2:30 p.m.
Sept. 25, 2010
Arkansas TV: CBS
THE FIRST CHALLENGE Ryan Mallett has emerged as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks. Can a young Tide secondary contain him?
AMEDAY G
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INSIDE Tall order
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Stifling the Hogs’ passing attack may be the Tide’s biggest challenge to date. Page 2
SIMULATION
4 | Q & A WITH FREDDIE KITCHENS Kitchens sits down to recall his days as one of UA’s most remembered QBs of the 90s. Xbox 360 screenshot Freshman Jeremy Shelley was 4-of-4 (30, 52, 50, 31), including a game-winning 31-yarder with one second left.
By Jordan Eichenblatt
GAME INFO: SATURDAY, SEPT. 25
vs
Alabama (3-0) • • • •
Arkansas (3-0)
Field: Donald W. Reynolds Stadium Place: Fayetteville, Ark. Time: 2:30 p.m. TV: CBS
GAMEDAY STAFF
ALABAMA 12 ARKANSAS 9 CRIMSON TIDE Stats RAZORBACKS Stats
• Jason Galloway, GameDay editor • Laura Owens, assistant GameDay editor • Victor Luckerson, editor-in-chief • Jonathan Reed, managing editor • Brandee Easter, print-production editor • Emily Johnson, design editor • Chris Jackson, art director • Adam Greene, chief copy editor • Jerrod Seaton, photo editor • Katie Bennett, photographer
Total Yards: 229 Passing: 165 yds Rushing: 64 yds Turnovers: 2 (2 fumbles lost) Passing: McElroy: 16-of-22, 165 yds Top Rusher: Ingram: 26 rushes, 75 yds, 2 fumbles Top Receiver: Jones: 3 catches, 67 yds
Cover photo: John Michael Simpson
Total Yards: 281 Passing: 262 yds Rushing: 19 yds Turnovers: 1 (1 fumble lost) Passing: Mallett: 17-of-28, 262 yds Top Rusher: Wingo: 16 rushes, 27 yds Top Receiver: Wright: 6 catches, 89 yds Compiled by Lake Koelling
Cover photo: John Michael Simpson
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Wes Hawkins — 32/34 (94.12%) Sara Elizabeth Matthews — 32/34 (94.12%) Alex Cotter — 31/34 (91.18%) Alex Austin — 31/34 (91.18%) John McWilliams — 31/34 (91.18%) Nathan Gilbert — 31/34 (91.18%)
THIS WEEK’S WINNER
Wes Hawkins — 20/21 JASON GALLOWAY GameDay Editor LAURA OWENS Asst. GameDay Editor
Make picks before the games Saturday at
— 30/34 (88.24%) gameday.ua.edu. — 30/34(88.24%)
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studentSECTION what you’re saying...
Who will have the better game Saturday? Greg McElroy or Ryan Mallett? “McElroy will do better because he has Julio Jones.” Travis Weaver
Freshman marketing
“McElroy will do better because he’s on top of his game right now, and he has Jones, Hanks and Maze.” Jimmy Robinson
Freshman engineering
“McElroy and Mallet are well-matched as quarterbacks, so I think the outcome of the game will depend more on the teams’ performances.” Kelsey Dunn
Junior mechanical engineering
“I’m confident that our defense will neutralize Mallet like they did last year and our star offensive players will help McElroy succeed.” Blake Whitley
Junior materials engineering
CW | Teresa Portone
POLL OF THE WEEK How many yards will Ryan Mallett pass for against Alabama? 200-299 yards (44%) 100-199 yards (28%) Less than 100 yards (17%) 300-399 yards (6%) 400 yards (5%)
AP POLL
COACHES’ POLL
1. Alabama (53) 2. Ohio State (5) 3. Boise State (1) 4. TCU 5. Oregon 6. Nebraska 7. Texas (1) 8. Oklahoma 9. Florida 10. Arkansas 11. Wisconsin 12. South Carolina 13. Utah 14. Arizona 15. LSU 16. Stanford 17. Auburn 18. Iowa 19. Miami (FL) 20. USC 21. Michigan 22. West Virginia 23. Penn State 24. Oregon State 25. Michigan State
1. Alabama (55) 2. Ohio State (3) 3. Boise State 4. Texas 5. TCU 6. Oregon 7. Nebraska (1) 8. Florida 9. Oklahoma 10. Wisconsin 11. Arkansas 12. LSU 13. Utah 14. Auburn 15. South Carolina 16. Arizona 17. Stanford 18. Iowa 19. Miami (FL) 20. Penn State 21. West Virginia 22. Michigan 23. Michigan State 24. Missouri 25. Oklahoma State
GAMEDAY September 23
GameDay Picks Leaderboard
1
Are they rea
Marcell Darens runs after Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett in last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 35-7 victory over the Razorbacks. CW | Jerrod Seaton
ady for MALLETT? BY ZAC AL-KHATEEB Sports Reporter zialkhateeb@crimson.ua.edu
