Takeaways from Alabama Football's Senior Day Win Over Chattanooga
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For the 16th straight season, the Alabama Crimson Tide has won 10 games, continuing head coach Nick Saban's unrivaled run in Tuscaloosa.
Beating Chattanooga wasn't the Crimson Tide's end goal this season, but it is a reminder of how consistent Saban's program has been for so long.
Saturday went exactly how Saban wanted it to go, with Alabama (10-1, 7-0 SEC) taking care of business far before the contest's conclusion — a 66-10 thumping.
You may not think there are any takeaways from a win over an FCS opponent, but that's not how we do things around here. Here are mine:
Taking Care of Business
This is an obvious one, however, maybe not so obvious for the team across the state. However you want to look at this win, the Crimson Tide still had to strap on the pads and play 60 minutes of football against another team with talented athletes.
While the result was never in doubt, Auburn showed that you can never be too comfortable going into the week before the Iron Bowl. Alabama respected its opponent, and as a result, played its offensive starters for just a half.
The Crimson Tide wanted to go through the motions while building upon its impressive stretch over the past couple of months. Jalen Milroe was a prime example of that, going 13-for-16 for 197 yards and three touchdowns. He got in and got out.
Alabama led 31-0 before the Mocs could even blink. That and the Crimson Tide sustained zero extra injuries on Saturday — the exact intention of Cupcake Week.
Caleb Downs the Punt Returner?
We knew how talented Downs was as a defensive back, but we got to see even more of his athleticism and ability as a returner on Saturday. After a couple of stumbles on his first two attempts, Downs returned his third attempt for an 85-yard touchdown.
Downs came in after two more mishaps from Kool-Aid McKinstry. Will that give him the duties moving forward? We'll see.
Downs' special-teams touchdown is just a reminder that Alabama has a roster full of players that were the best athletes on any and all teams they played on growing up. In a different life, Downs could probably be a star on offense. For now, he'll have to be OK with being the top true freshman in the country on defense.
Emptying the Bench
Saban said that the Crimson Tide dressed out all of its healthy players on Saturday, giving a lot of guys the opportunity to put on the Alabama jersey.
Fans watched seniors get an opportunity to take the field one more time, and young players show what the future of the program looks like.
Four different players got in the box score for the first time, with Robbie Ouzts, Malik Benson, Justice Haynes and Richard Young all scoring their first career touchdown. Fifth-year safety Kristian Story recorded his first career interception.
It was one of those Saturdays that made the whole team smile, with a handful of new players getting an opportunity.
Running Wild on the Ground
When all was said and done, the Crimson Tide had 315 rushing yards on the legs of eight different ball carriers.
It started with Jase McClellan, who gave Alabama 62 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Roydell Williams did similar things, rushing for 52 yards on seven touches.
The future of the running back room is bright. Jam Miller and Justice Haynes combined to rush for 119 yards on 11 carries. Haynes got his first two scores.
Even backup quarterback Ty Simpson got in on the fun, finishing the afternoon as the Crimson Tide's leading rusher with 78 yards — on one long scramble.
A Learning Opportunity
We just mentioned the 78-yard scramble from Simpson late in the game. It was a 79-yard touchdown, until officials determined that he dropped the football too early.
It's the type of play that you've probably seen and laughed at over the years, but never expected a player on a Saban-coached team to do.
The good news for Alabama, and for Simpson, is that Chattanooga didn't recover the miscue and return it for a touchdown. Instead, Richard Young scored the next play. Saban called the mistake a learning opportunity. Milroe was more concerned about how fast Simpson was running on the play instead.
The defense also gave up a couple of chunk plays and 233 total yards as a result. That unit would tell you that they want to clean up some of the things that went wrong.
