Alabama Is Way More Than Derrick Henry, Which Should Scare Everyone Else
ATLANTA — Derrick Henry put a cap on arguably the best season a running back has ever had in the Southeastern Conference, but that’s not what should scare the other teams that might make this season’s playoffs.
It’s that the University of Alabama football team was so much more than Henry on Saturday, as it pounded out a 29-15 victory in the SEC Championship Game.
The No. 2 Crimson Tide had contributions from every part of the team in the Georgia Dome—offense, defense and special teams. Together they showed that they’re still hungry, in addition to being the league’s first repeat champions since Tennessee (1997-98).
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“After the Ole Miss game, these players all said they wanted to be a different team,” head coach Nick Saban said. “They wanted to do something special. And probably more than any other time I’ve coached, I wanted to see those guys succeed today and win the second back-to-back SEC Championship and have an opportunity to get into the playoff.”
Granted, Henry was terrific as usual.
With 189 yards on 44 carries—yes, giving him 90 attempts for the past two Saturdays alone—Henry’s 1,986 rushing yards for the season are the most in SEC history.
The guy who used to have the record? Herschel Walker (1,891 yards on 385 carries in 1981).
Henry also became the first player to have a second 100-yard rushing performance in the SEC Championship Game, and his two-yard rushing touchdown was his 23rd of the season to tie another league record.
The guys who hold that one with him are Tre Mason and Tim Tebow.
“I think that’s the best defense that we faced,” Henry said after giving credit to his coaches and teammates and before heading to Orlando and New York to pick up a lot of hardware next week. “They’re very physical, disruptive, very fast on the defensive line. Athletic linebackers who are very physical and try to knock you out and good secondary.”
But Henry wasn’t a one-man wrecking crew, as No. 18 Florida was determined to make Alabama (12-1) find other ways to win the game. The thing is, it did.
In the first half alone Alabama's redshirt freshman linebacker Keith Holcombe blocked a punt for a safety, and senior defensive lineman D.J. Pettway subsequently blocked a field goal.
“It was slo-mo, yet at the same time, it happened so quickly. I didn’t even have time to think about it,” Holcombe said.
Alabama did give up Antonio Calloway's 75-yard punt-return touchdown, which helped give the Gators a brief 7-2 lead, but that was just one of three highlights for Florida. The other two were a 46-yard bomb to Callaway (his only reception of the game), and a late 46-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Worton that caused the Crimson Tide coaches to reinsert the starters.
Those two completions accounted for 51 percent of Florida’s offense (180 total yards).
“My hat’s off to an outstanding Alabama Crimson Tide team that took our offense out of it,” Florida coach Jim McElwain said. “I thought our defense battled their tails off.”
| Year | Name | Outcome |
| 2009 | Mario Cristobal* | Alabama 40, Florida International 14 |
| 2009 | Lane Kiffin* | Alabama 12, Tennessee 10 |
| 2010 | Derek Dooley | Alabama 41, Tennessee 10 |
| 2010 | Mark Dantonio | Alabama 49, Michigan State 7 |
| 2011 | Will Muschamp | Alabama 38, Florida 10 |
| 2011 | Derek Dooley | Alabama 37, Tennessee 6 |
| 2012 | Derek Dooley | Alabama 44, Tennessee 13 |
| 2013 | Jim McElwain | Alabama 31, Colorado State 6 |
| 2014 | Will Muschamp | Alabama 42, Florida 21 |
| 2015 | Jim McElwain | Alabama 29, Florida 15 |
He later added: “Shoot guys, they won the line of scrimmage. That’s what big, strong, highly recruited guys do. That’s why we’re getting on the road as soon as we leave right now.”
The Gators (10-3) finished with just 15 rushing yards and didn’t convert a single third-down opportunity. Quarterback Treon Harris completed just nine of 24 passes and was sacked five times.
From the end of the first quarter through Florida's first possession of the final period (13:16 left in the game), Alabama’s defense gave up just three yards of total offense. During that time span the Crimson Tide scored 27 unanswered points.
Freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley had the reception of the night, when despite having two defenders on him, including standout cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, he came down with the clutch 55-yard catch at the Florida 3 just before halftime. Two plays later Henry extended his streak of having at least one rushing touchdown to 18 games.
Ridley finished with eight catches for 102 yards, while ArDarius Stewart had a terrific leaping grab for a 32-yard touchdown and Richard Mullaney scored Alabama’s final touchdown on a nine-yard catch. Senior quarterback Jake Coker was 18-of-26 for 204 yards and ran for 23 more after being sacked twice.
The Crimson Tide’s other offensive weapon—senior running back Kenyan Drake, who got the ball on Alabama’s very first snap—was also an important one. After suffering a fractured arm at Mississippi State on Nov. 14, he still couldn’t hold a ball or make blocks last week.
This week he could during practices, but still wore a protective pad over a surgical scar that runs a good part of his forearm.
“I set my goal to be back at the SEC Championship,” Drake said. “It wasn’t on them; it was really on me.”
Add that all together and it was simply too much for Florida to counter. However, it also showed that Alabama might be a much-tougher out than last year, especially considering the way the Crimson Tide handled numerous potential distractions this week.
From the Heisman talk to defensive coordinator Kirby Smart heading to Georgia to be Mark Richt’s replacement, none of it seemed to phase the Crimson Tide.
“He said he’s staying with us; he’ll be with us for the next couple of games,” senior cornerback Cyrus Jones said regarding Smart.
There’s also this to consider: Alabama now gets to rest up before playing in either the Cotton Bowl or Orange Bowl at the end of the month—including Henry.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this guy,” Saban said about his likely second Heisman Trophy winner. “He’s had a phenomenal season, and he deserves every accolade that anyone could ever throw his way.”
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.
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