McElroy, Richardson combine to carry Bama by Florida
International
Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --
Greg McElroy couldn't miss,
Trent Richardson was running wild and the No. 4 Alabama
defense was punishing Florida International physically.
 Despite all that, the Crimson Tide (2-0) wasn't able to
start feeling comfortable until the final 19 minutes of
Saturday night's 40-14 victory.
That's when the highly touted freshman Richardson rushed
for a 9-yard touchdown, followed shortly by a 35-yarder, and
fourth-team tailback
Terry Grant sprung free for a 42-yarder to bail out a
short-handed offense. The 33-point underdog FIU (0-1) could
only watch.
Still, it wasn't quite the breezy game Alabama fans
likely were anticipating until that onslaught, especially
after No. 1 Florida decimated FIU's Sun Belt Conference
rival Troy 56-6 earlier in the day. But they had to hang
around until the fourth quarter before resting easy.
"The focus in games like this is to improve," Tide coach
Nick Saban said. "They took it right to us. I don't think
our guys came out with the kind of energy and enthusiasm and
intensity that we need to set the tone, and we allowed them
to stay in the game by some mistakes that we made."
The Tide led just 20-14 before getting the big plays from
Richardson, who gained 118 yards on 15 carries in his first
significant action.
McElroy completed a school-record 14 consecutive passes
before finishing 18-of-24 passing for 241 yards, including a
24-yard touchdown to
Mike McCoy. The previous school mark of 12 consecutive
completions was shared by John Parker Wilson and Andrew Zow.
The string ended when the first-year starter tried a bomb to
Marquis Maze in the end zone in the third quarter.
"I had no idea until the end of the game," McElroy said.
"A big reason was the playcalling and the ability of the
guys to get open. I can't say it's really overwhelming. I
have a lot of confidence in my abilities.
 "Getting the record was nice."
Putting FIU away with a punishing running game was even
better.
"Teams try to hang with us as long as they can," McElroy
said. "We wear them down in the fourth quarter."
Alabama had five sacks and numerous hits on FIU
quarterback
Paul McCall but also gave up
T.Y. Hilton's 96-yard kick return for a touchdown and
some big third-down plays.
McCall finished 16 of 32 for 189 yards and a touchdown.
Alabama's own dynamic return man had a big impact late in
the game.
Javier Arenas set up both of Richardon's scores with punt
returns of 20 and 46 yards giving it to the offense at
midfield or better each time.
Alabama's offense wasn't fully loaded, but still managed
to generate 516 yards. Florida International was limited to
just 1 yard on 26 rushes and had 214 total yards.
Tide tailback
Mark Ingram gained 56 yards on 10 carries and had four
catches for 47 yards after battling the flu during the week.
Senior
Roy Upchurch made his first career start but left with a
sprained ankle.
Star receiver
Julio Jones sat out most of the game with a bruised
right knee sustained when it was hit on a reverse play. He
finished with just one catch for 9 yards before heading to
the bench, and Saban said he didn't know his status. In his
absence, McCoy caught five passes for a career-high 100
yards -- all in the first half.
"Most of what he caught was what we planned to throw to
No. 8 [Jones]," Saban said.
FIU stayed within a touchdown and PAT of the lead after
Leigh Tiffin missed a 39-yard field goal midway through the
third.
FIU left Tide fans in stunned silence when McCall's
9-yard touchdown pass to
Greg Ellingson on third-and-goal gave the Panthers a
14-13 lead early in the second quarter.
Alabama breathed some life into the crowd with a
five-play TD drive capped by Ingram's 2-yard run to move
ahead 20-14 at halftime.
"It was a real, real hard-fought game and a real good
effort by our guys, particularly in the first half," FIU
coach Mario Cristobal said. "But we have to hold up in
protection a little more in the second half.
"The Crimson Tide really plays good football and they
played good football again tonight when they had to win the
football game."
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