Alabama vs. Florida Atlantic: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
On Saturday afternoon the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide did exactly what they were expected to do in dominating a far overmatched opponent in C-USA’s Florida Atlantic Owls.
Alabama fans got a chance to see Jacob Coker for the first time in meaningful action and a few young players got some much-needed playing time while a couple of more returning players got back on the field. Alabama won 41-0 despite there still being almost eight minutes left in the game before it was called because of weather issues.
The Good
Amari Cooper has begun this season with some staggering statistics thus far. He opened the year with a 12-catch, 130-yard performance. His encore was a single-game record-tying 13 catches for 189 yards and his first touchdown of the year against FAU. He had an astounding 11 catches in the first half alone.
Cooper is healthy this year and he looks like the best receiver in the country. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is using his playmaker all over the field with screens, slants, deep routes, and even giving him the ball on reverses/end-arounds to get the ball in his hands even more.
After punishing West Virginia for over 300 yards rushing last week, Alabama took it to the air against FAU’s depleted defensive backfield. It was an obvious plan to get Sims and Coker a lot of action and both threw for over 200 yards and both threw touchdowns.
Sims was efficient and led the Alabama offense flawlessly, save for a botched handoff to T.J. Yeldon on the goal line in the first half. That was the only drive Sims led that didn’t result in points. He scored his first touchdowns of the year with two through the air and one on the ground.
Sims continues to show that his running and scrambling ability is one of his biggest advantages, and Alabama still hasn’t even shown much read option with him, which could certainly be a big weapon later in the year.
Jacob Coker had good moments, especially on third downs where he was very efficient, but he had some pretty bonehead plays and badly missed passes. The missed passes are to be expected as he continues to get comfortable, but the mental errors are the things that are a bit more alarming. He had clock management issues several times leading to Alabama wasting time outs, and he also took a sack at the end of the first half which resulted in the clock running out.
Eddie Jackson and Trey DePriest were definitely welcomed returns on the defensive side of the ball and both played extremely well as they both look to work their way back into shape. Jackson got beat on one pass play, but quickly rebounded by stripping the receiver of the ball leading to a turnover.
Maurice Smith and Geno Smith both shared time at Star, and both played well. Smith made a beautiful pass breakup on a deep pass and Geno Smith dropped a sure fire interception. Reggie Ragland had the best game of his career leading the team with 5 tackles along with 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and a fumble recovery.
Overall Alabama played very deep on the roster, including five different running backs getting carries, despite the game still having eight minutes remaining when it was called off due to lightning. It was a good win and a good chance for a lot of players to get game experience which is going to be needed as Alabama jumps into the teeth of the SEC schedule in two weeks.
The Bad
After not forcing any turnovers in week one, the Alabama defense only managed one against FAU. That is likely going to be a point of emphasis from the Alabama coaches in coming weeks, especially in terms of dropped interceptions which has happened in both games thus far.
Six penalties is too many, and Alabama has got to clean that up in coming weeks.
O.J. Howard is still missing in action, having not caught a single pass in the first two weeks. Howard is far too good a weapon to be almost nonexistent in the Alabama offense.
Kiffin remedied Kenyan Drake’s lack of opportunities in the first week, and he scored two touchdowns this week. Now it is time to get Howard more involved, especially because defenses are going to be keying in on Amari Cooper as the year goes on.
The Ugly
The “defensive holding” call on Cyrus Jones in the first half was horrendous. It was a third down play and it led to FAU having the best drive of the day though the Tide defense still held strong and didn’t allow any points.
Final Stats
PASSING
Jacob Coker: 15-24, 202 yards, 1 TD; 4 carries, 23 yards
Blake Sims: 11-13, 214 yards, 2 TD; 3 carries, 14 yards, 1 TD
RUSHING
Kenyan Drake: 7 carries, 45 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, 39 yards, 1 TD
TJ Yeldon: 7 carries, 43 yards; 1 catch, 18 yards
Tyren Jones: 4 carries, 35 yards
Derrick Henry: 5 carries, 23 yards
Altee Tenpenny: 2 carries, 3 yards
RECEIVING
Amari Cooper: 13 catches, 189 yards, 1 TD; 1 carry, 20 yards
ArDarius Stewart: 3 catches, 63 yards
Chris Black: 3 catches, 45 yards
Christion Jones: 2 catches, 52 yards
Ty Flournoy-Smith: 1 catch, 4 yards
Jalston Fowler: 1 catch, 3 yards, 1 TD
Robert Foster: 1 catch, 3 yards
DEFENSE
Reggie Ragland: 5 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 fumble recovery
Eddie Jackson: 4 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 forced fumble
Landon Collins: 4 tackles
A’Shawn Robinson: 4 tackles, 0.5 TFL
Trey DePriest: 4 tackles
Cyrus Jones: 3 tackles, 1 forced fumble
Dillon Lee: 3 tackles
Geno Smith: 3 tackles
Ryan Anderson: 2 tackles, 10 TFL, 1.0 sack
Altee Tenpenny: 2 tackles
Rashaan Evans: 2 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 quarterback hurry
Reuben Foster: 2 tackles
Jonathan Allen: 2 tackles, 1.0 TFL
Tim Williams: 2 tackles
DJ Pettway: 2 tackles
Kenyan Drake: 1 tackle
Jabriel Washington: 1 tackle, 1 pass breakup
Xzavier Dickson: 1 tackle
Christion Jones: 1 tackle
Nick Perry: 1 tackle
Da’Shawn Hand: 1 tackle
Jarran Reed: 1 tackle
ArDarius Stewart: 1 tackle
Tony Brown: 1 tackle
Denzel Devall: 1 tackle
Maurice Smith: 1 pass breakup
SPECIAL TEAMS
Adam Griffith: 2/2 FGs, long: 28 yards
Christion Jones: 1 kickoff return, 26 yards; 2 punt returns, 7 yards
Cyrus Jones: 1 punt return, 70 yards