Georgia Southern Eagles vs Alabama Crimson Tide Match Player Stats On Nov 19, 2011

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 19, 2011

Friday, No. 2 Oklahoma State coughed up a 17-point lead and was stunned at Iowa State, severely crippling the Cowboys chances at getting a spot in the BCS title game. And though No. 3 Alabama’s 17-point cushion was down to 10 midway through the third quarter Saturday against Georgia Southern, the host Tide did not follow the Cowboys’ lead.

Trent Richardson rushed for 173 yards and scored two touchdowns and A.J. McCarron threw for three scores as Alabama went to 10-1, defeating the Eagles from the FCS, 45-21 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Georgia Southern (9-2) got to within 31-21 when Laron Scott returned a kick off 95 yards for a touchdown with 7:03 left in the third, but Alabama quickly reasserted itself. Richardson capped a nine-play drive with a one-yard scoring run to get the lead back to 17 points late in the third.

Southern, the No. 2 rushing offense in FCS, finished with 302 yards on the ground, nearly six times what Alabama’s top-ranked run defense was allowing per game. Freshman running back Dominique Swope rushed for 153 of the yards, including an 82-yard touchdown run early in the second to cut the deficit to 17-7.

Down 3-0, the Eagles looked good on their first offensive possession, collecting 49 yards on the ground and getting to the Alabama 25 in position to perhaps pull even at 3-3. But Dont’a Hightower blocked Adrian Mora’s 42-yard field goal attempt and Dre Kirkpatrick returned it 55 yards for a touchdown to put the Tide up 10-0 after one quarter. McCarron followed that with a four-yard touchdown toss to Richardson that made it 17-0.