Alabama notes: Kicker Adam Griffith has tough first half
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama kicker Adam Griffith, who entered Saturday's game having made his last four field goals, missed two of his three attempts in the first half.
Griffith opened the night with a make from 24 yards out. But the junior missed from 25 and 48 yards on his other two tries.
On the 25-yarder, the snap appeared to be high which through off the timing. The 48-yarder came at the end of the half after the Tide moved into scoring position.
Game captains
Cyrus Jones, Jarran Reed and O.J. Howard served as Alabama's captains versus Arkansas on Saturday.
Jones, a senior, is one of the Tide's starting cornerbacks. He's held down one of the spots for nearly 2.5 years.
Reed, a senior, is one of the Tide's eight or nine defensive linemen who regularly rotate in and out. But Reed may be the best. He entered tonight's contest as the team's second-leading tackler behind on linebacker Reggie Ragland.
Howard, a junior, stars at tight end and H-back for the Tide.
New starters
New players have earned starts throughout the course of the season for Alabama. On Saturday, freshman nose guard Daron Payne made his first career start. Prior to tonight, the most recent starting nods went to a pair of wideouts that made their first career start against ULM, including senior Richard Mullaney and freshman Calvin Ridley. Quarterback Cooper Bateman made his first career start against Ole Miss. In the Middle Tennessee contest, defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick and tight end Dakota Ball each made their first career starts. In the season opener with Wisconsin, seven students made their first career start, including three on defense and four on offense. Getting their first career nod on defense were Marlon Humphrey (DB), Darren Lake (DT) and Shaun Dion Hamilton (LB). The offensive starters were made up of Jake Coker (QB), Robert Foster (WR), Dominick Jackson (OL) and Ross Pierschbacher (OT).
Attendees
Scouts from the Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets were in attendance for Saturday's contest.
Along with the NFL scouts, representatives from the Texas Bowl, TaxSlayer Bowl, Florida Citrus Sports and the Allstate Sugar Bowl were on hand.
Scoring streak
With Adam Griffith's 24-yard field goal on Alabama's first offensive series of the game, the Tide has scored in the first half of its last 109 games, the longest streak in the nation. The last time Alabama failed to score in the first half was on Sept. 29, 2007, when Alabama and Florida State headed into halftime in a scoreless tie.
Alabama has now scored in 189 consecutive games - the longest streak in program history.
-- Contact Anniston Star Sports Writer Marq Burnett at mburnett@annistonstar.com. On Twitter:@Marq_Burnett.
This story was originally published October 10, 2015 at 11:31 PM with the headline "Alabama notes: Kicker Adam Griffith has tough first half ."