Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Alabama Crimson Tide Match Player Stats On Sep 10, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Sep 10, 2016

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- It wasn't pretty, but top-ranked Alabama recorded a 38-10 win over Western Kentucky in its home opener in front of a sell-out crowd of 101,821.

Alabama got two passing touchdowns from quarterback Jalen Hurts and a defensive score en route to the victory.

Hurts, a true freshman, earned his first career start for Alabama. He played the majority of the afternoon with redshirt freshman Blake Barnett serving as the backup.

Hurts connected with receiver ArDarius Stewart for an 8-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter to put Alabama up 24-3.

Alabama running back Bo Scarbrough would add a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 31-3.

Western Kentucky added a touchdown with less than one minute to play when quarterback Drew Eckels found receiver Lucky Jackson for a 24-yard score.

Alabama freshman running back B.J. Emmons added a late touchdown to make it 38-3.

Hurts led two scoring drives to open the game, and Alabama got another score from its defense to take a 17-3 lead into the break.

Hurts finished the opening half 10 of 13 for 152 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers. Hurts played the first five series of the first half. Barnett entered the contest and played two series in the second quarter, but both of his drives resulted in punts.

"Well, you know we're just not playing very well. No consistency on offense," Alabama coach Nick Saban said at halftime. "We made some explosive plays. One of them got called back, that was a 70-yard play so. We just have to be more consistent in what we're doing offensively. The quarterbacks need to settle down. There's people open they're not hitting.

"Defensively, we didn't play very well on that last drive, but this is a team that we've got to be able to go out there and put away. And we haven't been able to do that yet."

Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley caught five passes for 98 yards and the score, including a long of 51 yards.

Western Kentucky receiver Taywan Taylor piled up 109 receiving yards on six grabs in the first half. Quarterback Mike White threw 22 passes, but completed just nine and threw an interception in the first half.

NOTES: QB Jalen Hurts snapped a 32-year streak when he took the field in Alabama's home opener vs. Western Kentucky on Saturday. Hurts became the first true freshman quarterback to start a game at Alabama since Vince Sutton in 1984. ... With his 55-yard touchdown, Alabama S Eddie Jackson has now returned three interceptions for touchdowns since the start of the 2015 season. ... Western Kentucky DB Joe Brown was injured in the third quarter, and was immediately taken to the locker room. He was replaced by Martavius Mims. ... Western Kentucky QB Mike White was taken to the locker room late in the third quarter. He was replaced by Tyler Ferguson. ... Alabama travels to Oxford, Mississippi to face Ole Miss next week. ... Western Kentucky is at Miami (Ohio) next Saturday.