TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -No. 3 Alabama has eased concerns about new starting quarterback Greg McElroy and the offensive line and shown the defense is every bit as formidable as expected.
With that out the way, the Crimson Tide’s next task is to keep it going in Southeastern Conference play when Arkansas visits. Alabama’s celebration was muted Saturday after a 53-7 shellacking of North Texas, the latest double-digit nonconference win.
“It’s going to get much tougher,” McElroy said. “SEC opponent, it steps everything up. Everything we’ve done up to this point is all good and grand as far as getting the cobwebs out. Now it’s time to really start playing. Our goal is to win an SEC championship, an SEC West championship, all those things. And we can’t get it without a victory next week.”
That’s not necessarily true in the tough division. The Tide (3-0) still has games against those other two Top 10 SEC West teams – at No. 4 Mississippi (Oct. 10) and home against No. 7 LSU (Nov. 7).
. 1 goal is to make sure that opening win over No. 11 Virginia Tech isn’t the team’s only visit to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, site of the SEC championship game.
The routs of Sun Belt Conference teams Florida International and North Texas the past two weeks allowed the Tide to get significant playing time for youngsters such as tailback Trent Richardson and backup quarterback Star Jackson. And those games answered some lingering preseason questions about McElroy and the offensive line.
McElroy has been steady and efficient in his first three starts, completing 66.7 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and one interception. And Alabama has averaged 268 yards rushing and given up only two sacks.
“The offensive line has done a good job, but we’re going to be challenged as an offensive line in the future by better fronts,” coach Nick Saban said. “We’re going to have to continue to make improvement.”
The defense has been stingy, giving up league-bests of 185 total yards and 42 rushing yards a game.
“We know we have much bigger challenges coming up,” Saban said. “The SEC has defensive ends that can rush, defensive tackles that can thump you inside, and everybody’s got people that can run. But the skill people on offense are a lot better and so are the coverage people. That’s probably what makes this league what it is.”
rgia. They bring the SEC’s top offense in to face the No. 1 defense. The Tide faces Ryan Mallett instead of North Texas’ backup quarterback Nathan Tune, who started Saturday’s game because of Riley Dodge’s shoulder injury.
“We’re going to have to ramp it up a notch,” Saban said.
The Tide has four running backs with at least 100 yards, all of them averaging more than 5.5 yards per carry. Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and the quick Terry Grant each have run for three touchdowns. Roy Upchurch missed most of the past two games with a high ankle sprain, but Saban said he could be available against the Razorbacks.
“The one thing that gets overshadowed a little bit is we have two really pretty good backs,” Saban said, referring to Ingram and Richardson. “They are not easy to tackle. They make people miss, and they have some strength as runners. Roy’s not far behind when he’s playing, so we really have three. And then Terry Grant gives us a different dimension.”
The Tide took advantage of a 30-0 halftime lead against North Texas to get backup quarterback Star Jackson his first meaningful snaps. The redshirt freshman completed 9 of 13 passes for 87 yards.
“He’s a real asset for us, especially for the future,” Saban said. “That will be beneficial to him in the future.”
Add A Comment