Nick Saban: I voted with an absentee ballot

Go ahead and add paradox to that list. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has done a good job of keeping Hurts out of high-pressure situations for the most part and, as a true freshman, Hurts has been about as good as you could ask when it comes to mastering the offense. “When you run the ball, and you get a one-on-one opportunity on a safety, you make him miss and hit a big play”.

Here are five takeaways from the Bulldogs’ loss.

The second touchdown was a 15-yard scoring pass from Hurts to Stewart on a throw over the middle. His athleticism can’t be ignored.

Through nine games this season, Fitzgerald has completed 56.3 percent of his passes for 1,705 yards and 16 touchdowns with nine interceptions while rushing for a team-high 839 yards and eight touchdowns on 135 carries. The Mountaineers forced a fumble by Texas quarterback Shane Buechele on a sack early in the fourth quarter, had another drive-killing sack on the ensuing drive and a fourth-down stop at its own 39-yard line on the Longhorns’ penultimate possession. Those mistakes can’t be ignored.

For a preview on the game, see Saturday’s Starkville Daily News. But how long will it last? Last week, Arkansas stayed mostly in a base, 4-3 defensive look because it knew that Florida’s offense couldn’t throw downfield.

The Tide’s next big defensive test comes against Auburn in two weeks. LSU played man to man defense on the edges and attacked the short passing game and attacked the edges and mesh point of Alabama’s read option. His mobility has never been questioned, but many wondered whether he had enough throwing the ball to keep this Alabama team in the running for the National Championship.

It won’t get any easier from there.

With the threat to run and pass, MSU’s defense must be ready for anything. MI and Ohio State, the Big Ten’s likeliest candidates for the playoff, have defenses ranked among the nation’s best.

Hurts experienced a career day as he led the top-ranked Crimson Tide to its 22nd-consecutive victory in 51-3 win against Mississippi State. “They don’t make a lot of mistakes and execute at a high level”.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban walks the field before the first half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi State, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. “That’s one that thing that stood out on the field”. They don’t need them. The Bulldogs have the worst pass defense in the SEC, allowing 264 passing yards per game and 21 touchdowns through the air this season, and they’ve been susceptible to the big play, giving up 21 passing plays of 25 yards or more this season.

Stewart leads Alabama with 683 receiving yards and with seven receiving touchdowns despite missing two-and-a-half games with the knee injury.