ALABAMA ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
ALABAMA FOOTBALL FINAL GAME NOTES – ALABAMA VS. MISSISSIPPI (courtesy of UA Media Relations)
18TH STRAIGHT HOME VICTORY: With the 23-10 win over Mississippi, Alabama has won 18 consecutive games at Bryant-Denny Stadium dating back to the home opener against Tulane in 2008. It is tied for the third-longest streak in school history at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The longest winning streak at Bryant-Denny Stadium is 57 games from Oct. 26, 1963, to Nov. 13, 1982. During the current streak, the Crimson Tide is 10-0 against SEC competition and 4-0 against top 25 teams.
Longest Winning Streaks at BDS
57………. Oct. 26, 1963 – Nov. 13, 1982
20………. Nov. 1, 1941 – Nov. 11, 1950
18………. Sept. 28, 1929 – Sept. 28, 1935
18………. Sept. 6, 2008 – Present
16………. Nov. 23, 1957 – Oct. 12, 1963
16………. Nov. 9, 1935 – Oct. 12, 1940
ALABAMA IMPROVES TO 34-1 UNDER SABAN WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF: Alabama led Mississippi, 16-3, at halftime before going on to the 23-10 victory. With the win, the Crimson Tide is 34-1 when leading at halftime under head coach Nick Saban, including a 27-game winning streak. The only loss came against LSU in 2007 when UA held a 20-17 halftime lead before losing, 41-34, on Nov. 3, 2007, at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
ALABAMA VS. MISSISSIPPI SERIES: With the victory, Alabama leads the Mississippi series 44-9-2 (48-8-2 before NCAA rulings) with seven straight wins and 24 of the last 26 games dating back to the 1977 season. The Crimson Tide is 33-1-1 in game played in the state of Alabama, including a 25-1 mark in Tuscaloosa.
SABAN VS. MISSISSIPPI: With the victory, Alabama head coach Nick Saban owns a 8-1 record in his career against Mississippi. He is 4-0 at Alabama. Saban posted a 4-1 record against the Rebels while at LSU from 2000-04.
MAZE’S PUNT RETURNS: Wide receiver Marquis Maze made a major impact as a punt return man against Mississippi, returning 6 punts for 125 yards (20.8-yard average) including returns of 37 and 20 yards. The yardage ranks third on the Alabama single-game punt returns yardage list. The 37-yard return, keyed by a devastating block that took out two Mississippi defenders by linebacker Alex Watkins, set up Alabama deep in Rebels territory midway through the second period. That set up a 19-yard field goal by Jeremy Shelly that gave Alabama a 13-0 lead.
MOST PUNT RETURN YARDS IN A GAME
153…….. Javier Arenas vs. Tulane…………………………….. Sept. 6, 2008
147…….. Javier Arenas vs. Mississippi State……………. Nov. 15, 2008
125…….. Marquis Maze vs. Mississippi…………………. Oct. 16, 2010
122…….. Harry Gilmer at Georgia…………………………….. Oct. 25, 1947
103…….. Gordon Pettus vs. Duquesne……………………… Oct. 8, 1948
101…….. Javier Arenas vs. Florida International……… Sept. 12, 2009
95………. David Palmer at Vanderbilt……………………….. Sept. 28, 1991
95………. David Palmer at LSU…………………………………… Nov. 9, 1991
90………. Javier Arenas vs. North Texas……………………. Sept. 19, 2009
86………. Javier Arenas vs. Oklahoma State………………. Dec. 28, 2006
MAZE’S BIG NIGHT: In addition to his punt return prowess, Marquis Maze also caught 3 passes for 42 yards and rushed once for 1 yard against the Rebels, giving him a game-high 168 all-purpose yards.
RICHARDSON ECLIPSES 100 RECEIVING YARDS: Sophomore running back Trent Richardson caught 5 passes for 101 yards against Mississippi to become the first Alabama running back to eclipse the century mark in receiving yards in 12 years. Before Saturday night, the most recent Alabama back to have more than 100 yards receiving was Shaun Alexander, who caught 5 passes for 110 yards and one touchdown against Mississippi State on November 14, 1998.
McELROY TO RICHARDSON FOR 85-YARD TD: Sophomore running back Trent Richardson took a screen pass from Greg McElroy and raced 85 yards for a touchdown to give Alabama a 23-3 lead over Mississippi with 7:22 remaining in the third quarter. That play ties for the fifth-longest scoring pass in Alabama history and is the longest pass completion of McElroy’s Alabama career (previous long: 80 to Marquis Maze vs. Arkansas in 2009).
