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The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 3B
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Overshadowed defense
No. 1 Crimson Tide score at a pace unlike their past teams
Associated Press
The offensive questions kept com
ing for Alabama coach Nick Saban at
his latest news conference.
Did you create such a different kind
of offensive team by design? How has
the offense evolved since the opener?
Talk about the offensive line, the
receivers.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide still
plays defense , too, if not with quite
the same smothering dominance of
past years.
Alabama heads into Saturday’s
game with No. 18 Mississippi State
fresh from its first shutout of the sea
son, 29-0 over No. 9 LSU.
“Everybody talks about the offense
and not a lot about the defense,” Tide
cornerback Xavier McKinney said
Monday. “We try to put everybody on
notice. We have something to prove
when we go out there.”
Before the emergence of quarter
back Tua Tagovailoa, it was typically
the other way around. The defense not
only dominated opposing offenses, but
got much of the credit for Alabama’s
five national titles
under coach Nick
Saban. The offense
mostly played sec
ond fiddle, espe
cially the passing
game.
Now, Alabama is
leading the nation
in scoring and total
offense and has
already secured
a spot against No. 5 Georgia in the
Southeastern Conference champion
ship game.
Defensively, a drop-off might have
been inevitable after losing first-round
NFL draft picks Minkah Fitzpatrick,
Da’Ron Payne and Rashaan Evans,
along with five other selections.
The Tide has ranked in the top 10
in both rushing and scoring defense
each of the past 10 seasons and led
the nation in both categories the past
two years. Now, Alabama is seventh
in scoring defense and 11th against
the run.
“Yards are hard to come by against
this defense, whether it’s on the
ground or in the air,” Mississippi State
coach Joe Moorhead said. “I don’t
think you’re going to be able to string
together multiple 12-, 13- or 15-play
drives and make your way down field.
“At a certain point, you have to take
Tagovailoa
BUTCH DILL I Associated Press
Texas A&M running back Trayveon Williams (5) is tackled by Alabama linebacker
Dylan Moses (32) during the second half of the game Sept. 22 in Tuscaloosa,
Ala.
a chance with a shot downfield or a
trick play or something that’s going to
generate a chunk of yards.”
This Alabama defense still has
plenty of star power and award candi
dates in players like nose guard Quin-
nen Williams, defensive end Isaiah
Buggs, safety Deionte Thompson and
linebackers Dylan Moses and Mack
Wilson.
Alabama held LSU to 196 total
yards, including just 12 rushing. It
was a vintage Tide performance even
it was mostly overshadowed — of
course — by Tagovailoa’s exploits.
“They were in the backfield all
night,” Alabama offensive tackle Jed-
rick Wills Jr. said.
The defense is still producing plenty
of big plays. Buggs is fifth nationally
with nine sacks and the team ranks
fourth nationally in that category.
A secondary that had to replace
last year’s top six players, including
the versatile All-American defensive
back Fitzpatrick, has emerged too.
Alabama has 13 interceptions and has
returned four of them for touchdowns.
Thompson is the team’s leading
tackier.
Plus, the Tide has allowed just 37.7
rushing yards on average over the last
three SEC games with Williams step
ping in for Payne and also consistently
generating a pass rush up the middle.
Moses and Wilson have emerged
as standouts at inside linebacker in
Evans’ absence.
The defense has allowed somewhat
uncharacteristic numbers at times: 23
points to Texas A&M, 31 to Arkansas
and 21 to Tennessee.
Saban said the young defenders
have gained confidence along with
the experience and gotten better
at things like playing together and
communicating.
“I think we’ve grown in some of
those areas, and we need to continue
to improve in all parts of our team,”
Saban said. “We’re going to see a
different kind of attack this week,
so we’re going to have to adjust and
adapt to that as well. ”
LSU back to work
after blowout loss
to No. 1 Alabama
LSU coach Ed Orgeron
proclaimed that Monday
was his “biggest day” on the
job since he took over the
Les Miles in 2016.
The coach expressed con
cerned about the psyche of
his players after the dual
blow of losing big at home
to No. 1 Alabama and then
hearing their own coach say
after the game that he needs
to bring in better recruits.
