AUBURN LOOKS THEIR OWN FUTURE IN THE EYE THIS WEEKEND... 

Or as it Ka-Boom

        Our best buddy, Auburn, hosts the Ole Miss Rebels this weekend.  For one game, I’d bet that every single Alabama fan will lay aside their feelings about Aubie and become a Tiger cheerleader. If Auburn beats the Rebels, it will allow Alabama to control their own destiny in the West. Ole Miss has four tough games left on their schedule. Auburn, Arkansas, LSU, and Mississippi State remain for the Rebels. I don’t think that the Rebels can get through that stretch without  a loss.  Ole Miss  has Auburn and State on the road. The question that all enquiring Tide minds want to know is – does Auburn actually have a chance to beat the Rebels? Common sense tells us they don’t. The words common sense doesn’t seem to apply to Auburn do they? It wouldn’t surprise if the Tigers, frustrated by their performances this season, actually pulls one off.  Whether it is good or bad it seems that Auburn does something totally unexpected every year. Will it be a gift for arch-rival Alabama?

         A Tiger loss will send Auburn fans into a suicidal state, or whatever comes after an already existing suicidal state. The question in my mind is whether the Tigers have already braced themselves for a one season game, and I’m not talking Ole Miss. The only way that Auburn can retain any semblance of pride is to beat Alabama. To beat Alabama, the Tigers have to beat Ole Miss. Why do I say that? If Ole Miss beats the Tigers this weekend, the Gus bus will pack it up for the season. An Ole Miss loss will give the Tigers a record of 4-4, and be decided underdog in three of their last four games. If you are an Auburn fan you have to consider that the Tigers are going to have a losing season. The Ole Miss game is the most important game the Tigers have left on their schedule.  A loss could set off a catastrophic wave for losses to Georgia, Texas A&M, and ‘Bama.  The Gus bus is running on fumes and is in bad need for a decent win.

       Auburn has once again found a way to ruin a season. I’ve talked with many Auburn fans and they seemed stunned this could happen. They are not happy with Gus, and not happy about the quarterback change. They need to be unhappy with a defense that finds new and ingenious ways to miss tackles. That is simply the truth, and having a poor defense is not an Auburn tradition. When I think about Auburn I always think about hard playing defense. Auburn must win this weekend to give their fans any belief in Malzhan’s future. Will Muschamp hasn’t been exactly sterling either, has he?  All of what has happened this season is so Auburn. Despite all the problems they’ve had, they might just beat Ole Miss. Ole Miss is playing to get to Atlanta. Auburn will be playing to just survive. Another Auburn loss may set the stage for more misery that could last for years. Would Auburn fire Malzhan? A better question might be whether they can afford to fire him. Auburn’s best bet now is to be the spoiler. 




UPDATE:  On Friday I talked at length with a very influential Auburn Alum, who  played football at Auburn. It was an eye-opening conversation. Topic number one was Duke Williams and how other players came to question the unequal treatment between Williams and other players. This apparently became a big issue between some players and Malzhan. Topic number two was the future of Auburn football and Gus Malzhan. Let me be crystal clear that no one is suggesting replacing him regardless of how the season ends. But big donors are very unhappy. Topic number three was Carl Lawson and how his return would really help the Tigers. Lawson is not expected to play this weekend, and his future playing time is literally day to day. Topic number four was how Malzhan could have completely misread the AU Quarterback situation. The real fear among Auburn fans is that they can't understand why Auburn has been so underachieving. I think it would be fair to say that many Tiger fans are afraid that they are on the brink of a season in complete collapse.

SEC OPINIONS - TIDE GIVES FANS A LOT TO THINK ABOUT

TENNESSEE BEAT AND LSU AWAITS...

    There are probably a million takes on the Alabama and Tennessee football game. Here is take number one - Alabama won 19-14, and basically that is the only thing that matters. Sure, the Tide looked lackadaisical in the win. I think we all like come from behind wins. It shows character, focus, guts, and those types of things. The part of that is that you were getting beat by a team who was a 16 point underdog. Bottom line on the comeback was that Jake Coker learned a lot about patience and perseverance. Let's give the Tide a A for the comeback.
   

