ALABAMA MAKES A STATEMENT...

 TIDE CRUSHES THE BAYOU BENGALS...

      The game was supposed to be a clash of champions. The game would tell the SEC who is the big dog is this season. To put a cherry on the top of the whole night, the Arkansas Razorbacks knocked off Ole Miss. The winner of Tide/Tiger Rumble would control their destiny in the race for the national championship. The ground and pound LSU Tigers were anchored by Leonard Fournette. He was averaging over 200 yards per game. The Tigers had clearly been the titans of the turf going into the Saturday night's big game. When the finally whistle sounded, the Tigers were no longer kings. They were just little turf smurfs. 

BAMA'S DEFENSE RULES...

              Going into the game Fournette was the clear favorite for the Heisman Trophy, and the best running back in the NCAA. If those things are true where does that put Derrick Henry? Alabama's offensive line took advantage of extra week and put tog their best game of the season. Henry ended the night with 210 yards rushing, and the Tigers ended their evening wondering what hit them. The Alabama defensive front seven were thorough and unrelenting. The Tigers held Fournette 31 yards rushing and LSU to a remarkable 54 yards on the ground. All totaled the powerful LSU team could produce only 182 yards of total offense. In the era of enhanced offense, this defensive effort was an almost historic Tide performance. 

TIDE OFFENSE SHINES ...


      While the defensive front won their war in the trenches, their offensive counterparts were equal to the challenge.  Alabama's offensive line has not been great this season. They looked like they turned a corner against the highly ranked LSU defense. The blockers open large lanes for Kenyan Drake and  Derrick Henry to run. Time and time again the lineman got downfield blocks on linebackers. The line did have a little trouble at times with the fierce pass rush. Jake Coker did not flinch. He got knocked around but made some key third down throws. Coker finished the game with 18-24 and no interception. That 18-24 was 75%. One one throw the senior held the ball until the last second to complete a first down pass. You can knock Coker for some things but not toughness. If Nick Saban was looking for a quarterback, who can lead he's found one. 

            Tide running backs were sensational. It was thunder and lightning with Henry and Drake in the backfield.  Drake had his best game of the season and was a change of pace for LSU. Both backs ran where they could find a lane to run. That was easy. The Bama line blasted holes all night. When the night was over the pair had a combined 290 yards rushing. Net yardage was reduced to 250 yards when you count sacks. The only left on the field when the game ended was a sense of LSU's embarrassment. The Tigers got schooled by the Tide. Now Bama travels to Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are well rested. They played on Thursday night. So some things seem to never change - time, coaching, and talent lead Alabama to another big win.  
    

GAME TIDE APPROACHES …

        I have no idea how you guys feel. My nerves are just about shot thinking about this weekend. The Alabama and LSU game has become a Maalox moment has far as I am concerned.  It is one of those games you can tape, later see who wins, and then decide whether you want to watch what happened. This morning found me wishing there was this wedding invitation I had to attend. 

       My gut feels wrenched. My head feels like a steel band has been has been wrapped around my head, and someone is turning the lever to make it even tighter.  I will play golf this afternoon and tape the game.  No, that won't work because my concentration will be non-existent. Plus, I don't have the self-restraint to ignore my smart phone. So what the heck can I do?

        I'll man-up. Just need to remove any object that could be thrown at the television.  Pull up the recliner and watch every play. After all, I'll be wearing my lucky tee shirt. The Bama flag is hanging from the outside, and it has never seen a losing game. My wife will have her lucky socks on as well. In addition to all that we have our Roll Tide Roll sign, our Crimson Elephant, and every 'Bama ticket stub we've ever used. Okay, I'm starting to feel better. Not a lot better, but my pulse has slowed down enough I may avoid a stroke. Maybe. Hopefully.

     I called my cousin who played college football. He knows as much about football as any man I know. He tells me that if ‘Bama plays error free football they will win. Yeah, like you can predict that right? He has been correct 18 out of the last 21 games. I’m not talking about the betting line. I’m referring only to who wins. Three hours and fifteen minutes to go. That much time to wait will take at least 24 hours in actual worry time. He also told me he thought that Arkansas had a better than average chance  to beat Ole Miss. I flipped over to the Arkansas game and low and behold the Razorbacks, god love ‘em, are ahead 14-7. Perhaps there is real  hope here. Of course, as the fates would have it, Ole Miss about to score.

