Kelly Ward
Blake Sims made everyone miss on defense Saturday. In the second quarter, the University of Alabama quarterback saw an opportunity and ran the ball in 43 yards for a touchdown. En route, he dodged three defenders and outran another.
It was the first of four touchdowns he was responsible for in the 59-0 win over Texas A&M.
He ran the ball four times for 54 yards, including the second -quarter touchdown.
"The threat that he can do it (run the ball) certainly makes it more difficult for them to just play our other basic runs," Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
The senior played for two quarters and almost six minutes of the third quarter before coming out. Sims was 16 of 27 and threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Against Ole Miss and Arkansas combined, he was 30 of 52 for 389 yards and two touchdowns.
"Blake's got to understand he's got to execute the system, and when Blake does that, he plays extremely well," Saban said. "When Blake starts thinking he's got to make all the plays, then the other guys aren't making plays, and there were too many occasions in the last games where whatever the read is, whatever the execution should've been, it didn't really get done that way and whether we made a play or we didn't really doesn't matter. We're still not executing the system like we need to.
"That was the challenge for him today. He did a tremendous job of responding to it and did a really, really good job of executing the system."
Sims' first touchdown pass was 24 yards to junior wide receiver Amari Cooper with four minutes left in the first half. Just before halftime, Sims followed up with a screen pass to sophomore running back Derrick Henry, who turned it into a 41-yard touchdown. Alabama went into the locker room at halftime with a 45-0 lead over the Aggies.
After the half, Sims connected with Cooper again, this time for a 45-yard touchdown pass to put Alabama up 52-0. It was Sims' 13th touchdown pass of the season.
Junior quarterback Jake Coker came in with nine minutes and two seconds left in the third. He was 5 of 8 and threw for 36 yards and a touchdown, his third of the season.
The score came late in the fourth quarter when Coker connected with junior tight end Ty Flournoy-Smith on a 14-yard touchdown pass to give Alabama a 59-0 lead.
Sims and Coker combined for 354 yards of offense and five touchdowns.
"It was a lot of fun," Sims said. "Everybody was out there having a lot of fun."
The atmosphere was more relaxed on Saturday than in previous games this season, Sims said.
"We just think too much instead of just going out there and play," Sims said. "Coach Saban and the offensive coaching staff, they prepared us so well. And today, we just tried to go out and try not to think as much, and just go out and play, and that's what we did."
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1694364
Blake Sims made everyone miss on defense Saturday. In the second quarter, the University of Alabama quarterback saw an opportunity and ran the ball in 43 yards for a touchdown. En route, he dodged three defenders and outran another.
It was the first of four touchdowns he was responsible for in the 59-0 win over Texas A&M.
He ran the ball four times for 54 yards, including the second -quarter touchdown.
"The threat that he can do it (run the ball) certainly makes it more difficult for them to just play our other basic runs," Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
The senior played for two quarters and almost six minutes of the third quarter before coming out. Sims was 16 of 27 and threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Against Ole Miss and Arkansas combined, he was 30 of 52 for 389 yards and two touchdowns.
"Blake's got to understand he's got to execute the system, and when Blake does that, he plays extremely well," Saban said. "When Blake starts thinking he's got to make all the plays, then the other guys aren't making plays, and there were too many occasions in the last games where whatever the read is, whatever the execution should've been, it didn't really get done that way and whether we made a play or we didn't really doesn't matter. We're still not executing the system like we need to.
"That was the challenge for him today. He did a tremendous job of responding to it and did a really, really good job of executing the system."
Sims' first touchdown pass was 24 yards to junior wide receiver Amari Cooper with four minutes left in the first half. Just before halftime, Sims followed up with a screen pass to sophomore running back Derrick Henry, who turned it into a 41-yard touchdown. Alabama went into the locker room at halftime with a 45-0 lead over the Aggies.
After the half, Sims connected with Cooper again, this time for a 45-yard touchdown pass to put Alabama up 52-0. It was Sims' 13th touchdown pass of the season.
Junior quarterback Jake Coker came in with nine minutes and two seconds left in the third. He was 5 of 8 and threw for 36 yards and a touchdown, his third of the season.
The score came late in the fourth quarter when Coker connected with junior tight end Ty Flournoy-Smith on a 14-yard touchdown pass to give Alabama a 59-0 lead.
Sims and Coker combined for 354 yards of offense and five touchdowns.
"It was a lot of fun," Sims said. "Everybody was out there having a lot of fun."
The atmosphere was more relaxed on Saturday than in previous games this season, Sims said.
"We just think too much instead of just going out there and play," Sims said. "Coach Saban and the offensive coaching staff, they prepared us so well. And today, we just tried to go out and try not to think as much, and just go out and play, and that's what we did."
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1694364