      The defensive line looked pretty porous on the corners didn't they? Tennessee piled up big hunks of running room against the supposedly bullet proof looked a little shaky. Of course, when it mattered most, the defensive line came up with a standing ovation type finale. Two sacks and stripped fumble recovery sealed the win. Let's give the Tide an A for the end, but a C for the rest of the time.

      Hello Calvin Ridley, Adarius Stewart, and O.J. Howard. Welcome to the world of the forward pass. Ridely and Stewart both had really big time catches on the final drive which beat the Vols. Howard caught a lot of short passes when Bama needed first down yardages.

      Has that last punt of J.K. Scott returned from orbit yet? He averaged right at 50 yards a punt. He flipped field position, and forced a fair catch at the ten yard line. It is nice to hear the crowed go "ooohhh" when he nails one. Speaking of nailing one, how about Adam Griffith nailing every kick he tried. He didn't have to kick the winning field goal but he would have.

      Was it just my imagination but it seemed we got at least one illegal procedure penalty everytime we had a drive going. Kudos to Jake Coker for overecoming two big penalties in the winning drive. Alabama will get beat if they play that sloppy against LSU. 

      The Tide moved up one spot in the Polls and even got a renegage vote for number one.

Tennessee is still a big deal...

NEVER OVERLOOK THE 'VOLS...

     

Butch Jones

     Back in the day.  Back in the day the Alabama/Tennessee game was the as big as it got. Of course, that was back in the day. That was back in the day when Peyton Manning worked part time as a band director. What’s the number now? Is it eight straight? I can’t recall that any of those last eight games being very competitive. I remember my grandfather closing his cafe in Cleveland, Alabama to listen to the game on the radio. He never did that when Alabama played Auburn. But that was all back in the day.

          Now Tennessee comes to town with Butch Jones as their head football coach. That’s the same Butch Jones that looks like a Marine Drill Sargent. He is supposedly the second coming of fat Phil Fulmer. He was the coach of Tennessee back in the day when the Vols had good football teams. It’s kind of strange how far Tennessee football has fallen. I know the

Phil Fulmer

Vols had a big comeback win against Georgia. I also know that Nick Chubb got hurt and didn’t play but a bit at the start of the game. I also remember we beat Georgia on the road, by a score of a lot to a little. Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for the ‘Vols. You see that back in the day they were really great. If ‘Bama players won a hard earned victory, they smoked a cigar in the bowels of Neyland Stadium. The rest of us smoked a stogie in the driveway. Those were heady days. These days seems more relaxed. Older fans still worry about Tennessee. It’s part of Alabama’s tradition when Tennessee comes in the our stadium in those awful orange uniforms. There is Tennessee Orange and Auburn orange.  Auburn orange is merely awful. Tennessee orange is worse. Back in the day it was a lot worse. Today the ‘Vols seem to have forsaken their old orange and wear a lot of gray.  Can you imagine Alabama doing that?

    

Robert Neyland, Tennessee's General

   Whatever happened to Tennessee? They have become almost irrelevant. ‘Bama fans have become irreverent. Let me toss out a warning. Never understand Tennessee football when they play the Alabama Crimson Tide. I always fear that the ghosts of Tennessee past will somehow find their way back on the field against ‘Bama.  Okay, I know that sounds odd. Tradition is a strange member of every team. You can’t find him in the lineup. He’s there however. He is always there, waiting for his opportunity to steal a win when his team is losing. You can’t see him, but you can sense his presence.

          I know it isn’t practical to worry about Tennessee. But old habits die hard don’t they? Plus, the ‘Vols have one of those quarterbacks who run around like an energizer bunny. When you are an older Alabama fan you can find something to worry about. That’s my worry about the game. Realistic? Probably not. Am I always realistic? No, I’m not, and I’m telling all Alabama fans - do not overlook Tennessee. This is one of those series that seem to swing back and forth, and we never know when the swing will occur. Of course, it would be silly not to pick 'Bama by 21.