       I guess reverting to my old strategy is best. Have a beer or two, go heavy on the Chips and French dip. Load up on the carbs and cholesterol. Trust in Nick Saban. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. Trust Saban. That usually works.

FIRST POLL IS MEANINGLESS...
TIDE MUST FOCUS ON LSU

         

       The reaction was swift. When the Selection Committee announced Alabama as the fourth team in the first Playoff Poll, the media churned up the controversy machine. The bottom line is it doesn't matter. If Alabama wins the remainder of their games, they'll be in the playoff. If the Tide loses another game, they won't be selected. It's all very simple. If the Tide barely beats a couple of teams and looks shaky in doing so, it might also keep them out. I think Alabama's brand is so strong they would be selected anyway.

            The Committee is letting all of us know that if you won't schedule some big dogs you might not have a seat at the table. In subjective selection someone is always going to be upset. Do Baylor and TCU have a right to be upset? Right now, it doesn't matter. At the end of the season if one of the teams are undefeated and unselected it might seem pretty unfair. If you are in the BIG 12 CONFERENCE, you can't do much about your schedule in the short term.  Seriously, who wants to schedule Baylor or TCU in a season opener? The answer to that question is, of course, no one with half a brain would want that match up.  When we complain about Baylor not playing any good teams, the answer of punishing them for that transgression may not be fair. 

           We have no real way of knowing whether Alabama is the fourth best team in the nation or not. We have no way of knowing whether they are a top ten team.  Our belief about Alabama’s rank is intermingled being a fan it's difficult to be objective isn't realistic. Let's not kid ourselves about the Selection Committee. The purported use of some objective standards to make a subjective decision isn’t possible That "method", even on its face, is laughable. 

         The thing we must remember is that the Selection Committee is not trying to identify the best team in the NCAA. Their job is to find a National Champion. That doesn't mean the National Champion is the best team.  We all like to think it does, and I'd like the method they use if they expanded it to eight teams. So take the inclusion into the top four for what it means. It means to have some fun, but this doesn’t matter in the least. I'm not saying it isn't nice to have. I'm more concerned about another team selected in the opening poll right now.

SEC OPINIONS - OLD RIVALS MEET IN A BIG ONE

THE AIR IS BECOMING CHARGED WITH ANTICIPATION…

          Every we have that special week. You can always argue the Auburn game is that week.  You’d have a hard time convincing me this week isn’t that week. It’s the one that could mean the most for this year's rendition of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Should the Tide win they won’t completely control their destiny for the SEC Championship, but they sure will feel better about the chances. At least a lot of us fans will feel better. Once again, our beloved Tide has managed to back themselves in a corner. We need to beat LSU and someone needs to beat Ole Miss.  One more time, we have to hope the competitive nature of the SEC helps the Crimson.

THE BIGGEST NATIONAL GAME IS IN TUSCALOOSA…

           It doesn’t matter what anyone else needs to do this week except two teams. LSU needs to beat the Tide and vice versa. This is going to be the week where we finally find out if the stonewall defense of Alabama can stop the wrecking ball named Leonard Fournette. Don’t get me wrong. I love Derrick Henry. He is a great running back. But he is not Leonard Fournette. On the other hand, I’m not sure that the Tiger front seven are equal to the Tides. The question is whether the match-ups of that day will favor the Tide or not. I also think Henry is more balanced than Fournette. He can block, catch passes, get outside, and loves the inside. On paper, it seems the Tide has just the run defense to slow down the gifted Tiger bulldozer.  If the Tide’s front seven can do that without bringing additional defenders into the box, the Tide should win. Bama’s cornerbacks always play a lot of man to man defense. That should help the Tide, but LSU has a lot of great young receivers. They also have an improving quarterback, Brandon Harris, in much the same manner as Alabama. A lot of national commentators have said that the running games will cancel each other out, and we have a battle of quarterbacks and receivers. 

