Alabama is National Team of the Week

November 6, 2018 by Courtesy FWAA

For remaining undefeated with a dominating win in its stiffest test yet this season, Alabama (9-0) has earned National Team of the Week honors for the college football week of October 30-November 3. The top-ranked Crimson Tide dominated in every phase – but especially on defense where it silenced No. 3 LSU and its rowdy home crowd in a 29-0 win.

The award is sponsored this season by Reveal Suits.

This is the fifth time for Alabama to earn the honor, which dates to 2002. The FWAA's All-America Committee selects the weekly winner and all Division I FBS and FCS schools are eligible to be selected.

Alabama's defense gave LSU no room to move and commanded the line of scrimmage throughout. The Crimson Tide forced LSU punts on the Tigers' first nine possessions while gaining a 16-0 halftime lead. Alabama had five sacks, held the Tigers to 12 rushing yards and came up with an interception in its own end zone to thwart LSU's best scoring chance. Nose guard Quinnen Williams posted career-high numbers in tackles (10) and sacks (2.5) while equaling his career best in tackles for loss (3.5). Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 295 yards on 25-of-42 passing, including two touchdowns, and ran for 44 more yards and another score.

LSU came into the game averaging 383.6 yards and 30.4 points per game but was held to 196 total yards. The Alabama defense has not surrendered a touchdown in its last 11 quarters (plus one overtime possession) at Tiger Stadium dating back to the 2014 game, a span of over 165 minutes. The Tide has outscored the Tigers 59-6 over those 11 quarters in Baton Rouge.

The other National Team of the Week nominees were:

Arizona State (5-4): Manny Wilkins and N'Keal Harry connected on three touchdown passes as Arizona State knocked Utah out of the Pac-12 South lead with a 38-20 win in Tempe. The Sun Devils, with consecutive wins over co-division leaders USC and Utah, are now a half-game out of the division lead. This was their second nomination in as many weeks.

Missouri (5-4): Quarterback Drew Lock had another outstanding game against Florida, throwing three touchdowns as the Tigers upset the No. 11 Gators 38-17 in Gainesville. Lock completed 24-of-32 passes for 250 yards after leading Missouri to a 45-16 win against Florida last year.

SMU (4-5): The Mustangs never trailed and saw a revived rushing attack post 196 yards in a 45-31 home win over 17th-ranked Houston. Ke'Mon Freeman ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and Ben Hicks topped 300 yards passing with four touchdowns to lead the Mustangs. SMU also held the Cougars to a season-low 31 points and 365 yards in snapping their five-game winning streak. Houston was a nominee last week.

Tulane (4-5): The Green Wave won a game in the state of Florida for the first time since 1977, ending a 13-game losing streak in the state with a 41-15 rout at USF. Tulane gained 364 yards on the ground as Darius Bradwell (134 yards on only 15 carries) and Corey Dauphine (120 yards, two touchdowns) both topped the 100-yard mark.