Alabama has started this season off just as everyone expected. Perhaps even better, considering the Crimson Tide’s defensive unit was under serious scrutiny coming into this season. The defense has held its own, however, and has even dominated opponents at times. But Alabama hasn’t faced anything quite like what it will find when the Tide travels to Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday to take on Ryan Mallett and the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Tide defense held the Razorbacks to minimal gains last year en route to a 35-7 blowout. Of course, head coach Nick Saban doesn’t really care about what happened last year, and he said he feels Arkansas’ offense is even better this season. “I don’t think anything that happened last year has anything to do with what happens this year,” Saban said. “[Arkansas’ offense is] better in terms of their consistency and what they’re expected to do. This’ll be a real challenge for this team this year.” So far this season, the Tide’s defense has held opponents to a combined 760 total yards. Of course, none of those teams are on the level Arkansas is. “This is sort of a new season, playing in the SEC,” Saban said. “Our team will find you’re only as strong as your weakest link…. This’ll be a real critical test of adversity.” Mallett may be the greatest test of all. By himself, he has already eclipsed the total offense allowed by Alabama’s defense, passing for 1,018 yards in three games. Three of his receivers already have more than 150 yards receiving each. “He’s a good QB,” junior linebacker Jerrell Harris said. “He’ll try to stay in the pocket and try to pick us apart.” Sophomore defensive lineman Damion Square said he realizes Mallett’s talent, but also feels he is the kind of quarterback the Tide can get pressure on. After all, Alabama did sack him three times last year. “Ryan Mallett’s a big guy back there, great passer,” Square said. “He’s a guy that delivers the ball pretty well to his team. As a pass rusher, you do get excited when you play a guy that’s going to stay in the pocket and execute his offense [that way].” Tide senior quarterback Greg McElroy doesn’t seem too worried about how the defense will fare against Arkansas’ offense and has a lot of confidence in his defensive secondary. “I think [the secondary] is doing a good job,” McElroy said. “The great thing about our scheme, as long as they play the scheme
within what Coach asks them to do, we’re so well-coached, as long as they don’t make any busts, then we’ll continue to have success.” It’s not as if Alabama has never seen a high-octane offense, either. They practice against one every week. Junior running back Mark Ingram noted how Alabama’s balanced offense prepared its defense for the game. “It helps them a lot,” Ingram said. “They have balance in [Arkansas’] offense too. They talk about Mallett being able to throw the ball, but they have explosive receivers and can run the ball, too.” Of course, the Tide offense can do a lot to take the pressure off its defense, whether by preparation or simply scoring early and often. Sophomore offensive lineman Barrett Jones said the defense hasn’t really had any pressure on them in terms of having to win games so far. “We haven’t needed to take much pressure off them,” he said. “We just go out there and try to score as many points as we can week in and week out, and the defense has done a great job of getting us the ball in great field position and getting stops.” The defense this year is still trying to create its own identity, separate from the Tide’s defensive unit last year, which included stars such as Rolando McClain, Javier Arenas and Terrence Cody. “We’ve known we have a ton of talented guys [on defense],” Jones said. “Coach Saban does a great job of recruiting, and we have a great group of guys stepping in their roles. We know that we have a ton of talent on our defense, and right now I think they’re just starting to crack the potential of how good they can be.” Said Harris: “It’s really a big step up for us. We need to step up and play. I’ll grade [our defense] well right now. We’re still a young defense. Basically [we need improvement] all around, but we don’t have any weaknesses. Right now, we’re licking our chops, ready to show the world what we can do.”
