Chargers hold on to beat Broncos

Phillip Rivers wrote himself into the San Diego Chargers' history books in their 21-13 win over the Denver Broncos.

Rivers threw 178 yards and one touchdown to become the Chargers' leading passer, surpassing Dan Fouts' total of 43,040 yards.

The defeat for the defending Super Bowl champions, whose coach Gary Kubiak was missing with a migraine, was their second on the bounce, ending 15 straight wins on the road.

On the first drive of the night, Rivers led the Chargers on an 75 yard touchdown drive, as tight end Hunter Henry caught the end zone pass to go 7-0 up. The Broncos offence struggled to get on the field as Rivers then led a 10 minute drive, the longest in the so far this season, finished by a 37 yard field goal for Josh Lambo. 

The Broncos caught a break in the second quarter when, after punting away, Travis Benjamin muffed the ball and Will Parks recovered on the San Diego 11 yard line. Trevor Siemian couldn't advance but Brandon McManus added the 29 yard kick to make it 10-3.

After a 48 yard run from Chargers running back Melvin Gordon early in the third quarter, Lambo added another field goal before San Diego scored another to go 16-3 up, linebacker Korey Toomer recovering a Jordan Howard fumble.

The Broncos gave away 103 yards in penalties, the majority coming in the second half. Two costly fouls moved San Diego close enough for another three point score, before offensive holding on Max Garcia gave the Chargers a two point safety, extending their advantage to 21-3.  

It took until the last eight minutes for Denver to register a touchdown, as Siemian found Bennie Fowler for a five yard score. It was a disappointing night for the second year quarterback, who had just 39 passing yards in the first half. His numbers improved, but it wasn't a pretty performance and the Broncos only hung around because their defence limited San Diego's attack.

With 30 seconds remaining, the Broncos added a field goal to get within eight and recovered the onside kick, but couldn't find the end zone as Siemian's 'Hail Mary' came up short, and Denver lost a second consecutive game.

San Diego exorcised a few demons by hanging on to the win, but they once again made it difficult for themselves by settling for field goals instead of touchdowns. It doesn't get any easier for head coach Mike McCoy and the Chargers, who now face the Atlanta Falcons on the road before a rematch in Denver.

Running backs regain spot on college football's center stage

The diminished role of the running back in college football was greatly exaggerated.

In some respects, the position is as strong as ever.

Alabama's Derrick Henry became the first running back to win the Heisman Trophy since 2009 last year and was one of five players to run for 1,800 yards as rushing averages nationwide surged to record levels. Henry has moved on to the NFL, but three 1,800-yard rushers are back this season: LSU's Leonard Fournette, Stanford's Christian McCaffrey and Oregon's Royce Freeman.

The surge in star power at the position flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that college football has become a quarterback-dominated game.

"The running game, I wouldn't say it had gotten lost necessarily, because there have been a lot of good runners," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "But the emphasis has been on the spread passing attacks. But really good spread teams always have a good back. It's good to see in college football, guys turn around and hand it to a runner and be physical. I think those guys are fun to watch — and we have a pretty special one, too."

The notion that a running back's value was fading gained credence when no players at that position were drafted in the first round in either 2013 or 2014. Quarterbacks won the Heisman eight times in a nine-year stretch from 2006-14, the exception being Alabama running back Mark Ingram in 2009.

"People have definitely advised me to pick another position," said Tennessee's Jalen Hurd, who's a bit taller than the average running back at 6-foot-4. "I've got people all the time just looking at me like, 'Dude, are you sure you want be a running back?' But that's my position."

Hurd stayed in the backfield and enters his junior season just 891 yards shy of Travis Henry's school rushing record.

The emergence of Fournette, Hurd and Georgia's Nick Chubb, who is recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him for the second half of the 2015 season, has helped the Southeastern Conference maintain its elite status during a stretch when it has struggled to produce top quarterbacks.

"I think definitely if it didn't change last year, the running back value is going to change this year," Hurd said.

This running back resurgence goes well beyond the SEC and stretches from coast to coast.

The Atlantic Coast Conference returns three players who ran for more than 1,400 yards last season — Florida State's Dalvin Cook, Clemson's Wayne Gallman and North Carolina's Elijah Hood. The league also welcomes back 2014 ACC player of the year James Conner of Pittsburgh after his successful fight with cancer.

