| Team Stat Comparison |
| |
 |
 |
| 1st Downs |
18 |
20 |
| Total Yards |
352 |
301 |
| Passing |
148 |
168 |
| Rushing |
204 |
133 |
| Penalties |
6-47 |
7-78 |
| 3rd Down Conversions |
8-17 |
4-13 |
| 4th Down Conversions |
2-3 |
2-2 |
| Turnovers |
0 |
4 |
| Possession |
33:30 |
26:30 |
|
|
| Alabama Passing |
| |
C/ATT |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
|
McElroy |
15/26 |
148 |
2 |
0 |
|
| Kentucky Passing |
| |
C/ATT |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
|
Hartline |
17/31 |
168 |
1 |
3 |
|
Cobb |
0/1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
| Kentucky Rushing |
| |
CAR |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
|
Locke |
20 |
75 |
0 |
18 |
|
Smith |
5 |
28 |
1 |
11 |
|
| Alabama Receiving |
| |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
|
Peek |
6 |
65 |
1 |
21 |
|
Hanks |
2 |
34 |
1 |
27 |
|
| Kentucky Receiving |
| |
REC |
YDS |
TD |
LG |
|
Locke |
6 |
63 |
0 |
18 |
|
Cobb |
3 |
57 |
1 |
45 |
|
| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER |
ALA |
UK |
 |
TD |
14:03 |
Mark Ingram 11 Yd Run (Leigh Tiffin Kick)
|
7 |
0 |
 |
FG |
06:32 |
Lones Seiber 49 Yd |
7 |
3 |
 |
FG |
00:00 |
Lones Seiber 49 Yd |
7 |
6 |
| SECOND QUARTER |
ALA |
UK |
 |
TD |
00:40 |
Colin Peek 3 Yd Pass From Greg McElroy
(Leigh Tiffin Kick) |
14 |
6 |
 |
TD |
00:21 |
Courtney Upshaw 45 Yd Fumble Return (Leigh
Tiffin Kick) |
21 |
6 |
| THIRD QUARTER |
ALA |
UK |
 |
TD |
13:43 |
Mark Ingram 32 Yd Run (Leigh Tiffin Kick)
|
28 |
6 |
 |
FG |
10:18 |
Leigh Tiffin 36 Yd |
31 |
6 |
 |
TD |
09:36 |
Randall Cobb 45 Yd Pass From Mike Hartline (Lones
Seiber Kick) |
31 |
13 |
 |
TD |
03:45 |
Darius Hanks 7 Yd Pass From Greg McElroy
(Leigh Tiffin Kick) |
38 |
13 |
| FOURTH QUARTER |
ALA |
UK |
 |
TD |
12:52 |
Alfonso Smith 2 Yd Run (Lones Seiber Kick) |
Ingram has 140 yard day
as Alabama takes advantage of UK miscues
Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Alabama running back
Trent Richardson took the handoff in his own end zone
and instantly found himself surrounded by guys wearing
Kentucky blue.
On the Crimson Tide sideline, one thought kept running
through
Mark Ingram's head: Uh-oh.
Fast Facts
• Alabama improved to 35-2-1 all-time vs.
Kentucky as Mark Ingram rushed for a game-high 140
yards on 22 rushes, his second 100-yard game this
season.
• The Crimson Tide have scored 30 or more points
in their first five games of the season for just the
second time in school history and first time since
1920.
• Greg McElroy completed 15 of 26 passes for 148
yards and two TDs. He has eight TD passes and zero
interceptions in his last four games.
• Kentucky, facing a top-5 opponent for the
second straight game for the first time in school
history, has lost two straight since opening the
season 2-0.
"I thought it was a safety, personally," Ingram said.
It wasn't. Barely. Officials ruled Richardson managed to
get the nose of the ball out of the end zone.
The six inches turned out to be all the room the Crimson
Tide needed.
Alabama used the reprieve to start a lengthy touchdown
drive, sparking a 5-minute deluge that helped the
third-ranked Crimson Tide bury the Wildcats 38-20 on
Saturday.
Ingram ran for a 140 yards and two touchdowns
and Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) matched No. 1 Florida's pummeling
of the Wildcats (2-2, 0-2) a week ago, albeit in slightly
different fashion.
The Gators overwhelmed Kentucky with a 31-point
first-quarter outburst. The Crimson Tide took longer to get
going, but looked just as dominant over the final 35 minutes
to make a believer out of Kentucky coach Rich Brooks.
"We just played the top two defenses in the country,"
Brooks said. "Alabama's defense is just as good as
Florida's. They're a great football team. I expect to see
them in the SEC championship game."
Kentucky did its best to hang tough early. The Wildcats
trailed only 7-6 and had Alabama backed up at its own 3
midway through the second quarter.
Richardson was drilled by Kentucky's Micah Johnson on
first down, and for a second it appeared he didn't get out
of the end zone. A safety would have put the Crimson Tide
behind for the first time all season.
Richardson did just enough to avoid a major mistake, and
Alabama quarterback
Greg McElroy made sure the second chance didn't go to
waste. He methodically led Alabama down the field,
eventually hitting
Colin Peek for a 3-yard score to put Alabama up 14-6
with 40 seconds left in the half.
"I think that was the turning point in the game," said
Alabama coach Nick Saban. "[It] gave Greg some confidence
and he threw the ball effectively on that drive and that's
what we needed to do the whole game."
The fun was just starting for the Crimson Tide.
Kentucky tried to answer right back and quarterback
Mike Hartline dumped the ball off to
Derrick Locke. The ball was jarred loose and popped
right up into the arms of Alabama linebacker Courtney
Upshaw, who raced 45 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-6
at the half. The fumble ruined an otherwise solid day for
Locke, who finished with 138 yards of total offense.
Yet the deficit forced the Wildcats to abandon the
running game, and Hartline struggled against the nation's
second-ranked defense. He threw an interception on the
second play of the third quarter, and Rolando McClain
returned it to the Kentucky 38. The Crimson Tide needed just
two plays to score, as Ingram ran 32 yards up the middle to
make it 28-6.
Alabama picked Hartline off again four plays later,
leading to a field goal to push the lead to 31-6 and assure
the Crimson Tide of its 35th win in 38 meetings with the
Wildcats.
"That little chunk killed us," said Kentucky wide
receiver
Randall Cobb. "It was the little things."
Still, it wasn't quite as easy as it looked.
Kentucky managed to move the ball effectively and
controlled the game at times. The Wildcats had 301 yards of
total offense -- the most the Crimson Tide has given up all
season -- and could've made things interesting if not for
the mistakes.
"The formula was there to beat the No. 3 team in the
nation," Brooks said.
Things got a little edgy late. The Crimson Tide was
trying to milk the clock late in the fourth quarter with an
18-point lead when Kentucky started to call timeouts.
Alabama responded by running a fake field goal with 3
minutes left. The Crimson Tide converted when punter/holder
P.J. Fitzgerald ran for a first down. McElroy ended the
drive by throwing to the end zone on fourth down; the ball
fell incomplete, but the message was delivered.
McElroy completed 15 of 26 passes for 148 yards, most of
them throws underneath against a Kentucky defense determined
not to get beat deep.
"I thought Greg did a good job managing the game; he got
us in the right play," Saban said. "We had balance out there
but this was by far the most physical, toughest game we have
had to this point."
The road only gets tougher from here. Alabama plays at
No. 21 Mississippi next week.
"We'll take the win [but] we're not really satisfied with
it," McClain said. "We knew we could have played a lot
better. We just played a real good team. They gave us their
best punch. We took it and we countered it."
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