4 GAMEDAY September 23
Q&A
Reliving the tradition with By Jordan Eichenblatt Contributing Writer
Freddie Kitchens
One of Alabama’s greatest quarterbacks remembers the time he spent at Alabama. He played for the Tide from 1995-1997 and had a 22-13 record. At the time of his departure he ranked third in the school history in passing attempts, fourth in passing yards and fifth in completions.
GameDay : What is your favorite memory?
GD : What is more thrilling?
Freddie Kitchens : The 1996 Iron Bowl. My adrenalin was pumping and we were trailing Auburn with 32 seconds. I saw Dennis [Riddle] open off the screen, and we scored and we beat Auburn.
FK : I was only in pads for Alabama, never NFL. So each has its own special part to me.
Running out of the tunnel for the Super Bowl or for an Alabama game?
GD : What is the one thing
GD : Many Alabama faithful were upset when you were a coach for LSU.
you enjoy about watching Alabama football?
FK: I was only there for a year
FK: The tradition. It is something no other school can match. I also like to see how far back my passing records will fall [laughs].
GD : What is the main difference between college and NFL? FK: There is a difference, but I just can’t put it in words. They are two completely different worlds. College you have class and studies and football. NFL you have football, just football.
[laughs].
During his career, he threw for 4,668 passing yards with 30 touchdowns. Since 2007, he’s been the tight ends coach for the Arizona cardinals.
Interview from SportsCampus on 1230am radio. You can listen to SportsCampus every Sunday from 6-8 p.m.
Bryant Museum Former Alabama quarterback Freddie Kitchens passes against Bowling Green in 1996.
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OFFENSIVE STARTERS
LT LG C RG RT TE HB QB RB WR WR
77 65 73 75 76 89 85 12 22 8 4
James Carpenter (Sr.) Chance Warmack (So.) William Vlachos (Jr.) Barrett Jones (So.) D.J. Fluker (So.) Michael Williams (R-So.) Preston Dial (Sr.) Greg McElroy (Sr.) Mark Ingram (Jr.) Julio Jones (Jr.) Marquis Maze (Jr.)
DEFENSIVE STARTERS DE 57 Marcell Dareus (Jr.) DT 99 Josh Chapman (Jr.) DE 96 Luther Davis (Sr.) JACK 41 Courtney Upshaw (Jr.) WILL 5 Jerrell Harris (Jr.) MIKE 30 DontĘźa Hightower (So.) SAM 55 Chavis Williams (Sr.) CB 21 Dre Kirkpatrick (So.) FS 37 Robert Lester (So.) SS 4 Mark Barron (Jr.) CB 24 DeQuan Menzie (Jr.)
OFFENSIVE STARTERS
LT LG C RG RT TE QB RB WR WR WR
65 71 64 67 73 45 15 7 3 85 4
DeMarcus Love (Sr.) Wade Grayson (Sr.) Travis Swanson (Fr.) Alvin Bailey (Fr.) Ray Dominguez (Sr.) D.J. Williams (Sr.) Ryan Mallett (Jr.) Knile Davis (So.) Joe Adams (Jr.) Greg Childs (Jr.) Jarius Wright (Jr.)
SPECIAL TEAMS STARTERS K P PR KR
43 29 8 3 8
DEFENSIVE STARTERS
DE DT DT DE OLB MLB OLB CB CB S S
91 51 92 58 1 34 31 26 6 4 5
Jake Bequette (Jr.) Alfred Davis (So.) DeQuinta Jones (So.) Damario Ambrose (Sr.) Anthony Leon (Sr.) Jerry Franklin (Jr.) Jerico Nelson (Jr.) Ramon Broadway (Sr.) Isaac Madison (Jr.) Rudell Crim (Sr.) Tramain Thomas (Jr.)
SPECIAL TEAMS STARTERS
Cade Foster (Fr.) Cody Mandell (Fr.) Julio Jones (Jr.) Trent Richardson (So.) Julio Jones (Jr.)
K P PR KR
18 14 3 11 83
Zach Hocker (Fr.) Dylan Breeding (So.) Joe Adams (Jr.) Cobi Hamilton (So.) Maudrecus Humphrey (Fr.)
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