No. 1 Alabama takes down Ole Miss 33-14; McCarron breaks record - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide earned their fifth victory of the year on Saturday night after beating Ole Miss 33-14 at home, but it wasn't easy.

Mississippi held Alabama's offense to its lowest yardage output of the season and a few key players for the Crimson Tide were injured in the victory.

Freshman wide receiver had a breakout game, catching two touchdown passes in the first half before finishing the night with eight catches for 84 yards.

Alabama's rushing attack, led by Eddie Lacy, was held without a touchdown, a first this season for the Tide.  Lacy finished with 82 yards on 19 carries.  Freshman T. J. Yeldon ran for 39 yards on 10 attempts.

Quarterback AJ McCarron had another efficient performance on his way to breaking the school record for most completions without an interception previously held by Brodie Croyle.  Croyle had held the record since 2005 when he threw 190 complete passes without a pick, but McCarron took over the top spot in the second quarter of the game when he connected with H-Back Brent Calloway.  Calloway actually lost two yards on the catch.

McCarron now has 201 completions without an inteception after Saturday night.

Kicker Jeremy Shelley was a perfect 4-of-4 on the night in field goals with his long being from 38 yards out.  His second make wasn't so perfect after he clanked the right up-post, only to have the ball bank over the cross-bar for three points.

On defense, cornerbacks Dee Milliner and Deion Belue each grabbed interceptions as well as safety Robert Lester.  Lester would fumble the back to Ole Miss on the return.

Milliner finished with four pass break-ups, a sack and interception.

The Crimson Tide now has eight interceptions on the year and six fumble recoveries.

Ole Miss became the first team all year to lead Alabama on the scoreboard when in the second quarter, trailing 6-0, Rebels' running back Jeff Scott dove in for a 1-yard touchdown run setting up the go-ahead extra point. 

Alabama would only trail for 15 seconds thanks to wide receiver/kick returner Christion Jones taking the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a score, putting his team back on top for good.  Jones also caught two balls for 19 yards in the game.

Ole Miss finished the night with only 218 total yards but rushed for two touchdowns in the loss.  Along with Scott's scoring play, backup quarterback Randall Mackey found the endzone on a 12-yard run in the third quarter.

The Rebels starting quarterback Bo Wallace, who was playing with a sore shoulder, finished with two interceptions while completing 15 of his 26 passes for 126 yards.  Mackey also threw an interception.

Injuries:

Up-and-coming wideout DeAndrew White left the game in the first quarter by cart after injuring his knee.  He did not return.

Cornerback Deion Belue suffered a shoulder injury that prevent his return.

Backup running back and special teams return man Dee Hart injured his knee on a punt return in the fourth quarter and was also taken to the lockerroom without returning.

Nick Saban updated the status of the trio of players hurting after the game.

Click here to read what Saban said.

Notes:

Former Alabama head coach Gene Stallings and his 1992 National Championship team were honored before the game.

Alabama gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson and her team of 18 gymnasts were presented with their national championship rings on the field at halftime.  Click here for story.

With the win, Alabama moved to 5-0 on the year, 2-0 in the SEC heading into their bye week.  They will travel to take on league newcomer Missouri (3-2, 0-2) in two weeks on October 13. 

Scoring summary and statistics:

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTER				MISS	ALA
	FG	07:17	Jeremy Shelley 38 Yd	0	3
	FG	03:03	Jeremy Shelley 38 Yd	0	6
SECOND QUARTER				MISS	ALA
	TD	13:40	Jeff Scott 1 Yd Run (Bryson Rose Kick)	7	6
	TD	13:25	Christion Jones 99 Yd Kickoff Return (Jeremy Shelley Kick)	7	13
	TD	10:30	Amari Cooper 16 Yd Pass From AJ McCarron (Jeremy Shelley Kick)	7	20
	TD	01:37	Amari Cooper 12 Yd Pass From AJ McCarron (Jeremy Shelley Kick)	7	27
THIRD QUARTER				MISS	ALA
	TD	06:35	Randall Mackey 12 Yd Run (Bryson Rose Kick)	14	27
FOURTH QUARTER				MISS	ALA
	FG	12:19	Jeremy Shelley 26 Yd	14	30
	FG	01:41	Jeremy Shelley 24 Yd	14	33

Team Stat Comparison

Passing Leaders