ALABAMA BEATS DOWN THE AGGIES 41-23...

HENRY RUNS WILD FOR 236 YARDS

FITZ AND WASHINGTON COMBINE FOR 3 PICK SIXES...

COKER WAS CALM COOL AND COLLECTED...

TIDE DEFENSE SHUTS DOWN ALLEN OF A&M...

   

Henry rips the physicality out of A&M

(COLLEGE STATION, TX.)     The Alabama Crimson Tide were given a challenge by Coach Kevin Sumlin. The Aggie coach guaranteed a Texas A&M win. Sumlin is a good head coach, but he's no Joe Namath. The Tide dominated, stumbled, and then found themselves to post a 41-23 game. All that non-sense about the Tide secondary being a weak link seems to be a moot point. The Tide intercepted four Aggie passes and took three of them back to the house for touchdowns. Two of those three interception broke the back of the Aggie offense, and sent Kyle Allen to the side line to think things over.  Alabama defenders then abused his backup  like a yard dog. The Tide may not be perfect, but they are relentless. They hunt you down and then they kill your dreams. I'm sure that Texas A&M is a good little football team, but they are not the Alabama Crimson Tide. Once again, the Tide beat the Aggies to death with defense, and, the offense wasn't bad either.

 

TAM fought hard but the Tide talent was just to great...



Bama defenders were to much.



     I'll give TAM some credit for not rolling over. The Tide broke the game open but the Aggies fought back to 28-20 and appeared to be close to turning the momentum. Jake Coker got back on the field and very bravely took the team on his shoulders to seal the win. It was Coker's key passes and a couple of broken play runs to stop the TAM momentum. The Tide got a field goal to take it to 31-20. Game over. The Tide offense and defense turned nasty and stingy, and TAM was done. Kyle Allen, the gifted quarterback  tried to rally his team, but the damage was done, the fat lady had sung, and once again a very talented Texas A&M was demoted to pretender and not a contender. I'm sure they will knock off some talented teams before the season is over. They can't beat the Tide, not yet, on the talent and coaching level. As usual the Tide shut down any running game the Aggies brought. One the other hand the 5-2 defense used by the Aggies was like opening the floodgates for Alabama. Henry had 236 and it could  have been a hundred more. When the Aggies went to a 4-3 it slowed the Tide for a couple of series (tackles for losses) but the Tide adjusted. Henry and company showed who the man was in College Station.

 

 

 

Coker was a leader...

          The numbers were not overwhelming. Let's recap: Coker was 19-25-0. Not the zero. That's no interceptions. That's not giving TAM good field position, a touchdown on a pick six, or good field position. Coke was cool and collected and looked, dare I say, like a major league quarterback. He's learning, he's getting better, and the kid has no fear. He has become the team leader. Hooray for him and all he's been through. He isn't perfect, but who is. I can't think we can do any better, and he took this team on three lengthy drives despite illegal procedure penalties and negative (-) yardage on first down plays. I've watched the replay twice, and it would be fair to say that Alabama almost beat TAM as bad as last season in many ways. He has made tremendous progress since the first game of the season. When you threw 25 passes and only six were incomplete you've done a day's work.

 

Tide secondary has a stellar day...

   

     Minkah Fitzpatrick ran back two picks for touchdowns. Wow. Eddied Washington picked off another and ran it back. He came close on a second pick to finding the house.  Eddie Washington picked off another and ran it back back for another TD. That's the second game in a row the safety has run one back. And, not to be left out, Marlon Humphrey got another one but they chose not to review the play. The Tide's marauders up front made Kyle Allen's day miserable. The Tide had 6 sacks and a couple of quarterback hurries. The only real yardage made by Allen or the Kyler Murray were off scrambles. Reggie Ragland was once again the assassin linebacker with 8 solo tackles.
 