On the West Coast, the Pac-12 has the Heisman Trophy runner-up in McCaffrey as well as Freeman.

"There are a lot of good-looking running backs out there," said Dave Warner, Michigan State's co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach.

"In the NFL, they're not as premium anymore because they don't last very long," Warner added. "(In) college, they last with us."

Many of those running backs are competitive enough to keep tabs on one another.

"I watch all of those guys," Cook said. "Fournette, McCaffrey. ... Chubb will come back 100 percent. Jalen. Royce. I watch all of those guys. Great backs. (I) take little lessons from their game, try to tweak my game a little bit because all of those guys have different running styles. You can't ever stop learning, no matter what."

Defenses haven't quite learned how to slow them down.

Football Bowl Subdivision teams averaged 178.3 yards rushing per game last season, the most since 1980. That's at least partly due to the increased number of snaps that have come from the rise in up-tempo offenses.

But teams also are running more effectively than before. FBS schools averaged a record 4.5 yards per carry last season

"I think it's a byproduct of spread offenses," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. "I think it's the byproduct of play-action passes and all the run-pass options that offenses are doing now where a quarterback has three or four options on a run play in every single play."

The soaring totals have left some running backs fighting for attention.

Hood's track record would make him a legitimate Heisman candidate many other years, but McCaffrey, Fournette, Freeman and Cook are coming off even better seasons. The North Carolina standout said he didn't worry about the lack of attention and, "my play speaks for itself."

San Diego State's Donnel Pumphrey has rushed for more than 3,500 yards over the last two seasons, yet he isn't particularly well known outside the Mountain West Conference. Gallman rushed for 1,527 yards last year while being overshadowed by Cook and Hood in the ACC and by quarterback Deshaun Watson in his own backfield.

"That's an extra chip. I have to go out there and prove myself every play," Gallman said.

Recent history suggests they shouldn't expect a payoff down the road.

At least two running backs were drafted in the first round every year from 1985 to 2010, but the NFL doesn't hold that position nearly in the same regard anymore. A total of three running backs have been first-round selections over the last four years, including Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick in the most recent draft.

But at least in college, running backs have become increasingly vital. It's no coincidence the nation's most prolific runners play on some of college football's top teams.

AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard, Josh Dubow, Pete Iacobelli, Joe Reedy, Noah Trister and Kurt Voigt contributed to this report.

Buffalo Bills: Things we know this week

As I was signing in for my chiropractic visit this past week, Negative Stanley chirped at me, asking if I had ”read the article pertaining to Approximate Value from our local news?” While I had not at the time, Stanley went on to point out that “someone is really looking for something to write about since Drew Bledsoe is number five for his pro-bowl season that still concluded with no playoff berth even though it was officially a winning season.”

I humored Stanley even though I really thought Drew Bledsoe had a really fine three quarters of a season that particular year. Also making the list was Mario Williams – who made the list twice for a pair of illustrious seasons — Travis Henry, Marcel Darius and Takeo Spikes for their dominating seasons that are sandwiched in between an awful lot of losing.

However, I am not real fond at this point of reading about extraordinary individual performances during the great playoff drought — which now is the current benchmark in all of the major professional sports.

Adding to this – as Stanley pointed out – is that our misfortune as Buffalo Bills’ fans can be traced all the way back to the four straight SuperBowls we choked in prior to going on our current record setting playoff drought. However, Stanley was not acknowledging the other winning seasons the team did with Jim Kelly and then Doug Flutie in between those Superbowl years and the playoff drought.

As alluring as this dialogue tends to be, let us not waste anymore time on this conversation and rather vault right into the Things we know about the Buffalo Bills this week.

Buddy Ryan, long time defensive icon and coach passed away this week at 85-years of age. He was the father of current Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan and current defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan was also the master behind the famous record setting 1985 Chicago Bears Defense that grabbed the Lombardi Trophy for that one near perfect season ending with a Super bowl victory blowout over New England.

Speaking about his father, Rex told the media that “While today is a tough day for all of us in the Ryan family, we are consoled in knowing how much dad was loved by so many and the love he gave back in return. Though we will miss him dearly, we take comfort in knowing that his memory will live on through all of us.”