“I told that to my coaches
in a staff meeting this morn
ing, ‘We are the mature
people. We have to bring
the players up. I have to be
at my best today,”’ Orgeron
said. “There are a lot of hurt
people on our football team.
We have the 24-hour rule. It
may take a little longer to
get over this loss.”
Losses to Alabama tend
to be emotional. The Crim
son Tide has tormented
the Tigers for generations
— first for decades under
coach Paul “Bear” Bryant
and now under Nick Saban,
a former LSU coach who has
won five national champion
ships with the Crimson Tide.
Alabama has won eight
straight against the Tigers,
starting with a victory in
the national championship
game at the end of the 2011
season, ruining what would
have otherwise been the fin
est campaign in LSU history.
The latest loss to Ala
bama — by a score of 29-0
— ended LSU’s hopes of
reaching the Southeastern
Conference champion
ship game and dropped the
Tigers from fourth to ninth
in the AP Top 25 Poll.
Orgeron was critical of
LSU’s offensive and defen
sive linemen immediately
after the game, saying essen
tially that they currently
were not good enough to
win crucial matchups at the
line of scrimmage against
Alabama.
On Monday, Orgeron
backed off that assessment
to some extent.
“We must coach better
and that starts with me,”
Orgeron said. “We could’ve
put guys in better position.
Our schemes could have
been better. We need to
execute better. We must be
better on the offensive and
defensive lines. We must
improve our depth and
increase the number of qual
ity players there.”
No offensive or defen
sive lineman met with the
media Monday. Linebacker
Devin White indicated that
he would not be bothered by
criticism from a coach.
“When a coach criticizes
me, I respect him,” White
said. “The coach is in a
higher authority. He has
been around the game. I
take (criticism) as a building
tool and embrace it.
“I will tell the coach, ‘You
say that I didn’t do this good.
Then, coach me better so I
can do those things.’ Foot
ball is a hard game. ”
Florida may play 2
QBs vs. S. Carolina
Florida coach Dan Mullen
will take a few more days
before settling on a starting
quarterback against South
Carolina.
Feleipe Franks or Kyle
Trask will get the nod when
the 19th-ranked Gators (6-3,
4-3 Southeastern Confer
ence) host the Gamecocks
(5-3, 4-3) on Saturday. Mul
len also didn’t rule out play
ing highly touted freshman
Emory Jones.
“We’ll look and see how
practice goes,” Mullen said
Monday. “We might play
two quarterbacks, might
play three. We’re still put
ting the game plan together.
I want to just see as we put
the game plan together, we
go out and practice it, who
gives us the best chance to
win.”
Mullen reiterated his
belief that Franks isn’t
totally at fault for the team’s
offensive failures, which
include scoring 17 points in
consecutive games.
Franks was benched in a
38-17 loss to Missouri in the
Swamp, pulled after com
pleting 9 of 22 passes for 84
yards.
Trask replaced him in the
third quarter and immedi
ately led Florida on a touch
down drive, but he did little
the rest of the way. Trask
finished 10-of-18 passing for
126 yards, with a 7-yard scor
ing pass.
Mullen pinned part of his
QB problems on the team’s
lackluster offensive line and
its former staff.
Associated Press
GEORGIA
■ Continued from 1B
“Do you daydream about
Alabama?” Reed joked.
“I don’t have to play ‘em,”
the reporter replied.
Reed chuckled.
“No, I don’t day
dream about Ala
bama at all,” he
said. “Yeah, they’re
on our schedule
now. But we’re wor
ried about Auburn.”
Georgia locked
up the East with
an impressive
34-17 victory at
No. 12 Kentucky , complet
ing another perfect run
through the division side of
its schedule.
Ho-hum. That’s merely
the first of several items on
the Bulldogs’ checklist.
“There was a little cele
bration,” Reed said, “but we
know that winning the East
doesn’t mean that much.”
Georgia opened as a
14-point favorite over
Auburn, which is coming
off one of the better perfor
mances of a disappointing
season. The Tigers rallied
from a 10-point deficit in the
fourth quarter to knock off
Texas A&M 28-24 — and an
upset of the Bulldogs would
really give 2018 a whole new
perspective.
