Derrick Henry’s career-high 271 yards rushing in a win over rival Auburn on Saturday put an exclamation point on the Alabama junior’s season-long assault on the Crimson Tide record book.
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While the play brought energy to the Auburn sideline and crowd, it – strangely enough – played into the Tide’s hands down the stretch, according to coach Nick Saban. “He’s the go-to guy and he didn’t want to come out”. “We had a lot of things go wrong”.
Nov 28, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide place kicker Adam Griffith (99) kicks a field goal against the Auburn Tigers in the send quarter at Jordan Hare Stadium.
“It’s awesome, because when I screw up he picks me up”, Jake Coker said. “We’d really like for someone else to run the ball”, Saban said, “but it got tough to take him out”. Henry, meanwhile, just did more of the same against Auburn (6-6, 2-6). But ‘Bama took control down the stretch.
It’s all about Nation, who despite missing three games this season, accounts for more than 40 percent of Leeds’ offensive plays.
When Alabama couldn’t get anything going in the red zone, Griffith came through, but to get inside the 20-yard line, running back Derrick Henry plowed his way to 46 carries, capped by a 25-yard touchdown on his final carry of the night to extend his streak of consecutive games with a rushing touchdown to 17. And the opportunity isn’t lost on the self-deprecating 53-year-old head coach from Missoula, Montana. Next up is No. 11 North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on December 5 and a win would send the Tigers, who are first in the CFP ranking, to the national semifinals. “As soon as they stop this one, I’ll call it'”.
It could have cost LSU about $15 million to buy out Miles, though the school could have recouped some of that if he moved into a another job.
Before that announcement, players lifted Miles on their shoulders and carried him toward the student section as the crowd chanted “Keep Les Miles!”
Alabama is much more of a pace team now, incorporating elements of a spread offense and a West Coast passing attack while also maintaining its physicality that trademarked the McElwain era at Alabama with featured running backs like Glen Coffee, Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy.
The Aggies fell to 8-4, 4-4.
In less than a week, both the Alabama and Florida football teams will walk into the spacious Georgia Dome and stare up at the rafters and the lights that surround the home of the Southeastern Conference title game. Henry converted three first downs and ran the ball 10 times before being stopped on fourth down.
USC will face Stanford next Saturday in the Trojans’ first trip to the Pac-12 title game.
SC finished the season at 3-9.
Jeremy Johnson attempted seven passes in the half while the Tigers ran the ball 23 times.
Freshman Clayton Thorson threw for 146 yards and a score to help Northwestern (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten, No. 16 CFP) avenge last year’s 47-33 home loss to IL. The Seminoles probably locked up a spot in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, on December 31 in Atlanta. Coker scrambles like he’s fighting relatives for the last turkey leg, first keeping the drive alive during a critical third down, then eluding Tiger bodies to find ArDarius Stewart in the end zone for a how-the-hell-did-he-do-that 34-yard touchdown.
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Alabama won the game 29-13.
