WATCH: Calvin Ridley sends Mercer defender to the ground with devastating juke move
No. 1 Alabama is having no trouble handling Mercer on Saturday afternoon, currently leading the overmatched Bears 35-0 early in the second quarter.
No play illustrates how much of a mismatch the game is more than a second quarter throw from QB Jalen Hurts to star WR Calvin Ridley.
As you can see in the video below, Ridley runs a slant-and-go (or sluggo) route, but his hard jab step to fake the slant literally sent a Mercer defender flailing to the ground. Ridley then got behind him for a 66-yard touchdown:
Calvin Ridley sluggo, easy TD. @DFF_Devy pic.twitter.com/88zXatAI2P
— Ty Wurth (@WurthDraft) November 18, 2017
On only three catches, Ridley already has 103 yards and a touchdown, passing Julio Jones on Alabama’s all-time receiving list.
A hard fake like that likely would have made any defender look foolish, but it just so happened to take place against this poor Mercer defensive back.
The Tide are rolling right now, and it looks like it will be an easy day for coach Nick Saban’s undefeated squad.