| AJ McCarron and Christion Jones had plenty of reason to celebrate vs. WKU. (Getty Images) |
ALABAMA WON: Man, and T.J. Smith's prediction looked so solid. But whether you're Western Kentucky or USC, if you turn the ball over three times in one half against Alabama, you're in trouble. Give the Hilltoppers some credit -- they took advantage of some highly disinterested Alabama play to gain 14 first downs to Alabama's 19 and cover the "baloney" 40-point spread -- but with AJ McCarron playing as well as he did (14-of-19, 219 yards, 4 touchdowns, no interceptions), this was never going to be a competitive game.
WHY ALABAMA WON: The Tide had 11 or more players successfully arrive at the stadium and thus avoided the forfeit.
Oh, fine, if we're going to be more specific, the Tide defense continued its early season trend of pairing its usual out-and-out stinginess with momentum-changing plays. Western Kentucky had gained one first down on its first drive when the Tide forced a fumble from Marquis Sumler and recovered, keeping the lead at 7-0; WKU's second drive ended two plays in on another fumble, setting up the Tide touchdown that made the lead 14-0; and its fourth drive reached the Alabama 19 before quarterback Kawaun Jakes was sacked by Xzavier Dickson and -- you guessed it -- fumbled, setting up another McCarron touchdown pass for 21-0.
The Tide never really shifted into the no-holds-barred gear they hit against Michigan, offensively or defensively. But when you can make those kinds of plays on defense as often as Alabama did, second or third gear is fine enough, especially against the lo-fi likes of the Hilltoppers.
WHEN ALABAMA WON: When the 11th Tide player arrived at the stadium, thus avoiding the forfeit. Maybe, maybe, when McCarron hit Christion Jones for a 22-yard touchdown with 10:39 left in the second quarter, giving the Tide a 21-0 lead the 'Toppers weren't erasing with four extra quarters and continuous possession. But mostly the non-forfeit thing.
WHAT ALABAMA WON: A 2-0 record and possibly (probably?) a tongue-lashing from Nick Saban for their often lackluster play.
WHAT WESTERN KENTUCKY LOST: Its chance to make good on what would have been the most amazing called shot in the history of sports and likely some of the mid-game smack-talking arguments concerning said called shot. But other than that, the Hilltoppers will be happy to take their check, their covered spread, and go home.