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to listen to the Jim Rome Show when Jim Kelly was a guest interview. When Kelly was catechized about if this season was the one to end the playoff drought — that dates back to 2000 — Kelly was purely forthright when referring to his beer drinking pal Rex.

No special favors were driving Kelly’s answers in the “Jungle”. If we don’t, I think Rex is probably looking for another job at the end of this season. I think everyone knows that including Rex, because for all of us, we have the nucleus to get it done.” No pressure Rex! I mean the only thing on the line here is your job after all.

Considering Dennis Thurman clearly stated that his job is absolutely no different than last year with the addition of Rex’s brother Rob Ryan to the staff, he certainly had a pretty poor answer when he was asked if Rex is calling the Defensive plays again this season. Rather than answering the question, Thurman seemed to give a clueless response that likely indicated he didn’t really know.

I know I never coached football, but isn’t that something he should know this late in the offseason. After all, he should have know these questions would come up at some point and any answer would have almost certainly been better than the one he gave.

2016 All-Academic Team: boys volleyball

BISHOP’S

Will Alleyne, Sr., 4.11; Owen Gallahue, Jr., 4.43; Nico Langlois, Jr., 4.57.

BONITA VISTA

Jesus Cruz, Jr., 3.40; Marc Garcia, Sr., 3.07; Matthew Michaud, Sr., 3.69; Dylan Riley, Jr., 3.45; Jack Sanchez, Jr., 3.73; Dakota Segina, Jr., 3.43.

CANYON CREST

Hong Andrew, Sr., 3.67; Callihan Chase, Sr., 3.33; Gately Christopher, Jr., 3.67; Ragins Ethan, Sr., 3.25; Pages Gregory, Sr., 3.00; Glenn Jack, Sr., 3.33; Chao Jasper, Sr., 3.67; Mercer Mason, Sr., 3.33; Chao William, Sr., 3.67; Jay William, Sr., 3.33.

CARLSBAD

Troy Cassidy, Sr., 3.59; Jack Duffy, Jr., 3.59; Zane Emery, Jr., 3.59; Jack Goedken, Jr., 3.40; Grant Holve, Sr., 4.12; Cory Large, Sr., 3.24;Adam Paleo, Sr., 3.17; Kellen Peet, Sr., 3.93; Colton Petiprin, Jr., 4.00; Sam Sommers, Sr., 3.60; Jake Stevens, Sr., 3.79; Braeden Waumans, Sr., 3.41.

CASTLE PARK

Ramon Murrieta, Jr., 3.57; Julian Perez Ibarra, Sr., 3.27; Abraham Rodriguez, Sr., 3.11.

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC

Andrew Clexton, Sr., 3.64; Zachariah Derenthal, Sr., 3.86; Matthew Elliott, Sr., 4.17; Matthew Faraimo, Sr., 3.11; Collin Jordan, Jr., 3.36; Gennaro Licosati, Sr., 3.11; Dominic Madden, Sr., 4.11; Christian Seiber, Jr., 3.29; Shawn Sporl, Sr., 3.13; Eric Valle, Sr., 3.82; Jack Vecchio, Sr., 3.95; Bryan Yang, Sr., 4.36.

CHRISTIAN

Travis Ballard, Sr., 4.19; Jake Downey, Jr., 3.18; Noah Henderson, Sr., 3.63; Matthew Jones, Jr., 3.15; Layne Larsen, Sr., 3.15; Lawrence Li, Sr., 4.36.

CHULA VISTA

Ivan Berumen, Sr., 3.98; Michael Castro, Jr., 3.33; Isaias Chavez, Sr., 3.05; Daniel Martinez, Sr., 4.53; Kamilo Ortiz-Davila, Sr., 4.07; Sergio Ramirez, Sr., 3.73; Aldo Reynaga, Sr., 3.42; Cruz Salas, Sr., 3.62;Juan Valverde-Santos, Sr., 3.60; Armando Vazquez-Arellano, Sr., 3.02.

CLAIREMONT

William Drummy, Sr., 4.18; Max Kalber, Sr., 3.42; Shane Mayer, Sr., 4.09; Juan Sotelo, Sr., 3.20.

