Tide Rolls Overmatched Golden Eagles, 63-14
Jameson Williams refuses to wear a mouthpiece, but it doesn’t matter because no one can touch him. (Photo: Alabama Athletics)
It took a grand total of 14 seconds to realize that all is indeed well in Tuscaloosa once again.
Junior receiver Jameson Williams returned the opening kickoff 100 yards, one of two kickoff returns for touchdowns (an Alabama record), quarterback Bryce Williams was near perfect on the evening, the running game was effective, the defense showed up...you get the picture. Coming off last weekend’s thrilling win over Florida in The Swamp, top ranked Bama rolled over Southern Mississippi at home to the tune of 63-14 to improve to 4-0 on the season, setting up a huge tilt with 12th ranked Ole Miss next weekend. More importantly, as the likes of Auburn, Clemson, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Iowa State either struggled or outright lost, the Tide re-established itself, along with the Bulldogs from Georgia, as the nation’s teams to beat. True, first year coach Will Hall’s Southern Mississippi squad from Conference USA are not world beaters, yet it was good to see order restored in Tuscaloosa as Alabama played its most complete game of the season.
It was a dominating performance in all phases of the game as the Tide offense rolled up 606 total yards and lit up the scoreboard with 63 points. Quarterback Bryce Young continued his torrid start by completing 22 of 24 passes for 312 yards and 5 touchdowns. Young has now thrown for 15 touchdowns on the season, and although he did throw his first interception of the year in the third quarter (a perfectly thrown pass to Jameson Williams that popped off of his chest into the arms of a Southern Miss defender), the young gunslinger continues to impress. If there has been a knock on his work so far, it would be his touch on deep balls. That too was put to rest, at least temporarily, as Young and his receivers stretched the field nicely throughout the contest. Young hit Williams on a perfectly thrown 81 yard touchdown strike early in the second quarter that stretched a 21-0 first quarter lead to 35-0.
The offensive line looked sharp, as Young was never touched and rarely pressured, and they opened up running lanes for Tide backs to the tune of 212 rushing yards (all without leading rusher Brian Robinson, who did not play due to a rib injury sustained against Florida) a season high, against the nation’s top rated unit against the rush (the Golden Eagles had been giving up 47 yards per game). Sophomore Roydell Williams led the way with 110 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. Right behind him was fellow sophomore Jace McClellan, who rushed for 97 yards on 12 carries. Young and backups Paul Tyson and Jalen Milroe, who closed the scoring with a beautiful 24 yard touchdown strike to fellow freshman Javon Baker, distributed completions to nine different receivers on the evening. Junior tight end Jahleel Billingsley is clearly out of Saban’s doghouse and had a second straight impressive performance, leading all Tide receivers with 5 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. All in all, it was a solid night for offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien’s unit.
Defensively, Alabama bounced back from a subpar performance against Florida and held the Golden Eagles to a total of 213 yards. Will Anderson was back to his old self as he made a living in the Southern Miss backfield and made the evening miserable for freshman quarterback Ty Keyes, who finished the evening a pedestrian 11-24 for 141 yards. He threw two nice touchdown tosses and was picked off once. Freshman back Frank Gore was limited to 7 yards on 9 carries, and the Golden Eagle offensive line had problems containing the Tide front seven all night. Maybe the most encouraging aspect of the evening was an improved performance from the Tide secondary. The unit was flagged for holding just once and the likes of Jobe, Battle, Hellams, and Branch made plays that limited the Southern Miss passing game. This unit will be tested more severely down the road, starting next week with Heisman Trophy frontrunner Matt Corrall’s Ole Miss Rebels, who lead the nation averaging 635 yards per game.
Williams got the scoring started with his kickoff return, and by the end of the first quarter, Bama had amassed 194 yards (compared to Southern Mississippi’s 45), which included 102 on the ground. Tight ends Billingsley and Cameron Latu caught touchdown passes from Young as the Tide sprinted out to a 21-0 lead at the end of one. The second quarter opened with a Roydell Williams 1 yard touchdown run and Young added touchdown strikes to Jameson Williams (81 yards, which gave him three touchdowns of more than 80 yards on the evening, another Alabama record for the talented junior Ohio State transfer) and Jase McClellan (9 yards), who is becoming quite a weapon coming out of the backfield. Southern Miss would add a Keyes to Chandler Pittman 14 yard catch and touchdown run to make the halftime score 42-7. The Tide would add a Young to Latu 14 yard touchdown toss in the third, and after Keyes hit Demarcus Jones for an 11 yard touchdown to “cut” the lead to 49-14 in the fourth quarter, Williams answered with an 83 yard kickoff return for six (his second of the evening). The scoring would conclude with the Milroe to Baker 24 yard touchdown pass at the 2:49 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Tide quickly turned their attention from the Golden Eagles to 12th ranked Ole Miss. The Lane Train will return to Tuscaloosa on Saturday, sitting at an impressive 3-0. The Rebels have established themselves as a real threat in the SEC West and will look to avenge last season’s 63-48 slugfest loss to the Crimson Tide. Kickoff is set for 3:30 ET and the game will be televised on CBS.