Alabama Defense Creates Season-High Turnovers in Shutout Win

In the first shutout since the opening game, the Crimson Tide defense grabbed two interceptions and a fumble.

Katie Windham | Nov 19, 2022

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Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Through 10 games this season, there was only one time the Alabama defense got more than one turnover in a game, and it happened in the loss at Tennessee.

Head coach Nick Saban has been emphasizing turnovers "like crazy" for weeks now, and Saturday against Austin Peay, the defense recovered three turnovers for the first time this season.

"Three’s our goal every single game, so to be able to reach that number was huge for us," said Alabama linebacker Henry To'oTo'o.

The Alabama secondary doubled its interception total of the season in the game with Kool-Aid McKinstry and Brian Branch snagging interceptions against the Governors.

"We’ve been talking about turnovers since the beginning of the season," Branch said after the game. "It felt good getting one. I knew if one came… We all knew if one came, it was going to keep on coming. If everybody just plays their role, it’s going to come to us.”

Austin Peay quarterback Mike DiLiello was leading a drive in the fourth quarter to try and get the Governors on the board for the first time, but Branch's interception killed any opportunity for that. It was the first interception of the season for Branch.

McKinstry's interception came in the second quarter when Austin Peay was once again driving into Alabama territory. The sophomore defensive back grabbed the under-thrown ball and returned it 26 yards past midfield. It was also McKinstry's first interception of the year.

On a fourth down in its own territory, Austin Peay tried to run a little bit of a trick play and ended up fumbling the ball. Redshirt freshman Damon Payne Jr. jumped on it and was visibly fired up after the turnover. He ran to the sideline and got to hold the ball-out belt for the first time this season.

MAJOR PAYNE!!! @DamonPayne2021

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— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) November 19, 2022

"It was good to get the turnovers today," Saban said. "It was exciting for the defensive players. I think, hopefully that can be contagious for us, and we can continue to do that."

Because of Alabama miscues on offense and special teams, the Austin Peay offense was set up with good field position to score on two separate occasions.

A muffed punt was recovered by the Governors at the Alabama 36. Austin Peay got down into the red zone, but the Crimson Tide defense forced a turnover on downs. Then after Isaiah Bond's fumble near midfield, Austin Peay once again got into the red zone. But Governor's kicker Maddux Trujillo missed a chip shot field goal to keep Austin Peay off the scoreboard.

It was Alabama's first shutout since the season opener against Utah State.

"It felt like everybody was doing their job," Branch said. "The goal isn’t really just to get a shutout, but to dominate. So I guess it came with a shutout today, so we’re just happy and have got to move on."

Alabama also turned the ball over three times, so Saban wasn't pleased with the turnover ratio and said he wants to emphasize ball security moving forward. But overall, he liked what he saw on defense in the win.

"Defense got a couple of really key stops after we turned the ball over a couple times in the first quarter in the red zone," Saban said. "It’s always great to get a shutout."

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports.

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