CLASSICAL

Christian Alfaro, Jr., 3.54; David Breda, Sr., 4.21; Trevor Crist, Jr., 3.10; Brenden Lindsley, Sr., 4.13; Jaxon Racciato, Jr., 3.11; Sam Schuhler, Sr., 4.14; Adam Soberon, Sr., 3.42.

CORONADO

Robert Henderson, Sr., 4.04; Chad Lee, Jr., 4.17; Brandon Mansfield, Sr., 3.33.

CRAWFORD

Yayha Ahmed, Jr., 3.41; Kalvin Hurm, Sr., 3.11; Dylan Lawrence, Sr., 3.69; Robert Marmito, Jr., 4.11; Sam Nguyen, Jr., 4.07; Tommy Tran, Sr., 3.16.

DEL LAGO

Jacob Hansen, Jr., 3.63; Tritai Nguyen, Jr., 4.25; David Thys, Jr., 3.94; Nate Tunnell, Jr., 3.50; Bramdon Vinzon, Jr., 4.63.

DEL NORTE

Ethan Ashton, Jr., 3.94; Roman Cresto, Jr., 3.91; Owen Flannery, Sr., 3.49; Cameron Hepworth, Sr., 4.02; Matthew Heywood, Sr., 3.68;Zacharie Johnson, Sr., 4.17; Jacob Khaliqi, Jr., 3.68; Jonathan Lansang, Sr., 4.25; Ethan Parmley, Sr., 4.12; Nicholas Sunderland, Sr., 4.15; Lincoln Sutherland, Jr., 4.11; Ishwar Verma, Sr., 4.27; Andrew Vollrath, Jr., 3.94; Zachary Zacchilli, Sr., 4.04.

EASTLAKE

Jonathan Baroya, Jr., 3.80; Henry Bulthius, Jr., 3.27; Nicholas Caliwag, Jr., 3.48; Jerimiah Garcia, Jr., 3.73; Raylan Gonzales, Sr., 3.89; Sean Mitchell, Jr., 3.17; Sohacki Patrick, Sr., 4.08; Ryan Rivera, Jr., 3.06; Davis Rodriguez, Jr., 3.20.

EL CAJON VALLEY

Emmanuel Contreras Borbonio, Sr., 3.60; Karam Galal, Sr., 3.00; Angel Mora, Sr., 3.95.

EL CAMINO

Luke Arvidson, Sr., 3.83; Makaio Atienza, Sr., 3.02; Joel Bencs, Jr., 3.10; Christian Caimpon, Sr., 3.17; Aris Hillsman-Jackson, Sr., 3.67; Devin Pontigon, Sr., 4.21; Robert Snaer-Williams, Jr., 4.06; Diego Terriquez-Monroy, Sr., 3.17; Lemuel Vitug, Jr., 3.65.

EL CAPITAN

Osvaldo Cabrera Benitez, Sr., 4.35; Dylan Curtis, Jr., 4.18; Devin Dulay, Sr., 3.93; Wyatt Karsh, Jr., 3.78; Kade Kygar, Sr., 4.03;Collin Lovato, Sr., 3.68; Sergio Munoz Bravo, Jr., 3.49; Lawrence Neuhoff, Jr., 3.63; Colton Sandoval, Jr., 3.67.

ESCONDIDO ADVENTIST

Jason Castaneda, Jr., 3.06; Alejandro Cortez, Jr., 3.71; Leonel Espinoza, Sr., 4.00; Justin Gamero, Sr., 3.18; David Ortiz, Jr., 3.30; Jonny Shetler, Jr., 3.85; Ethan Simmons, Sr., 4.00; Nathan Skeoch, Sr., 4.00; Jonathan Watson, Jr., 4.00.

ESCONDIDO

Kevin Corona, Sr., 3.73; Juan Hernandez, Sr., 3.59; Luis Perez, Sr., 3.17.

Tennessee career rushing record on Jalen Hurd's radar

KNOXVILLE — Eleven running backs and 892 yards separate Jalen Hurd from Tennessee's all-time rushing record.

Regardless of whether Hurd, a junior, has one or two years left with the program, the odds are in favor of him leaving as the record holder. He rushed for 899 yards as a freshman in 2014 before bulking up and running for 1,288 yards last season.

As Hurd works through a spring session in which he's mostly been kept from contact, he's considered what it would be like to break the record, surpassing Travis Henry's total of 3,078 yards.

