SEC OPINIONS - Conference shake up but Bama is a rock...

Others fall but Tide gets better

Tide plays it most complete game...

 

     South Carolina and LSU fell on last second field goals, but Alabama was rock solid. It might be the first complete game the Tide has played season. The final score  was 52-0. It could have worse, much worse. It could have been 70-0. It could have been a number right out of the back stretch in a Grand Prix Race.  Auburn pulled off an "upset" of Texas A&M. I can't see the Tigers ripping up the Tide's line like they with Texas A&M. Let's all hope the Tigers remain undefeated until  the final regular season game. Auburn leaped all the way to # 11 in polls.

 

      

         How often do you see a head coach scowl when a player scores a touchdown?  Saban did that on Derrick Henry's wonderful touchdown run late in the game. Saban doesn't believe in running up the score on a helpless opponent. Henry was just being the all-world back he is soon to be. He's a kid and was having fun. Soon he will be grown man running for bigger things when they matter, when games are on the line, and when he's chasing the big bucks. Henry found the right side of the line block, reversed his field and outran the defense. I couple of Arkansas defensive backs had the angle on Henry but misjudged the man's speed. That run was a preview of what we will see more in the future. By the way, Henry is Bama's 4th team running back.

 

         

           The Tide's defense also said something to the SEC. The road to the SEC championship goes through Tuscaloosa, and they'll knock you off that road in the blink of the eye. Arkansas isn't a very good school. They played old school football and Alabama responded in an old fashioned way. They shut them down. It was only in the late fourth quarter that they Hogs got close to scoring. The second and third depth chart players didn't let it happen. Not only does Alabama have great first line players, but those waiting in the wings are going to be great as well. Alabama won game # 7 and kept their perfect season alive for at least on more game. It is hard to describe the win in any other terms than dead solid perfect. Tennessee pulled a dramatic last second win over South Carolina and will come to Tuscaloosa with hope in their hearts. They will leave with their tails between their legs. And of course, then comes the first big game - LSU. Ole Miss stunned the Bayou Bengals in Oxford on Saturday night. An almost last second field goal beat the Tigers. Mettenburger had three interceptions, two in the end zone, and then almost brought his team to victory. You would have expected that LSU would have had a record setting night since Ole Miss was short 6 defensive starters. The Tiger defense simply had no answer to Bo Wallace and a surprising inside running game. That means that both LSU and Texas A&M each have two losses. Only Auburn has one loss in the West. If both Auburn and Alabama continue to win in the SEC the season finale in Lee County will be huge. You have to give credit for AU for a season which was very unexpected.

 

    One bad thing about the game is that team leader, Vinnie Sunseri, injured a knee. Although the extent of the injury was not disclosed it appears to be season ending from the way that Alabama players talked about what happened. Sunseri was walking on the sidelines without crutches. That probably mean it wasn't an ACL injury. If it is cartilage he might be back by the Auburn game. We will all probably know more after the MCI on Monday. What I find odd about this injury is that Alabama is notoriously tight lipped about injuries. Sunseri is the emotional leader of the defensive backfield. What he lacked in speed and height he made up in savvy and intelligence. His injury is why some coaches don't like to play first team players. It seems to me that overall that use of such players has turned out very well for the Crimson Tide.  We all can now get ready for the third weekend in October which for many of us is the Tide's real arch rival. Roll Tide.


Power Poll for the Week

1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Auburn
4. Missouri
5. Texas A&M
6. South Carolina
7. Ole Miss
8. Tennessee
9. Georgia
10. Florida
11. Vanderbilt
12. Mississipi State
13. Arkansas
14. Kentucky
13.