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Ridley, Hurts connect for big game

Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley (3) catches a pass over Kentucky defensive back Jordan Griffin (3) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama won 34-6. (Butch Dill | AP)

The combination of University of Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver Calvin Ridley can be lethal, and it proved so during No. 1 Alabama’s 34-6 routing of Kentucky on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Almost every drive the Crimson Tide completed during the third quarter of UA's homecoming game against the Wildcats ended with a bullet from Hurts to Ridley in the end zone. The only one that didn’t still included a 43-yard reception, which Ridley brought down to the 6-yard line to translate into a fourth-quarter field goal.

“Coach was seeing some stuff and he called it up,” Ridley said. “It could have been anybody. He called it up and I just tried to do whatever I could. I know Jalen tried to help the team win. We both tried to help the team win.”

And help they did. The duo was responsible for the game’s only touchdowns produced in the air, coming off a 10-yard pass and a 19-yard pass.

Ridley finished the night with a career-high 11 receptions for 174 yards and the two touchdowns. He was the only player to break double digits in receptions and also snagged the longest pass of the night, a 46-yarder.

“It was really, really good,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said, “but we’ve got a lot of other good players we need to get involved in the passing game.”

Running back Joshua Jacobs and wide receiver Robert Foster rounded out Alabama’s top receivers, but combined for a total of only five receptions for 86 yards, far less than Ridley alone.

Hurts also had his struggles. He failed to find his rhythm during the first half, completing only half of his 20 passes for 89 yards.

“We just didn’t do a very good job of executing up front or in the route selection that we had or the execution of it,” Saban said.

That cleaned up, though. Hurts came out of the locker room and went 10 for 12 in the third quarter before being relieved by backup Cooper Bateman. Come end game, Hurts had completed 20 of 33 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns.

The flip switched during his first drive of the second half when Hurts tried to find Ridley down the field. Riley was there, but the pass was not. Hurts overshot his counterpart and sent the ball sailing into the sideline.

Once that was out of the way, the duo took off for its third-quarter production.

The Crimson Tide was up 31-3 heading into the final stretch of the game. Therefore, Hurts was taken out. It wasn’t Blake Barnett who replaced him, though, as he has in previous games. It was Bateman.

Barnett is gone. Saban officially announced that the redshirt freshman had withdrawn from school on Thursday.

Bateman ended up connecting all five of his passes, gaining Alabama 53 yards through the air.

Wide receiver ArDarius Stewart, who rivals Ridley as Alabama’s leading wide receiver this season, remained sidelined due to an injury, but he still had the wide receiving corps’ axe. He made Ridley hold it throughout the night because of his standout performance.

“We try to play tough and chop you head off at the receiver position,” Ridley said.

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