Vinnie Sunseri is no stranger to interceptions, but he hadn’t found the end zone until Saturday night.
In the second quarter, Sunseri jumped on a quick Logan Thomas pass and darted 38 yards for a touchdown. It was the third touchdown Alabama scored on the night and the third different way it did so.
Special teams opened the scoring with a punt return for a touchdown, the offense answered with a T.J. Yeldon run, and Sunseri made it a trifecta with a defensive touchdown.
“It feels pretty cool,” Sunseri said. “Because you get to look at the offense and kind of give them that eye like, ‘yeah, I could play offense too.’”
The Crimson Tide got scoring from all across the board in its 35-10 victory over Virginia Tech in the season opener. And Alabama needed it after a less-than-stellar performance from its offense.
The offense scored just two of the Crimson Tide’s five touchdowns, but the scoreboard showed a blowout thanks to individual efforts by Sunseri and receiver Christion Jones.
After forcing a three-and-out on the Hokies’ first series of the game, Jones scampered 72 yards for a touchdown, and it appeared the route was on. But as the offense struggled to consistently move the ball, Virginia Tech’s Trey Edmunds broke open a 77-yard touchdown run that put Alabama on its heels.
Enter Sunseri. His interception gave Alabama a 14-point lead and some breathing room. And after a Virginia Tech field goal put the Hokies within striking distance once again, Jones took the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to put the game out of reach.
“We definitely needed that,” guard Anthony Steen said. “It changed the momentum for us.”
“Momentum” is often used as a way to describe how plays can change the game. A team can gain momentum and lose momentum; it can evaporate on a dime. And Saturday it was out in full force.
Steen wasn’t the only player that talked about “momentum” being a factor.
“It’s all about momentum,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said about Sunseri’s touchdown. “We always want to give points to our offense. The last couple of years, each turnover that we got was worth three points. For us to turn it into six points, it’s another momentum change.”
