SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 22, 2014
No. 2 Alabama 48, Western Carolina 14: Derrick Henry rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns and caught another score as the host Crimson Tide rolled after a slow start.
Blake Sims went 17-of-25 for 222 yards and two scores in two quarters of work for Alabama (10-1), and Chris Black had six catches for 101 yards. Tyren Jones added 75 yards rushing and a touchdown, and backup quarterback Jake Coker went 12-of-18 for 115 yards and a score in the second half.
Troy Mitchell went 23-of-39 for 221 yards and two touchdowns for Western Carolina (7-5). Spearman Robinson caught five passes for 45 yards and two touchdowns, and Karnorris Benson had nine catches for 118 yards but the Catamounts were held to minus-8 yards rushing.
Mitchell capped a nine-play, 75-yard opening drive with a 2-yard TD pass to Robinson but the Crimson Tide answered with 17 straight points on Sims' 4-yard pass to Cam Sims, a Gunnar Raborn field goal and Henry's first scoring run. The Catamounts scored one play after an Alabama fumble - its second turnover of the first half - on Mitchell's 12-yard strike to Spearman to cut the lead to 17-14.
Alabama scored three times in a six-minute span - Jones' 7-yard run followed by Henry's 23-yard run and 9-yard catch - to take a 38-14 lead into halftime. Coker hit walk-on fullback Michael Nysewander for a 12-yard touchdown late in the third quarter and Alabama added to its school record with its seventh straight 10-win season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Alabama WR Amari Cooper caught three passes on Alabama's opening drive to tie DJ Hall's school record of 194 career receptions but then left the game after getting hit on the knee with a helmet. ... Mitchell's first TD pass was the first touchdown ever scored by the Catamounts against Alabama in four meetings. ... Blake Sims had his streak of 157 passes without an interception - the third-longest stretch in school history - end with his first-quarter interception.