[Bamabeachlivin]

We’re a day later than usual this week due to unavoidable travel logistics returning from Jacksonville. Nevertheless, there are still a number of leftovers to examine from the University of Alabama’s 21-14 loss to Florida State on Saturday night.



1. The gaffes

Yep, the game essentially came down to two plays, both of which went Florida State’s way: the 70-yard touchdown, and the fumble recovery at the Alabama 5. Combined with the first drive of the second half, they accounted for all 21 points.

After not completing a pass in sophomore defensive back Marquis Johnson’s direction during the first half, the Seminoles went after him. He missed a tackle on the 28-yard gain to spark the first touchdown possession, and obviously couldn’t make the tackle on the 70-yard touchdown. He was also the defender on the 7-yard touchdown catch.

On the fumble, Florida State only had three pass-rushers on third-and-15 at the Alabama 8. When senior defensive end Alex Brown got past sophomore left tackle Andre Smith on the outside, it forced junior quarterback John Parker Wilson to step up. He should have thrown the ball away, but tried to make a play and was caught by sophomore end Everette Brown, who was off the initial block from sophomore tackle Mike Johnson.

Florida State also completed a 58-yard pass to junior Greg Carr, with freshman cornerback Kareem Jackson in coverage, but the ball could not have been thrown any better despite junior quarterback Xavier Lee being nailed by sophomore defensive tackle Lorenzo Washington on the release.



2. Physical play



What did nearly all of Alabama’s big playmakers have in common Saturday? Bone-jarring hits.

Wilson’s first, by Brown, came early on a deep pass-attempt to sophomore receiver Mike McCoy. McCoy’s was courtesy of a defensive tackle, but he also took one from a safety. Redshirt freshman running back Terry Grant had his head driven into the ground. Senior wide receiver Keith Brown took a hard hit from linebacker Marcus Bell. And so on …

By the end of the game, Alabama’s receivers were becoming more concerned with the hits than catching the ball (Brown’s touchdown catch the exception), which likely contributed to three or four dropped balls.

On the flip side, senior safety Marcus Carter had two impressive tackles, including one he overplayed the receiver only to grab and hang on until help arrived.



3. Wilson part I



Before Florida State took a 14-0 lead in the fourth quarter, which forced Alabama into its hurry-up offense, Wilson was 16 of 29 for 122 yards, giving him an average of just 7.6 yards per completion. Alabama obviously felt it could take advantage of Florida State’s starting cornerbacks being listed at 5-foot-9 and 5-8, thus the numerous deep balls. However, the Tide only completed two of 10 deep attempts, both in hurry-up mode. Otherwise, with FSU playing a deep zone, Alabama tried to attack by throwing underneath, but nearly every completion was quickly met by one of the Seminoles’ speedy linebackers.

During this part of the game, Wilson was 4-for-10 on third downs and Alabama failed to reach the red zone.

The Tide had 73 yards after the catch, but except for senior DJ Hall spinning away from a defender on his 27-yard reception, nearly all came on screen passes.



4. Wilson part II



After Florida State went into its prevent, Wilson was 12 of 24 for 118 yards and led two touchdown drives. He was 3-for-6 on third and fourth downs, and 2-for-4 in the red zone. He was 6-for-7 and 46 yards on the first scoring drive, which was keyed by three runs for 32 yards, but just 2-of-7 on the second. Again, senior Matt Caddell had more passes go his way when the game was on the line, but Wilson missed wide-open junior Will Oakley on a play he ended up throwing the ball away (one of four). Fans will argue whether Brown should have had the deep ball on fourth-and-10, but Hall got away with a push on his 24-yard gain earlier in the fourth quarter.



5. The wind

Yes, it was really gusting in the first half, but eased up later on. Still, in addition to altering Wilson’s passes (he completed just 2 of 8 passes for 7 yards in the first quarter), it also affected Alabama’s strategies.

Saban schemed for the offense to be with the wind in the fourth quarter, but Alabama decided not to go for a 55-yard field-goal attempt late in the first half, in part because there was still a chance to get the ball back, but also a miss could have given Florida State a shot at the end zone.

The wind was so strong early on that sophomore P.J. Fitzgerald’s first punt against the wind only went 19 yards. However, Florida State executed a 54-yard punt against what was left of the wind in the fourth quarter.

