Notes From Bama Win Over Kentucky

Maybe it’s a good thing Saturday’s Alabama-Kentucky game was played in the state of Alabama. The Crimson Tide has never lost to the Wildcats in football when the game has been played in the Heart of Dixie. Bama’s 17-14 win over the Cats Saturday made Alabama 20-0-1 in games played in the state.

Alabama now has a 9-0 record against Kentucky in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama now has a record of 34-2-1 against Kentucky in football. Alabama’s win Saturday ended the Wildcats five-game winning streak, going back to a 2007 Music City Bowl win over FSU.

When Rolando McClain picked up a Kentucky fumble at the four-yard line and took it in for a touchdown, it gave Alabama five non-offensive touchdowns on the season, which is most in the nation. Previously the Tide had a punt return by Javier Arenas against Tulane, Chris Rogers scooping up a blocked punt for a touchdown against Tulane, and Arenas and Justin Woodall with interception returns for touchdowns against Arkansas.

Alabama faced the nation’s fifth-ranked team in rushing defense Saturday. The Wildcats had allowed only 50.3 rushing yards per game in its first four games, a total of only 201 yards. The Crimson Tide rushed for 284 yards with Glen Coffee bettering the total of four previous Kentucky opponents with 25 rushes for 218 yards.

Coffee’s performance was his career best and sixth best in Alabama football history. His previous single game high had been 162 yards against Arkansas in Fayetteville earlier this year. On the season, Coffee has rushed for 708 yards on 95 carries (7.1 yards per carry) and has scored four touchdowns. The performance was Alabama’s first 200-yard rushing performance since Kenneth Darby rushed for 200 yards against Mississippi State in 2004.

Shaun Alexander has the Alabama record with 291 rushing yards against LSU in 1996.

Meanwhile, the Alabama rush defense continues to be impressive. Alabama surrendered only 35 rushing yards to Kentucky, the sixth team this season and seventh consecutive team to fail to rush for 100 yards against Alabama. Bama’s defense allowed zero rushing yards by Clemson, 86 by Tulane, 42 by Western Kentucky, 92 by Arkansas, and 50 by Georgia.

Though not much is likely to be made of it, America’s bowl team--Alabama, with more bowl appearances and more bowl victories than any other college team, became bowl-eligible with its sixth victory of the season Saturday.

Alabama’s 1973 national championship team was on campus and honored in Friday night and pre-game festivities. The captains of the team, Wilbur Jackson and Chuck Strickland, served as honorary captains for the game for Bama.