Tide Rout New Mexico State, 59-3
Alabama dominated this game and put the Aggies away early, just as they needed to.
By: Dave in Tuscaloosa
Will Anderson currently leads the country in sacks with 12.5 on the season. Photo by Ben Flanagan, AL.com
Well, that was a bit easier than last week.
After struggling with LSU, second ranked Alabama released some frustration and ran all over the New Mexico State Aggies 59-3 at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, pushing their overall record to 9-1. The Bama offense, frustrated by the Bayou Bengals a week prior, hit on all cylinders, amassing 587 total yards. In a little over a half of play, Tide quarterback Bryce Young had all day to throw in the pocket and went 21-23 on the afternoon for 270 yards and 5 touchdown passes. Tailback Brian Robinson, who had been held to 18 total yards on the ground against LSU, returned to form and had 9 carries for 99 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a season long 63 yard run for six. Receiver Jamison Williams had a terrific day, catching 6 passes for 158 yards and 3 touchdowns. In all, 7 different players had carries and 13 players wearing the Crimson jersey caught at least one pass. In addition, the Tide was able to give 4 different quarterbacks snaps.
Meanwhile, the Bama D performed well for the second straight week, limiting the 1-9 Aggie offense to just 138 total yards. Sophomore terror Will Anderson led the way with 2 of Alabama’s 7 sacks, bringing his team leading sack total to 12 on the season. The New Mexico State ground game gained just 9 yards, and Aggie quarterback Jonah Johnson completed 19 of 30 passes for 129 yards. Overall, the Aggie offense picked up 10 first downs to the Tide’s 30. Four of those first downs came on the Aggie’s first two drives, with the second drive culminating in a Ethan Alebertson 50 yard field goal that gave NMSU a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter. That lead lasted 44 seconds as Young would counter with a 50 yard touchdown strike to Williams. Bama would add a 12 yard touchdown to tight end Cameron Latu to end the first quarter up 14-3. Alabama exploded for 35 second quarter points, which included two touchdowns from Brian Robinson, two from Williams, and a 5 yard Young to Jahleel Billingsley strike to stretch the Tide halftime lead to 49-3. From there, Alabama cruised and emptied its bench. The scoring concluded with a 5 yard Trey Sanders run and a 29 yard field goal from backup placekicker Jack Martin.
All news was not all good from Tuscaloosa, as injuries are starting to mount just as Alabama sets its sights on clinching the West to set up a showdown with top ranked Georgia, which continues to play on a different level compared to the rest of the country. The Tide lost its third tailback of the year (Jace McClellan and 5 star freshman Camarr Wheaton have been sidelined with knee injuries) when sophomore backup Roydell Williams went down with a knee injury in the second quarter. All three backs are expected to miss the remainder of 2021, leaving only Robinson and Trey Sanders in the backfield. In addition, freshman receiver Jo Jo Earle and defensive back Demarcco Hellams went down with injuries as well. Both are expected to return to action either this week against Arkansas or next week in the Iron Bowl against Auburn.
Up next for Alabama will be the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bryant-Denny on Saturday. If the Tide can defeat the 25th ranked Hogs, they will clinch the SEC West for the second year in a row. Kickoff is set for 3:30 EST and will air on CBS.