All in all it was a solid when which vaulted the Tide up to #8 in the AP and Coaches Poll. Tennessee is up next.

 

 
   
 

TIDE HAS ANOTHER MAKE OR BREAK GAME...

Make or break time...
    

Mr. Defense

        It’s Friday. Another long day of anticipating the worst. Alabama travels to Texas A&M. Road games are hard. Giving another team an off week to prepare worries me.  You need to read the ESPN.COM  article about how Alabama has played teams getting extra rest than any team in the NCAA  once again. The good news for those teams is the extra rest. The bad news is they have to play Alabama and get no extra rest the next weekend. For the record, the Tide has an open date before their game with LSU. Of all the opponents on the Tide schedule, LSU is probably the one team the a lot of extra preparation doesn’t help. LSU is going to line up and run the ball down your throat if they can. If they can’t, it will not be for a lack of trying. Just why Alabama has been the victim of so many bye weeks is an interesting question. I don’t believe it has been accidental. Saban himself questions whether or not the extra time is beneficial or not. Statistics suggest it does help. Giving a team a bye week to prepare for a home  game has to help in some ways. You might get an injured player back in the lineup, or you get some extra to face a particular style of offense or defense. 

Extra time for Opponent getting Unfair in my Opinion... 

          So how will the extra time help Texas A&M if at all? First and foremost the Tide is going to run the ball. Maybe some extra time in the cafeteria is on tap for Aggie players. The other thing that Sumlin is probably doing involves his two great pass rushing defensive ends. They are probably taking Valium to keep themselves calm before the game. If they watched the videos of the Tide’s offensive line pass protection they must be salivating.  Cam Robinson is clearly limited  on his pass blocking. Is he hurt? He is limited in practice but it is hard to find specific information.  After taking a big step forward against Georgia the Tide seem to lose a step against Arkansas. The right side of the Tide offensive line is just not playing well. If a team knows you are going to run left they’ll be ready. If you can’t seal off the defensive ends you’ll have a hard time on sweeps.  I have no doubt that Alabama will be ready on both sides of the ball. A&M really hasn’t a real test this season, but they have beaten three decent teams. Arkansas, Arizona State, and Mississippi State are not chopped liver down at the deli. Alabama has beaten Wisconsin, Georgia (before the loss of Nick Chubb) and lost to Ole Miss before their defense was so banged up. It took five offensive turnovers and two fluke plays to beat the Tide. I’d say those three games are comparable. 

Sumlin vs. Smart is the match up to watch...

Ragland led Tide defense. The Tide allowed Hogs 3 plays
on their side of the field. You kidding me?

           Kevin Sumlin is a great coach. On the offensive end he may be the best coach in the SEC. Defensively the Aggies are getting better. They are not great, but they are not facing a great offensive team either. Who’s going to win? I have no idea. I know that overall the Tide has better players. I know that the strength of A&M defense is going head to head with what I believe to be the Tide’s weakness. My heart always favors the Tide. My head isn’t nearly as sure.  I’m going to go with Bama but really am not sure. Roll Tide.

            Welcome to all our new readers of five new sites. Let me tell you that TiderInsider is the best site to get the lowdown on Alabama football. They are a cut above the rest. OK, a few of the posters are a little bizarre. But this is football, right? 

Big Kudos for Reggie Ragland who was name the Bednarik Player of the Week. He is a man. 

SEC OPINIONS - COACHING SHAKEUPS IN SEC AND WEST COAST.

       First and foremost, I’d like to thank Steve Spurrier for his contribution to o SEC football. The old ball coach, as he is known, is one heck of a coach. I’ve put a a few tees in the ground with the man. He probably could have been a professional golfer had he chosen. He made Florida football a dominant force in the SEC, and while he admittedly fell short of his goals at South Carolina, his presence brought new excitement to Gamecock fans. I know that he rubbed a lot of Alabama fans the wrong way. Why? He had the audacity to beat Alabama. In his tenure at Florida, the Alabama game became one of the most anticipated and exciting games in college football. 