"I’ve definitely thought about that," Hurd said Tuesday. "That would be amazing. That’s definitely something that’s a goal and that I want to do."

When Hurd committed to Butch Jones a couple months after the coach's hire in late 2012, he never imagined that he might end up with a chance at the record books. As part of Jones' second recruiting class, the former Beech standout's focus was more on transforming his home-state program from an afterthought in the SEC back into a national power.

Hurd recalls talking with his fellow 2014 signees about how they wanted to leave Tennessee in a much better position, competing for championships before they moved on.

"What we talked about, it’s here now," Hurd said. "I say it’s time for us to step up and change this and show everybody what we can do."

By finishing the 2015 season with 100-yard games against Missouri, Vanderbilt and Northwestern, Hurd climbed to 12th on Tennessee's all-time list and gave himself a terrific shot at the record even if he leaves for the NFL after his junior year.

"Now that it’s reachable, I definitely want to do that," he said.

Last weekend, the No. 5 player on the list – Jamal Lewis — visited his alma mater and chatted with the 6-foot-4, 240-pound running back who trails him by only 490 yards after only two college seasons.

Like Lewis, who played in the NFL for Baltimore and Cleveland,  Hurd runs with power. Though he regularly shies away from comparing himself to past or current players, he admitted he frequently watches video of Lewis running.

The focal point for Hurd this spring has been making defenders miss beyond the line of scrimmage. Often, Hurd attempts to run through players instead of maneuvering around them.

"There were some times he felt personally he left some yards out there," Jones said. "Everything is about creating space and being able to make somebody miss in space."

The lack of contact Hurd has faced recently hasn't stopped him from working on his footwork, which quarterback Josh Dobbs believes will help Hurd make better cuts this fall.

"I've seen his footwork improve," Dobbs said. "He’s trying not to get tripped up by that one tackler."

Though the record now has Hurd's attention, he'll measure his success based on how many linebackers he makes miss, as much as his final yardage total. The two will go hand in hand, after all.

"That’s the mark of the great running back," Hurd said. "One-on-one matchups, you’ve got to win those."

Reach Matt Slovin at mslovin@tennessean.com or on Twitter @MattSlovin.

Tennessee's all-time leading rushers

Jalen Hurd is 12th with 2,187 yards. Here are the top five:

1. Travis Henry, 3,078

2. Arian Foster, 2,964 

3. James Stewart, 2,890 

4. Johnnie Jones, 2,852 

5. Jamal Lewis, 2,677

Bearden’s Chanler Geer injures knee, won’t play in sectional

Bearden High School girls basketball coach Justin Underwood was hoping for miraculous news about star senior Chanler Geer.

He didn't get it.

A Thursday trip to the doctor by Geer, who suffered a knee injury against Oak Ridge in the Region 2-AAA championship game, reinforced the grim initial diagnosis.

"It seems to be torn ligaments, most likely an ACL, and she'll have an MRI next week," said Underwood.

That means, as expected, the Lady Bulldogs (27-6) will be shorthanded Saturday when they travel to Morristown West (30-3) for a 7 p.m. Class AAA sectional game.

The game is one of several sectional contests involving area girls teams on Saturday and boys teams on Monday.

At stake is a trip to the eight-team BlueCross Basketball Championships at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.

The girls tournament runs Wednesday through Saturday. The boys play March 16-19.

If Bearden is going to make it back to Murfreesboro, it will have to compensate for the loss of Geer, a Carson-Newman signee.

"Chanler's versatility is what makes her so valuable to our team," said Underwood.

"She is the only kid who has played all five positions on the floor for us over the last four years."

Underwood said that Jalia Arnwine, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, will likely start in Geer's place Saturday.

Saturday's game matches up two of the premier girls programs in the state.

Bearden's seniors are 107-27, and the Lady Bulldogs are going after a third state tournament berth in four seasons.

The Lady Trojans advanced to the state semifinals last season and are looking for a third consecutive state tournament appearance.

Coach Johnny Galyon has guided Morristown West to three consecutive 30-win seasons.

"Coach Galyon does a fantastic job," said Underwood.

"They can run so many players at you. Obviously, their depth is one of their strengths."

