Alabama football continued to stay undefeated at home in 2024, dominating Mercer en route to a 52-7 victory. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly for the Crimson Tide in the win.
The good
The quarterback play was stellar. Jalen Milroe performed well once again, completing 11 of his 16 passes for 186 yards and two touchdown passes. He also led the team in rushing with 43 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
After the game seemed out of reach, backup Ty Simpson came in, who threw five completions in 10 attempts for 71 yards. He also showed off his legs at one point, scrambling 13 yards for a first down.
Simpson had a highlight-reel play where he escaped a sack from a Bears defender and threw a deep pass right into the hands of tight end Josh Cuevas, resulting in a 43-yard completion.
After Simpson’s two drives, in came Dylan Lonergan, who completed five of six passing attempts for 26 yards before being removed in favor of fourth-stringer and Washington transfer Austin Mack, who completed two of three passes for 39 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown pass to Rico Scott on a perfectly placed ball.
“I was proud of the way they just handled everything from the execution to just even the procedural things,” head coach Kalen DeBoer said of the quarterbacks. “I thought it was a good day for all of them as a whole.”
The defense continues to force turnovers. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s “Swarm” defense once again lived up to its name, as the Crimson Tide’s interception and two fumble recoveries marked the fourth game in a row the defense has gotten three or more turnovers.
Cornerback Domani Jackson got it started, forcing a fumble on the very first drive of the game that Damon Payne Jr. recovered to kill the Bears’ offensive drive.
A few drives later, just before the first quarter ended, starting “Wolf” Qua Russaw made his presence felt as he snagged an impressive one-handed interception for his second pick of the year.
Then it was time for Jackson’s fellow starting cornerback, Zabien Brown, to show off ability with the ball. A fumble forced by Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones was recovered by Brown, who then took it back for a 68-yard touchdown that gave the Crimson Tide defense its first touchdown of the season.
“We always talk about playing to our standard,” linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. “If we do our job like we know how to do our job, we’re going to have fun and fly around.”
Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams performed well. After a quiet last week for the two leading Crimson Tide receivers, the duo returned to form this week. Williams snagged three catches for 36 yards and a touchdown, and he also had a 29-yard rushing touchdown.
Bernard led the team in catches with four and receiving yards with 81, including a big 45-yard catch to get the Crimson Tide in scoring position before the first half ended. Bernard also had a stellar block on Williams’s 15-yard touchdown catch-and-run.
“We were talking about it as soon as we got to the sideline,” Williams said. “I was like, ‘You are a dog,’ and he was just smiling.”
The offensive line was great again. Alabama fans were surely happy to see Milroe go his second straight week without taking a sack. The O-line also helped lead the rushing attack to 189 yards, as the unit seems to be rounding into form near the end of the regular season.
“You really don’t see any busts, and it’s been going on for many weeks now,” DeBoer said. ”They’ve been really consistent, and the execution has been good.”
The bad
The defense didn’t get to the quarterback enough. If there was one critique about the defense’s performance, it’s the fact that the group only had one sack against an FCS offensive line, courtesy of Campbell.
With pass-rushing specialist Que Robinson out for the year, it will be important for the Crimson Tide defense to look to someone other than Campbell for sacks as the team looks to make a deep playoff run.
The ugly
James Burnip had two ugly punts. The Australian punter has been fantastic for the Crimson Tide this season and was recently named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, given to the best collegiate punter, but he had two out-of-character punts, only averaging 24.5 yards between the two.
Even punting near midfield with a chance to pin the Bears offense back, Burnip only punted it 29 yards to the 20.
The team now turns its attention to Oklahoma, as it will travel to play the Sooners on Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