     Not only did he have the audacity to beat Alabama, he thought he could do it each time the teams played. You might not have liked Coach Spurrier, but you had to respect him. I think it is interesting to note that he has not retired. He resigned, leaving the door open to coach again. Whether he does or not remains to be seen; however, don’t rule it out for the former Heisman Trophy winner. Spurrier has been a fixture in SEC football for what seems forever. He’ll be missed. He is still a heck of a coach. USCe is going to have a monstrous problem in replacing him with a coach of the same ability.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRES THEIR COACH...

USCw athletic director Pat Haden the decisions to fire Steve Sarkisian. Haden characterized the it as one of the hardest decisions he has ever made. He acknowledge that Sarkisian was in bad health but failed to elaborate. Many reports have said the USC Coach was suffering from an inability to cope with an alcohol addiction. Haden would not confirm those reports. Information about Sarkisian has attended booster functions and appeared before his team intoxicated. 

Hayden had originally given the coach an indefinably leave of absence with strict conditions regarding his behavior. The next day he terminated the coach after receiving additional information about Sarkisian’s public behavior. 

Hmm...

TIDE LOOKED PRETTY BAD IN WIN OVER 'HOGS...

     

Ridley ups his game to help 'Bama win ...

        Time for a little honesty.  The Tide beat Arkansas 27-14, but looked pretty bad in doing so. The offense stumbled and bumbled its way to a win. It took a great defensive effort and couple of questionable coaching decisions by the Arkansas Head Coach to open the door for Alabama. First, let's give Arkansas kudos for a tremendous effort away from home. The 'Hogs gave 'Bama all they wanted or needed. It's hard to believe that Arkansas has lost so many games this year. Once again it was Jack Coker to Calvin Ridley that changed momentum in a game. This time it was an 81 yard bomb. It was the longest play from scrimmage for Alabama this season, and it came at a great time. Before that play, Alabama looked pretty pedestrian against a mediocre defense. Once again, the Tide defense came to the rescue with hard nosed play that left little doubt about who has the best defense in the SEC.  

Alabama offensive line not playing well...

   

  There is simply no way to delude yourself in thinking that Alabama has a good offensive line. They might be average. Derrick Henry was limited to 95 yards on 27 carries. Ouch. Coker was hit hard and often by Arkansas pass rushers. I know that Coker threw a couple of interceptions but it's hard to blame him when things get mighty quiet in the pocket. Both his interceptions were caused by the offensive line's inability to give him time to throw. Too many penalties were a problem. It seemed that it took forever for Coker to get plays started. What's the purpose of a no huddle offense when the clock runs down to almost zero.  A lot of Tide fans can't quite figure out what's wrong if the offense. Here's a new theory. They simply can't win the line of scrimmage with enough consistency. Coker may not be the best quarterback, but it's hard to develop skills running for your life. The story of this season may be how good the offensive line can become. Right now, whether that will happen is up in the air. When one of the best running backs can't break the hundred yard mark on 27 carries you have some problems. Thank you Reggie Ragland and company.

RAGLAND IS AN ALL-AMERICAN...

   

          Want to know where Reggie Ragland is on any given play?  Just follow the ball. Somewhere around the line of scrimmage he always finds the ball. In the history of Alabama football there have been some great linebackers. Reggie Ragland is in that select group. Ragland simply dominates the game. The down lineman seem unbeatable. Once again, a defensive back gave up a long touchdown pass, but it took a great effort by Allen to do so. He dodged a number of sack attempts, ducked his head and rolled out. Once again the question of will he run or not made the defense back consider his options. It was a great play by the Arkansas QB. Opposing teams are picking on Marlon Humphrey. He's gotten better and will be fine before the end of the season. The defensive backfield is going to have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves before the last game.

BAMA ESCAPES BUT THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE...

