POSTGAME NOTES - ALABAMA vs. TENNESSEE
10/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 22, 2011
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GAME CAPTAINS: Tonight's Alabama game captains were linebacker Dont'a Hightower, linebacker Jerrell Harris, safety Mark Barron and offensive lineman Barrett Jones. Alabama won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
TIDE AT HOME SINCE 2008: With the victory over Tennessee, Alabama is 25-1 in its last 26 games at Bryant-Denny Stadium dating back to the start of the 2008 season. During that stretch the Crimson Tide has scored 59 rushing touchdowns, while the Crimson Tide defense has surrendered only two rushing touchdowns at home over that span.
ALABAMA UNDER SABAN IN OCTOBER: Alabama has been very successful in the second month of the season under head coach Nick Saban. Now in his fifth season at Alabama, Saban has led the Crimson Tide to a 17-1 record in October since 2007. Over that span in games played in October, the Crimson Tide has outscored its opponents 499-221 and is 5-1 against ranked opponents. The only October loss under Saban was at No. 19 South Carolina on October 9, 2010. The loss against the Gamecocks broke an 11-game winning streak. Alabama has won its last five games in October since that loss.
WINNING BIG: Alabama has won its last nine games by 16 or more points dating back to last season's Capital One Bowl victory over Michigan State. That nine-game streak equals the longest such mark in the modern era of Crimson Tide football (since 1950). During the current streak, the Tide has beaten the No. 7 Spartans by 42 (49-7), Kent State by 41 (48-7), No. 23 Penn State by 16 (27-11), North Texas by 41 (41-0), No. 14 Arkansas by 24 (28-14), No. 12 Florida by 28 (38-10), Vanderbilt by 34 (34-0), Mississippi by 45 (52-7) and Tennessee by 31 (37-6).
OFFENSIVE NOTES
20 POINTS IN 27 STRAIGHT GAMES: Alabama has scored at least 20 points in 27 straight games dating back to the 2009 Tennessee game The 27-game streak of scoring at least 20 points is the longest in school history. The Tide strung together 16 consecutive games of 20 or more points during the 1973 and 1974 seasons. UA also had 12-game streaks in 1944-46 and 1982-83. During UA's current 27-game streak, Alabama has outscored its opponents 974-304 for an average score of 36.1-11.3 Alabama has also posted 18 games of at least 30 points in the streak as well as nine games of 40-plus points, three games of 50-plus points and two games in the 60s. The Tide has actually scored at least 20 points in 34 of its last 35 games and 41 of its last 43 games. Below is a look at the longest stretches of games where the Crimson Tide scored at least 20 points.
20+ points in consecutive games
27.......... 2009 - present
16.......... 1973-74
12.......... 1982-83
12.......... 1944-46
RICHARDSON ON RECORD PACE: Junior running back Trent Richardson has been scoring touchdowns at an alarming during the 2011 season. In eight games, Richardson has found the end zone 17 times. Richardson opened the year with three touchdowns against Kent State and followed that up with two more at Penn State. Richardson scored three touchdowns for Alabama against North Texas and added another against Arkansas. With the two scores against Florida, one versus Vanderbilt, a career-best four at Mississippi and two more tonight against Tennessee, Richardson pushed his career total to 31 touchdowns on the ground and 37 overall. The 37 touchdowns (31 rushing, 5 receiving, 1 kickoff return) ranks fifth, one behind Johnny Musso on the Alabama career list. Shaun Alexander is the all-time leader at Alabama with 50 career touchdowns with Mark Ingram second with 46.
MAZE ECLIPSES 100 YARDS RECEIVING: With 106 yards on 5 catches against Tennessee, Alabama wide receiver Marquis Maze eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the second time this season. He tallied his first career 100-yard receiving game in the season opener against Kent State (8 catches, 118 yards).
MAZE MOVES UP CAREER RECEIVING LIST: Alabama wide receiver Marquis Maze moved up the career receiving list on the strength of five catches for 106 yards against Tennessee. Maze is now seventh on the career receiving yards list with 1,699. He passed David Palmer (1991-93), who had 1,611 yards. D.J. Hall (2004-07) holds the record with 2,923 receiving yards. Maze's 69-yard reception in the first quarter was the longest of the season for Maze and the second longest (80, Arkansas, Sept. 26, 2009) of his career.
BELL HAULS IN FIRST CAREER TOUCHDOWN: Alabama sophomore wide receiver Kenny Bell caught his first career touchdown in the win against Tennessee. Bell's catch came in the third quarter when he snagged a 39-yard pass from AJ McCarron. Bell became the 13th different player to score for the Tide this season and the fifth different UA receiver to record their first career touchdown this year.
McCARRON THROWS FOR CAREER BEST: Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron threw for a career-best 284 yards. He finished the night 17-of-26 passing with one passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. The sophomore ignited the Tide in the second half, throwing for 162 yards on 9-of-11 passing with two scores. McCarron completed his first eight passes of the second half, going a perfect 7-for-7 in the third quarter.
McCARRON'S STREAK ENDS: Alabama sophomore quarterback AJ McCarron threw his first interception after compiling a streak of 152 attempts since his last miscue. It is the third-longest streak in school history. He went six straight games without a pick. Brodie Croyle holds the school record of 190 consecutive passes without an interception with Jay Barker (155) second.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
10 POINTS OR LESS: Alabama held Tennessee to 6 points. Under head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide has held opponents to 10 points or less 30 times since the start of the 2007 season, including six times in eight games this season. Last season, Alabama held opponents to 10 points or less eight times and limited opponents to that mark seven times in 2009 and 2008. In 2007, the Tide posted two games in which it held opponents to that mark.
GAMES WITH AN INTERCEPTION: With one interception against Tennessee, Alabama has recorded at least one interception in seven of its eight games this season. The only game the Tide did not record a pickoff was against North Texas (Sept. 17). Alabama recorded an interception in 11 of the 13 games in 2010, putting together a run of 17 games with a pick in its last 20 outings. Eight different Tide players have tallied an interception in 2011, with Dee Milliner leading the way with two.
FIRST HALF DEFENSE: Yielding only 6 points in the first half against Tennessee, Alabama has allowed seven points or less in 12 of its last 13 first halves of play. Over that span, the Crimson Tide has surrendered just three points or less on seven occasions, including four shutouts. UA had a streak of nine straight games before allowing 10 points in the first half to Florida on October 1.
SERIES NOTES
TENNESSEE SERIES: With the win Saturday night, Alabama leads the series with Tennessee, 48-38-7, in a series that dates back to the 1901 season. The Crimson Tide has won the last five meetings and earned its fifth straight series win for the first time since a seven-game winning streak from 1986-92.
SABAN VERSUS TENNESSEE: Alabama head coach Nick Saban has compiled a 7-1 (.857) career record against Tennessee. He is 5-0 in his career at Alabama, including a 41-17 win in 2007, a 29-9 in 2008, a 12-10 win in 2009, a 41-10 victory in 2010 and the 37-6 win tonight.
