SEC Spring Game Results (April 15)

Alabama had 78,526 fans show up Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium to see the White Team beat the Crimson team 24-15. The crowd was the 5th largest to attend the Crimson Tide’s spring game. Freshman running back T.J. Yeldon was the star of the day with 179 total yards. He had 88 on the ground and 91 yards in receptions including a 50 yard touchdown. Adrian Hubbard was the star of the defense with 7 tackles, 4 of those for losses, and 3 QB sacks. QB AJ McCarron was a very impressive 29 of 42 for 304 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also tossed 3 interceptions. Quarterback Phillip Sims completed 9 of 12 passes for 135 yards for the White team. He also had 2 touchdowns.

Linebacker C.J. Mosley was the defensive leader for the Crimson team with 10 tackles with two of them for a loss. Head coach Nick Saban says his guys know how to win. “One thing that never happens in college football is no one ever has a bad spring and no one ever has a bad spring game. We didn’t have one either,”  Saban said. “We had a lot of guys who made a lot of improvement this spring. We are still focusing on more and more guys knowing what it takes to win and the preparations, ability to adjust, play with poise, execute and do their job.”

Auburn’s version of A-Day was played Saturday with the Blue team beating the White team 36-27. Mike Blakely led all rushers with 5 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Keihl Frazier completed 7 of 9 passes for 92 yards.

The Black team topped the Garnet team 38-34 in South Carolina’s annual spring game. 38,513 fans came out to see Connor Shaw complete 6 of the 7 passes he threw for 128 yards and a touchdown. Dylan Thompson, the Gamecocks backup QB, had a solid day going 15 for 20 for 168 yards. Tanner McEvoy, a redshirt freshman QB, was a very impressive 8 for 12 for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Kicker Adam Yates blasted a 51 yard field goal.

Georgia held it’s annual G-Day Game and the Red team held off the Black team 32-31 before 44,117 at Sanford Stadium. Quarterback Christian LeMay passed for 154 yards and a touchdown on a 7 of 10 pass performance. QB Parker Welch completed 5 passes in 11 attempts for 48 yards and running back Richard Samuel had 8 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown.

QB Aaron Murray passed for 112 yards and a touchdown while completing 7 of 17 throws. Hutson Mason saw time for both teams and completed 9 of the 12 passes he threw for 133 yards and a touchdown. Ken Malcome ran for 32 yards and two touchdowns and Isaiah Crowell had 39 yards on the ground. Head coach Mark Richt was happy with the teams performance. “It was a great day for Georgia,” Richt said. “I feel like everyone enjoyed the game. I thought there were a lot of offensive plays that were made today. When you look at it, the defense was scoring points, too. I thought both sides of the ball played well. It was exciting.”

Missouri held it’s Black & Gold game Saturday and 18,614 fans had to walk away a little bit concerned at what they saw. The day was broken down into two different games and the first game matched the starting offense and defense taking on the rest of the team. The reserves were spotted a 14-0 lead but it turned out they didn’t need it as the knocked off the starters 34-10, 20-10 without the spotted points. Quarterback Corbin Berkstresser completed 13 of 20 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown and a pick. QB Ashton Glaser was 14 of 25 for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jimmie Hunt led all receivers with 110 yards on 3 catches and a touchdown while Marcus Lucas had 4 catches for 81 yards. Marcus Murphy led all rushers with 87 yards on 10 carries. The defense was led by Donovan Bonner who returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown and Darvin Ruise who totalled 8 tackles. Andrew Baggett made a 47 yard field goal but missed a 38 yarder.

In Vanderbilt’s spring game the Black team dominated the Gold team 33-0 at Vanderbilt Stadium Saturday. 8,500 fans were awed by junior wide receiver Jordan Matthews and his 7 catches for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Starting quarterback Jordan Rodgers was 14-29 for 126 and two touchdowns. Eddie Foster had a solid game defensively with 8 tackles, one for loss, and an interception. Head coach James Franklin was concentrating on the passing game.

“We’re putting an emphasis this spring on the passing game (because) we’re a little dependent on running the ball,” Franklin said. “There are going to be times (in the SEC) where you’re not going to be able to run the ball and you’re going to have to be able to throw the ball for a higher percentage.”

Ray Blanchette covers the SEC for the Saturday Blitz. He also writes for Outside The Redzone. Follow along at www.outsidetheredzone.com. Blanchette is the owner of Blanchette Sports Holdings. Follow along with them at www.blanchettesh.elementfx.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100003521034703&sk=wall or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/BlanchettSports