      
      Next up is Texas A&M. The Aggies had the week off. Another open date before playing the Tide is getting pretty old. The SEC needs to be fair in scheduling. This has been going on for so long it seems impossible to be coincidence. This will be, in my opinion, the first real test for TAM. It will also be a game where we'll find out just how good our defense really is. The Aggies can throw the ball, and Kevin Sumlin will not let his team forget 52-0. Anyone who thinks this is going to be easy is wrong. Our offensive line better find themselves in practice this week or it could be a long day next Saturday.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY AND IN BETWEEN...

  Every game seems to give us the good, the bad, and the ugly. With a developing team you seem to get something in between.
  

The Good:  Jake Coker to Calvin Ridley is turning into something special. The Alabama     defense is pretty darn spiffy. At least on ESPN talking head has proclaimed them as the best defense in America. The only other defense I've seen that is close to Bama is Michigan but they haven't had real test except for Utah. The defensive front is the best I've seen going all the way back to 1992. Kept in mind that offenses are much more sophisticated now.

The Good:  Alabama's running backs  are very good. Now if the offensive line can develop to give a few wide open spaces, they might be the best pair in the SEC. I was very happy with the way our receivers played. They are going to be a potent bunch. Add Foster to the mix and you've got more than a defense can handle.

The Good:  Alabama's punter, J.K. Scott had a couple of boomers. His contribution to the team cannot be minimized. I thought last season he was our MVP.

The Bad: The offensive line just isn't there yet.

The Ugly: Field goals have become a roll of the dice for the Tide. I don't know if we really have anyone behind Griff. He needs to pick it up or Saban needs to consider another option. With the offensive line Griff is going to get a lot of opportunities.

IN BETWEEN: The offense is struggling but has good moments. The also have some bad minutes. They struggle in the red zone, and I'm suggesting that Lane Kiffin needs to help Coker  by getting the plays into him soon. Coker clearly has trouble with the hurry up no huddle offense.

 

 

 

       

YOU HAVE TO LOVE FOOTBALL IN DIXIE...

     To live in the Deep South is to love Saturdays in the Fall. However; you have to live through those anxiety wrought Friday nights. For a lot of us we can go watch high school football. That doesn't always always work. You might be entangled in those games as well. I graduated from Cleveland High School in 1965. That was half a century ago. I still love my old high school. The Panthers who have had a lot of bad seasons of late are currently undefeated. Tonight they play their final regional game against Section High School. The 7-0 Panthers should be 8-0 in a couple of hours. 

          I vividly remember homecoming my senior year. At halftime the Queen was crowned. The football team gave our coach a shotgun and a recliner. I always thought that an odd combination but it sums up the Deep South in so many ways. Our coach was the late Hugh "Pea Soup" O'Shields. He was an excellent coach. To be honest, I hated playing football. It was my fear that I'd get hurt and ruin my chances at getting to play college basketball. My family was poor. That was about average for everyone in Cleveland. Blount County, Alabama isn't now, and wasn't then a very wealthy area. I needed a scholarship in order to go to school. Around my area I was known as a basketball man. That meant I knew the rules, and loved the game.The truth is that track and field stole my heart.

        The other thing I remember was the class of 1915 was recognized. The class of '15 finished high school 50 years prior to that cool October night. A dozen or so souls stood up to the applause of the "crowd". Maybe 500 hundred were in attendance. After the game I made a point of going to talk to a couple of the men in that class. They had fathers who fought in the Civil War. They missed WWI, but were prime conscripts for WWII. They seemed so old. Now I am that old, but I don't feel old. Well, maybe near the end of a long day of golf I feel old. My mind doesn't feel old at all. I realized what one of them told me that night was true, "with a little luck you may live to go to your 50th High School reunion." At the time that felt preposterous.  I was 18 years old and bullet proof. Of course, I'd live that long, but it seemed so far away. It wasn't. The man told me the truth. If you are lucky enough. I have been lucky. Others in my class weren't so lucky. 

