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* GSU was held to 15 yards rushing on 22 attempts.
* 31 first downs ("ROLL TIDE!") to 9.
* No turnovers for the Tide. 1 fumble for the Panthers (caused by Dee Hart, recovered by Dillon Lee). No interceptions by either team.
* Alabama had 4 penalties for 30 yards. Three were false starts by back-up O-linemen (nerves?). The fourth was a chop block by Leon Brown away from the play that negated a first down. Grrrr...
* Each of the six Alabama touchdowns were scored by a different player.
* Cade Foster converted a 27-yard field goal and was 5-5 in extra point conversions. Back-up kicker Adam Griffith made an extra point but missed a 30-yard field goal. Grrrr...
* 28 players made tackles.
* 15 Tide players made catches on Saturday:
| Alabama Receiving | |||||
| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LG | |
| Chris Black | 6 | 54 | 9 | 1 | 16 |
| DeAndrew White | 4 | 45 | 11.3 | 1 | 13 |
| Kevin Norwood | 3 | 42 | 14 | 0 | 26 |
| Kenny Bell | 2 | 37 | 18.5 | 0 | 19 |
| Kenyan Drake | 1 | 23 | 23 | 1 | 23 |
| Christion Jones | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 1 | 12 |
| Malcolm Faciane | 2 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
| O.J. Howard | 1 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Harrison Jones | 1 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Kurt Freitag | 1 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Brian Vogler | 1 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Parker Barrineau (walk-on) | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Alatee Tenpenny | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Ty Reed (walk-on) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Jalston Fowler | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Team | 29 | 296 | 10.2 | 5 | 26 |
INJURY REPORT:
* Linebacker Denzel Devall sprained a knee and did not return to the game. Nothing major.
* Cornerback Eddie Jackson had a slight ankle sprain and did not return. Again, nothing major.
* Defensive lineman Geoffrey Pagan strained a shoulder in practice this past week and did not participate in the Georgia State game. True freshman A'Shawn Robinson started in Pagan's place and had with two tackles, one for a loss.
* Wide receiver Amari Cooper did not enter the game until the second quarter and did not record a catch. Correct me if I am wrong but I don't recall a single pass even thrown his way. Cooper has been battling a lingering problems with a toe injury.
* Deion Belue started but came out very early in the game. There was no new injury. It was just precautionary to help heal his lingering turf toe from a weeks back and to get some younger players more time on the field at cornerback. He also served as team captain along with AJ McCarron and C.J. Mosley.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
True freshman Grant Hill entered the game in the first quarter replacing Austin Shepherd at right tackle. He would have played last week versus Ole Miss but he had a bad stomach virus. Nick Saban said in his post-game press conference that Hill is "very close to being one of our five best players". This kid is the real deal. It was looking like he was going to redshirt this year and potentially replace an exiting Cyrus Kouandjio in 2014. However, he might find himself in the starting lineup this season. Stay tuned.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Chris Black got a chance to show his stuff leading all Alabama receivers with 6 receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. The best part of his game is seeing what he can do after the catch, making some slick moves and accelerating upfield.
Saban said that almost 70 Bama players participated.
THE GOOD
Blake Sims proved he can do more than run the ball. On the day he was 14 of 18 for 130 yards 1 TD and no turnovers, clearly his best game in crimson & white. Sims did not make any mistakes like trying to force a ball into spaces that were not open and ran a smooth offense. On another note, it looked like 3-stringer Alec Morris was going to enter the game late but in the end it was Sims who went back out for the final possession. Is Saban's confidence in Morris waning?
THE BAD
I hate being critical of a single player but I just have to call out John Fulton. As a senior who has played in over 40 games over his career, you would expect him to improve. However, he has regressed this season as he was continuously picked on by the Panthers QBs. Most of their completions came to men he was defending.
THE UGLY
Georgia State has no business being in FBS (I-A) football. With the coming playoff system, let's hope for an end to these terrible match-ups.
THE UGLY, PART II
The students' section was very sparse and practically empty by half time. What exactly do they have going on at 1pm on a Saturday gameday that could be more important? Grrr...
UP NEXT:
Alabama at Kentucky October 12, 6pm CT on ESPN2