TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — AJ McCarron, Eddie Lacy and Alabama settled this one in the opening minutes instead of waiting for a tense finale.
Lacy rushed for three first half touchdowns and McCarron set the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide’s single-season record for passing touchdowns in a decidedly drama-free 49-0 victory over Western Carolina on Saturday.
Alabama (10-1) rebounded from a loss to No. 8 Texas A&M by building a 42-0 halftime lead against the Catamounts (1-10), a Football Championship Subdivision team with two victories in as many seasons. It was the Tide’s third shutout this year.
“I was pleased with the way our guys competed in the game,” Alabama Coach Nick Saban said. “We went out there and tried to play to a standard and executed fairly well. Western Carolina, those guys played hard and they were a little bit out manned, and our guys played the way we want them to play.
“Everything is ahead of us as a team.”
Alabama still left Bryant-Denny Stadium needing a couple of upsets to make a return trip to the national title game.
McCarron completed all six of his attempts for 133 yards and his 21st touchdown before exiting midway through the second quarter. Lacy ran for 99 yards on 10 carries, including two 7-yard touchdown runs and a 3-yarder. Neither played after halftime.
“It’s not about them, it’s about what you do, so we had to go out there and take care of business and not worry about everybody else,” Mc-Carron said.
Cornerback Deion Belue returned a fumble 57 yards in the final seconds before halftime.
The 42 points were the most Alabama had scored in the first half since producing the same amount against Georgia State on Nov. 18, 2010.
Still hoping for a shot at a second consecutive national title, the Tide can secure a spot in the SEC Championship Game against No. 5 Georgia with a victory over rival Auburn.
This one was a welcome respite for Alabama after games against No. 7 LSU and the Aggies went down to the final minute. It followed three consecutive against opponents ranked in the top 15 at the time of the game, including Mississippi State.
“You’re coming off a loss; it’s easy to get distracted,” Belue said. “We handled that real well, just coming in and staying focused on what we need to do.”
Alabama out gained the Catamounts 463-163 in total yards and out rushed them 300-70. The Catamounts have lost all 14 meetings against SEC teams and haven’t beaten a Division I (FCS or FBS) opponent since topping The Citadel on Oct. 2, 2010.
AUBURN 51, ALABAMA A&M 7
AUBURN, Ala. - Tre Mason rushed for two touchdowns and Onterio McCalebb added two rushing scores to lead Auburn to past Alabama A&M.
Mason rushed for 181 yards and McCalebb ran for 104 yards for the Tigers (3-8).
Auburn ran for a combined 341 rushing yards and finished with 512 total yards, as the Tigers picked up their third victory of the season and posted their highest scoring total of the season. McCalebb finished with 142 all-purpose yards.
Mason’s two first-quarter touchdown runs, including an 86-yarder, helped give Auburn a 21-0 lead at the end of the quarter, and a 35-0 lead by halftime.
Freshman quarterback Jonathan Wallace finished 10 of 18 for 171 yards passing and on touchdown for the Tigers.
Deaunte Mason went 17 of 28 passing for 186 yards and threw an interception for Alabama A&M (7-4) in the losing effort.
The Auburn defense held Alabama A&M to just 22 net rushing yards, with senior Kaderius Lacey leading the way with 41 yards on 12 carries. Wide receiver Demario Ross led the Aggies in receiving with 57 yards on four catches.
NO. 5 GEORGIA 45, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 14
ATHENS, Ga. - Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes, Todd Gurley became only the second true freshman in Georgia history to rush for 1,000 yards, and the No. 5 Bulldogs bounced back from a sluggish start to blow out lower-division Georgia Southern.
Georgia (10-1) reached 10 victories for the eighth time in Mark Richt’s dozen seasons as coach. Georgia Southern(8-3) had a shot at the halftime lead, only to get scuttled by a penalty, and Murray took control from there.
He completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Mitchell with just four seconds left in the half, sending Georgia to the locker room with a 17-7 lead. In the third quarter, Murray connected with Chris Conley on a two scoring passes, sandwiched around a 43-yarder to Tavarres King.
Gurley scored Georgia’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run. In the second quarter, he got to 1,000 yards on a 5-yard gain, joining Herschel Walker in 1980 as the school’s only first-year players to reach that mark. Knowshon Moreno was a redshirt freshman when he rushed for more than 1,000 in 2007.
Georgia Southern (8-3) hung around for the first two quarters, causing some nervous groans in the predominantly red-clad crowd. But the Eagles, a Southern Conference powerhouse, were totally overwhelmed in the second half.
NO. 9 SOUTH CAROLINA 24, WOLFORD 7
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Kenny Miles rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown and No. 9 South Carolina pulled out a closer-than-expected victory over FCS opponent Wofford.
The victory was Steve Spurrier’s 64thin eight seasons with the Gamecocks (9-2), tying him with Rex Enright for most ever in program history. But it wasn’t until a 17-point fourth quarter that Spurrier and South Carolina could rest easy in this one.
Adam Yates’ 23-yard field goal broke a 7-7 tie with 11:57 to go. After the Terriers (8-3) failed on a fourth-and-1 at their 34, Connor Shaw threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Ace Sanders to widen the lead.
Moments later, Wofford’s Eric Breitenstein fumbled and Akeem Auguste returned it 31 yards for a touchdown, making it 24-7.
Sports, Pages 35 on 11/18/2012