Cecil Hurt
TideSports.com Columnist
ARLINGTON, Tex. | Derrick Henry versus Wisconsin would have been a very interesting matchup.
The fact that Henry has teammates made for a relatively one-sided opener, though. With Henry, the big junior running back, gaining 147 yards on 13 carries and scoring three times, No. 3 Alabama shook off some early tentativeness and rolled over No. 20 Wisconsin in a 35-17 game that was safely put away in the third quarter.
The game was also a solid debut for starting quarterback Jake Coker. The Florida State transfer, who spent last season as Blake Sims' backup, completed 15 of 21 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown. Perhaps more importantly, he led an Alabama offense that did not turn the ball over in the game.
"We kind of dominated the line of scrimmage," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "Especially in the second half, I thought we dominated on both sides of the ball and that was the difference."
Coker played for the entire first half, and played well, leading UA on two long touchdown drives. The first score came when Henry rushed 37 yards for the score on a fourth-and-one situation, but Coker helped initiate the 80-yard march by completing four passes for 45 yards.
"Jake did a really good job," Saban said. "He was 15 of 21. He was accurate with the ball, didn't make any poor decisions and executed what we wanted him to.
"I made the decision on Thursday to play both guys (Coker and Cooper Bateman.) I told them I wasn't naming a starter, just who would start in the game."
Wisconsin answered that score with its only touchdown of the first three quarters. Quarterback Joel Stave, who was hot in the first half before cooling off considerably in the second half, found Alex Erickson with a six-yard scoring pass to tie the game at 7-7 with 11:06 to go in the half.
Coker engineered an answering drive, though, capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass to Robert Foster. The touchdown, the first of Foster's career, put UA up 14-7. Wisconsin had a late chance to come closer with a field goal but kicker Rafael Gaglione missed a 35-yard try at the buzzer to keep the Crimson Tide lead at seven points.
In the second half, the Alabama defense found answers, limiting Wisconsin to just 97 yards, most of that coming after reserves went in defensively in the fourth quarter.
Henry scored on runs of 56 and two yards in the third quarter, with the three touchdown total setting a new personal record for a single game.
"Derrick has had a fabulous camp," Saban said. "He usually gets stronger as the game goes on, sort of a workhorse."
Kenyan Drake, returning from a serious leg injury and surgery in 2014, gained 77 yards on 10 carries, including an explosive 43-yard run for the final Alabama score.
Alabama (1-0) will face Middle Tennessee State in its home opener on Saturday.
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1799516#sthash.o68h7B7N.dpuf
TideSports.com Columnist
ARLINGTON, Tex. | Derrick Henry versus Wisconsin would have been a very interesting matchup.
The fact that Henry has teammates made for a relatively one-sided opener, though. With Henry, the big junior running back, gaining 147 yards on 13 carries and scoring three times, No. 3 Alabama shook off some early tentativeness and rolled over No. 20 Wisconsin in a 35-17 game that was safely put away in the third quarter.
The game was also a solid debut for starting quarterback Jake Coker. The Florida State transfer, who spent last season as Blake Sims' backup, completed 15 of 21 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown. Perhaps more importantly, he led an Alabama offense that did not turn the ball over in the game.
"We kind of dominated the line of scrimmage," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "Especially in the second half, I thought we dominated on both sides of the ball and that was the difference."
Coker played for the entire first half, and played well, leading UA on two long touchdown drives. The first score came when Henry rushed 37 yards for the score on a fourth-and-one situation, but Coker helped initiate the 80-yard march by completing four passes for 45 yards.
"Jake did a really good job," Saban said. "He was 15 of 21. He was accurate with the ball, didn't make any poor decisions and executed what we wanted him to.
"I made the decision on Thursday to play both guys (Coker and Cooper Bateman.) I told them I wasn't naming a starter, just who would start in the game."
Wisconsin answered that score with its only touchdown of the first three quarters. Quarterback Joel Stave, who was hot in the first half before cooling off considerably in the second half, found Alex Erickson with a six-yard scoring pass to tie the game at 7-7 with 11:06 to go in the half.
Coker engineered an answering drive, though, capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass to Robert Foster. The touchdown, the first of Foster's career, put UA up 14-7. Wisconsin had a late chance to come closer with a field goal but kicker Rafael Gaglione missed a 35-yard try at the buzzer to keep the Crimson Tide lead at seven points.
In the second half, the Alabama defense found answers, limiting Wisconsin to just 97 yards, most of that coming after reserves went in defensively in the fourth quarter.
Henry scored on runs of 56 and two yards in the third quarter, with the three touchdown total setting a new personal record for a single game.
"Derrick has had a fabulous camp," Saban said. "He usually gets stronger as the game goes on, sort of a workhorse."
Kenyan Drake, returning from a serious leg injury and surgery in 2014, gained 77 yards on 10 carries, including an explosive 43-yard run for the final Alabama score.
Alabama (1-0) will face Middle Tennessee State in its home opener on Saturday.
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1799516#sthash.o68h7B7N.dpuf
