Aug 31, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Christion Jones (22) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the third quarter of the 2013 Chick-fil-A Kickoff game at the Georgia Dome. Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports
The defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide opened the season with a 35-10 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies in Atlanta, GA inside the Georgia Dome. While the score was lopsided, it doesn’t tell the whole tale.
Alabama was able to score two touchdowns from special teams and another score from the defense, while what was expected to be an explosive offense struggled mightily all game.
The Good
The unquestioned MVP of the opener was receiver Christion Jones. Jones absolutely explosive, opening the game with a 74-yard punt return to put Alabama up 7-0. Later in the first half, Jones took a Virginia Tech kickoff 93 yards for another touchdown.
Jones added another score late in the third quarter by catching a 38-yard bomb from Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. Jones accounted for 258 all-purpose yards (48 receiving, 108 punt returns and 108 kickoff returns) and three TDs. He did have one bad play in the first half, running backwards to get some room on a punt return and losing yardage in the process.
The Alabama defense allowed a 77-yard scoring run by Tech running back Trey Edmunds, but after that, the defense was stout the rest of the way. Edmunds did run for 134 yards, but only had 57 yards on the remaining 19 carries.
Tech quarterback Logan Thomas completed just 5 of 26 passes for just 58 yards and one interception with no touchdowns. After the long TD run for Edmunds, Alabama safety Vinnie Sunseri stepped in front of a Thomas pass and returned it 38 yards for a score of his own. Thomas was hit often in the game and seemed flustered by the Alabama defense. His receivers also didn’t help matters, dropping several passes during the game.
Special teams in general was very solid for the Crimson Tide. They didn’t attempt a field goal but senior punter Cody Mandell averaged nearly 50 yards per punt. He also put four of his nine punts inside the 20 yard line. Sophomore safety Landon Collins was stellar on punt coverage, making several big hits, and fellow safety Vinnie Sunseri contributed a massive hit of his own on kickoff coverage.
The Bad
AJ McCarron was off. That is the only way I can describe it. There were times when McCarron didn’t have any time at all, but there were also times when he held the ball too long. There were also times when the receivers simply couldn’t get open against the Virginia Tech defense, and Amari Cooper also had a couple of uncharacteristic drops.
Late in the game McCarron threw a beautiful deep ball to freshman tight end O.J. Howard, who bobbled and eventually dropped the pass. McCarron did bounce back and hit a streaking Christion Jones down the field for his lone touchdown, but it was one of a few highlights for the senior QB. On his interception McCarron threw off his back foot to a covered receiver. He seemed hesitant at times as well, which could be because of the many breakdowns in the offensive line.
The Ugly
The Alabama offensive line. The line allowed four sacks and was generally pushed around in the first half. The two scoring drives were easily the best for the line, as they opened some holes for T.J. Yeldon and gave McCarron some time as well. The rest of the game they were extremely inconsistent.
Sophomore running back T.J. Yeldon was able to rip off a 27-yard run to open the third quarter, but just a couple of plays later, freshman Altee Tenpenny was whacked in the backfield for a loss of four. Alabama was able to open some holes late against a worn down Tech defense, but there is no question that the most glaring weakness on this Alabama team is the offensive line
The blocking from the offensive line wasn’t the only weak point for the passing game. Yeldon whiffed on a block that led to a sack, as did freshman Derrick Henry.
Nick Saban said after the game that they had far too many weapons on offense to play the way they did against Virginia Tech. Everything starts up front, and this offensive line is going to have to gel together and improve quickly, as Alabama travels to Texas A&M in just two weeks for the massive showdown with the Aggies.
Final Stats
PASSING
AJ McCarron: 10-23, 110 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Blake Sims: 0-1, 0 yards
RUSHING
TJ Yeldon: 17 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD
Altee Tenpenny: 6 carries, 24 yards
Dee Hart: 5 carries, 15 yards
Blake Sims: 2 carries, 7 yards
Jalston Fowler: 3 carries, 1 yard
Derrick Henry: 1 carry, -3 yards
AJ McCarron: 4 carries, -23 yards (all sacks)
RECEIVING
Amari Cooper: 4 catches, 38 yards
Christion Jones: 2 catches, 47 yards, 1 TD
DeAndrew White: 2 catches, 14 yards
Kevin Norwood: 1 catch, 11 yards
Jalston Fowler: 1 catch, 0 yards
DEFENSE
CJ Mosley: 5 tackles
Ed Stinson: 5 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, 0.5 sack
Landon Collins: 4 tackles
HaHa Clinton-Dix: 4 tackles
John Fulton: 3.5 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss
Dalvin Tomlinson: 3 tackles
Jarrick Williams: 2.5 tackles, 1 pass breakup
Vinnie Sunseri: 2.5 tackles, 1 INT, 38 yards, 1 TD
Denzel Devall: 2 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss
Jonathan Allen: 2 tackles
Ryan Anderson: 1.5 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss, 0.5 sack
Jeoffrey Pagan: 1.5 tackles
Trey DePriest: 1.5 tackles
Cody Mandell: 1 tackle
Christion Jones: 1 tackle
Dee Hart: 1 tackle
Reggie Ragland: 1 tackle
Xzavier Dickson: 1 tackle
A’Shawn Robinson: 1 tackle
Adrian Hubbard: 1 tackle, 0.5 TFL
Brandon Ivory: 1 tackle
Dillon Lee: 0.5 tackle
Deion Belue: 0.5 tackle, 1 PBU
Reuben Foster: 0.5 tackle
Darren Lake: 0.5 tackle
SPECIAL TEAMS
Cade Foster: 5/5 extra points
Cody Mandell: 9 punts, 46.4 yards per punt, long: 61 yards
Christion Jones: 2 kickoff returns, 109 yards, 1 TD; 4 punt returns, 100 yards, 1 TD
Dee Hart: 2 punt returns, 18 yards