Talk » young age, you certainly have to be

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama coach Nick Saban held a film session with Jalen Hurts this week to point out a few things to his young quarterback.Hurts was clearly paying attention.The freshman passed for career highs of 347 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards in less than three quarters in No. 1 Alabamas 51-3 rout of Mississippi State on Saturday. It put on display the potential of a passing game that had lately seemed the closest thing to a weakness for the Crimson Tide.The win -- coupled with Auburns surprising loss at Georgia -- also meant Alabama clinched the SEC West title.Hurts prolific performance wiped out any concerns that the Tide (10-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference, No. AP) would have a letdown after a bruising win at No. 19 LSU. Instead, Hurts turned in his best game and the defense denied Mississippi State (4-6, 2-4) the end zone on nine trips across midfield.Its one of the things weve been wanting to do is try to develop some confidence in the passing game, and obviously he was able to do that very well today, Saban said. He got the ball to some of our playmakers down the field and they had opportunities to make big plays.Hurts is the first Alabama player to have 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in the same game, and he was flirting with both those milestones by halftime.The Bulldogs had been riding high after an upset of Texas A&M, but didnt muster a threat in this one.Hurts completed 28 of 37 passes and rushed for a fifth touchdown before being replaced by Cooper Bateman late in the third quarter. The big performance was marred by an interception and fumble, but the Tides dominating defense made sure the miscues didnt matter too much.In practice, hell sling it, Alabama guard Ross Piersbacher said. Its fun to see him do that in a game. I think thats big for his confidence.ArDarius Stewart was the biggest beneficiary of the passing revival, scoring three touchdowns. Stewart gained 156 yards on eight catches, including a 67-yard sprint on a jet sweep.Mississippi States Nick Fitzgerald couldnt solve Alabamas defense after two huge games. He completed 10 of 33 passes for 145 with an interception. Fitzgerald was also held to 15 rushing yards after topping 900 total yards combined against Texas A&M and Samford.We had five dropped passes in the first half, Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen said. Thats not good when youre playing a great defense. Its not good when youre playing a bad defense, but when youre playing a great defense you cannot do those things.Alabama outgained the Bulldogs 615-274 in total yards and has won nine straight meetings.THE TAKEAWAYMississippi State: The Bulldogs couldnt finish off drives, including the two started in Alabama territory, or offer a strong follow-up to last weeks upset. Fitzgerald and star receiver Fred Ross (three catches, 23 yards) were held in check.Alabama: Hurts and the Tide got the passing game going against the leagues worst pass defense. Hurts hadnt reached 200 yards passing in the previous three games, but might have emerged from this one with a shot at some Heisman Trophy votes. The defense went seven straight quarters without allowing a point.TURNING 40Saban joined Ohio States Woody Hayes and Florida States Bobby Bowden in a tie for the most wins with a top-ranked team by any coach. Hes 40-5, matching Bowden. Hayes went 40-4-1 with No. 1 teams.POLL IMPLICATIONSAlabama should hold firm as the clear leader in the playoff and AP rankings .RUNNING HURTSHurts joined Steadman Shealy in 1979 as the only Alabama quarterbacks to rush for 700-plus yards in a season. He has 735 yards, 56 shy of Shealys record.UP NEXTMississippi St.: hosts Arkansas needing to win its final two games to become bowl eligible.Alabama: hosts FCS team Chattanooga in an Iron Bowl tuneup.---More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25Reds Jerseys China . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Stitched Reds Jerseys . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/ . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Cincinnati Reds Gear . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Reds Jerseys 2019 . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league.Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah, two of the most celebrated members of the Wests Tigers class of 2005, go into the weekend with their NRL careers at a crossroads.The Tigers will run on to ANZ Stadium against St George Illawarra on Sunday without Farah in their line-up after he was sensationally dropped to reserve grade by coach Jason Taylor this week.Farah is decried as prickly and difficult to get along with but beloved by Tigers fans for his part in their 2005 grand final win and 247 games of service to the club, and his career is on the line.Taylor insists Farah was axed because he wasnt gelling with young halves Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks. However, the fact remains the NSW No.9 is fighting for his career at Concord and in the NRL.Should Taylors experiment work and the Tigers show some pluck in the run to the finals, it could spell the end of Farahs career.His axing means he wont be there to celebrate with good mate and Dragons playmaker Marshall, who marks his 250th NRL game against the Tigers.As with Farah, Marshalls future is far from certain. He is off contract at the end of the year and after the Dragons failed in their bid to lure Luke Keary to the club, and rumours of their interest in Corey Norman, the writing appears to be on the wall.Marshalls only hope is to reddiscover his brilliant best and reignite the Dragons, who are 10th and clinging to the edge of finals contention after two straight losses.dddddddddddd person thats had that many setbacks and overcome them, the challenges of being such a superstar at such a young age, you certainly have to be mentally tough, Dragons coach Paul McGregor said of Marshall.You dont get shoulder recos from getting out of the way, you get shoulder recos if youre getting in the way.To do what hes done and come back from them and the football hes displayed over a long period of time, at international and club level, is exceptional.McGregor has swung the axe after his side was outscored 68-18 over the last two weeks with outside backs Kalifa Faifai Loa and Tim Lafai dropped for Adam Quinlan and Taane Milne.STATS THAT MATTER:* St George Illawarra are undefeated this season when managing to keep their opponents to 14 points or less.* The Tigers have scored a total of 114 points in the opening 20 minutes of matches this season, which is the most in the competition.* Six of the past eight matches between these sides have been decided by 10 points or more.- Source: Fox Sports Stats ' ' '