Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron looks to pass in the first quarter against Ole Miss at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012. (Birmingham News/ Mark Almond)
-- Alabama history came in the form of a 2-yard loss Saturday.
AJ McCarron's
screen to H-back
Brent Calloway
was a negative mark on an otherwise methodical second-quarter scoring drive, but it was the Alabama quarterback’s 191st consecutive pass that didn’t go for an interception.
The longest previous stretch in Alabama history was held by
Brodie Croyle
, who went 190 passes without an interception in 2005.
It now stands at 206 and counting after yet another efficient night from McCarron.
It just wasn’t one that had McCarron in a celebratory mood after the Crimson Tide’s 33-14 victory against Ole Miss.
“Just a mediocre night,” said McCarron, who flatly denied that he ever thinks about his current stretch without an interception.
“They just had a good game. We’ve just got to do better.”
Without one of his top weapons,
DeAndrew White
-- who went out with a knee injury on the game’s first possession -- McCarron spread the wealth by primarily throwing short passes. He completed passes to 10 different Alabama receivers.
McCarron completed his first 10, but only cleared 60 yards. That was the pace he’d keep for the entire night, as he finished 22-of-30 for 180 yards and two touchdowns. His average of 6 yards per attempt was his lowest of the season.
His longest pass of the night went 17 yards to
Kevin Norwood
on a slant across the middle. He also threw 16-yarders to
Christion Jones
and
Amari Cooper
. His longest attempt went 35 yards through the air and down the sidelines, but it fell short of its target.
The closest he came to an interception was a fourth-quarter incompletion inside the red zone that was batted away by an Ole Miss defender.
“I think he kind of misread it, got stuck a little bit,” Saban said. “When people play zone down there on the 10-yard line, there aren’t very many big windows to throw the ball downfield.”
His favorite target on this particular night was Cooper, a true freshman who hauled in a game-high eight passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. He’s the fourth different player to lead the team in receiving yards through its first five games.
“We had high hopes that
Amari Cooper
would one day sort of find himself and do the things he does in practice all the time in the game,” Saban said. “I think that happened today. He played very, very well.
“That’s a guy that can be an explosive player for us and help us out down the road.”
McCarron’s last interception came in the second quarter of a 24-7 victory against Mississippi State on Nov. 12, 2011. It was his fifth and final of a season in which he finished with the fewest among SEC starting quarterbacks.
He’s on pace to do the same in 2012.
“He’s taking what the defense gives him,” Saban said. “I think he’s reading what he’s supposed to read.
“He’s just done a good job of taking care of the ball, reading things, throwing it in the right places. We’re really pleased with his development. Hopefully he’ll be able to continue to play that way in the future.”