LSU GAME HAS BECOME SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL …          

          The LSU game has become unique in the last decade. In all fairness, the LSU game was an afterthought at one point. The rivalry has always been spirited, but pretty one sided. Now, it is one of those games you dread as an Alabama or LSU fan but look forward to as a football fan. You know the game is not going to be easy, and very physical.  It seems the game has become one a team survives as much as wins. I am always very relieved when the game is over. Relief as much as jubilation seems to be the general rule. You also know this is going to be grown man football.  It isn’t some of those silly Gus Malzhan and Big 12 offenses. This is line up, point your finger across the line and tell your opponent we are coming at you on this play. This is Dick Butkus and Vince Lombardi football. This is the type of football that Bear Bryant would love. I bet Nick Saban is smiling this week. I can almost hear him telling Lane Kiffin we are going to run, and you are going to enjoy it. Truthfully, Kiffin is going to have a dead good run/pass ration that will keep the LSU front seven guessing. 

 
  One thing that both teams has historically learned about each other is they always try to run over the other team, but it is rarely the death blow that wins the game. After the 9-6 slug-fest, the Tide opened it up through the air in the National Championship game. Saban put the ball in the quarterback’s hands and told him to win the game. McCarron did, and the Tide dominated the Tigers. That was the night the Honey Badger bit the dust. The Tide won another National Championship that night, and a win this week can go a long way in earning #16. 

        Alabama opened as a 7 point favorite.

AUBURN IS A DEAD TEAM WALKING....

AUBURN FALLS TO 4-4 AND IT WILL BE WORSE...

FEEDING FRENZY BY LAND SHARKS

         The Gus bus has blown its engine. The Tires are flat, and the tank is empty. The Tigers just lost SEC game number 4 behind a combination of questionable coaching decisions and poor tackling, The Tigers, like it or not, are looking a losing record down the road unless they can beat Georgia, Texas A&M, or Alabama. The Auburn-Georgia game is now nothing more than determining which team gets to extend the misery of their season. Heavens forbid, that either of those teams actually go to a bowl game. I think that Gus Malzhan’s decision to try a 4th and l in their own territory, when no need existed,  is going to be remembered for a long time.  It’s always easy to look back at a decision and be 100% correct in your judgment. That call was as stupid as stupid can be. As we all know you can’t fix stupid.  Luckily, for Malzhan, Mark Richt decided to start a 3rd string quarterback.  And as that travesty unraveled you could hear the guillotine blade being sharpened in Athens. That might have been even more stupid. 

AUBURN’S DEFENSE IS REMARKABLY BAD…

             Auburn’s new defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp, watched his side of the ball give up a staggering 551 yards to Ole Miss.  An even worse number was 91.  That was the number of plays the Rebels ran against the swiss cheese Tiger defense. The Tiger offense had a huge day as well. The carved up the Land Shark defense for 414 yards but could only score one touchdown. That proved to be the difference. Ole Miss was able to score in the red zone and the Tiger’s were left red-faced inside the twenty by having to kick field goals. 

FOURTH QUARTER FIELD GOAL KILLS THE TIGERS…

              Late in the fourth quarter the Tigers had to settle for a field goal which cut the Rebel lead to 20-19. The Rebels then put together a scoring drive of their own to move the score to 27-19 and it was game over. The Tigers just lost their 4th SEC game this season and are looking at upcoming games with Texas A&M, Georgia, and Alabama. It’s hard to see the Tigers winning those games. They might beat Georgia, which has experienced a collapse of their own after losing to Bama and then Nick Chubb. What is happening in Lee County is almost unbelieved.  How can a team of such talented players perform so poorly?  It started with Jacksonville State and has progressed without much hope. Thank goodness for Kentucky if you are an Aubie fan.

FLORIDA READY TO CINCH THE EAST...

                In a year where many picked Auburn and Georgia to win their respective divisions, it has been Florida who has been turning heads. All the Gators have to do is to beat a struggling Vanderbilt team to clinch the East. All the talk surrounding the East was Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. It appears to be the first-year Florida's head coach Jim McElwain will do what most media experts thought was impossible. The Gators are about to win the SEC West.