Alabama clears the bench in victory

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama got just what it wanted in its non-conference home finale Saturday — a couple of milestones for some outstanding seniors, some early highlights from its stars, a lot of playing time for the reserves and a reasonably stress-free 45-0 victory over Chattanooga.

Heisman Trophy candidate Mark Ingram rushed just 11 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns. His final carry was a 40-yard burst up the middle with just under 10 minutes left in the second quarter.

Despite the Heisman race, Ingram had no problem watching after running through the Mocs for about 20 minutes.

“It was good to get a nice day’s work and then let some other guys get carries and let them have an opportunity to show what they’ve got,” Ingram said. “They deserved it. They work hard hard every day, and it’s good we got to play as many guys as we did.”

In fact, Alabama had 77 players see the field, nearly one-third of those were seniors.

The veterans recorded some highlights:

Javier Arenas returned a punt 66 yards for a record-breaking touchdown and intercepted a pass from his cornerback position.

Linebacker Cory Reamer recorded his first career interception, foiling a gadget play off what looked like an end around.

Safety Justin Woodall also intercepted Chattanooga quarterback B.J. Coleman, who was held to 7-of-25 passing and just 36 yards through the air.

Kicker Leigh Tiffin kicked a 41-yard field goal, the 78th of his career, which tied him for most career field goals with Philip Doyle. That kick was also the 25th of the season for Tiffin, tying his own school record for field goals in a season that he set last year.

The game held just as little drama as Alabama coach Nick Saban had hoped for. The Crimson Tide scored 28 points in less than six minutes, starting with Trent Richardson’s 2-yard run with 5:23 left in the first quarter.

After Alabama’s defense forced Chattanooga to go three-and-out, the Crimson Tide’s physical dominance was displayed on a two-play, 39-second drive.

On first down, quarterback Greg McElroy fired a deep pass to Julio Jones, who was running a post pattern. Mocs defender Buster Skrine didn’t do a thing wrong — he was in perfect position and stride-for-stride with Jones — but the 6-foot-4 sophomore made a leaping catch at the Chattanooga 25.

It was a play that left Mocs coach Russ Huesman shaking his head.

“Julio, that’s what great receivers do,” Huesman said. “You’ve got guys on him, and he bodies them out and makes a big play. ... Buster had good position and was trying to dig it out. It was battle and (Jones) made a great catch.”

On the next play, Ingram provided another highlight with a 25-yard run over left guard.

“It was an inside zone play, the line did a great job of pushing it past the hole. I kind of bent it back,” Ingram said. “Mike McCoy had a good block downfield.”

It wasn’t all blocking, however. Five defenders got at least hand on Ingram, who carried two across the goal line.

“I was just running,” he said. “Bounced off a couple people and drug another one into the end zone. I was just reacting to everything. I can’t really explain what happens.”

Saban said that’s nothing new for the sophomore from Flint, Mich.

“He’s done that consistently all year long,” the coach said. “I’m sure we could have left him in there today and he could have had a huge day. He gained 100 yards. That’s a good day’s work when you come out with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter, or whenever it was. Hopefully, that recovery will help him a little bit for what we need to get done in the future.”

Ingram wasn’t the only starter who had an early day. Quarterback Greg McElroy and the rest of the offense didn’t play in the second half.

Senior left guard Mike Johnson appreciated the rest. He enjoyed watching the reserves play extensively.

“I can’t tell you how nice that was,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if people understand how tiring a game actually is, what kind of toll it takes on your body.

“If you can come out at halftime — I don’t know how many snaps we played, but it wasn’t many — and turn it over and watch (the backups) blossom into the players they’re going to be in the next few years, it’s kind of exciting for us.”

The defense recorded its first shutout of the season. Chattanooga managed just 48 yards on the ground, 36 in the air for 84 total yards on 48 offensive plays.
Arenas’ touchdown was the seventh punt return for a touchdown of his career. That set a new SEC record, breaking the one previously held by Derek Abney of Kentucky.

“He was kicking the ball real awkward. On top of that, the sun caught me, too. I saw it at the last minute; just catch and go,” Arenas said.

The return specialist shook a tackle after securing the ball, then he had an open lane along the right sideline to the end zone.

“The blocking was spectacular,” he said. “A lot of times, I have to make decisions, should I cut back, should I do this? They blocked the guys. It made it that much easier. I broke the first tackle and that was it.”

First quarter
5:23 Alabama 7, Chattanooga 0: Trent Richardson 2-yard run (Leigh Tiffin PAT). Scoring drive: 11 plays, 51 yards, 5:35. Key play: Mark Ingram converted on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 with a pair of 3-yard gains as Chattanooga’s defense proved more stubborn than expected early.

3:04 Alabama 14, Chattanooga 0: Mark Ingram 25-yard run (Tiffin PAT). Drive: 2 plays, 69 yards, 0:39. Key play: On first down at the 31, McElroy threw a post pattern to Julio Jones, who was well-covered by Buster Skrine. But Jones made a leaping catch at the Mocs 25 and Ingram scored on the next play.

0:54 Alabama 21, Chattanooga 0: Julio Jones 19-yard pass from Greg McElroy (Tiffin PAT). Drive: 4 plays, 31 yards, 1:53. Key play: The Tide was given a short field when linebacker Cory Reamer intercepted Jare Gault’s pass for Garrett Hughes on a gadget play. Gault is a wide receiver and took a pitch on a reverse. He pulled up and threw for Hughes, but Reamer picked it off.

Second quarter
14:42 Alabama 28, Chattanooga 0: Javier Arenas 66-yard punt return (Tiffin PAT). Key play: Arenas moved much closer to the SEC punt return record by splitting the first wave and racing up the right sideline. He got a nice block from Roy Upchurch that took out the final defender near the 35-yard line.

9:53 Alabama 35, Chattanooga 0: Mark Ingram 40-yard run (Tiffin PAT). Drive: 5 plays, 62 yards, 1:45. Key play: On the touchdown, Ingram rushed up right guard, cut left in the hole, then broke right again in the secondary, following Darius Hanks to daylight and the end zone.

Third quarter
11:43 Alabama 38, Chattanooga 0: Leigh Tiffin 41-yard field goal. Drive: 6 plays, 8 yards, 2:56. Key play: Safety Justin Woodall intercepted B.J. Coleman on the first play of the second half to give Alabama a short field.

Fourth quarter
4:00 Alabama 45, Chattanooga 0: Roy Upchurch 21-yard run (Jeremy Shelley PAT). Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards, 4:33. Key plays: Demetrius Goode, who normally is the scout team running back, ran three straight plays on gains of 8, 9 and 11 yards immediately before Upchurch’s touchdown run.