It was a very temporary look.
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All Hurts did was throw two touchdown strikes to ArDarius Stewart (39 and 71 yards), run for another two scores and lead the team to a 46-point win. And Alabama still won 52-6. “We had guys come in and fill big shoes”, Stewart said about the team’s opening performance.
The thing about Alabama quarterbacks under Saban: He might not have had a great one, but he never has a bad one.
Junior quarterback Max Browne waited three years for his first start, and had a tough time against the overwhelming Alabama defense.
“I know it sounds unusual”, he said, “I really have not thought a lot about it”. That means next year we’d have to play in California.
USC coach Clay Helton said he had hoped the Trojans would be more physical. The Crimson Tide ran 57 plays for 465 yards (8.2 per play) while holding the Trojans to 48 plays for 194 yards (4.0).
It was the worst season-opening loss in USC history, its worst loss in any game since a 51-0 loss to Notre Dame in 1966 and the first time USC failed to score a touchdown since 1997.
Whenever Saban has had to pick a new quarterback at Alabama, he has always gone with the guy who has the most experience in his system.
TEXAS A&M: The Aggies stay home again next week when they’ll face FCS opponent Prairie View, which is just 50 miles away, for the first time. Defensive end Don Hill got sent home from Dallas on Friday. “And a game like this should help us out down the road”.
The starting quarterback situation continues to be the hottest conversation for Alabama as coach Nick Saban narrowed down to Cooper Bateman or redshirt freshman Blake Barnett. Harris finished with 138 yards on the ground.
That wasn’t an issue in the second half as Alabama scored five more touchdowns on Hurts’ two runs, a 2-yard carry by Bo Scarbrough and a 45-yard pass from Barnett to transfer Gehrig Dieter.
“Each series he played he got more and more comfortable”, Saban said of Hurts after the game.
What’s weird is that Alabama coach Nick Saban gave the true freshman a second chance Saturday night against Southern Cal. What is scary for the rest of college football is that Alabama did not play their best game. So I’m not speculating on what we’re going to do in the future. “I mean, it’s our job, you know?” The 17-14 contest was highlighted by defensive displays from both sides, requiring a fourth quarter field goal from Andre Heidari to break the deadlock.
Alabama gained 12 yards on 10 plays in the first quarter, and trailed 3-0 before Hurts overcame the fumble to account for four touchdowns. Blake looked nervous and stiff in his first two possessions while the USC defense seemed to be locked in defensively to what Alabama was trying to do on offense. “That’s what we do. But, at this point in the season, I’m really focused on what we need to do to get better”.
But the Crimson Tide found the ideal opponent: USC looked worse than last season, which was supposed to be unthinkable according to many analysts.
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Considering all of the drama that surrounded Steve Sarkisian in his second year as head coach, the Trojans bit the bullet and moved on.
