TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - Alabama heads into its first road game with three lopsided wins and one jarring loss.
The Crimson Tide began preparing sophomore quarterback Marc Guillon Sunday for his first career start following the season-ending knee injury to Brodie Croyle in a 52-0 victory over Division I-AA Western Carolina.
Croyle, meanwhile, is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right knee, a tough blow to a team that had breezed through its first three games by a total 128-24.
``It's a difficult thing to swallow,'' Alabama coach Mike Shula said Sunday. ``Our heart goes out to him and his family. Our football team is really losing a great player. We also realize we've got an opportunity to get some things done.''
The two things that give Shula comfort heading into Saturday's road opener at Arkansas (2-1) are the nation's fifth-rated defense and the Southeastern Conference's top running game.
When Croyle went down with a separated shoulder last season, Alabama started freshman Brandon Avalos against Southern Miss. He threw for only 12 yards but the Tide still won 17-3.
Shula said he's not necessarily ready to ditch the passing game quite so much, but will try to stick with the things Guillon is most comfortable doing namely pocket passing, much like Croyle.
``I think it's still important to have balance,'' Shula said. ``It's good to know we've run the ball pretty effectively the first three games. I think we'd be nervous if we hadn't run the ball well and had this happen.
``Just having the success, especially in the running game, has given a lot of guys confidence.''
Guillon, a Miami transfer, got plenty of repetitions during spring practice with Croyle limited while recovering from surgery on his nonthrowing shoulder, winning the backup job over Spencer Pennington in fall camp.
He hadn't completed a pass in a game until Croyle was hurt while running on the Tide's opening drive of the second half. Guillon went 5-of-7 for 71 yards with a 3-yard touchdown pass and led another scoring drive.
With a big lead and a friendly crowd, that's not the ideal preparation for a visit to Arkansas.
``Marc is going be the guy and everyone's excited about him having the opportunity,'' Shula said. ``We've got to get him ready as soon as we can and each guy's going to have to do his job just a little bit better.''
Croyle was having a strong season, ranking 10th nationally in passing efficiency in blowout wins over Utah State, Mississippi and Western Carolina. He had completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 534 yards and six touchdowns without throwing an interception.
Croyle continued to have a hard-luck career. He also tore a ligament in his left knee in his opening game as a high school senior.
Coincidentally, his first career start came as a redshirt freshman at Arkansas. He threw for 285 yards, still a career-high, in a 30-12 win.
Croyle's loss puts more pressure on a defense that's allowing only 2.6 yards per rush and 216 total yards per game.
``All the offense needs is a field goal as long as the defense does their part,'' linebacker Juwan Garth said.
TIDE TALK: Croyle's two TD passes against Western Carolina pushed him past Joe Namath and Jay Barker into a tie for seventh-place in school history. He and Scott Hunter both have 27 ... Shula placed three walk-ons on scholarship, Matt Miller, Matt Ragland and Alex Fox.
Monday
February 3rd, 2025
11:53PM