LONGEST SCORING PASS PLAYS
94…. Freddie Kitchens to Michael Vaughn vs. Florida…………………………… 1996
90…. Jeff Dunn to Pierre Goode vs. Tennessee…………………………………………… 1987
87…. Albert Elmore to Bobby Luna vs. Tulsa………………………………………………. 1954
87…. Brodie Croyle to Zach Fletcher vs. Mississippi State……………………. 2003
85…. Gary Rutledge to Joe Dale Harris vs. California………………………………. 1973
85.. Greg McElroy to Trent Richardson vs. Mississippi………….. 2010
81…. Ken Coley to Joey Jones vs. Vanderbilt………………………………………………… 1981
80…. Gary Rutledge to Wayne Wheeler vs. Tennessee…………………………. 1973
80…. Walter Lewis to Jesse Bendross vs. Mississippi………………………………. 1982
80…. Greg McElroy to Marquis Maze vs. Arkansas…………………………………… 2009
McELROY MOVES UP CAREER TD PASSES LIST: Senior quarterback Greg McElroy moved into a tie for 5th place on the Alabama career touchdown passes list with two touchdown passes against Mississippi. His first was a 7-yard pass to Preston Dial with 8:57 left in the first quarter that gave the Crimson Tide a 7-0 lead over the Rebels. The second was an 85-yard pass play to Trent Richardson in the third quarter. That scoring pass, the 30th of McElroy’s Alabama career, moved the veteran signal caller past Walter Lewis (29 from 1980-83) and Harry Gilmer (29 from 1944-47) and into a tie with Jeff Rutledge (30 from 1975-78) and Freddie Kitchens (30 from 1993-97) on the Alabama career touchdown passes list. John Parker Wilson (2005-08) holds the Alabama record with 47 touchdown passes in his career.
CAREER TOUCHDOWN PASSES
47 John Parker Wilson………………………………………………………………………… 2005-08
41 Brodie Croyle……………………………………………………………………………………… 2002-05
35 Andrew Zow……………………………………………………………………………………….. 1998-01
35 Mike Shula…………………………………………………………………………………………… 1983-86
30 Freddie Kitchens……………………………………………………………………………… 1993-97
30 Jeff Rutledge………………………………………………………………………………………. 1975-78
30 Greg McElroy………………………………………………… 2007-present
29 Harry Gilmer………………………………………………………………………………………. 1944-47
29 Walter Lewis………………………………………………………………………………………. 1980-83
27 Scott Hunter……………………………………………………………………………………….. 1968-70
26 Jay Barker…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1991-94
McELROY ON YARDAGE LISTS: Greg McElroy passed for 219 yards against Mississippi to move his career yardage total to 4,221 yards. That total ranks McElroy eighth on the Alabama career passing yards list. His 213 total yards tonight gives him 4,310 yards of total offense, ranking McElroy ninth on the Alabama career total offense list.
CAREER PASSING YARDS
7,924 John Parker Wilson (665 of 1,175)…………………………… 2005-08
6,382 Brodie Croyle (488 of 869)…………………………………………….. 2002-05
5,983 Andrew Zow (459 of 852)………………………………………………. 1998-01
5,689 Jay Barker (402 of 706)……………………………………………………. 1991-94
4,899 Scott Hunter (382 of 672)……………………………………………….. 1968-70
4,668 Freddie Kitchens (343 of 680)…………………………………….. 1993-97
4,257 Walter Lewis (286 of 504)………………………………………………. 1980-83
4,221 Greg McElroy (330 of 507)……………………. 2007-present
4,069 Mike Shula (313 of 578)…………………………………………………… 1983-86
3,842 Gary Hollingsworth (345 of 621)………………………………… 1989-90
3,540 Tyler Watts (284 of 494)…………………………………………… 1999-2002
CAREER TOTAL OFFENSE
8,099 John Parker Wilson (7,924 pass, 175 rush)……………… 2005-08
6,205 Brodie Croyle (6,382 pass, minus 177 rush)……………. 2002-05
5,958 Andrew Zow (5,983 pass, minus 25 rush)………….. 1998-2001
5,690 Walter Lewis (4,257 pass, 1,433 rush)………………………… 1980-83
5,409 Jay Barker (5,689 pass, minus 292 rush)…………………… 1991-94
4,785 Scott Hunter (4,899 pass, minus 114 rush)……………… 1968-70
4,668 Tyler Watts (3,540 pass, 1,128 rush)…………………….. 1999-2002
4,657 Harry Gilmer (2,894 pass, 1,763 rush)………………………… 1944-47
4,598 Freddie Kitchens (4,669 pass, minus 71 rush)………. 1993-97
4,310 Greg McElroy (4,221 pass, 89 rush)…………. 2007-present
4,151 Mike Shula (4,069 pass, 82 rush)……………………………………. 1983-86
BARRON’S INTERCEPTION: Safety Mark Barron intercepted a Mississippi pass with 4:49 left in the fourth quarter to set up the Alabama offense at the Rebels 38-yard line. That interception was Barron’s second of 2010 and the ninth of his Alabama career. Barron needs three more to crack the UA Career Top 10 Interceptions List.
NEXT GAME: Alabama returns to the road for the fourth time in six weeks on Saturday, October 23, with a visit to the Tennessee Volunteers. The Crimson Tide leads the series 46-38-7 and have won three straight in the series. UA is 20-18-1 against the Volunteers in Knoxville, including a 29-9 victory in the Crimson Tide’s last visit to Neyland Stadium in 2008. Alabama used two blocked field goals – the second of which came as time expired – by Terrence Cody in the fourth quarter to hold off Tennessee in Tuscaloosa last season, 12-10.