North Texas vs. Alabama: 5 Things We Learned from Saturday's Final Score

Alabama came back home from a successful 27-11 performance at Penn State to take on North Texas in Tuscaloosa. 

It wasn't much of a contest.  North Texas was out-classed from the very beginning as the Tide rolled to an easy 41-0 blowout victory.

It's not likely that anyone expected the Mean Green to put up much of a fight.  They're not just 0-3 on the season, but they've not won more than three games in a season for the last five years.  It doesn't look as though their fortunes are changing any time too soon.

Still, it was a nice layup before the Tide jumps into SEC play and begins their run at a National Title berth in earnest.

So, what can we learn from these kinds of games?  Maybe there are some unheralded players who stood out?  Maybe there were some players who needed to show growth. 

Maybe, hidden in the haze of the walk-away win, there were a few nuggets to take forward.

1. There Was Little Hangover for the Tide

It's a fact of the game.  Sometimes, when you come off a fairly big win and face an arguably lesser opponent, you're not at your best.  Teams let up, feeling as though they can't possibly lose.  They'd just come through much tougher.  What could this new opponent possibly do that the last one didn't?

That wasn't the case for Alabama. Or maybe I should say, if it was the case, it wasn't evident.

The Crimson Tide cruised to a 20-0 halftime lead and extended it to 27-0 after three quarters.  They never gave the Mean Green an opportunity to make a game of it. 

It's the mark of a champion.  Sometimes, it takes strong mental focus to come back from a good win and play at a high level again. 

Alabama is playing like they want to stay in the National Title hunt.

2. North Texas Didn't Belong on This Field

Did anyone really think that North Texas would challenge Alabama?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

No, I didn't think so either. 

The Mean Green haven't won more than three games each of the last five years.  They're a basement-dweller Sun Belt team.  Oklahoma, they're not.

While Alabama may not have suffered a hangover, it wouldn't really have mattered if they did.  Chances are, their third string could have probably won this game handily.

Still, it was a fun performance, if not unexpected. 

Were there any chinks exposed in Alabama's armor?  Not a chance.  North Texas was playing with toothpicks while the Tide held lances.

Oh well, you've got to have these kinds of games every now and again.  Things will get far more interesting when the Tide take on Arkansas and Florida over the next two games.

3. Eddie Lacy Could Be the Next Mark Ingram

Alabama fans knew this already.  Eddie Lacy is something special.

Last season, Lacy carried the ball 56 times for 406 yards and six touchdowns.  That's an awe-inspiring 7.3 yard-per-carry average.  Did I mention that he's only now a sophomore?  Yeah.

Of course, much of Lacy's action came in junk time and/or against opponents like North Texas. 

Still, those are some pretty special numbers, regardless of whom he grabbed his yards against.

Tonight, Lacy carried the ball just nine times.  However, in those few carries, he picked up 161 yards and two touchdowns.  One of those carries resulted in a 67-yard touchdown scamper.

For now, he'll continue to play in games such as this one and he'll continue to clean up after Trent Richardson.  However, he showed once again tonight that he's someone to keep an eye on.  He'll be one of the great ones.

3. Phillip Sims Looked Better Than the Last Time We Saw Him

The last time Phillip Sims stood under center and took actual game snaps for the Crimson Tide, it was Week 1 against Kent State.  In that game, Sims completed exactly 50 percent of his attempts (7-of-14) for 73 yards and two interceptions.

It wasn't exactly a coming out party.  He may be a freshman, but that was still pretty unimpressive.

Now, before I go on about how that was against Kent State and not someone noteworthy, I'll stop the train.  Kent State actually rates 29th in the nation in pass defense, giving up only two passing touchdowns while taking away seven interceptions.

So, maybe we should go a little easy on ol' Phil.  He isn't the only one who has been picked apart by the Golden Flashes.

Tonight was a very different defense and a very different outcome for Sims.

Against the Mean Green, Sims completed 75 percent of his passes (6-of-8) and didn't give up an interception.  He didn't pull down a touchdown either, but we're taking baby steps here.

Is he the quarterback of the future? Seeing as how he's the only one to come in and relieve A.J. McCarron, I'd assume so.

For the pass attack of the Tide though, I hope not.  That is, not unless he really improves.

Take your victories wherever you can find them, however.  He didn't look nearly as bad today as he did the first time out.  That's something.

4. Jeremy Shelley Is Good, but Has Some Work to Do

Whether it's kicking field goals or putting the finishing touch on a successful drive with an extra point, you need a kicker who can come through without fail.  For the most part, Jeremy Shelley was that kind of guy.

Shelley nailed field goals from 26 and 37 yards.  He also completed all five extra points.

However, he also missed a 36-yard attempt in the second quarter.  Well, no one's perfect, right?

When you kick the ball eight times in an afternoon, the odds start swaying toward one going astray.  It happens to the best of them and Shelley had been a perfect 4-for-4 coming into this game. 

Still, I'm sure that one will hang in his head for a little while.  What if that kick meant the game?  What if the opponent wasn't North Texas, but Oklahoma?  What if...?

Those are the crazy things kickers ask themselves often. 

Shelley's leg got a workout, and for the most part, he was as good as could be expected.  One got away, but it was the one that got away.

5. The Tide Better Remember to Hang onto the Ball

I guess if you're North Texas, you have to hang onto moral victories.  What moral victory might they have in this blowout loss?

How about the interesting little stat that says that North Texas didn't turn the ball over one time, while Alabama fumbled the ball twice?  When the score is 41-0, that stat may mean nothing.  Yet, it's not "nothing."

Turnovers are turnovers, whether they happen in junk time, at the beginning of a blowout victory or during practice.  No, these fumbles had no impact on the outcome of the game and don't happen all that often for Alabama anyway.

I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill.  There are excuses that can be levied until the sun rises and sets a hundred times.  Most of them are probably valid.

All I'm saying is, if you're looking for lessons from this game (and that's kind of the point), then holding onto the football has to be one of those lessons.  Whether you're blindsided by an unseen defender or have a helmet slammed into the ball, you've got to hang on.

Otherwise, what is there to complain about?