No. 1 Tide overcomes slow 1st half

“The legacy of the team still lies ahead in terms of what they can accomplish”, Saban said.

In their 30-12 dismantling of Auburn, the Crimson Tide did just that, limiting the Tigers to 182 yards and four Daniel Carlson field goals.

Late in the third, Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson added his fourth field goal of the game to cut it to 27-12.

Hurts also ran for 37 yards and a touchdown, leading two straight touchdown drives in the third quarter to all but put the game away after a mistake-filled first half.

Alabama plays next Saturday in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome against Florida.

Alabama’s offense will face a tough test next week when the team travels to take on Florida Gators and its fifth-ranked defense in the SEC Championship. A bad punt and two Jalen Hurts interceptions in the first half led to three Auburn field goals, and Alabama’s lead at the half was only 13-9.

The Gamecocks (6-6) were little more than a speed bump on that road that Clemson got past quickly, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the opening quarter and cruising to a third consecutive victory.

Alabama had 26 first downs, Auburn 7. The massive battering ram of a man trucked and plowed his way to 90 yards on only 17 carries. Hurts has taken good care of the ball this season, but he didn’t do so against the Tigers. O.J. Howard had 5-45, Calvin Ridley 5-44, and Harris 3-22.

“When you hold each other accountable, then you can do that”, said linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton. With Tony Brown suspended and Marlon Humphrey hurt, Alabama was down to having a walk-on player in full time at outside cornerback. So for Alabama to make halftime adjustments and dominate the second half shows those adjustments worked.

With Florida also losing Saturday at No. 14 Florida State and the next-highest-ranked team, Tennessee, upset by Vanderbilt, that leaves Auburn as the odds-on favorite to play at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on January 2.

After forcing Alabama to punt, Auburn picked up a 58-yard punt return from defensive back Stephen Roberts to move inside Crimson Tide territory.

Alabama matched it with a long drive that stalled at the Auburn 11 with Adam Griffith hitting from 29 yards to make it 3-3. “I really feel like Rhett, (offensive line coach) Herb (Hand) and the rest of the offensive staff really did a good job with that”. Thomas read the play perfectly and had his first career interception to put a clearly anemic Auburn offense in flawless field position.

GA. TECH 28, GEORGIA 27: Qua Searcy leaped into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown on a busted play with 30 seconds left, capping a fourth-quarter comeback by the visiting Yellow Jackets. Carlson made four of five field-goal attempts and is now 67-of-81 in his career (82.7 percent), holding the school marks for attempts, makes and accuracy. Really, really pleased and proud of our players that we’ve been able to do that.

But the Tide defense is more than an adamantine wall for offenses to try and penetrate: It is also a safety net for its offense. “Our defense played extremely well until they got worn down”. Hurts finished the march with a 4-yard run at right end and a 20-9 lead. The Tide managed one more field goal and multiple near-disastrous fumbles before slipping back into the locker room to deal with the wrath of Saban. It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster ride, given that Auburn started 1-2, reeled off six straight wins, and dropped its final two SEC games to finish at 8-4.

After just two series in the second half, the Tide had p;ushed its lead to 27-9.