Alabama Recap: Bama Cruises by Mercer, 52-7
After Alabama’s epic defeat of Georgia in early October, the Tide proceeded to lay an egg against Vanderbilt the week after. Following a huge win over LSU at Tiger Stadium, Tide Nation had to wonder if there would be a repeat letdown against Mercer, a solid 1-AA team. It is safe to say that Alabama learned their lesson against Vanderbilt as the Tide rolled the Bears 52-7 on a picture-perfect afternoon in Tuscaloosa. With the win combined with losses by Tennessee and BYU, Bama moved up to #7 in the AP Poll, and are not only two games away from making the inaugural College Football Playoff, but sit on the cusp of making the SEC championship game against the winner of the Texas-Texas A&M game in two weeks.
The Crimson Tide are rounding into form at the perfect time, as in Bama’s last three games, they have outscored Missouri, LSU, and Mercer by a combined 128-20. All that stands in the way of competing for titles are a trip to Oklahoma, who currently sit at 5-5 and 1-5 in the conference, and the annual Iron Bowl tussle against a 4-6 Auburn squad that also sits at 1-5 in the SEC.
This one was barely in question right from the start. Mercer took the opening kickoff and on the shoulders of two Bama penalties on third down found themselves in Tide territory. However, a CJ Miller fumble, the first of three Bear turnovers, set up the Tide on their own 41. Five plays later, Ryan Williams opened the scoring with a 29-yard end around at the 10:48 mark of the first quarter. Alabama would end the quarter with another scoring drive as a Jalen Milroe to Williams pass covered 14 yards and put the Tide up 14-0. The second quarter would see Bama touchdowns from Robbie Ouzts courtesy of a perfectly placed 44-yard strike from Milroe and a Zabien Brown 68-yard scoop and score, the first defensive touchdown of the season for Alabama, to increase the lead to 28-0. Mercer would strike on a beautiful one-handed catch in the endzone by Kendall Harris from freshman quarterback Whitt Newbauer. The first half scoring would end with a 45-yard field goal from Bama’s Graham Nicholson and the Tide led 31-7.
The second half was much of the same as Alabama outscored the Bears 21-0 on their way to a 52-7 win. The Tide was able to empty the bench as five quarterbacks saw action, eleven players carried the ball, and thirteen Bama players caught a pass. Overall, Milroe played a little over two quarters and finished 11/16 for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for 43 yards on 6 carries, one of which went for a score. On the season, Milroe has now thrown for 15 touchdowns and has rushed for 15 more touchdowns on the ground. On the day, Bama would outgain the Bears 508 yards to 202 and picked up 29 first downs. Ryan Williams scored two touchdowns for a team leading 8 scores through the air. In recent weeks, Washington transfer Germie Bernard has become a reliable receiver as well. Veteran receivers Kobe Prentice and Kendrick Law have not been a big part of the offense so far as they have a combined 20 catches and just 2 touchdowns. Both will need to emerge and catch their footing if Bama is to make a deep run through the playoffs. Backs Jam Miller and Justice Haynes have remained reliable, yet have not been able to consistently break long runs. Defensively, the young secondary continues to make progress while the linebacking corps led by Deonte Lawson and Jihaad Campbell has become a force. Overall, Kane Wommack’s defense has made tremendous strides since the Tennessee loss and is in position to peak in the weeks to come.
The road contest next Saturday night in Norman against Oklahoma looked a lot more daunting at the start of the season, yet the Sooners under second year coach Brent Venables have really struggled this season, particularly on offense. Still, a trip to Norman is never easy and the Tide cannot afford a letdown as they will look for a similar road effort seen at LSU. Like Oklahoma, the Iron Bowl looked more intimidating at the start of the year, yet Hugh Freeze’s Tigers have struggled as well. Auburn is still capable of pulling an upset, however the Tigers have not been competitive at Bryant-Denney since their last win in Tuscaloosa in 2010. All of Alabama’s season goals are still in front of them and if they continue to play the way they have played the last three weeks, the Crimson Tide will be a tough out no matter who they face.
