In a result that will be shocking to approximately nobody, Alabama football walloped Chattanooga on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide’s pre-Iron Bowl warmup finished with a 66-10 UA victory.

Alabama heads to Auburn next week for the aforementioned rivalry matchup with the Tigers. Before the Crimson Tide shifts its focus to that game, here are three takeaways from Saturday’s win.

Overmatched

Alabama was clearly the better team on Saturday. That shouldn’t come as a shock, given that the Crimson Tide was facing off with an FCS team.

But while Nick Saban kept the starters in, UA rolled. The Mocs had just 13 yards of offense in the first quarter, after which Alabama led 21–0.

It started on the first play from scrimmage. Chattanooga lost Jermaine Burton briefly and Jalen Milroe hit him in stride for a 44-yard completion, followed a few plays later with UA’s first touchdown of the game.

Burton, making his return to action after missing the Kentucky game with an illness, had another long completion later in the first, leading to a Jase McClellan rushing touchdown.

The Alabama defense also got in on the fun, despite a Chris Braswell first-quarter ejection. The Mocs simply couldn’t move the ball.

Making a change

Kool-Aid McKinstry has struggled to field punts all season. Saban has maintained his belief in the cornerback, one of the SEC’s most electric returners in 2022.

But against Chattanooga, it became too much. In the first quarter, McKinstry opted to field a kick deep in Crimson Tide territory instead of letting it roll toward the end zone.

He made the catch and tried to return it, but fumbled near his own 10-yard line. Alabama recovered, but Saban had seen enough.

When the Mocs lined up to punt the next time, it was freshman defensive back Caleb Downs who stepped back to receive it for Alabama. He called for and completed a fair catch on his first attempt.

Downs continued on at returning into the second half, when he ran a kick back 85 yards for a touchdown.

Lockdown DBs

Throughout the week, Saban said multiple times that Chattanooga’s wide receivers were of SEC quality. If that’s the case, Alabama’s defensive backs proved their mettle on Saturday.

UTC was playing its backup quarterback, Luke Schumburg in the game. Even so, the Mocs managed just 24 passing yards in the entire first half.

Saban may have been exaggerating a bit, but the Chattanooga wideouts weren’t bad at all. The group included the likes of Jamoi Mayes, Javin Whatley and Sam Phillips, all of whom were putting up stellar numbers during the Mocs’ SoCon schedule.

Early on in the second half, Whatley got loose for a 54-yard completion. However, the drive stalled deep in Crimson Tide territory, when Downs broke up a pass to Phillips on third down, forcing the Mocs to settle for a 23-yard field goal.