TUSCALOOSA – Alabama racked up over 350 total offensive yards in first half to easily put Kent State in a deep 41-0 hole.
The Tide rolled quickly in the first quarter, taking to the ground game as Jalen Hurts rushed 20 yards for the first score. That makes 202 consecutive games without a shutout for Bama, a school record. This was quickly followed up by a hardnosed defensive stance the Tide has been known for in the Nick Saban era.
Hurts racked up some quick stats hitting 14 of 23 passes for 111 yards.
Joshua Jacobs got in on the scoring action netting two rushing touchdowns, a 1-yard and another for 24-yards, to put the Tide up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter with 14 first downs and holding Kent State to none.
Kent State tried to take a stand defensively in the second quarter, holding Alabama to just two field goals to put the Tide up 27-0. Alabama backup quarterback Blake Barnett had his time to shine as he connected 3 of 6, with a 34-yard touchdown pass to O.J. Howard.
Following a couple three and out series, Alabama’s Xavian Marks struck with a 75-yard punt return with just 2:14 left in the half, giving Alabama a dominant 41-0 lead. The lead at the half was a season high for Alabama, with the most coming last year against Charleston Southern as the Tide led by 49.
At the half Alabama had 18 first down series to Kent State’s two. The Tide also led with 177 rushing yards and a total offensive showing of 352 yards on 50 plays.
“I was pleased. You know, maybe for the first time this year we said that we wanted to, in fact, play a complete game,” Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban said. “I think that was a pretty complete half. We dropped a few balls and we gave up a long run on the first play of the game, but other than that, you know we played pretty well.”
While Alabama did not come out in a dominant fashion offensively in the second half, the defense was still amped, holding Kent State to just 32 yards of total offense in the third and not allowing any third or fourth down conversions.
Alabama kept mixing up the offense with a balance of the air and ground game on its first possession of the half. Hurts led the team down the field 66 yards on 13 plays, which ended with a pass to Mack Wilson for the 1-yard touchdown, giving the Tide a comfortable 48-0 lead.
The song remained the same in the fourth quarter as the Tide’s defense was put to the test early; however, Bama dropped Kent State’s QB Mylik Mitchell at the one-inch mark of the Tide. Once that stop was made, preventing a touchdown, Alabama put the pressure on and finished strong, winning easily 48-0.
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