No. 1 Alabama offense gains over 500 yards of offense in win over Arkansas State
September 8, 2018
Alabama’s offense has had little to complain about two games into the season. The Crimson Tide has dominated, putting up 108 points in those first two games, 57 of which came in its 57-7 win over Arkansas State.
The passing game was again the focal point. The Crimson Tide threw for 321 yards and missed just nine times against the Red Wolves defense.
Sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa came out on fire in the first quarter, throwing for 175 yards and three touchdowns on the team’s first four drives. He finished with 228 yards and four touchdowns, both of which were career highs.
Junior Jalen Hurts came in at the end of the first quarter by the time the half was over he had 85 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. He completed 78 percent of his passes and finished with 93 yards through the air.
“I think that both guys did a really good job,” coach Nick Saban said. “We made some big plays in the passing game and were pretty efficient.”
The six touchdown passes is the second-most Alabama has ever had in a game.
It took less than two minutes for Alabama to find the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. Tagovailoa hit sophomore receiver Jerry Jeudy on a slant route over the middle. Jeudy broke a tackle and dashed to the end zone for a 58-yard score.
“Coach Locksley called a good play on third and short,” Jeudy said. “I ran a y route and he opened his hips up. The o-line did a good job blocking and Tua made the right read.”
Jeudy led all receivers with four catches, 87 yards and two touchdowns.
Fellow sophomore receivers Henry Ruggs III and DeVonta Smith collected touchdowns in the first quarter. Smith’s came off a 41-yard go route, while Ruggs’ scored on a slant on which he broke a tackle and sprinted 31 yards to the end zone. Five different receivers finished with a touchdown in the win.
“It’s a lot of fun seeing the other players making plays too,” Jeudy said. “It’s a good feeling [when] everybody is executing and doing their job.”
Running back Najee Harris also had a career day. The sophomore tailback finished with 135 yards on 13 carries, which is his new career high. He also scored Alabama’s last touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter with a one-yard run. His 135 yards made up almost half of the team’s final 278 rushing yards.
Overall, the Crimson Tide finished with 599 yards of total offense [321 passing and 278 rushing], which is the 14th time since 2015.
“I think we need to be a little bit more efficient and consistent in the running game,” tackle Jonah Williams said. “That’s our goal every week. Credit to them, they played hard on the D-Line. I think any time you win by 50 points and have over 500 yards of offense you can’t really get pissed about it.”
Alabama travels to Oxford, Mississippi to play Ole Miss on September 15.
