BIRMINGHAM -- Celebrating Senior Day at Bryant Denny Stadium, Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron threw for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the No.1 ranked Crimson Tide to a 49-0 win against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga here Saturday.
The All-American senior signal caller ended his home stadium career at 19-2. Alabama closes out its regular season next Saturday at Auburn.
McCarron's scoring passes were 28 yards to Kevin Norwood in the second quarter and 38 yards to Amari Cooper in the third quarter.
Alabama opened the scoring on a Kenyan Drake 13 yard run at 8:57 of the first quarter and shut down the scoreboard at 5:07 of the fourth as Dee Hart found the end zone on a 6-yard run.
Senior place Kicker Cade Foster was perfect on six extra point attempts and freshman Adam Griffith made the final PAT.
"We wanted to go out today and improve as a team, play better as a team and lay well for the seniors," said Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
"It was a pretty emotional day today for a lot of those guys. "It's kind of an emotional thing for me too at the end of the game, because a lot of those guys have meant a lot to the program."
Alabama dominated the stats as well as the scoreboard; First Downs (22-5), Rushing Yards (251-93), Passing Yards (184-82).
UTC was in Alabama territory twice today, once after recovering a fumbled punt at the Alabama 34 in the first quarter and driving to the Tide 31 in the second quarter.
Bama's First Score: An A.J. McCarron to Kevin Norwood 50-yard pass was the key play in 'Bama's first score - a 5-play, 83-yard drive. Kenyan Drake ran the final 13 yards for the 7-0 lead.
The Tide made it 14-0 on its first possession of the second quarter; a 7-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 5-yard run by Derrick Henry.
Christian Jones' 75-yard punt return made it 21-0 at 9:57 of the second quarter and a McCarron to Norwood 28-yard scoring pass play made it 28-0 at 2:18 prior to intermission.
The Tide scored twice in the third quarter - Cooper's 38 yard pass reception from McCarron and Chris Black's 31 yard run. Hart closed out the scoring in the fourth.
The Mocs gained the game's first turnover when Sema'je Kendall recovered a fumbled punt at the Bama 34 at 12:39. But UTC could not take advantage of good field position as 'Bama's Trey DePriest intercepted UTC quarterback Terrell Robinson at the Alabama 17. The Tide scored five plays later.
Mocs First Down: UTC did stop the nation's top team on its next possession and gained a first down, before being forced to punt.
UTC Moved 50 Yards: On the accurate arm of Terrell Robinson (4-5 46 yards), UTC moved 50 yards midway in the second quarter, but Nick Pollard's 49 yard field goal attempt was blocked by A'Shawn Robinson.
Moc Stars: Senior defensive back Chaz Moore and D.J. Key shared game-high honors for tackles with 10 ... Moore had a key pass break up near the goal line in the first quarter and two tackles for loss.
UTC quarterback Terrell Robinson was 10-15 for 82 yards and one interception and ran for 37 yards on 13 carries.
Punter Nick Pollard punted seven times for 41.3 average, including two inside the 'Bama 15.
"I thought our guys played hard," said UTC coach Russ Huesman. "You feel disappointed in losing a game, but Alabama has done that to a lot of people this year, last year and the previous year."
"I thought our defense fought. They played as hard as they could. (Alabama) is a great football team and I hope they win the national championship"
Nick Saban on UTC: "We have to give their players a lot of credit. They played hard and were well coached."
Alabama 49, UTC 0
UTC 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0
'Bama 7 - 21 - 14 - 7 -- 49
Records: Alabama (11-0) UTC (8-4)
UA - Kenyan Drake 33 yd run (Cade Foster kick), 7-0 ... 1st Q
UA - Derrick Henry 5 yd run (Foster kick), 14-0 ... 2nd Q
UA - Christian Jones 75 yd punt return (Foster kick), 21-0 ... 2nd Q
UA - Kevin Norwood 28 yd pass from A.J. McCarron (Foster kick), 28-0 ... 2nd Q
UA - Amari Cooper 38 yd pass from McCarron (Foster kick), 35-0 ... 3rd Q
UA - Chris Black 31 yd run (Foster kick), 42-0 ... 3rd Q
UA - Dee Hart 6 yd run (Adam Griffith kick), 49-0 ... 4th Q
contact B.B. Branton at William.branton@comcast.net