Alabama Tussles With Vandy in First Half However Finishes Strong With 34-0 Win

By tempadmin

Alabama seemed to come out flat in the first half that ended 14-0. It could have been closer with Vandy missing 2 fieldgoals. Vandy played a good gameplan, however the pure talent and size of Alabama took its toll on Vandy as Alabama finished the game with a dominant 2nd half performance that upped the final score to a 34-0 Bama victory.

The win was just another step in the road to the de facto national championship game that is coming up on November 5th in Tuscaloosa. Alabama tangles with #1 LSU in a grudge rematch that looks to be the game of the year nationally. With LSU winning over Florida in similar fashion as Bama in the previous week (although it was an LSU home game), it looks like LSU & Alabama will be two equally matched teams barring any injuries between now and then.

Against Vandy last night, Alabama found its mojo in the running game in the 3rd quarter as Trent Richardson reached the 100 yard mark for the 5th time season. He got 107 yards. The performance keeps Richardson in a pace that is ahead of Mark Ingram's Heisman year.

From the start of the second half, Alabama seemed to come out of the locaker room with a newfound intensity. Looking back on the first half Coach Saban said, "We obviously didn’t play our best football game, especially in the first half,” Tide coach explained. “We didn’t have the mental energy and intensity that we like to have.”

Starting sophomore AJ McCarron had a great game where he had 23 of 30 passing with 237 yards , four touchdowns, and no interceptions. The receivers loved how Bama aired the ball in this game with DeAndrew White snagging 2 TDs and Marquis Maze had acareer-high nine catches for 93 yards.

Alabama outgained Vanderbilt 419 to 190 in total yards for the game.

The defense stiffened in the second half to allow only 48 yards and 2 first downs after halftime.

Not a thing of beauty, but a dominating win nevertheless when you consider the game as a whole. Alabama's win over the Vanderbilt Commodores was the first time Vanderbilt had been shut out since the Georgia game back last year.