These long-time rivals
are certainly familiar with
each other. This met
twice a year ago,
with Auburn romp
ing to a 40-17 victory
late in the regular
season before Geor
gia bounced
back with
a dominat
ing 28-7 tri
umph in the
SEC championship
game.
“You’ve got two
good football teams
playing against
each other, com
peting and playing
their hearts out,” Ledbetter
said. “It’s a physical game,
always. It’s one of my favor
ite games of the season, so
I’m looking forward to it. I’m
always looking forward to a
challenge.”
An even bigger challenge
is still to come. But all that
talk about a rematch with
Alabama will have to wait.
“Every week we have
to come with the same
approach,” offensive line
man Andrew Thomas said.
Notes: Smart gave opti
mistic updates on a trio of
players who left the Ken
tucky game with injuries.
WR Mecole Hardman
(ankle) should be able to
practice all week and be
ready to go against Auburn,
while center Lamont Gail-
lard (hyperextended knee)
is also expected to
play though he will
be limited at the
beginning of the
week. Freshman
offensive lineman
Cade Mays (stinger)
was restricted to
non-contact drills
Monday and his
status is still to be
determined. “He’s a
tough kid, and we know he’ll
push through it,” Smart said.
.. Another ailing offensive
lineman, Ben Cleveland, is
closing to returning from
a broken fibula sustained
against Missouri. Cleveland
started the first four games
of the season.
Hardman
PLAYER
■ Continued from 1B
times for 38 yards with a
1-yard touchdown in the Fal
cons’ regular-season finale,
the majority of his produc
tion coming during the most
pivotal point of the game.
He churned out gains of 11
and 10 yards on the Falcons
final drive to twice move the
chains and keep the clock
ticking. It came after defen
sive end Cody Inman fell on
a Danes’ fumble inside Fal
cons territory, which ended
a potential last-ditch touch
down drive by Denmark.
Allentini’s contributions
were more than enough to
help the ninth-ranked Fal
cons capture third place
in the 7-4A, and the No. 3
playoff seed for the Class 4A
tournament. For those rea
sons, Allentini is the Times
football Player of the Week.
Allentini (5 foot 9, 170
pounds), who saw a few reps
at fullback as a freshman,
has fully settled in, now
breaking the goal line for
touchdowns in back-to-back
games. Against West Hall
on Oct. 26, he muscled and
reached across the plane
for his first varsity score and
hauled in a pair of recep
tions for 18 yards in the pass
ing game.
“He’s built low to the
ground, and in that fullback
position, with the quick-hit-
ting plays he kind of gets lost
in the mix there,” Hall said.
“He just has a knack for
finding seams and gaining
yards, and he’s improving
with every carry.”
For Allentini, both
positions seem to go
hand-in-hand.
“It’s kind of like the
linebacker of the offense,”
Allentini said. “Really your
job is to hit people and do
your assignment, do your
job to help everybody else
— kind of like, being a part
of one whole aspect from it.”
Now winners of two-
straight, the Falcons have
managed to pick up steam
as they’ve welcomed back
those who have been hurt
the last few weeks.
“They’ve demonstrated
...resiliency, and that is the
characteristic we look for in
a football team,” Hall said.
“Nobody’s made excuses
about anyone not being
able to play. The next man
stepped up, and they’ve per
formed well enough to win
these two ball games.”
Even with Mayfield
expected back for the first-
round playoff game at No. 2
seed Ridgeland this Friday
night, Allentini should still
be in the mix for the Fal
cons as the program seeks
to build on its recent playoff
success. Last year, the Fal
cons used a goal-line stand
to edge Kell, 21-14, for their
first postseason victory since
2011.
“It’s a lot of buzz (in the
locker room),” Allentini
said. “We’re excited to play
in the state playoffs. Flow
ery Branch hasn’t made a
big run in the playoffs in
a while, so we want to be a
part of a big legacy going
into it, and we feel like we
have the team to do it, espe
cially with the seniors we
have.”
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