Alabama took care of business Saturday, getting their ninth victory of the season by beating Austin Peay 34-0.
The Crimson Tide rolled out a vanilla game plan against the Governors with the Iron Bowl on deck, but they were rewarded with standout individual performances from running back Jase McClellan and wide receiver Jermaine Burton while outgaining Austin Peay in yardage 527-206.
With running back Jahmyr Gibbs still recovering from an ankle injury that knocked him out of the Ole Miss game last week, McClellan got the start and picked up right where he left off last week. McClellan rushed for a career-high 156 yards on 17 carries, reaching the end zone twice. Most of his damage was done in the first half as he rushed for 136 of his 156 rushing yards. The Crimson Tide finished with 263 rushing yards as a team.
Wide receiver Jermaine Burton was Bryce Young’s favorite target Saturday, catching seven passes for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This was by far the best game of the Georgia transfer’s career at Alabama. Burton’s 128 yards receiving was nearly half of the Crimson Tide’s 264 receiving yards on the day.
The Alabama defense pitched its second shutout of the season thanks to some solid red zone defense as well as a couple of fourth down stops. The Crimson Tide defense has had issues creating turnovers all season but had a rare multi-turnover game, forcing three turnovers. Defensive backs Kool-Aid McKinstry and Brian Branch both recorded interceptions while defensive lineman Damon Payne recovered a fumble on an Austin Peay attempt at a trick play. This was just the second time all season that the Alabama defense forced multiple turnovers.
Alabama will hope to carry this momentum over to next week as they host Auburn on November 26, in the 87th Iron Bowl.
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