Morristown West defeated Bearden 57-43 on Dec. 30 in the semifinals of the Landair Ladies Classic in Greeneville.

The Lady Bulldogs were without injured starters Anajae Stephney and Holly Hagood in that game.

Underwood said he's confident that his team will respond in Geer's absence.

"We've got to do a good job with their multiple defenses and their pressure," he said.

"We've got to take care of the basketball and rebound. Those are the two keys."

Showdown in Oak Ridge: Oak Ridge's boys (34-2) have a chance to atone for one of their losses Monday when they host David Crockett (29-5) in the Class AAA sectionals at Wildcat Arena.

Crockett, coming off an upset loss to Science Hill in the Region 1-AAA title game, handed Oak Ridge an 87-85 defeat in double-overtime in the December Arby's Classic.

Wildcats coach Aaron Green called it a legacy-type game - for both teams.

"This will be one of the memorable games of these players' careers," said Green, who is trying to return the Wildcats to Murfreesboro for the fourth consecutive season.

"I remember when I was a player at Sweetwater and we had sectional battles with Jeremaine Copeland and Harriman. They're memories that stay with you for life."

Oak Ridge and Crockett combined for 30 3-pointers in the previous meeting.

The Pioneers, led by senior guard Patrick Good, were 16 of 32 from beyond the arc while the Wildcats were 14 of 24.

"We didn't do a good job guarding them," said Green.

"One of the other factors that came up was turnovers (22). We've got to take care of the ball better. It'll be two really good teams fighting to get to the state tournament."

Karns Injury Concerns: Karns will likely be shorthanded when the Beavers (22-8) travel to Johnson City Monday night to take on Science Hill (24-10) in the Class AAA boys sectionals.

"We had a couple of injuries from the (region) tournament," said Karns coach Lee Henson.

"We're still trying to figure out who we're gonna have."

Junior guard Taylor Everett, Karns' leading scorer at 15 points per game, is listed as "questionable" by Henson.

Everett injured his ankle in the Region 2-AAA title loss to Oak Ridge.

Freshman guard Cartez Campbell, the first player off the bench for the Beavers, suffered a concussion in the Region 2-AAA semifinals against Central and is listed as "very doubtful."

Campbell didn't play in the loss to Oak Ridge.

Henson said Karns is looking to return to the state tournament for the first time since the Doug Roth and Travis Henry era in the mid-1980s.

Oak Ridge-Dobyns-Bennett Rematch: Oak Ridge's resurgent girls look to return to the state tournament for the first time since 2010 when they host Dobyns-Bennett Saturday in the Class AAA sectionals at Wildcat Arena.

Oak Ridge (27-4) handed D-B (25-10) a 42-34 defeat in December.

Both teams are much improved since the start of the season.

The Lady Wildcats have won 16 of their last 17, and the Lady Indians have won 18 of their last 21.

"What we've told the girls is that everybody that is left is here for a reason," said Oak Ridge coach Paige Green.

"We know the growth that we've had from November to now, so we have to anticipate they (Dobyns-Bennett) have had similar growth since then. There are no easy games from here on. You can't take them for granted, and the same can be said of us."

Mike Blackerby is a freelance contributor.

Tide Talk with TR and Charlie

BamaOnLine.com staff members Travis Reier and Charlie Potter talk UA hoops and football among other things.

Travis Reier: Instead of the 2-0 week it needed, the Alabama men's basketball team dropped games against Arkansas and Georgia, essentially removing itself from consideration for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid in the process. Offensively, it's reached a point where getting over the hump in games seems nearly impossible.

And when a team gets hammered on the defensive backboard like they did in Athens, second-chance points become a problem. In a game that Georgia won by seven, it held a 13-3 edge in second chance points.

While it was good to see Shannon Hale come to life offensively, he had zero rebounds in 25 minutes of action. As productive as he was scoring the basketball, it didn't exactly time out with Retin Obasohan being at his best on that end of the floor.

Obasohan found it a little bit late in the game, knocking down a couple of 3s. Still, there were some missed free throws and, once again, not enough from guys like Justin Coleman, Arthur Edwards and Riley Norris. Together, the latter three combined for just 14 points in the game.

