Turnovers help Alabama overwhelm Austin Peay
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama got breakout performances from Jermaine Burton and Jase McClellan in an otherwise lackluster offensive showing against an overmatched team from a lower level.
McClellan rushed for a career-high 156 yards and two touchdowns, and Burton caught two touchdown passes from Bryce Young during a 34-0 win over Football Championship Subdivision member Austin Peay on Saturday.
The Southeastern Conference’s Crimson Tide (9-2), No. 8 in the AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings, took a while to get going against the ASUN’s Governors (7-4) in a Bryant-Denny Stadium that wasn’t much more than half full.
Burton and McClellan, though, had their biggest games for the Tide, who have already been knocked out of SEC title contention but were coming off a comeback win against Ole Miss, which had one loss to that point.
“All in all, we wanted to build on the momentum of how we came back and played at the end of last week’s game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “And obviously I thought that’s something we did a good job of today.”
Burton posted his first 100yard receiving game since transferring from Georgia, with seven catches for 128 yards. McClellan subbed for injured star Jahmyr Gibbs (ankle) and scored on runs of 1 and 9 yards.
McClellan, whose 2021 season was limited to five games because of injury, was coming off an 84-yard performance against the Rebels, when Gibbs went down.
“I’ve always thought he was a really good player,” Saban said. “I think y’all are just starting to figure it out.”
For much of the game the Tide were about as listless as the crowd, but a 50-yard pass from Young to Burton provided a spark. McClellan rushed it in two plays later for his second score of the day, and the defense recovered a fumble on the next possession to set up an Alabama field goal.
Young was 18-of-24 for 221 yards and played into the fourth quarter. The Tide were also without tight end Cameron Latu (ankle) and cornerback Eli Ricks, although he has cleared concussion protocol, Saban said.
Austin Peay’s Mike DiLiello passed for 147 yards but was intercepted twice, and Drae McCray had 12 catches for 92 yards.
The Governors had their opportunities in the first half thanks to the Tide’s two first-quarter turnovers but could not take advantage either time, including a fourth-down stop in the red zone. Maddux Trujillo missed a short field-goal attempt for Austin Peay after Alabama’s second fumble.
“We know that we competed with these guys,” coach Scotty Walden said. “If you watch the whole game, you saw a team compete to win. We didn’t come here to keep it close. We came here to win the game.”
Alabama got its second shutout of the season, with the other 55-0 over Utah State in the opener. Saban’s team led just 7-0 more than halfway through the second quarter but wound up outgaining the Governors 527-206 in offensive yards.
The Tide have struggled all year to force turnovers but had three against the Governors. Kool-Aid McKinstry and Brian Branch each had an interception, and Damon Payne Jr. recovered a fumble on a trick-play attempt.
“Three’s our goal every single game,” Tide linebacker Henry To’oTo’o said, “so to be able to reach that number was huge for us.”
Alabama closes its regular-season and its SEC schedule next Saturday by hosting in-state rival Auburn in the Iron Bowl.