TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - When coaches, teammates and friends talk about how far Jesse Williams has come, they gush. Some refer to distance, others to discipline.


Literally, he has come 9,230 miles to Alabama. It's 7,450 miles from the picturesque beaches of Brisbane on Australia's east coast to the barren desert outside Yuma, Ariz., where he played football for two years at Arizona Western Community College.

And it's 1,780 more miles from Yuma to Tuscaloosa, where he is a starting defensive end this season for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Figuratively, Williams has come farther. Miles don't measure the distance he has come from a raw talent to a polished player.

Though still a work in progress, Williams is only a few months removed from playing "bulla-bulla ball." That's the term Alabama coach Nick Saban coined in April to describe Williams' lack of technique and training.

Five months later, look where the 6-foot-4, 319-pound Williams is now.

"Jesse's probably made the most significant improvement from spring practice until now as probably just about any player on our team," Saban said last week. "He has ability, he has great size, he has good initial quickness, he can run.

Prohibit him from hunting. Period. But if he is caught violating, they throw the book at him. I dunno.

It's always coffee drinking weather.

I think one of our neighbors stalks the obituaries looking for stuff to buy from new widows.

At least the fights will be OUTSIDE the stadium now.

For living in an area that's not heavily populated, you sure run into a lot of deals. Is there a sign on your pacle? Kinda like "Sanford & son" or do you travel about looking for deals, like "American Pickers"?  

I think they're questioning your wits, Chech?

They should hire the TSA.

High 50s here in the woods.

I like it.

LINE: Alabama by 46

SERIES: Alabama leads 3-0.

GAME WITHIN THE GAME: Alabama coaches will face a dilemma in the second half, after the Crimson Tide builds a big lead. Do they keep starters in so they can fine-tune things for next week's showdown against Arkansas, or do they develop depth? How far and how quickly will the bench be emptied?

STAT OF THE WEEK: Since becoming a starter for North Texas in 2009, RB Lance Dunbar has never played three straight games without rushing for at least 100 yards in one of them. So far this season, Dunbar has gained 43 rushing yards against Florida International and 62 against Houston. Entering the season, Dunbar's 3,214 career rushing yards ranked third among active NCAA FBS players.

GAME NOTES: North Texas has lost to Florida International 41-16 (with both of the Mean Green's TDs coming on fumble recoveries) and Houston 48-23 this season. ... Alabama has a 9-1 record against Sun Belt Conference teams, with the loss against Louisiana-Monroe in 2007. ... North Texas has lost 17 straight games against SEC opponents since beating Tennessee in 1975. ... Alabama has won 14 consecutive September games. ... North Texas has lost its third game of the season for 11 straight years. ... Alabama has won its third game of the season for 10 straight years. ... North Texas has lost eight straight non-conference games. ... Alabama has a 57-8-2 record when playing as the No. 2 team in the AP poll, with the most recent loss a 30-20 setback against Auburn in 1989. ... North Texas has a 1-41 record against ranked teams. ... North Texas has won eight games over the past four years, the fewest in NCAA FBS. ... North Texas is one of four teams in the nation that already has given up more than 1,000 yards. Last week, Houston piled up 690 yards on the Mean Green. ... Alabama has scored at least 20 points in each of its past 21 games, the longest such streak in school history. ... North Texas WR Brelan Chancellor has the most all-purpose yards in the nation with 594 in two games. Chancellor has 483 kickoff-return yards (the most in the nation by 135 yards), 104 receiving yards and 7 rushing yards. ... North Texas coach Dan McCarney spent the previous three seasons as assistant head coach at Florida.

0 Losses for South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier in 42 games against teams that aren't members of BCS automatic-qualifier conferences. The Gamecocks play such a team on Saturday when they host Navy.

0 Points scored in the first quarter this season by South Carolina even though the Gamecocks have scored 101 points in their first two games.

1 Time in the 10 previous seasons in which Georgia lost its first two games that the Bulldogs went on to have a winning record. Georgia came back from an 0-3 start in 1979 to finish 6-5. The Bulldogs are 0-2 this season for the first time since 1996.

1 Player in Auburn history who has had at least 100 kickoff-return yards in consecutive games -- freshman RB Tre Mason, who did it in his first two games with the Tigers. Mason ranks second nationally in kickoff-return yards.

1 Game in their 105 meetings in which both LSU and Mississippi State have been ranked -- their game Thursday night in Starkville. The Tigers are No. 3 and Mississippi State No. 25 in the AP poll.

2 Victories without a loss for Clemson when hosting the previous season's No. 1 team. On Saturday, the Tigers entertain Auburn, last year's No. 1 team, for their third game of the season -- the same spot on the schedule that Clemson knocked off the other two former No. 1 teams. Clemson beat 1990 coaches poll top team Georgia Tech 9-7 in the third game of the 1991 season and beat consensus 1980 No. 1 team Georgia 13-3 in the third game of the 1981 season. Those wins came after Clemson lost to Georgia Tech 21-19 in 1990 and to Georgia 20-16 in 1980. Last year, Clemson lost 27-24 in overtime to Auburn.

2 Tennessee QBs who have thrown for at least 400 yards in a game -- Peyton Manning and Tyler Bray, who passed for 405 yards last week against Cincinnati. In that game, the Volunteers had a 400-yard passer, a 100-yard rusher (Tauren Poole) and two 100-yard receivers (Justin Hunter an Da'Rick Rogers) in the same contest for the second time in school history. The other occurred in a 1997 win over Kentucky. Manning was Tennessee's QB in that game, one of three in which he threw for at least 400 yards.

2 Shutout victories in two games for coach John Heisman in the Auburn-Clemson series. Heisman guided Auburn to a 34-0 win in 1899 over Clemson, then led Clemson to a 16-0 victory over Auburn in 1902. Heisman was Auburn's coach from 1895 through 1899 and Clemson's coach from 1900 through 1903.

2 Teams in the nation that have not given up a TD this season - Florida and Central Florida.

2 Receivers with 10 receptions apiece for Tennessee last week, the first time that had happened in the same game in Volunteers' history. Justin Hunter caught 10 passes for 156 yards and Da'Rick Rogers caught 10 passes for 100 yards against Cincinnati. Before Saturday, the most recent Tennessee player with at least 10 receptions in a game was Kelley Washington in 2001. Both Hunter and Rogers also had 100 receiving yards in Tennessee's opener against Montana, giving the Volunteers a pair of 100-yard receivers in back-to-back games for the second time in school history.