2014 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

2014 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Alabama Crimson Tide logo
SEC champion
SEC Western Division champion
Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal),
L 35–42 vs. Ohio State
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record12–2 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorLane Kiffin (1st season)
Offensive schemeWest Coast, pro-style
Defensive coordinatorKirby Smart (8th season)
Base defense3–4
MVPAmari Cooper
CaptainLandon Collins
Amari Cooper
Jalston Fowler
Blake Sims
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
Seasons
← 2013
2015 →
2014 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 14 Missouri x   7 1     11 3  
No. 9 Georgia   6 2     10 3  
Florida   4 4     7 5  
Tennessee   3 5     7 6  
South Carolina   3 5     7 6  
Kentucky   2 6     5 7  
Vanderbilt   0 8     3 9  
Western Division
No. 4 Alabama x$^   7 1     12 2  
No. 11 Mississippi State   6 2     10 3  
No. 17 Ole Miss *   5 3     9 4  
No. 22 Auburn   4 4     8 5  
LSU *   4 4     8 5  
Texas A&M   3 5     8 5  
Arkansas   2 6     7 6  
Championship: Alabama 42, Missouri 13
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * LSU and Ole Miss vacated all wins (except for Ole Miss' win over Presbyterian) due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2014 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It marked the Crimson Tide's 120th overall season, 81st as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and its 23rd within the SEC Western Division. The team was led by head coach Nick Saban, in his eighth year, and played its home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The Alabama Crimson Tide were 12–2 overall and 7–1 in SEC regular season. The Crimson Tide won the SEC Western Division title for the tenth time, advancing to their ninth SEC Championship Game, where they defeated Missouri 42–13. The Crimson Tide played in the inaugural College Football Playoff as the #1 seed, netting a berth in the CFP semifinal 2015 Sugar Bowl, where they were defeated by the #4 seed Ohio State Buckeyes 42–35.

Before the season

Fall camp

At the start of fall camp on August 1, coach Saban announced Jarran Reed, Brandon Ivory and Tim Williams were suspended indefinitely for violations of team rules.

Jacob Coker played themselves into position to be named starter through the end of camp when Sims was selected as the starter for the opening game against West Virginia.[5][6]

By mid-August, Alabama had a combined 26 players on 12 different preseason award watch lists.

Jacob Coker, Cooper, Derrick Henry and Yeldon for the Maxwell Award; Ryan Kelly, Kouandjio and Robinson for the Outland Trophy; Kelly for the Rimington Trophy; Collins for the Jim Thorpe Award; and Henry and Yeldon for the Doak Walker Award.[7]

Coaching staff

Alabama head coach Nick Saban entered his eighth year as the Crimson Tide's head coach for the 2014 season. During his previous seven years with Alabama, he led the Crimson Tide to an overall record of 74 wins and 15 losses (74–15) and the 2009, 2011 and 2012 national championships.[8] On January 10, 2014, former Oakland Raiders, Tennessee and USC head coach Lane Kiffin was hired as the replacement for Doug Nussmeier as offensive coordinator.[9] Nussmeier resigned from Alabama on January 9 to become offensive coordinator at Michigan.[10] Kiffin was working with Alabama in some capacity before the team's 2014 Sugar Bowl game and before taking the offensive coordinator position.[9]

On January 11, defensive line coach Chris Rumph resigned and took a position on the Texas staff under new head coach Charlie Strong to replace former defensive line coach Bo Davis.[11] At that time, Davis had accepted a job at USC. After Rumph left Alabama, Davis resigned as defensive line coach at USC after one week on the job to take Rumph's job at Alabama.[12] Davis previously coached defensive line at Alabama from 2007 to 2010.[12]

On February 12, Greg Brown resigned after only one season at Alabama to become the safeties coach at Louisville.[13] Two days later, Kevin Steele was promoted from Alabama's director of player personnel to inside linebackers coach.[14] Steele previously served as a defensive assistant for Saban at Alabama in 2007 and 2008.[14]

Name Position Consecutive season at
Alabama in current position
Nick Saban Head coach 8th
Burton Burns Associate head coach,
running backs coach
8th
Lane Kiffin
quarterbacks coach
1st
Kevin Steele Linebackers 1st
Bo Davis
Defensive line coach
1st
Kirby Smart Defensive coordinator, Defensive backs 8th
Mario Cristobal
Offensive line coach
2nd
Billy Napier Wide receivers 2nd
Lance Thompson Outside linebackers 5th
Bobby Williams
Tight ends coach
, special teams
7th
Scott Cochran Strength and conditioning 8th
Reference:[15]