         Here is one thing that age brings - in sports you live long enough and you'll see the greats. You can compare players. Your brain becomes a storage file of sports knowledge. You never get so old that what you know regardless of how little younger people believe you know. Anyone who thinks that older people are past your prime about sports is a myth. I've seen Bear Bryant coach football and I've seen Nick Saban coach. One is not above the other. Both are great coaches. Older fans think Bryant is the best. Younger fans think Saban is the best. Both are wrong in my opinion. Could Bryant's best teams beat Saban's best? I doubt it. The real point is whether each coach be as good a coach in the others era? They could. There is no back in the day. We only think that is true. Each of us grew up in different times of American life. So, on a Friday night full of recollections I thought I'd pass that on.

THINGS GOING SOUTH FOR AU...

Hard to believe what's going on with Auburn...

   

Malzhan's got problems

     With no disrespect to my Auburn friends, what the hell is going on with your football program? The Tigers were a preseason favorite to win the SEC West. That's not going to happen. Plus, the Tiger fans and media believed that Jeremy Johnson was going to win the Heisman Trophy. He's no longer the starting quarterback. I never really understood how a player who couldn't win the starting job last season could win the Heisman the next season.  That shows just how unrealistic Auburn fans can be. The problem that AU cannot escape, and it is not their fault, is that they are competing against the University of Alabama. That's a tough task. In the long run it is a task you just can't win regardless of how hard you try, and how much you love your team. Give credit to Auburn fans - they love Auburn. 

      It seems to me that even when the Tigers win it comes tainted in some way. The Cam Newton title was rife with allegations that Auburn had bought the best quarterback money could buy. For most people, who aren't Auburn fans, it seemed like the Tigers got away with one. The rationale he had no personal knowledge of what is father was doing seems pretty flimsy to me on several levels.  That's all over, but I bet anytime an Alabama hears about that national championship they all thought about cheating. Privately, a number of Auburn fans have told me that's what they think as well. Beyond what Auburn may or may not have done, it left a stain on a great season. Don't get me started about the hypocrisy of the NCAA enforcement division. 

     I think that Gus Malzhan is a pretty good coach. I don't like all the trick plays. In my opinion the best teams just line and knock you silly. Auburn spent a ton of money to get Boom, and his defense prove my point. If you can't man up to your opponent you can never be a great team. You might win some, you might trick people for a while, but in the long run the line of scrimmage will always catch up with you. One thing that I've always thought was that Auburn teams played tough. Last season and through to season this year you can see Auburn players actually avoid contact. That's not what Auburn has been. Heck, that's not even real football. It seems that the only licks passed by an Auburn player occurred in a bar fight. 

     Auburn is in for a long season in my opinion. The unsettled question at quarterback doesn't set the stage for success. The defense isn't playing gut check football. Finally, there seems to be a lot of stuff going on off-field as well. Duke Williams was given his walking papers. Rumors of lack of team unity are coming to light. I have no idea of exactly what is happening. One thing seem obvious. Auburn just isn't very good. They are not even close to good. That's not to say that the Tigers won't win a few more games. They could do that. But being a dominant SEC Western division program just isn't on the menu this year. We all know that AU should be in the Eastern Division, from a geographical view point,  anyway. 

TIDE FACES ARKANSAS IN BIG SEC WEST MATCHUP

HOW WILL TIDE PLAY COMING OFF THEIR HUGE WIN OVER GEORGIA?

      The last time Arkansas played in Tuscaloosa it was an fashioned beat down. The Hogs got slaughtered 52-0. It wasn't that close. On Saturday the Hogs coming calling hoping to avoid fifty two 2.0. Luckily for Bret's bunch they are more balanced and coming off a big win over Tennessee in Knoxville. Las Vegas money says Bama is a big 17 point favorite. I think it was become pretty clear that running on Bama isn't gong to work. Expect Alabama's defensive backfield  to have a busy day.  Don't expect Arkansas to have a lot of luck with their passing game either. In fact, don't expect Arkansas to have a lot of luck on offense period.  I'm not discounting that Collins is the most underrated back in the SEC.

     This will be, in all likelihood, a substantial Bama win.  What will be keys to a Bama win. 

