Inside the numbers: Bulldogs draw a line while hanging with top-ranked Crimson Tide

Fresno State had some issues up front in its opening rout of Incarnate Word, but the offensive line actually played much better Saturday in a 41-10 loss at No. 1 Alabama.

The Bulldogs didn't get much going on the ground, rushing for 58 yards on 22 plays. But it gave up just one sack and three tackles for loss against a Crimson Tide defense that had nine TFL’s in an opening victory over Florida State.

That third TFL, by the way, came on the last play of the game on a quick pass to the outside to Derrion Grim and not in the box.

Alabama led the Southeastern Conference in tackles for loss last season with 118, or 7.9 per game, and has been ranked in the top three for the past three years.

It had not had fewer tackles for loss in a game since a victory over Tennessee in 2013, when it had just one.

Here are other big numbers of the game:

14 – Career-high in tackles by Bulldogs Mike linebacker Jeffrey Allison, seven solo.

26 (the hard way) – The Bulldogs’ Jamire Jordan went into the game with a streak of 25 consecutive games with a reception.

He was shut out for three quarters before finally pulling down a catch for 7 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter – taking a hard hit along the sideline from cornerback Levi Wallace while hanging on to the football.

5 – Explosive plays of 20 or more yards by Alabama, three runs and two passes.

7.8 – Per rush average for Alabama, 305 yards on 39 plays. That is the highest average allowed by the Bulldogs since a loss to Wyoming in 2014. The Cowboys were at 8.7, rushing for 374 yards on 43 plays.

1 – Penalty on Fresno State. The last time it had 1 was in the 2014 Hawaii Bowl loss to Rice.

8 – Receptions for KeeSean Johnson, two off a career high set in 2016 against Air Force.

The Bulldogs’ leading receiver was targeted 11 times, and four of his receptions resulted in a first down.

305 – Rushing yards for Alabama; the Bulldogs gave up 300-plus four times last year.

10 – Fresno State players with at least one reception.

Hitting a high note

Fresno State quarterback Chason Virgil completed 61.8 percent (21 of 34) of his passes – the highest completion percentage the third-year sophomore has posted in a game he has started and attempted at least 10.

It is topped only by a 66.7 percent (12 of 18) number he posted coming off the bench at Ole Miss in 2015.

Virgil, who was 16 of 29 against Incarnate Word, has been less than 56 percent in eight of his starts and less than 50 percent in four of them.

This story was originally published September 9, 2017 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Inside the numbers: Bulldogs draw a line while hanging with top-ranked Crimson Tide."