Bama makes it look easy

TUSCALOOSA - All week Nick Saban stressed the importance of staying focused for the home finale against FCS opponent Tennessee-Chattanooga.

With the Iron Bowl and an SEC championship game with top-ranked Florida looming, Crimson Tide starters didn't have to pay attention for too long Saturday.

No. 2 Alabama (11-0) made quick work of the Mocs (6-5), scoring five first-half touchdowns and playing with backups after the first possession of the second half in a 45-0 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Heisman Trophy candidate Mark Ingram led the way for the Crimson Tide, rushing 11 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns, taking a permanent seat after his second score with 9 minutes, 53 seconds left in the first half.

"It was good to get in and get a nice day's work and let some other guys have the

opportunity to show what they got," Ingram said. "They deserve it. They work hard every day, and it's good that we got to play as many players as we did.

"It was really important for all the players to get all the playing time they did today."

Twenty-two of Alabama's available 25 seniors played in the game. And Ingram, a sophomore, helped that happen sooner than later.

He broke two tackles and carried two other defenders into the end zone on a 25-yard run that set up a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

Then, he ripped off a 40-yard second-quarter touchdown run that made it 28-0 Alabama and ended his day.

"I'm sure we could have left him in today and he could have had a huge day," Saban said. "But he gained 100 yards and that's a good day's work when you come out in the second quarter. Hopefully, that recovery will help him a little bit for what we have coming in the future."

Trent Richardson and Roy Upchurch also rushed for touchdowns, and Gregg McElroy threw a 19-yard scoring strike to Julio Jones.

McElroy finished 6-for-11 passing for 80 yards. Star Jackson took his place in the second half and went 4-for-5 for 29 yards.

The Tide also got a 41-yard field goal from Leigh Tiffin. It was his 25th field goal of the season and 78th of his career, which ties the Muscle Shoals native atop Alabama's single-season and career lists.

Javier Arenas also scored on a 66-yard punt return to become the SEC's all-time leader in that category with seven.

Overall, Saban, who in 2007 watched his Alabama team lose at home to a seemingly overmatched opponent in November, seemed pretty content with the focus of his players in the blowout win.

"I told the players this: If we would have lost this game, nothing else could tarnish what you've accomplished more than that," Saban said. "You may someday be an NFL player with a Mercedes Benz and you roll your window down to talk to a pretty girl, and she'd say, 'You lost to Chattanooga.' Nobody would forget that one."

Defensively, Alabama shut down Tennessee transfer B.J. Coleman and the Mocs short passing game. UTC had 36 yards passing - 84 yards overall - and Arenas, Justin Woodall and Cory Reamer intercepted passes. For Reamer, a senior, it was the first of his career.

With the Mocs out of the way, the Tide can now turn its attention to the Iron Bowl, a game with which players say they will have no problem maintaining focus.

"I didn't think (the Iron Bowl) game meant that much until I stepped out of the tunnel," said Arenas, a Tampa native who grew up watching Florida-Florida State. "And you've got guys - it's like 20 degrees - with their shirts off with profanity on their chests. Over the years, I've learned how important this rivalry is, and it's even more important for me now being my last."

Bryan App can be reached at 740-5730 or bryan.app@TimesDaily.com.