Alabama
Charleston Southern
No. 2 Alabama Football Beats Charleston Southern, 56-6
11/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The second-ranked University of Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1 overall) started fast and took care of business against Charleston Southern (9-2 overall) in a 56-6 victory before a crowd of 100,611 at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday. Alabama raced to a 28-0 lead after the first quarter on the way to a 49-0 halftime advantage, scoring touchdowns on its first five offensive possessions and adding scores on a pair of punt returns.
Playing only the first quarter of Saturday's game, Alabama running back Derrick Henry rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries. He also caught a pass for 28 yards. Henry's two rushing touchdowns opened the scoring and Cyrus Jones' punt returns highlighted the opening half onslaught as the Tide prepared for its annual Iron Bowl clash with Auburn by dispatching the Buccaneers quickly. The Alabama defense was dominant throughout, allowing only 31 total yards and three first downs in the opening half.
Due to the big lead, Alabama's starters sat out the second half. In two quarters of play, quarterback Jake Coker completed 11 of 13 pass attempts for 155 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley had four catches for 49 yards, wide receiver ArDarius Stewart had four catches for 45 yards and wideout Richard Mullaney had one catch for a 21-yard touchdown. The offensive starters yielded to the Tide's second-team offense late in the second period. Reserve running back Bo Scarborough had a game-high 69 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
The Alabama defense limited CSU to 134 total yards (85 rushing, 49 passing) and eight first downs in the game, holding the Buccaneers to 1-of-10 on third downs while causing two turnovers (one fumble and one interception). Cornerback Bradley Sylve and defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson both had four tackles each to lead the Tide.
Henry started the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown run with 11:36 left in the first quarter, capping the game's first possession. It was Henry's 16th consecutive game with a touchdown. Henry ended the Tide's next possession with a 2-yard scoring run to give Alabama a 14-0 lead with 5:50 left in the opening period. That gave him 21 rushing touchdowns in 2015, tying the school record set by Trent Richardson in 2011, and also gave Henry 35 career rushing scores to tie Richardson for fourth on the Tide's career rushing touchdowns list. After the Tide forced another CSU punt, Alabama capped its third possession with its third touchdown of the game, this one a 21-yard pass from Coker to wide receiver Richard Mullaney with 2:28 left in the opening quarter. Cyrus Jones closed the quarter with a 43-yard punt return for a touchdown on the final play of the period for a 28-0 Alabama lead, marking the second consecutive game in which Jones has taken a punt the distance.
A 30-yard pass from Coker to wide receiver Calvin Ridley gave the Tide a 35-0 lead at 7:07 of the second quarter, capping an 86-yard drive and giving Alabama four touchdowns in four offensive possessions. Three minutes later, following CSU's next possession, Jones took another punt for a touchdown, this one going 72 yards for a 42-0 lead. It marked the first time in Crimson Tide history that an Alabama player has returned two punts for touchdowns in the same game. Alabama led, 49-0, at the half via Bo Scarborough's one-yard run with 1:53 left in the half. The 49 points scored by the Tide was the most in a half by an Alabama team since scoring 52 points against Vanderbilt 1990. CSU quarterback Kyle Copeland's three-yard run early in the fourth quarter prevented a shutout. Alabama running back Damien Harris scored on a six-yard run in the fourth period to end the Tide's scoring.
Alabama concludes its regular season next Saturday, November 28, in the annual Iron Bowl clash with the Auburn Tigers. Kickoff is slated for 2:39 p.m. Central Time at Jordan-Hare Stadium on the Auburn campus. The game will be nationally televised by CBS Sports.
Alabama won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. Junior running back Derrick Henry got off to a quick start, picking up 15 yards on his first carry of the game. He also kept the drive alive with a 4-yard gain on fourth-and-1 at the Charleston Southern 21 to put Alabama into the red zone. Two plays later, Henry broke one tackle before running over a defender at the goal line for on a 17-yard touchdown run. With only 3:24 off the clock, the Tide was out to a 7-0 lead.
Following a three-and-out by the Buccaneers, Alabama had the ball at its own 45 to begin its next offensive drive. The Tide faced third-and-8, but senior quarterback Jake Coker connected with junior tight end O.J. Howard for 12 yards and a first down. Henry broke off an 11-yard rush for another first down, followed by another 12-yard Coker completion, this one to sophomore receiver ArDarius Stewart. On first down from the 13, freshman running back Damien Harris carried the ball down to the 5. Once again, it was Henry who capped off the drive with a score, plunging into the end zone from three yards out. The drive covered 55 yards in 10 plays and took 4:30 off the clock, resulting in a 14-0 advantage for Alabama.
Charleston Southern's offense went three-and-out, losing four yards in three plays. Truett Burns' punt traveled 29 yards, and senior receiver Richard Mullaney scooped it up and returned it eight yards, setting up the offense at the Buccaneers' 35.
Coker found freshman receiver Calvin Ridley along the sidelines for 14 yards to open the drive. On the next play, Coker lobbed a pass to the back corner of the end zone for Mullaney. The pass was originally ruled incomplete, but on the review was overturned, as Mullaney got a foot down before falling out of bounds. Junior kicker Adam Griffith added the extra point, and the Tide held a 21-0 lead with 2:28 to play in the first quarter.
