ALABAMA FOOTBALL (notes courtesy of UA)
Friday, November 27, 2009
POST-GAME NOTES: ALABAMA 26, AUBURN 21

UPCHURCH’S FIRST CAREER TD CATCH IS A MEMORABLE ONE
Senior running back Roy Upchurch’s four-yard touchdown catch with 1:24 remaining in the game gave Alabama a 26-21 win over Auburn. It was the first touchdown reception of Upchurch’s Alabama career, coming in his 37th game of activity in a Crimson Tide uniform and on his 38th career reception at Alabama.

JULIO JONES PRODUCES IN THE CLUTCH – HAS SINGLE-GAME HIGH FOR CATCHES
Sophomore receiver Julio Jones caught a career-high nine passes for 83 yards today, setting a new personal single-game mark for catches. After catching three passes for 25 yards in the first half, Jones racked up six receptions for 58 yards in the second half. Most importantly, Jones made four catches for 33 yards on the game-winning 15-play, 79-yard drive that consumed 7:03 of game time concluding with a touchdown with 1:24 remaining. On that drive, three of Jones’ catches converted third down plays into first downs.

INGRAM ON ALABAMA’S SINGLE-SEASON RUSHING LIST
Ingram rushed for a season-low 30 yards against Auburn, giving him 1,429 rushing yards this season. With his totals, Ingram has moved closer to first place on the Alabama single-season rushing list (see below).

RUSHING YARDS – SEASON
1,471 Bobby Humphrey (236 att.)………………………………………………………………….. 1986
1,429 Mark Ingram (221 att.)…………………………………………….. 2009
1,383 Shaun Alexander (302 att.)……………………………………………………………………… 1999
1,367 Shaud Williams (280 att.)………………………………………………………………………… 2003
1,341 Sherman Williams (291 att.)………………………………………………………………….. 1994

RUSHING YARDS – CAREER
3,565 Shaun Alexander (727 att.)………………………………………………………………. 1996-99
3,420 Bobby Humphrey (615 att.)…………………………………………………………… 1985-88
3,324 Kenneth Darby (702 att.)…………………………………………………………………. 2003-06
2,741 Johnny Musso (574 att.)…………………………………………………………………… 1969-71
2,645 Dennis Riddle (612 att.)……………………………………………………………………. 1994-97
2,560 Bobby Marlow (408 att.)…………………………………………………………………. 1950-52
2,519 Johnny Davis (447 att.)……………………………………………………………………… 1974-77
2,486 Sherman Williams (535 att.)…………………………………………………………… 1991-94
2,288 Shaud Williams (410 att.)…………………………………………………………………. 2002-03
2,157 Mark Ingram (364 att.)……………………………………….. 2008-09

BARRON NOTCHES 7TH INTERCEPTION
Safety Mark Barron intercepted an Auburn pass with 4:48 left in the third quarter to set up the Alabama offense at the Auburn 43-yard line, his seventh interception of the 2009 season. That total ranks tied for third on the Alabama single-season interceptions list (see below).

INTERCEPTIONS – SEASON
10 Hootie Ingram (163 yards)……………………………………………………………………….. 1952
8 Harry Gilmer (79 yards)……………………………………………………………………………. 1946
7 Steve Higginbotham (108 yards)……………………………………………………………. 1971
7 Jeremiah Castille (60 yards)……………………………………………………………………… 1982
7 Antonio Langham (67 yards)……………………………………………………………………. 1993
7 Kevin Jackson (44 yards)…………………………………………………………………………… 1996
7 Mark Barron (125 yards)……………………………………………. 2009

ARENAS SETS SEC CAREER PUNT RETURN YARDS MARK; RANKS 2ND IN NCAA HISTORY
Javier Arenas returned two punts for 67 yards against Auburn (including a 56-yarder in the third quarter) to elevate his career punt return yardage total to 1,725 to break the SEC career punt return yards record previously held by Vanderbilt’s Lee Nalley, who had 1,695 punt return yards from 1947-49. The NCAA record for career punt return yardage is held by Wes Welker of Texas Tech, who gained 1,751 yards on punt returns from 2000-03. Arenas now ranks second in NCAA history for punt return yardage:

NCAA PUNT RETURN YARDS LEADERS
Rank Name School Years Returns Yards
1. Wes Welker Texas Tech 2000-03 152 1,761
2. Javier Arenas Alabama 2006-09 121 1,725
3. Lee Nalley Vanderbilt 1947-49 109 1,695
4. Ryne Robinson Miami-Ohio 2003-06 121 1,677
5. David Allen Kansas State 1997-2000 103 1,646
6. Steve Breaston Michigan 2003-06 127 1,599
7. Leodis McKelvin Troy 2004-07 112 1,471
8. Antonio Perkins Oklahoma 2001-04 113 1,424
9. Jim Leonhard Wisconsin 2001-04 105 1,347
10. Greg Myers Colorado State 1992-95 103 1,333

TIFFIN SETS SEASON & CAREER MARKS
Senior placekicker Leigh Tiffin set a pair of important Alabama records today. Tiffin’s 27-yard field goal with 5:32 left in the third quarter gave him 79 career field goals, moving him ahead of Philip Doyle (78 from 1987-90). He added a 31-yard field goal with 24 seconds left in the third quarter, the 80th of his Alabama career. Already the Alabama career scoring leader, Tiffin has made 27-of-31 field goal attempts this season, breaking his own record of 25 field goals made in 2008 when he made 25 of 34 attempts. With eight kicking points against Auburn, Tiffin has scored 118 points this season via field goals or extra-point conversions, setting a new record for single-season kicking points. A look at how Tiffin stands on several Alabama season and career charts (see below).

KICKING POINTS – SEASON
118 Leigh Tiffin (27 FGs, 36 PATs)……………………………………… 2009
111 Leigh Tiffin (25 FGs, 36 PATs)………………………………………………………………….. 2007
106 Leigh Tiffin (20 FGs, 46 PATs)………………………………………………………………….. 2008
100 Philip Doyle (22 FGs, 34 PATs)………………………………………………………………… 1989

KICKING POINTS – CAREER
370 Leigh Tiffin (80 FGs, 130 PATs)………………………………. 2006-09
339 Philip Doyle (78 FGs, 105 PATs)………………………………………………………. 1987-90
326 Michael Proctor (65 FGs, 131 PATs)……………………………………………… 1992-95
312 Van Tiffin (59 FGs, 135 PATs)…………………………………………………………… 1983-86

POINT-AFTER TOUCHDOWNS – CAREER
135 Van Tiffin (135 attempts)……………………………………………………………………. 1983-86
133 Bill Davis (143 attempts)……………………………………………………………………. 1971-73
131 Michael Proctor (132 attempts)………………………………………………………. 1992-95
130 Leigh Tiffin (134 attempts)……………………………………. 2006-09

FIELD GOALS – SEASON
27 Leigh Tiffin (31 att.)……………………………………………………. 2009
25 Leigh Tiffin (34 att.)………………………………………………………………………………………. 2007
24 Philip Doyle (29 att.)…………………………………………………………………………………….. 1990
22 Philip Doyle (25 att.)…………………………………………………………………………………….. 1989
22 Michael Proctor (29 att.)……………………………………………………………………………. 1993

FIELD GOALS – CAREER
80 Leigh Tiffin (107 att.)…………………………………………….. 2006-09
78 Philip Doyle (105 att.)…………………………………………………………………………… 1987-90
65 Michael Proctor (91 att.)…………………………………………………………………….. 1992-95
59 Van Tiffin (88 att.)………………………………………………………………………………….. 1983-86

PEEK’S TD CATCH IS LONGEST OF ALABAMA CAREER
Senior tight end Colin Peek’s 33-yard touchdown catch with 5:31 left in the second quarter tied the game at 14-14. It was the longest catch of Peek’s Alabama career, eclipsing a 21-yard reception against Kentucky. Peek, who played two seasons at Georgia Tech prior to joining the Crimson Tide, had a 37-yard reception for the Yellow Jackets against Army in 2007, the longest catch of his college career.

RICHARDSON SCORES 6TH RUSHING TD
True freshman running back Trent Richardson scored Alabama’s first points against Auburn on a 2-yard run with 13:26 remaining in the second quarter. The touchdown was Richardson’s sixth this season, a total that ranks second in Alabama history for touchdown runs by a freshman behind Terry Grant’s eight in 2007.

