What to make of an Alabama Football win over an FCS team is more about maybes than absolutes. The Crimson Tide looked good against the Mercer. Anything less would have been a shock. No offense to the Bears. Mercer is a high-level FCS team. At 9-2 on the season, Mercer will advance to the FCS Playoffs. They are better than quite a few FBS teams, but there is no SEC team Mercer would not lose to by at least double-digits.
So a beautiful Fall afternoon in Tuscaloosa was almost totally about the Alabama Crimson Tide. To the credit of the Alabama Football staff, the Tide was not flat. Alabama was clearly intent on playing to its own standard.
Alabama played to that standard on both sides of the ball, especially on defense. The Bears had some success through the air and scored a late second-quarter touchdown on a spectacular one-handed catch. Alabama trumped all that success with what has become a trademark of Kane Wommack's defense; turnovers. There were three in the first half, all were caused by what Alabama did rather than what Mercer did not do. Domani Jackson stripped the ball loose for a Damon Payne fumble recovery. Deontare Lawson deflected a pass attempt that resulted in an acrobatic interception by Qua Russaw. Another forced fumble by DaShawn Jones led to a recovery by Zabien Brown for a 62-yard touchdown.
There was offensive sizzle as well. Jalen Milroe threw two touchdown passes. The two most impressive passing plays of the game came from two Alabama QB backups, Ty Simpson and Austin Mack. Simpson eluded what appeared to be a sure sack and rifled an almost touchdown bomb to tight end Josh Cuevas. Austin Mack made the most precise long throw of the game, connecting with Rico Scott for a touchdown.
Alabama Football Spreading the Ball Around
Alabama spread the ball around to several under-utilized pass receivers; including Caleb Odom, Kobe Prentice, Bubba Hampton, and Scott; along with tight ends Robbie Ouzts and Ty Lockwood. Ouzts caught a 44-yard touchdown pass.
Alabama's eighth win was good for many players. The second-team offensive line saw by far its most action.