Tide notes: Mustin frustrated

TUSCALOOSA — Senior linebacker Darren Mustin had tears of frustration welling in his eyes.
Asked what he was feeling after the game, he started, stopped, and shook his head. “I can’t do this,” he said. “I can’t do this.” He left the interview area.
Mustin played a very good game. He led the team with 14 tackles in his final game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
But the former walk-on and transfer from Middle Tennessee guaranteed earlier last week that Alabama would be ready to play against Monroe.
“This is it for us. I definitely don’t want to lose my last game on Bryant-Denny. No way,” Mustin said Monday. “So we gotta buckle down and get ready. ... I don’t want to go out like we did (against Mississippi State). No. I refuse.”
His 14 tackles were a game-high by any Alabama defender this season. Wallace Gilberry had 10 tackles, including four behind the line of scrimmage. Prince Hall also had 10 tackles.

Receiver remix
Senior wide receiver Keith Brown caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, his best game of the season.
That contrasted with the day DJ Hall had. Alabama’s most prolific receiver was benched for the first half of Senior Day as disciplinary action of an undisclosed violation of team rules.
“I’m not gonna say what it is, but it warranted at least what was given,” coach Nick Saban said. “So that’s all I’m going to say about that. But guys making choices and decisions that don’t put them in positions to help the team is not the thing that lends itself to being responsible.”
Hall caught three passes for 32 yards. Quarterback John Parker Wilson tried to connect with him on a post pattern deep in the end zone, but the pass was high and Hall, who got his hands on it, couldn’t bring it down.

Johns starts for Tide
Jimmy Johns, who had the most yards of any returning running back from last year’s team, made his first start of the season.
Johns, is a bigger, more physical running back that Terry Grant and backup Jonathan Lowe.
Johns gained six yards on his final carry, the one that ended inside the ULM 15. The junior fumbled after being hit by James Truxillo and the Warhawks’ Darius Battles recovered at the 13.
Johns finished with four carries for 34 yards.

Grant nears 100
Freshman running back Terry Grant led all rushers with 96 yards on 21 carries, including a 12-yard touchdown run. Grant now has 851 yards and eight touchdowns on 180 carries, adding to school freshman records in all three categories.
Still, Grant was stopped in his tracks for no gain on third-and-2 and fourth-and-2 from the ULM 18 with less than three minutes remaining.
“Same story, different week,” center Evan Cardwell said. “We couldn’t get it done last week. I don’t know if it was a missed block here or there. We just couldn’t get it done.”

Nice grab
Redshirt freshman reserve tight end Preston Dial caught his first career pass during the first half — a 21-yard grab early in the second quarter that moved Alabama to the ULM 22 and set up the Tide’s second touchdown.
Nick Walker, the starting tight end from Brundidge, left the game hobbling before Dial entered, but Walker later returned and his injury didn’t appear to bother him the rest of the game.

BEST / WORST
Best way to start: Alabama marched 80 yards in just seven plays with the opening kickoff to establish a quick lead. It also answered ULM’s first score with a seven-play, 63-yard touchdown march early in the second quarter. But ULM never panicked.
Best win, ever: Give ULM credit. They executed well enough to make Alabama beat them. They didn’t beat themselves. In fact, this was the first game all season that Alabama failed to get a turnover. In the history of ULM football, the Warhawks were 2-29-1 against SEC teams. They’re now 3-29-1 and on a hot streak of one in a row.

Worst rush to judgment: The boo birds were on John Parker Wilson pretty early. Even from the recorded starting lineup introductions, when the quarterback came on, there was a smattering of boos. Those grew in number when he threw interceptions on two of the Tide’s first three possessions. The first one wasn’t his fault, however. He made a good read and a good pass. The ball was missed, tipped and picked off.

Worst loss: Hey, if the Tide isn’t going to worry about this one, why should you? Maybe the lack of urgency they displayed throughout much of the game led fans to boo, both late in the first half and as reality set in that Alabama was not going to win. This wasn’t Alabama’s worst loss ever. But it was supposed to provide a little momentum into the biggest game of the year. Maybe it was the most disappointing, instead.