ALABAMA OVERCOMES LARGEST DEFICIT OF 2009 SEASON
Auburn raced to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter today, the largest deficit faced by Alabama this season, before rallying to tie the game at 14-14 with a big second quarter. Prior to today, the most the Crimson Tide had trailed in a game at any point this season was a five-point deficit against LSU on November 7 in Tuscaloosa. In that game, LSU took a 15-10 lead with 3:19 left in the third quarter before Alabama regained the lead at 21-15 on a 73-yard pass from Greg McElroy to Julio Jones with 10:24 left in the fourth period of an eventual 24-15 Crimson Tide victory.

LONGEST RUSH ALLOWED SINCE 2005 IS LONGEST TD YIELDED IN SABAN ERA
The 67-yard touchdown run on a reverse play by Auburn receiver Terrell Zachery in the first quarter is the longest run allowed by the Alabama defense this season and the longest yielded by the Crimson Tide since a 70-yard run by Arkansas’ Darren McFadden on September 24, 2005. Prior to that play, the longest run given up by Alabama this season was a 34-yarder by LSU’s Charles Scott on November 7. Zachery’s touchdown run is the longest allowed by the Crimson Tide defense under head coach Nick Saban, surpassing a 62-yard run by Enrique Davis of Mississippi on October 18, 2008.

LONGEST PASS ALLOWED IN 2009 IS LONGEST YIELDED SINCE 1999
Auburn took a 21-14 lead with 11:05 left in the third quarter on a 72-yard pass from quarterback Chris Todd to receiver Darvin Adams, the longest play from scrimmage allowed by Alabama this season, the longest play from scrimmage allowed in the Nick Saban Era at Alabama, and the longest pass play yielded by the Alabama defense since a 73-yard pass from Florida’s Doug Johnson to Darrell Jackson in a 40-39 Alabama victory in Gainesville on October 2, 1999.

DEFENSE YIELDS MOST POINTS ALLOWED IN A QUARTER THIS SEASON
The 14 points scored by Auburn in the first quarter is the highest point total allowed by Alabama in any quarter this season – and more than seven of the Crimson Tide’s 11 opponents have scored in an entire game entering today’s contest. The previous high was 10 points by Virginia Tech in the second quarter of a 34-24 Alabama victory on September 5.

PERFECT RECORD
Alabama ran the table in the 2009 regular season and finished the season with a perfect 8-0 record in SEC play. Since the league split into division format in 1992, nine SEC teams have navigated their way through the conference with a perfect 8-0 mark. Alabama has done it four times in 1992, 1994, 2008 and 2009. Florida has run the table three times in 1995, 1996 and 2009. Tennessee went 8-0 in 1998 and Auburn was 8-0 in 2004.

Undefeated SEC Teams Since 1992
1992 Alabama 8-0
1994 Alabama 8-0
1995 Florida 8-0
1996 Florida 8-0
1998 Tennessee 8-0
2004 Auburn 8-0
2008 Alabama 8-0
2009 Alabama & Florida 8-0

BACK-TO-BACK 8-0 MARKS
With its win over Auburn, Alabama has now completed back-to-back perfect seasons in SEC play. With 8-0 records in each of the last two seasons, the Crimson Tide joins the 1995-96 Florida Gators as the only two SEC teams to post back-to-back 8-0 seasons since the league expanded to 12 teams in 1992.

16-GAME SEC WINNING STREAK
Alabama’s win over Auburn extends the Crimson Tide’s conference winning streak to 16 games after back-to-back 8-0 seasons in 2008 and 2009. Alabama’s last loss in an SEC game came in a 17-10 loss at Auburn on Nov. 24, 2007. The current 16-game SEC winning streak is the longest by an Alabama team since the Tide reeled off 17 straight SEC wins from 1991-93, which included an 8-0 season in 1992. The current 16-game winning streak is the fourth longest streak in school history. The Tide won an SEC record 27 straight SEC games from 1976-80 and added a 20-game winning streak from 1973-75.

