Walker shines for Alabama

Brundidge native Nick Walker had a career-high in yards (67 ) and catches (7) during the game. The tight end also had a 4-yard touchdown catch. His previous best game yardage-wise came against Ole Miss in 2005, when he compiled 46 yards. His previous high in catches was five in last season’s opener against Western Carolina.

Walker caught four passes for 35 yards on the drive that resulted in his TD catch, which came in the second quarter and give Alabama a 20-3 lead. His longest catch in that drive was for 21 yards on a 3rd-and-1 play to the Clemson 25.

Record nightQuarterback John Parker Wilson became the all-time leader in career completions at Alabama in the second quarter with 489 when he connected with Nick Walker on a 5-yard completion. He passed Brodie Croyle on the all-time list. For the game, Wilson was 22-of-30 for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

It’s good
Leigh Tiffin’s 54-yard field goal in the first quarter was the longest in his career, and the third longest in Alabama history. The record is held by his father, Van Tiffin, who kicked a 57-yard field goal in 1985 against Texas A&M. The second longest is 55 yards by Ryan Pflugner in 1998 against Arkansas.
Tiffin’s kick came on the first drive of the game. The low drive just passed over the crossbar.

Freshmen firsts
Highly-touted Tide freshman wide receiver Julio Jones caught a 4-yard touchdown pass with 4:08 to play in the third quarter, and freshman running back Mark Ingram ran in the 2-point conversion for a 31-10 lead.

Linebacker Dont’a Hightower came up with a fumble recovery for Alabama on Clemson’s second play from scrimmage. Jones and Hightower each started.

More firsts: There were 10 Tide players making their debuts: true freshmen Julio Jones (WR), true freshman Mark Ingram (RB), true freshman B.J. Scott (WR), redshirts freshman Marquis Maze (WR), true freshman Chris Jackson (WR), true freshman Dont’a Hightower (LB), true freshman Chris Jordan (LB), junior college transfer Terrence Cody (DT), true freshman Mark Barron (DB) and redshirt freshman Chris Underwood (TE).

Push ’em back
Defensive tackle Brandon Deaderick came up with a sack for an 11-yard loss on Clemson QB Cullen Harper on a second down play, pushing the Tigers back to the Tide 26 on the final play of the first quarter. Clemson settled for a 33-yard field goal two plays later for its first points.

Scary sight
Alabama all-star lineman Andre Smith went down midway through the third quarter with an injury. He was able to walk off the field with help. David Ross went in at left guard, and Mike Johnson moved outside to left tackle.

Series history
It was 1975 the last time Alabama and Clemson met on the football field before Saturday, as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 56-0 win in Tuscaloosa.  The teams have met 15 times, with Alabama having won the last 12.

Alabama / Clemson ties
Four Alabama graduates have served as head coach at Clemson: Frank Howard, Charley Pell, Hootie Ingram and Danny Ford. Current Clemson assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Dabo Swinney played at Alabama and coached there as an assistant. Alabama associate head coach and running backs coach Burton Burns once was an assistant at Clemson.

Tigers from Alabama
Clemson has seven players from the state of Alabama on its roster: WR Brandon Clear (Hoover), DE Byron Clear (Hoover), WR Tyler Grisham (Spain Park), LB Brandon Maye (Davidson), OT Antonie McClain (Anniston), DT Josh McKissic (Opelika) and DE Drew Taylor (Mountain Brook).

Fab Freshmen
Clemson’s 2008 recruiting class was ranked No. 2 in the nation by ESPN.com, while Alabama’s class was right behind at No. 3. According to the website, Clemson signed 10 of the top 150 players, and Alabama signed seven. Most recruiting analysts ranked Alabama as the top class in the nation.

Tide’s ranking
Alabama was No. 24 in the AP poll going into this season. It is the Tide’s first preseason ranking since 2001.

Alabama is 29-10-1 in season openers when ranked in the preseason Top 25.

Clemson, ranked No. 9, is one of five ranked Alabama opponents, including No. 1 Georgia, No. 6 LSU, No. 10 Auburn and No. 18 Tennessee. The Tide and South Carolina are the only two schools in the country that will play four teams ranked in the AP preseason Top 10.

Dome time
Alabama made its first appearance in a dome since beating Florida 34-7 in the 1999 SEC Championship Game in the Georgia Dome on Dec. 4, 1999. Clemson played in the Georgia Dome in its final game last season, losing to Auburn 23-20 in overtime in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

August rush
Alabama came into the game undefeated in the month of August. The Tide has opened the season in August five times. Bama beat Ohio State in 1986, Bowling Green in 1996, Houston in 1997, Middle Tennessee in 2002 and South Florida in 2003.

Next game
The Crimson Tide plays its home opener Saturday night, Sept. 6, against Tulane. The Green Wave will practice this week in Birmingham due to the threat of Hurricane Gustav.

Alabama leads the series 26-11-3. The game, scheduled to start at 6 p.m., is available on pay-per-view.

Best/Worst
Best making it look easy: Nick Walker was wide-open in the back of the end zone and easily took in a pass from John Parker Wilson for a 3-yard TD and 20-3 lead.

Best boot: A 54-yard field goal by Leigh Tiffin.

Best smack: Tide freshman Mark Barron put a vicious hit on Jacoby Ford as he returned a kickoff to the 20 in the first quarter.

Best pick: Alabama’s Marquis Johnson came up with an interception to stop a Clemson drive late in the first half, making the catch after linebacker Rolando McClain tipped the ball.

Best show of dominance: In the first half, Alabama had 245 yards of total offense, while holding Clemson to 89.

Worst way to begin 2nd half: Watching Clemson’s C.J. Spiller return the kickoff all the way for a touchdown.

Worst sight: Three Clemson players — defensive end Ricky Sapp, offensive linemen Barry Humphries and receiver Jacoby Ford — went down in the first half with injuries.

Worst display of talent: Clemson’s high-profile trio of running backs C.J. Spiller and James Davis, along with quarterback Cullen Harper, did little to impress.