play with no turnovers, while Texas A&M produced 4.5 yards per play with four turnovers.
2. After posting six more sacks yesterday, Alabama is 8th nationally in total sacks and 15th in sacks per game. Jonathan Allen leads the way with five sacks, but other than him, no one has more than 3.5 (Tim Williams). Alabama has six players with multiple sacks this season, so they're coming from all over. There are more than two dozen teams in college football with single-digit sacks on the year, and Alabama had six yesterday alone.
3. Derrick Henry. "What can you say?" as Nick Saban said. There are a bunch of good numbers in this story on the front, so digest those first. From a national perspective, he's 7th in rushing yards, t-4th in rushing touchdowns, 7th in carries, and 11th in yards per game. Assuming a 14-game season, he's on pace for 1,801 yards and 24 touchdowns on 304 carries, all of which would be records. If you think that's unreasonable to assume as the schedule gets tougher, remember that he had just 31 carries for 148 yards against MTSU and ULM combined. They saved his touches in those games and are cashing in now. He had the most rushing yards of any player against Texas A&M since Cedric Benson of Texas in 2003.
4. Speaking of touchdowns, Derrick Henry is the only player with more touchdowns than Minkah Fitzpatrick. He has three on the season after running two interceptions back yesterday (had the blocked punt against Georgia). Calvin Ridley and Richard Mullaney also have three each. Yesterday, he became the first Alabama player to return multiple interceptions for a touchdown in a game. No one has ever returned more than 2 INTs for touchdowns in a season, and the career record at Alabama is 3. Those records could fall on any given play now, and the guy is seven games into his college career. Aaron wrote about the defense yesterday.
5. Kyle Allen's passer rating by game this year:
Opponent - Rating
Arizona State - 139.3
Ball State - 234.5
Nevada - 167.4
Arkansas - 206.0
Mississippi State - 143.1
Alabama - 98.4
He was completing 64% of his passes with 13 TDs and 2 INTs before yesterday, when he completed 50% of his passes with 1 TD and 3 INTs. The pass defense isn't as dominating as the run defense, but it's not a weakness.
6. Some praise for the offensive line: Texas A&M had 19 sacks entering the game, averaging 3.8 per game, among the top 5 in the country. Yesterday, even with Cam Robinson nursing some injuries and Ryan Kelly out for half of the game, they had one sack. Good job by the line and nice playcalling to keep Coker upright and not get behind the sticks on downs.
One more note as I wrote this: Wisconsin is seventh nationally in total defense, allowing 272.3 yards per game. Alabama hung 502 yards on the Badgers at 7.61 yards per play. Other than that game, their worst performance was when they gave up 325 yards at 5 yards per play to Nebraska.
