Sims, not Coker, guides Alabama to victory

ATLANTA -- Blake Sims was good enough in his first start at quarterback for Alabama to keep heralded transfer Jake Coker on the bench until it was time for the victory formation yesterday.

Sims was 24-for-33 for 250 yards and ran for 42 yards as the No. 2 Crimson Tide pulled away from West Virginia, 33-23, in the second half.

Sims, a fifth-year senior, beat out Florida State transfer Coker for the start. Coach Nick Saban had indicated both QBs would play.

T.J. Yeldon (126 yards rushing and two touchdowns), Derrick Henry (113 yards rushing and a score) and Amari Cooper (12 catches for 130 yards) provided plenty of support. Alabama needed all the offense it could get because West Virginia found plenty of soft spots in the Tide's D.

The Mountaineers' up-tempo spread gave Clint Trickett his pick of open receivers, and he took advantage with 365 yards passing.

But West Virginia didn't take full advantage, dropping more than a half-dozen catchable passes, including one off the hands of Elijah Wellman near the goal line that would have been a sure TD early in the fourth quarter.

Coming off a 4-8 season, West Virginia was a 26 1/2- point underdog. The Mountaineers seemed like nothing more than the backdrop to Alabama's continued quarterback competition. They didn't play that way. Mario Alford returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score with 1:43 left in the first half to tie the game at 17-17.

Henry scored the only touchdown of the second half on a 19-yard run midway through the third quarter to put Alabama up 27-17. It was all field goals from there.

Coker warmed up briefly on the sideline in the first half, but that was it until it was time for victory formation at the end. Jameis Winston's backup last season spent a good amount of his day sitting on the bench near Sims.

Coker came to Alabama as a graduate transfer, immediately eligible and the presumptive replacement for AJ McCarron. Coker and McCarron even went to the same high school, St. Paul's in Mobile, Alabama.-- AP