Alabama
Florida
No. 1 Alabama Beats No. 7 Florida, 31-6
10/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 2, 2010
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
| Alabama 31, Florida 6 [Box Score] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| #21 Dre Kirkpatrick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The No. 1 Alabama football team forced four turnovers and held visiting Florida without a touchdown for the first time in 61 games with an emphatic 31-6 win over the No. 7 Gators before a crowd of 101,821 on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Alabama scored 21 points off Gators mistakes, including a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by freshman linebacker C.J. Mosley. Sophomore tailback Trent Richardson ran for 63 yards on 10 carries while junior tailback Mark Ingram accounted for 47 yards on 12 carries and two scores.
"I'm really pleased and happy with the way our team came out and played in the first half," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. "I thought we had great energy, enthusiasm, passion and intensity. We played against a very good team. It was a very physical game. We made a lot of plays, defensively especially, down in the red zone whether it was getting turnovers or a fourth-down stop."
On its opening possession of the game, Alabama capped off an 11-play, 68-yard drive with a 28-yard Jeremy Shelley field goal to go up 3-0. On the ensuing Florida possession, Alabama sophomore linebacker Nico Johnson intercepted a pass by Gators quarterback Trey Burton in the end zone on a fourth down play from the Alabama one-yard line to keep Florida off the scoreboard.
Following the turnover, the Crimson Tide marched 80 yards in nine plays, increasing the lead to 10-0 on Ingram's six-yard touchdown run. After a Florida punt and a 41-yard return by junior wide receiver Julio Jones, Alabama needed eight plays to cover 42 yards, ending with Ingram's second touchdown of the night, a one-yard plunge over the left side to go up 17-0.
The Crimson Tide increased the lead later in the second quarter after sophomore cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick's interception of a John Brantley pass at the Florida 18-yard line. Following the turnover, junior wide receiver Marquis Maze took the ball on a reverse and passed to sophomore tight end Michael Williams in the end zone from 19 yards out to put the Crimson Tide up 24-0. It was the first career touchdown pass and first career pass attempt for Maze.
"We just came out ready to play tonight," junior defensive back Mark Barron said. "A lot of guys had their minds right as far as what they had to do mentally, and that showed when we stepped onto the field."
The Gators turned the ball over twice in goal-to-go situations from the Alabama one-yard line. The first such turnover occurred on Florida's first possession of the game as Johnson intercepted Burton's jump pass in the end zone. The second turnover came on Florida's second possession of the second half after Brantley fumbled the ball while attempting to hand the ball off to running back Emmanuel Moody. Crimson Tide linebacker Courtney Upshaw recovered the fumble to end the scoring threat.
Prior to Brantley's fumble, Alabama had increased the lead to 31-6 following Mosley's 35-yard interception return for a touchdown.
"The turnovers played a key role for us because most of the time they came in critical situations tonight," Barron said. "They played a big role and really changed the momentum for us a few times tonight."
Barron led the Tide with 11 tackles, including one sack, one tackle for a loss and two pass breakups. Junior linebacker Courtney Upshaw recorded seven tackles and a team-high four tackles for a loss. On the night Alabama notched a season-high eight tackles for loss.
The Crimson Tide (5-0 overall and 2-0 in the SEC) will travel to Columbia, S.C., next Saturday to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks.
