Stat Correction Gives QB Blake Sims the Alabama Record for Most Yards in a Game

Blake Sims made history against Florida in Week 4, throwing for more yards (445) than any quarterback Nick Saban has ever coached.

As it turns out, that is not the only mark he set. An ex post facto stat correction credited Sims with 27 extra rushing yards, giving him 484 total yards on the game. That is the most by one player in the history of Alabama football.

Andrew Gribble of AL.com explains what happened:

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On his second-quarter fumble, Sims was inaccurately docked 33 rushing yards—the distance between the line of scrimmage (Florida's 32-yard line) and where Florida ultimately finished with it (Alabama's 35). Sims, though, should only have been docked 6—the distance between the line of scrimmage and where it was recovered (Florida's 38).

Sims gained 53 yards on the ground and ultimately lost 14 on the day to finish with 39 rushing yards. He went from 457 yards of offense, which tied Scott Hunter (1969) for most in a single game, to all alone at the top with some significant breathing room. Hunter still has the single-game record for passing yards (484) but he lost 27 yards rushing in that same game.

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Sims was one of the breakout stars of Week 4 even before this correction, and although getting an extra 27 yards tacked onto his rushing total doesn't actually change anything about his performance, it's nice to see him move into the Alabama record books—and to sit there all alone—after playing a near-perfect game.

For the season, the redshirt senior ranks fourth in the country in completion percentage (73.2) and QB rating (190.77), third in yards per attempt (11.2) and fifth in ESPN's Total QBR metric (89.7).

He has not just won but cemented the starting job over Florida State transfer Jake Coker, the man many presumed would be Alabama's quarterback after Sims struggled in the A-Day game. Coker is 6'5" and has the stronger arm, but Sims' mobility, accuracy and leadership have made him a star in Lane Kiffin's offense.

"Blake, from last year to spring, he improved a lot," said star receiver Amari Cooper, who caught 10 of Sims' passes for 201 yards, per Stewart Mandel of FoxSports.com. "From spring to camp, he improved even more. ... He used to just run. Now he runs out of the pocket and keeps his eyes down the field and tries to throw the ball."

And don't think people haven't taken notice.

Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee, for example, had Sims No. 3 in his updated SEC quarterback rankings, right behind Texas A&M's Kenny Hill and Mississippi State's Dak Prescott and ahead of Auburn's Nick Marshall and Missouri's Maty Mauk.

Before the season, a ranking like that would have been heresy. But now that Sims has played his way into the Crimson Tide record book?

It seems like the logical move.