1.  Continued good play from Jake Coker. That means good decisions, making his proper reads, and playing with confidence. After the Georgia game he seems to have made progress in each of those areas

2   Better play from the offensive line. I think that the tight end needs to improve the blocking. You have to wonder if Alabama isn't going to throw to the tight end why not just plug Brandon Green in place of O.J. Howard? 

3.  Keep the killing machine known as the Bama front seven in gear. I think that Arkansas is going to give the Alabama secondary a run for their money.  Arkansas wants to the ball first and foremost. Expect Arkie to open up with some vertical passes to try to open up their run game. I don't think it will work. Arkansas seems to have enough talent to move the ball some. It wouldn't surprise me if they can score a couple of touchdown. They just won't be able to score enough.

4.  Limit turnovers by the offensive.  Bama had another early game turnover and dodged the momentum bullet. Hopefully, pick up a couple of turnovers on the defensive end of the game.

5. Bama really needs to see J.K. Scott return to the long ball. I have no idea why he is in a slump. He's probably having some technical problem most of us can't see.

6. Keep pumping sunshine and Kudos to Adam with his place kicking. Let's see if the young receivers can have an encore performance.


I LIKE BAMA 31-14.

TIDES RISES IN STORMY WEATHER...

ALABAMA RULES THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE IN BLOW-OUT WIN...

COKER PLAYS HIS BEST GAME
HENRY RUNS FOR 148
TIDE BLOCKS PUNT AND INTERCEPTS 2 PASSES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     

     

Henry wears down the 'Dawgs

     In a torrential downpour,  the Alabama Crimson Tide may have righted their ship in the 2015 season. Georgia was a 2 point favorite to hand Alabama football team its second loss of the season. The 'Dawgs had everything  in their favor. They were at home, they had a red hot quarterback, and a running back who couldn't be stopped. Sportswriters all over America was ready to write some slick article about the death of the Alabama football program. Someone forgot to tell the Crimson Tide about their impending death. The final score was 38-10, and once again we all learned the basic rule of SEC truth - In the end there will always be Alabama. In the rain, mud, and all the adversity in the world, Nick Saban and his Crimson Warriors embarrassed the number 8 ranked team in America. It wasn't even close.

Alabama  wasn't perfect, but they were relentless. The defense completely shut down the high powered Georgia running game except for one play. The young corner-backs showed they can play. The down linemen, all of them, dominated the line of scrimmage. It was the as good as it could get if you love Alabama. The Alabama offensive line showed obvious improvement giving room for Tide backs to scamper for 202 yards.On a rainy night in Georgia the Alabama Crimson Tide gave the SEC a message. The Tide is back. I'm not sure they ever went anywhere. Maybe they were merely licking there wounds after the Ole MIss game. Whatever the Tide coaching staff put together it worked. 



   

Two interceptions and blocked punt for DBs

    After Jacob Coker ran his bootleg to get the Tide points total to 37, the entire Georgia  fan base voted with their feet about how they felt about their program. Mark Richt looked like part of the walking dead in his press conference. Georgia is a good football program. They are not Alabama. When talking about SEC football the conversation starts with Alabama. From time to time another school has a couple of hot seasons, but in the end  we all know the Crimson Tide is waiting like the grim reaper. It is not will Alabama eventually kill you, but just a matter of when. Georgia was all dressed up but had no where to go except back to the drawing board. Alabama rolled up their sleeves and went to work. We've seen this a hundred times before. 

The Alabama win didn't seem like an upset did it? The Florida win over Ole Miss didn't seem to be an upset. Arkansas contributed to the continued collapse of Tennessee football. The Razorbacks ran the 'Vols into the ground in the last three quarters. Arkansas now turns to Tuscaloosa for the next game. I'd bet the Tide front seven is smiling. Arkansas won't beat Alabama on the ground. They'll have to pass the ball, and the game might prove to be the young defensive backfields biggest test to date. That defensive backfield intercepted two passes and saw one of their own block a punt for a TD.