Tide tops Auburn, advances to SEC title game
Published 12:02 am Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Alabama running back Derrick Henry ran and ran some more, and Adam Griffith nailed five field goals to help lead the Crimson Tide to a 29-13 victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl last weekend.
Henry rushed 46 times for 271 yards and a touchdown, while Griffith hit field goals from 26, 40, 26, 50 and 47 yards.
The Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1 in SEC) defense, as usual, was stellar in the victory, holding the Tigers to 91 yards on the ground and 169 yards in the air en route to a 260 total yards.
On offense, Alabama tallied 465 yards in a game that had no turnovers for the Crimson Tide.
Henry’s lone touchdown came late in the game on a 25-yard run with 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter, Jake Coker scrambled away from a couple tacklers and found Ardarius Stewart from 34 yards for a touchdown to put the Crimson Tide ahead 19-6.
Jeremy Johnson, who played a complete game going 10-of-23 for 169 yards, connected with Jason Smith, who made the grab after the ball bobbled in the air, from 77 yards.
With this win, Alabama clinched the SEC west title and will face Florida on Saturday in the conference championship game in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome.
In its nine appearances at the dome, Alabama has compiled a 5-4 record. Florida holds a 7-3 record in the title game.
Alabama’s most recent game at the dome was in 2014 when the Crimson Tide defeated Missouri, 42-13. Florida’s most recent game was in 2009 in a 32-13 loss to UA.
Florida has been playing lights out for the better part of the season.
The Gators (10-2) are led by quarterback Treon Harris, who has compiled 1,365 yards on a 53.7 percent completion percentage. Harris has eight touchdowns and four interceptions on the year.
On the ground, Kelvin Taylor leads Florida. Taylor has rushed 241 times for 977 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Harris’s favorite targets are Antonio Callaway (557 yards, four touchdowns) and Demarcus Robinson (505 yards, two touchdowns). Brandon Powell has 364 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
At present, the Gators are ranked fifth in the nation on defense. UF averages allowing 4.41 yards per play and 283.6 yards per game.
Alabama is ranked No. 2, allowing only 4.13 yards per play and 264.6 yards per game.
Kick off is 3 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on CBS.