Players

2014 recruiting class

Prior to National Signing Day on February 5, 2014, eight players enrolled for the spring semester in order to participate in spring practice and included six former high school seniors and two junior college transfers.[16][17] The early enrollments from high school included top-ranked offensive tackle Cameron Robinson, wide receiver Cameron Sims, safety Laurence "Hootie" Jones, cornerback Tony Brown, quarterback David Cornwell and linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton.[16][17] The junior college transfers enrolled early included defensive end D. J. Pettway and defensive tackle Jarran Reed.[16][17] All of the players will take part in Alabama's "fourth-quarter" strength and conditioning program in February before spring practice starts in March.[17]

On National Signing Day, Alabama signed 18 additional players out of high school that completed the 2014 recruiting class. The class was highlighted by 19 players from the "

247Sports.com.[19][20] Of the 26 players signed only two failed to qualify to compete in 2014: Montel McBride and Bo Scarbrough.[21] McBride played for Iowa Western Community College in 2014 and Scarbrough is expected to enroll at Alabama in January 2015.[21]

In addition to those signed as part of the 2014 class, on January 26

Jacob Coker announced his intention to transfer to Alabama.[22] After he graduated in May 2014, Coker officially enrolled at Alabama on May 5.[23] Based on NCAA transfer rules for student athletes who graduate, Coker had two years of eligibility remaining to compete with the Crimson Tide.[22][23]

US college sports recruiting information for 2014 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40 Commit date
Tony Brown
DB
Beaumont, Texas
Ozen High School
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 4.40 Jan 2, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
Joshua Casher
C
Mobile, Alabama St. Paul's Episcopal School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 280 lb (130 kg) Oct 29, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Ronnie Clark
DB
Calera, Alabama Calera High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 4.59 Oct 4, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
David Cornwell
QB
Norman, Oklahoma Norman North High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jun 14, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Johnny Dwight
DT
Rochelle, Georgia Wilcox County High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 298 lb (135 kg) Jun 4, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Rashaan Evans
LB
Auburn, Alabama Auburn High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 4.5 Feb 5, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Ty Flournoy-Smith
TE
Moultrie, Georgia Georgia Military College 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Feb 3, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
Joshua Frazier
DT
Springdale, Arkansas Har-Ber High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 334 lb (151 kg) 5.10 Nov 23, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Shaun Dion Hamilton
LB
Montgomery, Alabama G. W. Carver High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 241 lb (109 kg) Apr 17, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Da'Shawn Hand
DE
Woodbridge, Virginia
Woodbridge High School
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 260 lb (120 kg) 4.70 Nov 14, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
J. C. Hassenauer
C
Woodbury, Minnesota East Ridge High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 295 lb (134 kg) 5.35 Jun 17, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Keith Holcombe
LB
Tuscaloosa, Alabama Hillcrest High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 5.35 Jun 30, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Marlon Humphrey
CB
Hoover, Alabama Hoover High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Jan 29, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
Dominick Jackson
OT
Cupertino, California College of San Mateo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 312 lb (142 kg) Jun 26, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Laurence Jones
DB
Monroe, Louisiana Neville High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jan 2, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Derek Kief
WR
Cincinnati, Ohio La Salle High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 199 lb (90 kg) Jun 16, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Montel McBride
OG
Plant City, Florida Plant City High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 332 lb (151 kg) 5.52 Jul 2, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
Christian Miller
LB
Columbia, South Carolina Spring Valley High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jul 25, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
D. J. Pettway
DT
Pensacola, Florida East Mississippi Community College 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Dec 18, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Ross Pierschbacher
OG
Cedar Falls, Iowa Cedar Falls High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 295 lb (134 kg) 5.21 Aug 11, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Jarran Reed
DT
Goldsboro, North Carolina East Mississippi Community College 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 305 lb (138 kg) Dec 19, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
Cameron Robinson

OT
West Monroe, Louisiana West Monroe High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 320 lb (150 kg) Sep 4, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
Bo Scarbrough
RB
Northport, Alabama IMG Academy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 4.50 Sep 7, 2012 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
P
Denver, Colorado Mullen High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jun 9, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
Cam Sims
WR
Monroe, Louisiana Ouachita Parish High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Aug 24, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
O. J. Smith
DT
Bossier City, Louisiana Airline High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 330 lb (150 kg) 5.00 May 24, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
247Sports: 1  ESPN
: 1
  • ‡ Refers to
    40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Alabama Signee List 2014". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  • "Scout.com Football Recruiting: Alabama". Scout.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  • "2014 Player Signees – Alabama". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.