The Buccaneers were stifled again on offense, losing four yards for the second consecutive drive. On the last play of the quarter, Burns' punt was another low line drive, this time deflecting off of an Alabama blocker. Senior Cyrus Jones, who was back to return the punt, alertly picked up the ball and had nothing but green grass in front of him, racing 43 yards for the special teams touchdown as time expired to end the first period. With the touchdown, Jones became the first Alabama player in history to return a punt for a score in two consecutive games after running one back at Mississippi State last week. Score: Alabama 28, Charleston Southern 0.
Charleston Southern put together a drive to start the second quarter, as running back Alan Barnwell carried the ball for nine yards on second-and-six for the team's initial first down. Quarterback Kyle Copeland kept the ball for two yards on the read option on fourth-and-1 to extend the possession, which eventually crossed into Alabama territory. However, the Buccaneers stalled at the Tide 44 and punted the ball away.
The Tide offense took to the air when it got the ball back. Coker launched a deep ball to Ridley on the first play, but the ball was just beyond the receiver's fingertips and fell incomplete. Coker rolled out and hit Stewart for 21 yards on second down, then dumped a screen pass to Henry, who eluded six tacklers before being brought down for a 28-yard gain. After Harris rushed for seven yards, Coker and Ridley combined for a 30-yard scoring strike, Alabama's fifth touchdown of the half. The drive totaled 86 yards in five plays and 2:06 off the clock, extending the Tide's lead to 35-0 midway through the second quarter.
Charleston Southern converted another first down on its next drive, but failed to advance after that. On the punt, Cyrus Jones hauled it in at the Alabama 28 and cut all the way across the field. From there he had a clear path to the end zone, cutting back at the 10 to avoid one last defender for a 78-yard punt return. In records dating back to 1944, Jones is the first player in school history to return two punts for a touchdown in the same game. The score stood at 42-0 in favor of the Tide with just under four minutes left in the half.
Alabama's defense nearly scored a touchdown on the Buccaneers' next possession. On second-and-10, quarterback Kyle Copeland ran an option play to the left and attempted to pitch out to his running back, but the ball ended up in the arms of Cyrus Jones instead. Jones took the ball down to the 6 on the fumble return, setting up the seventh touchdown of the half for the Tide. This one belonged to freshman running back Bo Scarbrough, who took it in from one yard out for the first touchdown of his career. At the 1:53 mark, Alabama was ahead 49-0. Sophomore quarterback Cooper Bateman took over for Coker on the drive. Score: Alabama 49, Charleston Southern 0.
The Buccaneers looked to have a drive going to begin the second half as Copeland threw a 14-yard completion to Kevin Glears near the sideline. However, two plays later, Copeland floated a pass over the middle that was intercepted by senior defensive back Jabriel Washington, who returned it 30 yards to the Charleston Southern 30. Bateman threw his first completion of the game, finding freshman running back Xavian Marks for 14 yards, to start the drive following the turnover. The offense moved the ball down to the CSU 15, but had to settle for a field goal attempt from there. Sophomore JK Scott, the starting punter, was brought on to try the 33-yard kick, but it sailed wide right.
The Alabama defense forced another three-and-out following the missed field goal. Bateman and Scarbrough led a drive down the field, covering 52 yards in nine plays. Bateman connected with sophomore wide receiver Cam Sims for nine yards and a first down, and Scarbrough added runs of 11 and 24 yards. However, the drive would end on fourth down when Bateman's pass to freshman receiver Daylon Charlot came up short of the sticks.
The third quarter ended with Charleston Southern in possession of the ball after Copeland scrambled for a first down on third-and-5. Score: Alabama 49, Charleston Southern 0.
CSU's Kelan Fraise took an option pitch down the sideline for 22 yards on the first play of the quarter and, two plays later, Copeland dropped a 35-yard pass into the hands of wide receiver Saire Davis at the Alabama 3. Copeland finished the drive with a three-yard quarterback keeper, breaking the plane of the goal line before he was down. The Buccaneers went for two, but failed to convert, making the score 49-6 with 12:38 remaining in the game. The scoring drive took seven plays and covered 74 yards.
The Tide offense pieced together a methodical drive for the final points of the game. Taking over at the 40 following a 19-yard kickoff return by senior tight end TY Flournoy-Smith, Alabama was quickly into CSU territory after Harris picked up a first down on second-and-2. Scarbrough then carried the ball four times in five plays, totaling 27 yards. Later in the drive, facing fourth-and-13 at the CSU 22, Bateman stayed in the pocket and found Cam Sims open down the field for 16 yards. Harris took a pitchout from Bateman on the next play, dashing into the end zone from 6 yards out. JK Scott tacked on the extra point, and Alabama held a 56-6 lead with 5:52 to play.
The Tide defense forced one more three-and-out, its fifth of the game. Junior quarterback Alec Morris came in for the final drive of the game for Alabama's offense, which ran out the final 2:52 of game time. Final Score: Alabama 56, Charleston Southern 6.
