Crimson Red Sports

USC VS Bama
OFFFENSE:  The offense opened up slow with a sluggish first quarter.   They had, by my count, about 13 yards of total offense in the first quarter.  The offensive line was getting beat at the point of attack, but did regroup and play better later.  Bama had a total of 465 yard most of which came in the second half since Bama had 142 yards in the first half.  They had 223 rushing and 242 passing.   In the game I have Bama for 12 negative plays.  There were 2 sacks, 8 tackles for losses, 1 fumble lost and 1 interception.  I have Bama for 4 drives that were 3 and out or less.  One was a 1 and out.  For plays over 10 yards, I have 7 pass plays and 3 running plays.  They scored every time they got into the red zone.  The got there 4 times and had 3 touchdowns and 1 field goal. Bama also scored 3 times from outside the red zone.   As far as play for 10+ yards the Tide had 7 pass plays and 3 running plays that fell into that category.  Probably another knock on the offense was the couple of wasted opportunities with the field position they had.
QB:  This was a heck of a stage for new quarter backs to come into, especially if you are a RS freshman or a true freshman.  In my opinion, Blake Barnett did not have a lot of help in the early going.  The offensive line didn’t really help him out.  He did look a little nervous in the beginning which added to the short arm throw early in the game.   Jalen Hurts didn’t have a great start with the fumble but rebounded on the next drive.  This was also aided by a better job from the offensive line.  Hurts threw the ball pretty well when got his feet under him.  Later Barnett made a couple of nice throw one on the touchdown where the rec didn’t have to break stride but probably more impressive was when he went to his secondary rec which happened to be Howard on a 40 yard pick up.
RB:  They ran hard and at times there wasn’t a lot of room.  I thought all showed some positives.  I did think there were a couple of bust on blocking assignments during pass protection.  Harris seem to show the ability to change directions effectively. I did like the way Jacobs hit the hole.  For some reason, and I am not sure this is by design, but the QB/RB exchange looked slow or off at times.
REC:  Several recs caught the ball and showed they could get the ball downfield.  This is a continuation of last year.  With the majority of the focus on Ridley, Stewart was able to have a big game.  I thought Howard did a better job blocking in this game than he did at times last year.
OL:  To me here is where some of the early problem were.  They were getting beat at the point of attack.  Also, I saw a couple of missed blocks or bad steps by the linemen going to their assignment.  They got a lot better as the game went on and had some good combo blocks.  I am concerned about the center but only because, on shotgun snaps, he seems to snap the ball as soon as he raises his head which is easy to time.  This is just my opinion.
Defense:  When the offense was struggling the D stepped up and played their butts off.  If my count is correct USC had 16 possessions.  Out of these possessions 9 of them were 3 and outs or less.  As far as negative play, I have Bama for 3 sacks, 7 tackles for losses, and an interception that was returned for a touchdown. For plays of 10+ yards they had 3 passes and 2 passes which covered that distance.  USC had a total of 194 yards, where they had 92 at the half and 102 in the second half.  USC only got into the red zone once, in the 3rd quarter, and had to settle for a field goal.  The speed of this defense seems to be as good or better than last years.  Also, there were some big hits by numerous players during the game.
DL:  They played well and Anderson and Allen stood out to me.  They seem to be a force all night.   They took care of the running and pass rush without a lot of blitzes.  They did lose contain once and allowed the QB to scramble for a 1st down.  It looked like they got too far up the field which opened a hole for his escape. 
LB:  Again they played well.  I thought both Foster and Hamilton played well.  I was impressed with Hamilton.  They did a good job on both the run and pass coverage.  Hamilton looked to have a key block on the interception return for the touchdown. 
DB:  I thought they played well.  They filled on the running game and did a pretty good job in coverage.  There were a couple of breakdowns but was not hurt mainly because of the good pass rush.  The good pass rush is the best friend of the DB’s.  USC’s top rec from last year (85 catches 1389 yards) had one catch for 9 yards and it didn’t come until the 3rd quarter. 
Special Teams:  Most of the kickoffs were good except 2.  One he looked like he was trying to kill the ball and hit a low line drive.  The other looked like instead of kicking to his left he went to the right and got under it too much.  There were a couple of times I thought the coverage could have been better.  I thought the punt return team did well and really caused no problem.  Punting was outstanding and helped flip the field a couple of times and Bama didn’t take advantage of it. 

Penalties:  Bama four penalties 2 false starts and 2 pass interference calls. 

Finally:  Except for the first quarter, I thought it was a good opening game for Bama.  USC reminded me of Bama back when they didn’t have the depth to finish games.   If Bama continues to improve each week they can be a major player in the chase for the National Championship in my opinion.

Feel free to comment:

16 and Counting

Thanks Coach. Great assessment.

After the first quarter, the D could do no wrong and as you mentioned, the O line finally remembered they were playing a football game. Once we got the momentum, it was like a runaway freight train. We weren't perfect, but I was very happy with the outcome.

Thanks Coach.

I look forward to your game notes, thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.

Offensively they seemed to need a bit of gameplay to improve their timing and get a feel for the game speed.  I saw that in every game I watched over the weekend.

Bama has evolved into a team that can put up a lot of points in a short time while playing excellent defense.  Gotta love it!

Keep em coming coach!


RTR

I want to welcome you back again and thanks for the read. I do wish there could be some place to watch a rerun on the computer sometimes. Since I don't have TV and all the ones I know form church are auburn fans. Sorry I can preach to them but I can't visit their house on game day. RTR!

Thanks, Coach!  Now that you've been heard from I know football season is back!   #+

Here you go Preacher. You may need to change churches.  :lol2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5kuIG4c_Jg

pmull you are the man of the hour. I want you to have an e-cred.  :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:, RTR!

You can also go to ESPN 360 and watch replays many times.

One thing I noticed in the first half of the 1st and 2nd Qtr it is almost like everybody was waiting for somebody else to make that first big play for a spark. RTR!

I go to the espn 360 and it tells me I am not authorized to watch that program. So I guess you have to have something besides what I have. RTR!

Thanks, Coach! Always enjoy your analysis.

Western Kentucky may give us more of a fight.  USC laid down and quit once we got ahead.

Sc I think you are right more than you may know. You know every year as far as I can remember when we play a little school after a BIG win like last week we play horribly. I can remember when we beat lsu and GA. Southern gave us a hey day game. I think we need to stay pumped for every game this year. There are no gimmes I don't think. RTR!

If I am not mistaken, WKU was ranked in the final poll last year.

They put a whoopin' on Rice, 46-14, after they finally made it out of the tunnel.  :lol2:

(http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/cbsmedia/video/thumbnails/CFB_WKU_LINEMAN_090116_1116397_640x360.jpg)

They are tied with Tennessee for having the third longest FBS winning streak at 7.  Bama leads the nation with 15.  San Diego State is second with 11.