Departed players

Notable departures from the 2013 squad included juniors,

2014 NFL Draft.[24][25] Senior starters from the 2013 squad who exhausted their eligibility included A. J. McCarron, Kevin Norwood, and Anthony Steen on offense; Deion Belue, C. J. Mosley, and Ed Stinson on defense; and Cody Mandell, McCarron, and Cade Foster on special teams.[26][27][28] Other notable departures from the 2013 squad included several players who transferred to another school. These transfers included quarterback Luke Del Rio to Oregon State, running back Dee Hart to Colorado State, and center Chad Lindsay to Ohio State.[29][30][31]

Returning starters

Alabama had seven returning players on offense, five on defense and five on special teams that started games in 2013.[26][27][28]

Offense

Depth chart

The depth chart listed below shows starters and backups as announced in August 2014.[32]

Schedule

The 2014 schedule was officially released on August 21, 2013.[33] Alabama faced all six Western Division opponents: Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M.[33] They also faced two Eastern Division opponents: official SEC rival Tennessee and Florida.[33] Alabama was not scheduled to play SEC opponents Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina or Vanderbilt during the regular season.[33] They played four non-conference games: West Virginia of the Big 12 Conference, Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss of Conference USA and Western Carolina of the Southern Conference.[33][34] On the final weekend of the regular season, a Missouri victory over Arkansas, coupled with a Mississippi State loss set up a SEC Championship Game against the Tigers for the Crimson Tide.[35] On December 7, the selection committee for the College Football Playoff ranked Alabama as the top seed for the inaugural playoff.[36] For their semifinal match-up, Alabama played Ohio State of the Big Ten Conference in the Sugar Bowl.[36]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 302:30 p.m.vs.
ABC
W 33–2370,502
September 611:00 a.m.Florida Atlantic*No. 2SECNW 41–0[A 1]100,306
September 135:00 p.m.Southern Miss*No. 3
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)
ESPN2W 52–12101,821
September 202:30 p.m.
CBS
W 42–21101,821
October 42:30 p.m.at No. 11
College GameDay
)
CBSL 17–2361,826
October 115:00 p.m.at
ESPN
W 14–1372,337
October 182:30 p.m.No. 21 Texas A&MNo. 7
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
CBSW 59–0101,821
October 256:30 p.m.at
ESPN2
W 34–20102,455
November 87:00 p.m.at No. 14 )CBSW 20–13 OT102,321
November 152:30 p.m.No. 1
College GameDay
)
CBSW 25–20101,821
November 223:00 p.m.Western Carolina*daggerNo. 1
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
SECNW 48–14101,325
November 296:45 p.m.No. 15
College GameDay
)
ESPNW 55–44101,821
December 63:00 p.m.vs. No. 16 MissouriNo. 1
CBSW 42–1373,526
January 1, 20157:30 p.m.vs. No. 4 )ESPNL 35–4274,682

Game summaries

West Virginia

West Virginia Mountaineers vs #2 Alabama Crimson Tide – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
West Virginia 3 14 3323
#2 Alabama 3 17 10333

at Georgia DomeAtlanta, GA

  • Date: August 30, 2014
  • Game time: 3:36 p.m.
    ET
  • Game weather: Indoors
  • Game attendance: 70,502
  • Referee: David Epperley
  • TV announcers (ABC): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Brian Griese (color), Tom Luginbill (sideline)
  • Sources:[39][40]
Game information
The game was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

On May 17, 2012, officials from both Alabama and

field goal.[43][45] Alabama responded on the next possession after Adam Griffith connected on a 47-yard field goal that tied the game 3–3.[45] After the Crimson Tide defense forced a punt on the Mountaineers possession that followed, Alabama scored their first touchdown on the 95-yard drive that ensued. Behind a strong running attack, T. J. Yeldon gave the Crimson Tide a 10–3 lead with his 15-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.[43][45]

West Virginia responded on their next possession with a long touchdown drive of their own. Led by quarterback Clint Trickett, the Mountaineers went 75 yards in nine plays with Trickett throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kevin White that tied the game 10–10.[43][45] Late in the quarter, Alabama retook a 17–10 lead on a one-yard Yeldon touchdown run. However, on the kickoff that ensued, Mario Alford dodges several Crimson Tide tackles en route to a 100-yard touchdown run that tied the game 17–17.[43][45] Alabama did respond with a quick, 50-yard drive that ended with a 41-yard Adam Griffith field goal that gave the Crimson Tide a 20–17 halftime lead.[43][45]

After Alabama was stopped on a fourth-down conversion and the Mountaineers missed a 47-yard field goal on their opening possessions of the second half, the Crimson Tide took a 27–17 lead behind a 19-yard Derrick Henry touchdown run.[43][45] Both teams then traded field goals on the next two possessions and made the score 30–20 in favor of the Crimson Tide as they entered the fourth quarter.[43][45] Although only a pair of field goals were scored in the fourth that made the final score 33–23, the Alabama defense played its best quarter of the game and forced the Mountaineers into several three-and-out possessions late in the game.[43][45] For his four field goal performance, Adam Griffith was recognized as both the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week and as a Lou Groza Award National Star of the Week.[46]

Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic Owls at #3 Alabama Crimson Tide – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Florida Atlantic 0 0 000
#3 Alabama 21 10 7341

at Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL

  • Date: September 6, 2014
  • Game time: 11:01 A.M.
    CT
  • Game weather: 88 °F (31 °C); fair with wind from the north at 5 mph
  • Game attendance: 100,306
  • Referee: Hubert Owens
  • TV announcers (SEC Network): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Andre Ware (color), Laura Rutledge (sideline)
  • Sources:[47][48]
Game information

To open their 2014 home schedule, Alabama defeated the Florida Atlantic Owls 41–0 in a game that was called midway through the fourth quarter due to lightning strikes within eight miles of Bryant–Denny Stadium.[37][48][49] The Crimson Tide elected to receive the ball to open the game and then went on a seven-play, 74-yard drive that culminated in a seven-yard Blake Sims touchdown run.[50][51] After the Alabama defense forced a punt on the Owls' first possession, Sims connected with Amari Cooper on a 52-yard touchdown pass for a 14–0 lead.[50][51] The Crimson Tide extended their lead further to 21–0 on their next possession when Sims threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Kenyan Drake.[50][51] On the first defensive play that followed, Eddie Jackson forced a Kamrin Solomon fumble that was recovered by Reggie Ragland at the Owls' 42-yard line.[51]

It was on this possession that backup quarterback

three-and-out before the offense started their fourth touchdown drive of the game.[51] Coker led the Crimson Tide on a 12-play, 87-yard drive that ended with a three-yard Corker touchdown pass to Jalston Fowler for a 31–0 lead.[50][51] FAU responded with their longest drive of the game only to again have to punt. Alabama then had their final drive of the first half stall at the Owls' nine-yard line; that made the halftime score 31–0.[51]

On the first Alabama possession of the third quarter, Eugene Fau recovered a Sims fumble at the FAU one-yard line and prevented another Crimson Tide touchdown.[51] They scored their fifth touchdown on a three-yard Kenyan Drake touchdown run later in the third that extended their lead to 38–0.[49][51] With many of Alabama's back-ups in the game, Adam Griffith scored the final points of the game with his 28-yard field goal.[49][51] After Cyrus Jones set up a late Crimson Tide scoring opportunity with his 70-yard punt return, officials delayed the game due to lightning strikes in the vicinity of the stadium with Alabama in a fourth and goal situation.[51] Within fifteen minutes of the delay, both schools agreed to call the game with 7:53 to play in the fourth quarter.[37] The game marked the first in Alabama history where two quarterbacks had over 200 yards passing, and Cooper's 13 receptions also tied a Crimson Tide single-game record set by D. J. Hall in 2007.[49] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against the Owls to 2–0.[52]

Southern Miss

Southern Miss Golden Eagles at #3 Alabama Crimson Tide – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Southern Miss 3 3 3312
#3 Alabama 7 14 141752

at Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL

  • Date: September 13, 2014
  • Game time: 5:06 P.M.
    CT
  • Game weather: 81 °F (27 °C); partly cloudy with wind from the north at 8 mph
  • Game attendance: 101,821
  • Referee: Matt Austin
  • TV announcers (ESPN2): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Brock Huard (color), Shannon Spake (sideline)
  • Sources:[53][54]
Game information

In their third game of the 2014 season and second consecutive home non-conference game, Alabama defeated the

field goal on their opening possession.[55][56] Alabama responded on the next possession with a 22-yard Blake Sims touchdown pass to Amari Cooper for a 7–3 lead.[55][56] After a series of punts, the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 14–3 early in the second quarter behind a four-yard Sims touchdown run, and further to 21–3 on a one-yard Kenyan Drake touchdown run.[55] Acosta then made the score 21–6 with his 43-yard field goal just prior to halftime.[55]

To open the second half, Sims led the Crimson Tide 75 yards in eight-plays with Drake scoring his second touchdown for a 28–6 lead. Acosta connected on his third field goal on the drive that ensued for Southern Miss, but Alabama would go on and score on each of its final four offensive possessions for the 52–12 victory.

Jacob Coker entered the game on the following possession and led the Crimson Tide on three scoring drives in the fourth quarter.[56] Points were scored by Drake on a 29-yard touchdown run, Adam Griffith on a 30-yard field goal and by Tyren Jones on a two-yard run.[55] The win improved the Crimson Tide's record in the all-time series versus Southern Miss to 34–6–2 (36–5–2 without NCAA vacations and forfeits).[57]

Florida

Florida Gators at #3 Alabama Crimson Tide – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Florida 14 0 7021
#3 Alabama 14 7 14742

at Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL

  • Date: September 20, 2014
  • Game time: 2:40 p.m.
    CT
  • Game weather: 85 °F (29 °C); clear with wind from the east at 6 mph
  • Game attendance: 101,821
  • Referee: Tom Ritter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Allie LaForce (sideline)
  • Sources:[58][59]
Game information