Notebook: Emil Ekiyor Jr. Suffers Left-Shoulder Injury in Cotton Bowl
ARLINGTON, Texas — While No. 1 Alabama football was able to pick up a lopsided 27-6 victory over No. 4 Cincinnati at the Cotton Bowl on Friday afternoon, it wasn't all good news for the Crimson Tide.
In the first quarter, starting offensive lineman Emil Ekiyor Jr. left the game in the first quarter with an apparent shoulder injury. After a trip to the medical tent, Ekiyor left the game and headed to the Alabama locker room.
Ekiyor returned to the sidelines later in the game, sporting a sling on his left arm. Alabama head coach Nick Saban didn't reveal the specific nature of the injury, but said after the game that Ekiyor's status for the national title game on Jan. 10 is currently up in the air.
"He’s got a shoulder injury,” Saban said to the media via Zoom. “We think that he’s got a chance to be able to come back and play in the game, but it’s probably too early to know. It depends on how he responds. Our medical staff will do a great job with all the players that were injured in the game, and hopefully we’ll be able to get most of them ready to play.”
Defensive back Jordan Battle was also assisted off of the field in the second half, but quickly returned to the game after a trip to the Crimson Tide's medical tent on the sidelines.
No Metchie, No Problem
The big question at receiver coming into Friday’s Cotton Bowl was which one of the younger Crimson Tide wideouts would take the starting job in place of John Metchie, who is out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury.
Ja’Corey Brooks got the nod against Cincinnati, lining up alongside the other two starters Jameson Williams and Slade Bolden.
Brooks had just five catches for 79 yards entering the game, but two of them were big ones against Auburn, including the one that tied the game late to force overtime.
Brooks finished Friday with four catches for 66 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown.
Seth McLaughlin Gets Back-to-Back Starts at Center
Seth McLaughlin got the start at center in place of Darrian Dalcourt, who had started every game up to the SEC Championship Game. McLaughlin took over for Dalcourt in the Auburn game and kept the starting job against Georgia.
Freshman Kool-Aid McKinstry started over Josh Jobe at cornerback. McKinstry started the previous two games with Jobe, the normal starter, dealing with an injury.
Not a Normal Day
Coming into the Cotton Bowl, Cincinnati’s offense was used to putting up big numbers through the air and on the ground. Neither of those happened against the Crimson Tide.
Running back Jerome Ford, an Alabama transfer, averaged 100 yards a game, but was limited to 77 on Friday. Just two players have rushed for more than 100 yards against Alabama this season, Florida’s Emory Jones (194) and LSU’s Tyrion Davis-Price (104).
Quarterback Desmond Ridder came in averaging almost 250 yards per game but was held in check with just 144 yards.
Cincinnati was also held under its average in several other categories. The Bearcats (39 points per game) were held to six points and 218 total yards (430 avg. per game).
Alabama Game Notes
Courtesy of Alabama Athletics
- Alabama has played in a total of nine Cotton Bowl contests in school history, boosting its record to 5-4 all-time in those games with its win over Cincinnati.
- Bryce Young set the school record for the most passing touchdowns in a season at 44, after connecting with Slade Bolden on an eight-yard touchdown pass on the Crimson Tide’s opening drive.
- Young reset that record throughout the remainder of the game, concluding the contest at 46 touchdown passes.
- Young also broke the single-season passing yards record, surpassing Mac Jones who set the record in 2020 (4,500).
- Young came into the CFP Semifinal/Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic with 4,322 passing yards, and currently holds the record with 4,503 heading into the national championship game.
- Alabama logged 172 yards rushing in the first half, the most first-half rushing yards by the Crimson Tide this season.
- The 172 yards rushing is also more than the Crimson Tide has recorded in a complete game in eight of 13 games this season.
- Brian Robinson Jr. had 134 yards rushing in the first half, marking just the second time this season he has recorded 100-or-more yards rushing in a half.
- His 134 yards in the first half against Cincinnati is more than he has recorded in a complete game in 10 of his 12 games this season.
- Brian Robinson Jr. recorded a career-high 204 yards rushing in the game, setting an Alabama bowl record in the process
- Robinson Jr. surpassed Bo Scarbrough, who recorded 180 yards against Washington on Dec. 21, 2016.
- Alabama’s defense had six pass breakups against Cincinnati, tying a season high at LSU on Nov. 6.
- The game captains against Cincinnati were Alabama’s permanent captains in linebacker Will Anderson Jr., defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis, offensive lineman Evan Neal, quarterback Bryce Young.
