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The Lead: Jalen Hurts shows veteran poise in blowout of Fresno State
Analysis: Alabama rolls over Fresno State 41-10
Alabama is now 2-0 on the season and today, Kyle Henderson of BamaInsider.com provides his 10 takeaways following Alabama's 31 point victory over Fresno State.
1. Jalen Hurts took over
The sophomore quarterback was electric to start the game against Fresno State rushing for a 55-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game, then throwing a 23-yard touchdown to Hale Hentges with 8:24 in the first quarter, followed by a 3-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. By halftime, Hurts had accounted for 231-yards of offense and three touchdowns as the Crimson Tide led Fresno State 28-3. While Hurts continues to receive criticism from Alabama fans regarding his deep ball ability, he’s thrown a 53-yard touchdown pass and a 23-yard touchdown in back to back weeks with zero interceptions. Hurts had a 55.6% passing completion percentage against Florida State and a 77.8% passing completion percentage on Saturday against Fresno State. Related: Jalen Hurts shows veteran poise in blowout of Fresno State
2. Will Alabama have a featured running back this season?
For the second straight week, Alabama has not had a running back hit the 100-yard mark. Against Florida State, Damien Harris led running backs in rushing with 73-yards, against the Bulldogs true freshman Najee Harris ran for 73-yards. So the question is, will Alabama have a featured back this season or will it be a running back by committee? Remember, Alabama will also return Josh Jacobs at some point and you also have Bo Scarbrough to feed. Scarbrough has rushed 21 times for 76-yards this season, which is a 3.61 per attempt average.
3. 11 receivers targeted against Fresno State
The Crimson Tide really spread the football around passing wise on Saturday against Fresno State with 11 different receivers catching passes. Calvin Ridley for a second week in a row led the team with five receptions for 45-yards, Cam Sims hauled in three receptions for 28-yards, Robert Foster had two receptions for 23-yards, tight end Hale Hentges caught a 23-yard touchdown from Jalen Hurts, and True Freshman Henry Ruggs caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from another True Freshman in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
4. Zero turnovers in two games
One of the most impressive stats from the first two weeks of play is the fact that Alabama has not turned over the football on offense. Turnovers are detrimental to any team during games, especially in big time games against quality opponents, and for two weeks in a row, Alabama has secured the football both passing and rushing. That stat tells us that Alabama is paying close attention to detail, just as Nick Saban stresses every week.
