ATLANTA — Jalen Hurts called it.
With Alabama clinging to a three-point lead, the quarterback came over to defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick on the sideline. The Crimson Tide defense had just stopped Florida State on third-and-10 from the Alabama 20-yard line, and Seminoles kicker Ricky Aguayo was coming on to tie the game with 10 seconds left in the half.
“I actually called him,” Hurts said. “I said ‘We’re about to block this.’”
Sure enough, the junior defensive back burst through a hole on the left side, stumbling a little bit before diving to get his hands on the ball, sending it ricocheting into linebacker Rashaan Evans’ hands to preserve the lead.
“The (extra point) they had attempted before, I saw that they opened up a hole in between the wing and the end,” Fitzpatrick said. “Coach Tosh (Lupoi) called the next play. I was supposed to go, so I took advantage of the hole. I tripped up a little bit, but I just tried to make the play.”
Fitzpatrick’s block served as a much-needed shot in the arm, as the Tide used its newfound momentum to go on a second-half surge that saw No. 1 Alabama take down No. 3 Florida State 24-7.
“A big-time player like that, he made a play,” Hurts said. “Obviously momentum in college football is big, so when he did that it was big.”
Fitzpatrick’s block served as a turning point in what was an otherwise frustrating first half for the Tide. Despite showing glimpses of promise, Alabama’s offense sputtered early, failing to finish drives. The Tide drove down to the Florida State 25 on its opening possession only to see walk-on kicker Andy Pappanastos push a 42-yard field goal wide to the right. A second drive fizzled out at the Seminoles 18-yard line as Alabama was forced to settle for a 35-yard field goal from Pappanastos.
Hurts was able to find receiver Calvin Ridley on a 53-yard touchdown to help the Tide retake the lead at 10-7 with 11:28 left in the first half, but other than that Alabama’s offense wasn’t getting much going.
While the Tide held the Seminoles to a lone touchdown in the first half, Florida State was constantly coming close to breaking through. Quarterback Deondre Francois picked apart Alabama’s secondary early, heading into the half completing 14 of 22 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown.
“We made a lot of adjustments based on what the other team is doing, but mostly what we go over is the mistakes that we made, and I didn't feel like we executed very well in the first half,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “We made a lot of mental errors on fundamental things, and I challenged the players to execute better in the second half, which I think we did.”
Recharged, a different Alabama team took the field.
Running back Damien Harris followed Fitzpatrick’s lead in the third quarter, breaking through the middle to block a punt which linebacker Dylan Moses recovered at the 6-yard line. That helped Alabama set up a 25-yard field goal from Pappanastos to go up 13-7.
On the ensuing kickoff, Moses came up big again, jarring the ball loose from Florida State receiver Keith Gavin to allow Alabama linebacker Keith Holcombe to scoop it up at the 11-yard line. The following play, Harris made the Seminoles pay, running up the middle for a score. A two-point conversion from Hurts to Ridley gave Alabama a commanding 21-7 lead with 1:41 left in the third quarter and all but put the game away.
Meanwhile, Alabama was able to figure out Francois on defense, intercepting him twice while holding him to 5 of 11 passing for 49 yards in the second half. For the game, Alabama limited Florida State to 250 total yards, including just 40 on the ground.
It wasn’t perfect, but as far as an opener against a top-five team goes, it was pretty close.
“Every time we go out on the field, we want to prove we have the best defense,” Fitzpatrick said. “Florida State has a good team, great defense. I feel like we established our identity a little bit. We are getting closer to our goal.”
It was obvious the defensive performance meant a little bit more to Alabama, especially after its struggles to Clemson in last season’s national championship game. Following Saturday night’s game, safety Ronnie Harrison proclaimed “Alabama is back.”
Well as “back” as the No. 1 team in the nation can be, anyway. As far as Fitzpatrick’s concerned, the Tide never left. It just needed a spark.
“I feel like we needed a play like that, and luckily we made it,” Fitzpatrick said. “We made it as a team, and we did what we’re supposed to do.”
