Alabama 33, West Virginia 23
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, August 30, 2014
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Temperature:
Dome
Head Official:
David Epperley
Attendance:
70502
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 2 Alabama 33, West Virginia 23: T.J. Yeldon ran for 126 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Crimson Tide held off the Mountaineers in the season opener at Atlanta.
Derrick Henry added 113 yards rushing and a score while Blake Sims passed for 250 yards on 24-of-33 passing in his first career start for Alabama (1-0). Amari Cooper made 12 catches for 130 yards and Adam Griffith knocked in four field goals for Alabama - three from over 40 yards.
Clint Trickett went 29-of-45 for 365 yards and a touchdown for the Mountaineers (0-1), who managed only 28 yards on the ground. Kevin White caught nine passes for 143 yards and a score but West Virginia managed only six points in the second half.
Yeldon gave the Crimson Tide their first lead with a 15-yard run less than a minute into the second quarter, but the Mountaineers came right back and knotted it at 10 when Trickett found White for a 19-yard score. Yeldon’s 1-yard dive put Alabama back in front with 1:57 left in the half, but Mario Alford took the ensuing kickoff back 100 yards to tie it again before Griffith’s 41-yard field goal sent the Crimson Tide into the locker room up 20-17.
Henry took his turn with 7:44 left in the third quarter, driving through the defense for a 19-yard touchdown and a 27-17 edge. West Virginia managed two field goals the rest of the way but Alabama responded to each to put the game away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cooper has racked up at least 100 yards receiving in three straight games dating to last season and has eight 100-yard performances in his career. … Alabama P JK Scott earned the job in camp and got only two chances to punt in the contest, booting one 62 yards in the first half. … Rushel Shell led the Mountaineers with 38 yards rushing on 10 carries.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
West Virginia |
|
Alabama |
Rushel Shell
|
Player |
T.J. Yeldon
|
10 |
Attempts |
23 |
38 |
Yards |
126 |
3.8 |
Avg Yards |
5.5 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
2 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Receiving
West Virginia |
|
Alabama |
Kevin White
| Player |
Amari Cooper
|
9 |
Receptions |
12 |
143 |
Yards |
130 |
15.9 |
Avg Yards |
10.8 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
West Virginia
|
393 |
28 |
365 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0.0 |
0 |
Alabama
|
538 |
288 |
250 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
3.0 |
0 |