He harassed the Trojan quarterbacks affecting the passing game and contributed to the suffocating run defense as Alabama (no. 1, 1-0, 0-0) soundly defeated USC (no. 20, 0-1, 0-0) 52-6 last evening at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
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Sarkisian also rejoins another coach from his days at Washington, Tosh Lupoi, now Alabama’s linebackers coach.
The Huskers draped Foltz’s No. 27 jersey at the end of their bench, and after they went three-and-out on their first possession, they lined up with 10 players and no punter. “My focus with our team right now is what can we do better”.
No. 1-ranked Alabama (1-0) will host Western Kentucky (1-0) this Saturday. And No. 16 UCLA lost as well.
Sarkisian, an offensive-minded coach, was Washington’s coach from 2009-13 and a USC assistant for seven seasons, including two as the team’s offensive coordinator.
That something was rack up 465 yards of total offense on 63 plays Saturday, outgaining a talented Southern Cal offense 465-to-194, as the vaunted Crimson Tide defense held an opponent under 200 yards of total offense for the 37th time since 2008, including four times last season. The fact that they were discussing the upcoming week of tennis at the US Open, and that Herbstreit picked Andy Murray to win the men’s singles title, says all you need to know about how thorough and complete a beating the Crimson Tide gave to USC. They are not allowed to coach players at practice under NCAA rules. “The cold hard truth is we did not play up to ours”.
Right after halftime, Hurts found Stewart alone near the Alabama 40 and the receiver sprinted up the right sideline untouched for a 71-yard touchdown and a 24-3 lead.
“Hopefully it’s a statement we’re still going to fight, still going to play”, Stewart said about the team’s performance.
The last time the Tide failed to score in the first half was on September 29, 2007, when Alabama and Florida State went into halftime in a scoreless tie. It was the fewest points since a 10-6 loss to Utah in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl.
Allen, who finished with 12 sacks a year ago, pulled down Southern Cal junior quarterback Max Browne for a pair of first-half sacks Saturday, spearheading the Tide’s defensive revival after a hard first quarter.
USC had negative-five yards on their next 14 plays, capped off with a pick six that made it 17-3 Alabama.
ALABAMA: While the Tide are still unproven at quarterback after playing two freshmen, the biggest hole on offense was left by Henry’s absence. USC punter Chris Tilbey bobbled the snap on the ensuing drive to set up Alabama at the Trojans 15 and lead to a 7-yard run by Hurts, who later added a 6-yard score.
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In August 2015, Sarkisian embarrassed himself by making a speech while impaired at a booster function, prompting then-athletic director Pat Haden to insist he enter a treatment program.
