For the 2018 University of Alabama football season, TideSports’ Terrin Waack will provide select stellar stats, obscure facts and notable quotes from the most recent game to show how the Crimson Tide uses “The Process” against its opponents.
No. 1 Alabama defeated Auburn 52-21 at Bryant-Denny Stadium last Saturday in front of 101,821 people for the in-state rivals’ annual Iron Bowl.
Stellar stats
• Alabama beat every regular-season opponent by at least 20 points. The 12-game streak to open the season is an NCAA best. The last team to do that was Yale in 1888.
• This is the fourth time the Crimson Tide has finished out the regular season undefeated since Nick Saban took over the program in 2007. The other seasons were 2008, 2009 and 2016.
• Tua Tagovailoa was responsible for six touchdowns — one rushing, five passing. That sets an Alabama single-game record, topping fellow quarterback Jalen Hurts’ five touchdowns against Mississippi State last season.
• Hurts entered the game for Alabama’s second series in the fourth quarter. His first play? A 53-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Obscure facts
• Alabama had 500 yards of total offense on the dot.
• Auburn had three passers go down in the final stat book; all play different position. Jarrett Stidham was under center, understandably so since he’s the quarterback, but Ryan Davis and Malik Willis also threw passes. Davis is a wide receiver. Willis is a running back.
• That was just the third Iron Bowl in which Alabama put up more than 50 points against Auburn. It had 52 this year, 55 in 2014 and 55 back in 1948. Eight of UA’s 12 games this season saw the Crimson Tide score at least 50.
• Auburn had the ball for 12 minutes and 15 seconds of game clock in the fourth quarter but did not score. Alabama had it for 2 minutes and 45 seconds and scored two touchdowns.
The spread
OddSharks.com had Alabama as a 26-point favorite over Auburn. The Crimson Tide did cover. It won by 31 points.
Quoting Nick Saban
On whether he has any standout memories from one particular senior …
“Probably the unique story was (recruiting) Ross Pierschbacher in Iowa. All right, I go up there with Mario Cristobal, who’s from Cuba and has never been in the snow before. So we get a rental car and it’s snowing like hell. Now I mean, it ain’t snowing a little bit, it’s snowing a lot. It’s blowing sideways. I’m saying, ‘Mario, let me drive.’ He thought he had to do his duty, man, and I’ll tell you what, I’ve never been more scared in all my life.”
Quoting the Crimson Tide
Defensive back Shyheim Carter on linebacker Anfernee Jennings’ interception …
“He always tells me things like, ‘Man, I’m about to go out and get a pick. I’m about to go out and get a touchdown.’ That’s what he did. Last week he told me he was going to get a touchdown. He did it last week. This week he told me he was going to get a pick. He did it.”
Quoting the opponent
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn on how certain players performed …
“Any time you get beat like we got beat, no one, I would say, played great.”
GAME LEADERS
Top 3 rushers
1. AU: JaTarvious Whitlow, 19 carries for 61 yards
2. UA: Damien Harris, nine carries for 41 yards
3. UA: Josh Jacobs, five carries for 28 yards
Top 3 receivers
1. UA: Jerry Jeudy, five receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown
2. UA: Jaylen Waddle, three receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown
3. UA: DeVonta Smith, four receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown
Top 3 passers
1. UA: Tua Tagovailoa, 25-32-0 for 324 yards and five touchdowns (sacked once)
2. AU: Jarrett Stidham, 13-30-1 for 127 yards and a touchdown (sacked three times)
3. UA: Jalen Hurts, 1-1-0 for 53 yards and a touchdown
Top 3 defenders
1. UA: Dylan Moses, nine total tackles (a tackle for loss)
2. UA: LaBryan Ray, nine total tackles (a sack and a quarterback hurry)
3. AU: Darrell Williams, nine total tackles
NEXT UP
Alabama (12-0) starts its postseason run against Georgia (11-0) in the 2018 SEC Championship Game. The game — a national championship rematch — will kick off in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 3 p.m. CT and air on CBS.