Alabama’s Longest SEC Winning Streaks
Wins Date Began Last Victory Streak Ended
27 Oct. 16, 1976 (at Tennessee, 20-13) Oct. 18, 1980 (at Tennessee, 27-0) Nov. 1, 1980 (at Miss. State, 3-6)
20 Sept. 22, 1973 (at Kentucky, 28-14) Nov. 29, 1975 (Auburn, 28-0) Sept. 11, 1976 (at Mississippi, 7-10)
17 Sept. 21, 1991 (Georgia, 10-0) Oct. 23, 1993 (at Mississippi, 19-14) Nov. 6, 1993 (LSU, 13-17
16 Sept. 20, 2008 (at Arkansas, 49-14) Nov. 27, 2009 (at Auburn, 0-0) Still Active
15 Oct. 29, 1960 (at Mississippi State, 7-0) Nov. 3, 1962 (at Mississippi State, 20-0) Nov. 17, 1962 (at Georgia Tech, 6-7)
14 Sept. 25, 1971 (at Florida, 38-0) Nov. 11, 1972 (LSU, 35-21) Dec. 2, 1972 (Auburn, 16-17)
12 Oct. 14, 1933 (Mississippi State, 18-0) Nov. 29, 1934 (Vanderbilt, 34-0) Oct. 12, 1935 (Mississippi State, 7-20)
11 Oct. 30, 1965 (at Mississippi State, 10-7) Oct. 14, 1967 (at Vanderbilt, 35-21) Oct. 21, 1967 (Tennessee, 13-24)
10 Oct. 31, 1936 (at Kentucky, 14-0) Nov. 25, 1937 (at Vanderbilt, 9-7) Oct. 15, 1938 (Tennessee, 0-13)
9 Nov. 11, 1944 (Mississippi, 34-6) Sept. 28, 1946 (at Tulane, 7-6) Oct. 19, 1946 (at Tennessee, 0-12)

UA TIES RECORD FOR REGULAR SEASON WINS
The Crimson Tide’s 12 regular season wins tied an Alabama record for most victories in the regular season. The Tide also won 12 regular season games last year to set the single-season mark for regular season wins. The previous record was 11 regular season wins set in six times, most recently in 1994. The 2009 squad is the eighth Alabama team to win at least 11 regular season games and the first since 1994. The other UA teams to win at least 11 regular season games are 1971 (11-0), 1973 (11-0), 1974 (11-0), 1979 (11-0), 1992 (11-0) and 1994 (11-0). A total of 13 Alabama teams have won 10 regular season games, most recently in 2002 (10-3).

Most Regular Season Wins
12 2009 (12-0)
12 2008 (12-0)
11 1994 (11-0); 1992 (11-0); 1979 (11-0); 1974 (11-0); 1973 (11-0); 1971 (11-0)

12 WINS ARE SECOND MOST IN A SEASON IN ALABAMA HISTORY
With its current 12-0 record, Alabama is currently tied for second place in school history for most wins in a single-season. The 1992 team won a school record 13 games en route to the school’s 12th national title. The 2009 squad is the fourth in school history to win 12 games, joining the 1979, 1994 and 2008 squads.

Most Wins (All Games)
13 1992 (13-0)
12 2009 (12-0); 2008 (12-0); 1994 (12-1); 1979 (12-0)

TIDE TRIO TIES GAMES PLAYED RECORD
A trio of Crimson Tide seniors – punter P.J. Fitzgerald, left guard Mike Johnson and defensive back Ali Sharrief – played their 52nd career game today, tying the all-time record for most career games played at Alabama. The trio joins Travis McCall (2005-08), Nick Walker (2005-08) and Tarrant Lynch (1990-94) as the only players in school history to see action in 52 games. Senior cornerback and kick return specialist Javier Arenas played his 50th career game at Auburn.

MOST GAMES PLAYED AT ALABAMA
Rank Player (Years) Games
1. Travis McCall (2005-08) 52
Nick Walker (2005-08) 52
Tarrant Lynch (1990-94) 52

4. P.J. Fitzgerald (2006-09) 51
Mike Johnson (2006-09) 51
Ali Sharrief (2006-09) 51
Bobby Greenwood (2005-08) 51
Matt Hammond (1990-93) 51
Lemanski Hall (1990-93) 51

10. Rashad Johnson (2005-08) 50
Matt Caddell (2004-07) 50
Wallace Gilberry (2004-07) 50
Ramzee Robinson (2003-06) 50
Mark Anderson (2002-05) 50
Anthony Madison (2002-05) 50
Freddie Roach (2002-05) 50
DeMeco Ryans (2002-05) 50
Anthony Bryant (2001-04) 50
Evan Mathis (2001-04) 50
20. Javier Arenas (2005-09) 49

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