01-18-2020, 07:39 AM
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Neither Floridas defence nor Alabamas mistakes could contain Blake Sims and Amari Cooper. Sims threw for 445 yards, the second-best passing performance in school history, and Cooper scored three touchdowns as the third-ranked Crimson Tide overcame a sloppy performance to beat the Gators 42-21 on Saturday. The Tide (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) committed 11 penalties for 80 yards and four turnovers that turned into 21 points for the Gators (2-1, 1-1), who still couldnt handle Sims and the prolific passing connection. Sims threw touchdown passes of 87 yards to Kenyan Drake on the opening play and 79 to Cooper later in the first quarter. Still, 400 yards for an Alabama offence known more in the past for bruising running games? "I didnt think it was possible," Sims said. "I just try to take what I take and what the defence gives me, and just try to trust my guys that theyre going to be there." Cooper, who came in leading the nation in receptions, caught 10 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns. He broke Dennis Homans 47-year-old record of 18 career touchdown catches. The Tides turnovers and miscues kept the game close into the fourth quarter. Alabamas 645 total yards was the most the Gators have allowed. The previous high was Nebraskas 629 yards in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. Sims was 23-of-33 passing with four touchdowns, and was already up to 335 by halftime. That placed him a yard shy of the Tides Top 10 passing games. "People have to respect his passing," Tide coach Nick Saban said. "He has made too many plays for people not to respect him as a passer." Derrick Henry gained 111 yards on 20 rushes. Sims deflected much of the credit, saying that when you have Alabamas offensive line, receivers and tailbacks, "Youre bound to have a good game." The Gators offence wasnt much more successful than its defence. Floridas Jeff Driskel was harassed and ineffective passing. He was 9-of-28 passing for 93 yards and was intercepted twice while the offence produced just 200 yards. Driskel did run for 59 yards, but it got so bad that Florida legend Emmitt Smith called for the quarterbacks benching on Twitter. Demarcus Robinson, who had 15 catches in an overtime win over Kentucky, was held to two receptions for 14 yards. Florida failed in its bid for a statement-making performance after a 4-8 season and to perhaps lift coach Will Muschamp, whose mentor Saban was on the opposite sideline, from the hot seat. The Tides blunders kept the game from being even more lopsided. "We had our chances and we didnt do it," Muschamp said. "Thats the frustrating thing." It was all Alabama after Driskels 14-yard touchdown run tied the game at 21-21 early in the third quarter. That came two plays after Neiron Ball got his left hand on a Sims throw at the line and Antonio Morrison scooped it up for a 20-yard return. All three of the Gators touchdowns came after turnovers. "Obviously everybody that watched the game could tell that there were some things that we did extremely well and some things (that) were pretty sloppy," Saban said. "But I thought in the second half we really controlled the game." Alabama answered the tying score with a 16-play drive sustained despite two penalties and a sack. Henry dodged a couple of defenders for a 29-yard catch on third-and-23 and scored on a 3-yard run on the next play with 5:27 left in the third quarter. "We didnt make the plays and they did," Driskel said. "We didnt get it done. Its a matter of execution. "It was a game of big plays. Alabama had a lot more than us." The Tide did get a scare when Sims went to the locker room after getting hurt on a 24-yard run late in the third quarter. He appeared to be clutching his right shoulder on the sideline but played again. Sims returned shortly after backup Jake Coker hit Cooper for a 4-yard touchdown and received a big ovation as he sprinted across the field to the sideline and congratulated Coker with Alabama having just extended its lead to 35-21. Saban said Sims had a bruised right shoulder, but the Tide has an open date next week to heal. Nike Air Max 1 Store . Ribery, who won UEFAs best player in Europe award for the 2012-13 season, helped Bayern Munich win the Champions League and Bundesliga and German Cup titles. Messi, winner of the last four Ballon dOr awards in voting by coaches, team captains and media, was injured late in the season and could not prevent Barcelona from being beaten by Bayern in the Champions League semifinals. Replica Nike Air Max 1 ... maybe even more than that. Maybe all season I have to take a few blows. https://www.cheapairmax1store.com/ .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. Discount Nike Air Max 1 . Rob Klinkhammer and Mikkel Boedker scored 63 seconds apart in the first period for the Coyotes, who handed the Kings their third straight loss and took over sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference. Mike Smith made 36 saves. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 . - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball.The Anaheim Ducks seeks a third straight win this season and fourth overall against the Winnipeg Jets as it continues its long homestand Sunday night. Winnipeg had lost four of five before beating Los Angeles 5-4 in a shootout Saturday in their second stop on a three-game road trip. You can catch all the action in the Jets region starting at 7:30pm ct on TSN3. Theyre a team thats (in playoff position) right now and a team that you could potentially play in the playoffs, Ducks center Andrew Cogliano said. So you always want to play strongly against teams in the Western Conference. The Jets latest win didnt come easily, though. They led 3-0 within the first seven minutes of the first period, then fell behind by a goal midway through the third before Zach Bogosian tied it less than two minutes later. Bryan Little scored the only goal in the tiebreaker as Winnipeg improved to 6-1-2 in its last nine on the road. Its tough to win on the road, and thats a good win for our club, said Paul Maurice, who is one victory shy of his 500th as an NHL coach. Its a little confidence builder for us. Ondrej Pavelec is likely to be back in net after getting Saturday off. Hes allowed four goals in each of his last three starts while going 0-2-1, and hes 1-1-2 with a 3.49 goals-against average in four career outings against the Ducks. Five of the Ducks previous six had been one-goal games before they fell 4-1 to the New York Rangers on Wednesday, dropping them to 3-2-0 on their eight-game homestand. Since beating Winnipeg 4-1 on Dec. 13, Anaheim (26-10-6) has gone 5-4-1 with each vicctory coming by one goal and the last four decided in overtime or a shootout.dddddddddddd The Ducks are the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss in a one-goal game, going 20-0-6 in such contests. They werent able to come up with a point against the red-hot Rangers, though, allowing the first two goals before Francois Beauchemin scored on the power play midway through the second period. We made some bad turnovers, theres no doubt, coach Bruce Boudreau said. We gave them two goals. The Ducks spotted the Jets (21-14-7) the first goal in the most recent meeting before All-Star Ryan Getzlaf finished with a goal and an assist. That victory marked the first in five meetings that was decided by more than one goal. Kyle Palmieri scored 53 seconds into overtime to give Anaheim a 4-3 win in the first matchup this season Dec. 7. The Ducks have won four of the last five meetings overall. I expect them to be defiant because weve beaten them two times (this season), Boudreau said. Theyre going to come in here on a mission. Frederik Andersen, who is 5-1-1 with a 1.80 GAA in his last seven starts, should be in goal for Anaheim. He also will be wearing a special mask honoring Teemu Selanne, who played his final nine seasons with the Ducks before retiring after last season and will have his number raised to the rafters in a pregame ceremony. 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