There are times in which what appeared to be a good performance in a game was really a great one when you go back and take a second look.
A perfect example was the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, when the University of Alabama dismantled Missouri 42-13.
To steal from a popular wrestling name, sophomore defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson was at times a one-man gang. He led the Crimson Tide with nine tackles, including three for a loss and was also credited with a hurry.
The tackles all came on running plays, during which Missouri had a total of 3 yards gained, and the hurry resulted in an incompletion. Overall, the Tigers had 41 rushing yards (with no sacks counting against that), of which 15 came on one play, and the longest gain between the tackles was just 6 yards.
Right behind Robinson was junior defensive lineman Jarran Reed with four tackles including two for a loss, and senior linebacker Xzavier Dickson with four hurries and two tackles.
They played as much of a part in the victory at the Georgia Dome as anyone.
- Play of the game: Not only did the 58-yard touchdown strike to senior wide receiver DeAndrew White give Alabama a 14-3 lead, but Missouri’s best defensive player Shane Ray was ejected for targeting.
- Player of the game: Senior quarterback Blake Sims was 23 of 27 for 262 yards and two touchdowns and had some key carries as well. He set SEC Championship Game records for most consecutive completed passes (10) and completion percentage (85.2).
- Hit of the game: Junior safety Landon Collins forced the only turnover of the game and recovered the fumble as well in the fourth quarter.
- Statistic of the game: After the Tigers pulled to within 21-13 they were outgained 225-65, and outscored 21-0 the rest of the game.
- Did you notice? Since the third interception against Auburn, at the start of the second half last week, Sims has completed 33 of 39 passes (84.6 percent) for 445 yards and five touchdowns.
Here are 10 other things of note from Saturday’s game:
1) More Sims: Sims was a perfect 5-for-5 on third downs, for 82 yards, and all five completions resulted in a first down. He was sacked twice on third down, but overall the Crimson Tide converted 9 of 13 opportunities for 69.2 percent, its second best showing this season (Florida, 12-16, 75 percent). For the season Sims is 61-for-85 (71.8 percent) with no interceptions on third downs. He was also 5-for-5 in the red zone against Missouri. His completion percentage inside the 20 is 64.3 for the season, but he’s 14 of 16, 87.5 percent, over the last four games.
2. Individual records chase: Going back to the end of the Auburn game Sims had a string of 13 straight completions, the third longest streak in Alabama history (Greg McElroy, 16, 2010). He set a couple of Crimson Tide single-season records and is closing in on possibly three more:
Most yardage: 3,571; AJ McCarron 3,041 (2013)
Yards per game: 274.7; McElroy 233.9 (2013)
Completions: 230; John Parker Wilson 255 (2007)
Passing yards: 3,250; McCarron 3,063 (2013)
Touchdown passes 26; McCarron 30 (2012)
Junior wide receiver Amari Cooper set the SEC record for receptions in a single season. Here’s how he close he is to breaking two more SEC records:
SEC receiving yards, single season
1. Josh Reed, 1740, 2001, Louisiana State
2. Amari Cooper, 1656, 2014, Alabama
All-time SEC receiving yards
1. Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt, 2010-13, 3,759
2. Amari Cooper, Alabama, 2012-14, 3,392
Running back T.J. Yeldon still needs 291 rushing yards to break Shaun Alexander’s career record of 3,565.
1. Shaun Alexander, 3,565
2. Bobby Humphrey 3,420
3. Kenneth Darby 3,324
4. T.J. Yeldon 3,275
5. Mark Ingram 3,261
3. Explosive plays: Nick Saban defines them as a run of 13 or more yards, or a pass of 17 or more yards. Alabama’s goal is nine per game. It notched 11.
Game leaders
Derrick Henry 3
Christion Jones 2
DeAndrew White 2
Amari Cooper 1
O.J. Howard 1
Tyren Jones 1
Blake Sims 1
Season leaders
Amari Cooper 32
T.J. Yeldon 21
Derrick Henry 17
DeAndrew White 10
Christion Jones 8
Game-by-game
West Virginia 12
Florida Atlantic 14
Southern Miss 14
Florida 11
Ole Miss 7
Arkansas 3
Texas A&M 13
Alabama 10
LSU 6
Mississippi State 4
Western Carolina 11
Auburn 11
Missouri 11
Game-by-game opponents
West Virginia 8
Florida Atlantic 1
Southern Miss 5
Florida 5
Ole Miss 4
Arkansas 7
Texas A&M 1
Tennessee 7
LSU 3
Mississippi State 6
Western Carolina 3
Auburn 14
Missouri 5
Season totals
Alabama: 127
Opponents: 69
4. Supposed Missouri advantages: A lot was made of Missouri’s impressive defensive line, especially the ends. Ray, who was ejected in the second quarter, and Markus Golden combined for eight tackles and one-half sack despite freshman left tackle Cam Robinson playing with a shoulder and ankle injuries. The Tigers had led the nation in fewest fumbles lost, but Alabama had the only turnover. Senior fullback Jalston Fowler’s fumble that wasn’t called came after forward progress had stopped and the whistle blew between the ball coming out and being recovered.