Charlie Potter: t was about the worst week Alabama could ask for. The only thing I can think of that would have made it worse is an injury. Luckily, Edwards was only experiencing cramps in Stegeman Coliseum. But a home loss to Arkansas on Senior Night when the Hogs didn't convert their usual number of three-point shots was a lost opportunity for the Crimson Tide.

And as you mentioned, being completely dominated on the glass and scoring droughts ended the week with some negative icing on the cake for UA. Now, it will need at least three wins in this week's SEC Tournament to crack the field of 68 in the NCAA Tournament, and even that might not be enough.

Alabama drew a tough slate to begin its time in Nashville with a second-round game against Ole Miss on Thursday with a potential third-round matchup with Kentucky the following day if it gets past the Rebels. And to think, a win over the Razorbacks on Saturday would have helped its postseason chances and earned it a better draw in the conference tournament.

TR: I don't think this has been a case of a team running out of gas late in the season as much as it's been a harsh return to reality. The same team that won five straight games in the middle of the conference schedule was pretty much the same team that started SEC play. UA lost some games it could have won during the rough start and won some games it could have lost during the winning streak.

The what "could have been"aspect for this team involved Dazon Ingram's injured foot. We'll never know for sure, but have to think the freshman would have only gotten better as the season went along and really helped take the load off Obasohan and others in more than one way.

As it is, UA heads to Nashville needing a Music City miracle. Think the Titans already used that one, though, so a realistic goal would be to beat an Ole Miss team that took out Alabama back in early January.

Beyond that, Kentucky was absolutely the worst team UA could draw in game two. Go 1-1 in Nashville and secure a decent seed in the NIT and I think the fan base would be pretty pleased with Avery Johnson's debut season at the helm.

CP: It certainly isn't a place I or many thought Alabama would be at this point in Johnson's tenure, especially after Ingram's injury. The fact that before the loss at Georgia, this team was still being mentioned in some projected brackets speaks volumes to the job Johnson has done with a roster that was predicted to finish 13th in the league.

The 2015-16 team overachieved, winning four games over top-25 opponents and playing gritty basketball ball in the wake of Obasohan's All-SEC caliber season. It just couldn't contain its momentum down the stretch and a string of wins this week doesn't seem possible, setting up a letdown finish in terms of the excitement Johnson and the players pumped into Tuscaloosa.

TR: So, who do you have as your SEC Player and Coach of the Year picks?

CP: Going with the point guard combo of Kentucky's Tyler Ulis and Alabama's Avery Johnson. The coach of the year candidate is a tough one to call because I think Texas A&M's Billy Kennedy and South Carolina's Frank Martin are very deserving, but the job Johnson has done reviving the Crimson Tide program is equally or more deserving. And I think some forget this is his first year coaching college hoops. He's seen some bumps along the way, but overall, as we've already said, I think it was a commendable season for UA fans. As for player of the year, it comes down to Ulis and LSU's Ben Simmons for me, and the final nod goes to the Wildcat leader.

TR: I'm with you on Ulis. The guy is the straw that stirs the drink for the best team in the league. As talented as UK is, if the Wildcats lose Ulis, they've got no chance of going deeper than the 16.

Simmons was a walking double-double the minute he stepped on campus in Baton Rouge, so it was more about how far his team went. Unless CBS gets a wildcard pick, I don't see the Tigers in the tournament, which isn't as much of an indictment of Simmons as it probably is of his coach.

As for the coach of the year, I think Martin will likely get the nod for SEC honors. As you said, Johnson has been great this season and I think if UA had gotten even just one more league win, he'd be a very good bet to take award. Even at 8-10 in the league, he still might.

For the first time in a few months, we'll have football and basketball in the same week. Alabama will host its annual Pro Day on Wednesday before cranking up spring practice on Friday.

Given that the guys who attended the Combine took part in pretty much everything in Indianapolis, might not be a lot of suspense. I mean, if you're Reggie Ragland, Ryan Kelly, Derrick Henry, A'Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed, you're probably sitting tight with your numbers from the Combine. Other than maybe position drills, Wednesday could be more about the guys who didn't go to the Senior Bowl and/or Combine, I guess.