Try to remember a long pass completed by Florida State in which the majority of yards weren’t accumulated after the catch. There was only one, the 58-yard completion.



6. The stagnant running game



Alabama’s gains grew as the game progressed, but it never established the ground game. Excluding the three sacks, the Tide had 8 carries for 40 yards going left, and 15 carries for 62 yards to the right — 36 of which came from Wilson taking off on his own. Grant’s 36 rushing yards were less than half of his previous season low (80).



7. New roles



Sophomore safety Ali Sharrief has obviously earned more playing time and made two tackles. Alabama rotated in other players as well, like sophomore linebacker Brandon Fanney and freshman defensive tackle Luther Davis. Expect more in the coming weeks. Sophomore defensive tackle Brandon Deaderick was more involved in the rotation even before junior Bobby Greenwood was lost for the game with an injury. Early on, with Deaderick inside in obvious passing situations Greenwood lined up at end

Freshman tight end Preston Dial was pressed into service when junior tight end Travis McCall sustained a concussion. Unfortunately for Alabama, he was most noticeable on his false start, which helped kill a key drive.



8. Run defense



If there was one thing Alabama could be proud of Saturday, it’s the way it shut down the running game. Junior Antone Smith led all FSU running backs with 15 yards on 12 carries. Lee was Florida State’s leading rusher with 59 yards on 11 carries, but he didn’t achieve a first down until the fourth quarter, and his longest gain was 13 yards.

Numerous players had key stops, including senior linebacker Darren Mustin on third-and-3 at the end of the first quarter, and freshman linebacker Rolando McClain making one of team-leading nine tackles (he tied with junior Ezekial Knight) on Lee.

Incidentally, sophomore linebacker Prince Hall made a good read on his interception in which Lee was looking for a tight end across the middle (much like Georgia did), and senior cornerback Simeon Castile should have been credited with a half-tackle on Knight’s tackle for a loss.

9. Injuries



Greenwood was injured on Knight’s sack, but the injury didn’t appear to be serious. Incidentally, that was only Alabama’s fifth sack, which ranks last in the SEC.

McCall went for a low block against a bigger player and wound up taking the full force of the blow on his head. Mustin’s thigh injury kept him from pushing off his leg, thus he was replaced by Prince Hall.



10. Special teams



On the plus side, Alabama did a nice job of nullifying sophomore Preston Parker on returns, and although he was inconsistent (especially with the wind), Fitzgerald was credited with four punts within the 20. Freshman Charlie Higgenbotham was in on kickoffs and the new guy on kick returns was freshman Travis Sikes.

On the negative, sophomore Javier Arenas muffed a punt and missed a ball on a kickoff. He had one kickoff return for 9 yards, and no yards on punt returns.

Alabama was also called for delay of game on a punt.

Player of the game: Like last week, it’s a split. Junior linebacker Ezekial Knight had nine tackles, including two for a loss, and Alabama’s lone sack when he actually hurdled a teammate to get to the quarterback. Junior safety Rashad Johnson was equally as impressive, with six tackles, and played a key role in limiting Florida State to 82 rushing yards.

Play of the game: Although the 70-yard touchdown nullified Alabama’s first touchdown, the sack for a fumble, which was recovered at the Tide 5, helped give Florida State the all-but insurmountable lead.

Statistic of the game: Alabama’s best play in the first quarter was on its first snap, when Florida State was offside. Actually, that’s only half true. The Tide had a 5-yard gain on a screen pass to sophomore Glen Coffee. On 12 plays, it accumulated 19 yards.

Hit of the game: Johnson had it when junior running back Antone Smith went up for pass, when the junior safety drilled him, causing Smith to somersault over and land on his head.

Did you notice? Early on, Alabama had second-and-10 from its own 9, when it ran a fake reverse, with redshirt freshman Terry Grant cutting through the left side and nearly broke a big play. He was tripped up after 4 yards, and the Tide went back to formation again, but look for that play again soon. Next time, it may not be a fake.

[Stoney]

Nice Monday morning QB-ing. The play that said it all was DJ Hall looking at the FSU CB and stopping his route because he was going to get hit. The pass was incomplete and so was the effort.