5. Mistakes index: Basically, it’s a measure of miscues, but it could arguably also be an indirect indicator of maturity and discipline. The mistakes index is fumbles lost + interceptions + penalties + sacks.
Game-by-game
West Virginia 0+1+7+0 = 8
Florida Atlantic 0+0+6+1=7
Southern Miss 1+0+3+1=5
Florida 3+1+11+1=16
Ole Miss 1+1+8+1=11
Arkansas 2+0+4+2=8
Texas A&M 0+0+0+1=1
Tennessee 2+0+6+1=9
LSU 1+0+3+1= 5
Mississippi State 0+0+7+1=8
Western Carolina 1+1+5+0=7
Auburn 0+3+3+1=7
Missouri 0+0+2+2=4
Game-by-game opponents
West Virginia 0+0+6+3 = 9
Florida Atlantic 1+0+3+3=7
Southern Miss 0+0+6+1=7
Florida 1+2+5+0=8
Ole Miss 1+0+3+2+7
Arkansas 2+1+4+4=11
Texas A&M 0+1+2+6=9
Tennessee 1+1+4+2=8
LSU 0+1+2+2=5
Mississippi State 0+3+4+1=8
Western Carolina 0+0+5+2=7
Auburn 0+1+7+2=10
Missouri 1+0+6+0=7
6. Red-zone defense: Missouri had the ball three times in the red zone, but had to settle for one touchdown and two field goals. In nine SEC games, opponents had the ball just 31 times inside the 20, and scored 12 touchdowns (38.7 percent). The last two games saw 11 chances and just three touchdowns (27.3). SEC opponents have scored just one rushing touchdown during the last five games.
7. Yards after the catch: The deepest ball thrown to Cooper was just 15 yards, and that was an incompletion when he was being double-covered. The two longest pass attempts both went to White, while the touchdown by Christion Jones was his first of the season.
Game leaders
Amari Cooper 74
DeAndrew White 33
Christion Jones 23
O.J. Howard 15
Jalston Fowler 13
Brian Vogler 1
Total: 159
Season leaders
Amari Cooper 839
DeAndrew White 198
T.J. Yeldon 175
Christion Jones 111
O.J. Howard 104
Total: 1,880 of 3,653 (51.5 percent)
Per game
Opponent, YAC, Receptions, Average
West Virginia 116/24 = 4.83
Florida Atlantic 246/26= 9.46
Southern Miss 101/17= 5.94
Florida 246/24 =10.3
Ole Miss 117/18 = 6.5
Arkansas 101/11 = 9.2
Texas A&M 173/21 = 8.23
Tennessee 167/14 = 11.9
LSU 100/20 = 5.0
Mississippi State 90/19 = 4.73
Western Carolina 131/29 = 4.52
Auburn 133/20 = 6.65
Missouri 159/23 = 6.9
8. Most around the ball: Not only did Collins retake the team lead in tackles, but also in defensive “touches” – which is found by adding together tackles, assists, sacks, passes broken up (interceptions are included in that statistic), hurries, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries.
Game leaders
A’Shawn Robinson 13
Landon Collins 10
Jarran Reed 6
Geno Smith 6
Xzavier Dickson 6
Season leaders
Landon Collins 107.5
Reggie Ragland 105.5
Trey DePriest 91.5
Nick Perry 86.5
Jarran Reed 63.5
9. Who was thrown at? Although Missouri’s biggest gains all came on busted plays, the Tigers went after junior Geno Smith with Jimmie Hunt. Not including the pick-play on the 1-yard touchdown catch he was targeted eight times with four completions for 111 yards. Sophomore Eddie Jackson, who had the rough game against Auburn, had four passes thrown his way with two completions for 33 yards. Not including a completion under his coverage junior Cyrus Jones had four passes go his way, with one catch for 1 yard.
10. Team records chase: Alabama actually set a bunch of single-season offensive records against the Tigers, and is closing in on numerous others:
Most plays: 948; 962 (2007)
Most yards: 6,376; 6,237 (2012)
Most yards gained per game: 490.5; 480.7 (1973)
Touchdowns rushing-passing: 62; 58 (1945, 2013)
Most passing attempts: 415; 472 (2007)
Most completions: 268; 263 (2007)
Most passing yards: 3,653; 3,395 (2010)
Most passing yards per game: 281.0; 270.7 (1969)
Most touchdown passes: 30; 31 (2012)
Most points: 482; 542 (2012)
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