CP: Yeah, and one player I think a lot of eyes will be on is quarterback Jake Coker. It was a bit surprising that the senior quarterback of the national championship-winning team didn't receive an invite to Indianapolis, especially with his prototypical measurements. If teams are looking for a backup quarterback in the middle to late rounds, Coker can definitely be that guy. And on Wednesday, he and guys like Dillon Lee, Geno Smith, Richard Mullaney and others will have a chance to impress the plethora of NFL personnel that will be in Tuscaloosa.

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TR: As for Friday, the opening day of spring drills has kind of become what the opening day of fall camp used to be: an opportunity to get a first glimpse at some of the true freshmen. We'll also see some new staff members out there, too. What will you be looking for first and foremost?

CP: Obviously the midyear enrollees that weren't on campus before the team left for Arizona and the Alabama natives that have joined Nick Saban's coaching staff in Jeremy Pruitt, Derrick Ansley and Brent Key. But there are several position battles that I'll be keeping an eye on, too. Quarterback, running back, center, right tackle, inside linebacker and cornerback are some of the ones that I'll be paying attention to Friday afternoon and after spring break.

TR: All good ones. I'll be looking to see which returning player have made noticeable changes in the strength and conditioning program. Specifically, that means younger players like Adonis Thomas, Damien Harris, Mekhi Brown and Kendall Sheffield, but also some others who've been around for a few years, like Josh Frazier and Da'Shawn Hand. And then, just like that, they'll be gone for a week of spring break.

One team that will be sticking around for the weekend will be Mitch Gaspard's club, which is coming off another productive week after posting a road win over Troy before going 3-1 against Notre Dame, Niagara, North Carolina State (lone loss of the week) and Brown in Cary, NC. One thing we know for sure about this team is that it can pitch.

At 10-2 on the young season, UA has a team earned run average of 1.33. That's nuts. As for hitting, well, that's a different story. Still some things to figure out for a club that is batting just .253 and has scored four or fewer runs in half its games to date. With a single game against Oregon (Thursday) followed by a three-game series with Houston over the weekend, the competition won't be getting any easier.

CP: No, this week won't be an easy one for the Tide baseball team. But its pitching staff has proven it can stand toe-to-toe with some of the country's best pitchers during this young season.

As you said, the only question is can the bats stay as hot as the arms to continue this strong start to 2016? Keith Holcombe has essentially fixated himself at the top of the lineup and freshmen Chandler Taylor and Cobie Vance have shown why they were Day 1 starters. But Gaspard will need more than them, specifically his veteran players, to literally step up to the plate and start producing.

TR: Mitch has tried a number of different lineups and the mixing and matching likely won't stop anytime soon. There are some spots that will likely be determined by whomever has the hottest bat at the time. Catcher definitely comes to mind to from that standpoint. The newcomers you mentioned are legit, but there's a reason why they're hitting in the top half of the lineup so early in their careers.

Similar to the baseball team, the Alabama softball team is coming off a one-loss week. That said, it's also staring a daunting weekend in the face. In going to LSU to take on a top five club, Patrick Murphy's team won't have the luxury of playing at home. It will have the luxury of hitters like Hayley McCleney (11 for 15), Demi Turner (10 for 16) and Reagan Dykes(three home runs) coming off great weeks at the plate, not to mention ace Alexis Osorio posting a career-high, 16-strikeouts in a shutout of Louisiana-Monroe yesterday.

Saturday's 2-1 loss to North Dakota State was a bit of a surprise, but I took that as more of an aberration for a team that had scored 10 or more runs in its previous four games. Those things happen from time to time in both baseball and softball.

CP: Looks like it'll be a challenging week for a lot of crimson-clad teams this weekend. Whether it's facing tough opponents on the hardwood or diamond, trying to impress NFL scouts, coaches and GMs or knocking the two-month rust off with an initial spring practice, Alabama student-athletes and alumni will have to bring their A games over the next several days.

TR: Plenty going on for sure. Have you decided if you're going to run for the scouts Wednesday or are you going to sit with your 40 time from your playing days at Boaz High School?

CP: With my coaches' trigger happy thumbs, I could jump into the first round with my high school 40 time. And after trying to take advantage of the recent nice weather, I know 17-year-old Charlie was in much better shape than the 24-year-old version. So I'm just going to do the on-field workout Wednesday.

TR: Good deal. I'll keep the left wing loosened up just in case you need someone to throw passes to you. Well, for that and to capture it all on video.