TIDE PREPARES FOR GEORGIA

ALABAMA VS. GEORGIA 2.0


   

 This Saturday the Crimson Tide returns to the scene of the crime. A year ago Tua Tugavolia stole a game from the Bulldogs. It will be a game that Alabama fans will always remember and Georgia fans cannot forget.  If the experts are correct, it is a game that Georgia needs a win to play in the College Football Playoffs. The same football gurus believe that Nick Saban´s  #1 ranked Tide will make the playoffs regardless of the outcome of the SEC Championship game. Time will tell, but the Crimson Tide is certainly one of the top four teams in the nation. I am certain of one thing. No one who wears the Crimson and White is even thinking about a loss. They are focusing on a win. For Georgia, this may be a revenge game. Revenge may get a player fired up, and it lasts until the opponent knocks you flat on your back. So what do we have?

Alabama is an almost two TD favorite...

     The Tide opened as a 10 point favorite. It has moved to 13.5 today. Sports house report that Bama is a heavy betting favorite. The consensus line is now 13.5. Two touchdowns in a championship game is a load. Most of us just want ´Bama to win. A few (wink) need some extra incentive. Expect the line to move to 14 before kickoff as fans continue to bet on Alabama.

Home Field Advantage...

     Obviously, Georgia is playing a home game. There will be thousands of Alabama fans in attendance. The ´Dawgs have a five-point advantage playing at home. So is that true against Alabama? Letś look

     This season Alabama has played four true road games. The Tide scored 62 on Ole Miss, 65 on Arkansas, 58 on Tennesse, and 29 against LSU. None of those games was remotely close, and a lot of the points scored on Alabama came when the defense was rounding into form or was against non-starters. The Road did not prove to be much of a problem.  LSU beat the dog out of Georgia, but Georgia is the best team Alabama has faced in my opinion.

What is so good about Georgia?

   They are the best-balanced offensive team the Tide has faced. Fromm* is a good quarterback with a great arm.  His receivers are very good. The running backs are the best Alabama has faced. The Georgia offensive line is a good run blocking unit. They have given up 16 sacks. That is kind of a hidden statistic. Fro a run happy team like Georgia it means that Fromm is not always given the best protection. ´Bama has given up 12 sacks but the Tide is using passing as their best weapon. Fromm is completing 69% of his passes. That is 2% less than Tua. The real meaning of those numbers means that when Georgia throws the ball the chances are 7 out of 10 some catches the ball. Essentially, that is the same for ´Bama, but the Tide throws downfield much more often. 

Georgia's special teams are very special...

and honestly, Alabama is iffy in placekicking and punting. Alabama decided to put Skylar Delong on the bench. Mike Bernie, a walk-on Senior, was given a shot. He has been the punter since Tennessee. He is not J.K. Scott, but who is? Bernie had one blocked last week against the Barn. His protection broke down. Some blame Mike for being slow in getting the kickoff. I don't think that has much merit. Look for Georgia to overload one side. That is what AU did with success. Georgia has the SEC's premier placekicker. Rodrigo Blankenship looks like he loves Buddy Holly with those black horn-rim glasses he wears.  He is 19-22 on field goal attempts and hasn't missed an extra point since being a 'Dawg.
Alabama has missed five extra points this season. Joseph Bulovas was the countries best field goal recruit his senior year. It must have been a bad year for a kicker, huh? He has had such a tough time that a lot of fans wish the Tide would go for two everytime they score. 

IMO ...

I believe that Alabama should win this game. If the Tide can avoid a scenario where they don't need a kick to win, or for Georgia to win it would great. I think Bama is going to have success running the ball, and then Tua will let his arm unleash lighting bolts. I like Bama 42 -24. 


*Fromm originally committed to Alabama. 

AUBURN - Worst Team in the SEC?

Malhzan is feeling the heat ...

   

      At first blush, it is almost impossible for Alabama fans not to laugh at where the Auburn Tigers are going. The destination could be last place in the SEC. They might be the worst team in the SEC right now. No, that is incorrect. They are the crummiest team in the SEC.  Alabama was going to beat AU before the Gus Bus blew an engine. It might have been better for the Tide to have the Tigers at the top of their game to bet ready for the SEC game and the CFP game/games. The battle for who is not the worst team in the SEC might have already been played. The Tigers knocked Arkansas around. I bet if that game were played this weekend Arkansas would be the winner. Ole Miss is lurking in the shadows to win that title as well. Auburn should beat Ole Miss. Of course, they should have beaten Tennessee. Can Ole Miss score enough points to whip the Tigers? I doubt it. 

     Tennessee fans are bragging the win at Auburn was a signature win. I am not ready to say that yet. If Auburn continues to crash, that game might just be a slightly better team winning. If Tua is well for the Tennessee game we can all see how much better the Tide is than Auburn. The differences between the in-state rivals seems to be growing at a time when AU fans thought the gap had closed. Engaging in a little math with a friend (okay, she´s a bookie) the numbers showed Bama as a near 40 point favorite. She did throw in a caveat. It could be worse. 

      Will the Tigers quit on Malhzan? He clearly is not inspiring a lot of confidence. They could declare this season null and void and move on to next year. The main question in my mind is how many might transfer. Great times lead to transfers when players understand they aren´t going to get much playing time. A program in trouble will have the same problem. Players want to be at a winner. If that observation is correct then the Tigers may have some real problems in the future.

       The Auburn of today can probably beat Ole Miss.  It is not a certainty.  How about Texas A&M? I´d say no.  Georgia in Athens? Nope. Liberty? Sure, but they beat Troy. And then the finale. Can Auburn beat Alabama? Highly improbable. That means Auburn could be looking at three or even four more losses.  The Tigers are looking a five wins, and they need six wins to be bowl eligible. Six wins are possible. That might make them bowl eligible because right now their are only seventy two teams with enough wins. The wheels come completely off if AU loses to Ole Miss. Who would have thought the team which beat Washington could be this bad? 

    

Around the Southeastern Conference...
Auburn takes a nosedive
State regains credibility
Kentucky loses a squeaker
A&M shows some life
´Bama could have scored 75 points

  Saturday was an interesting day in the SEC. Weekend six of the college football season brought the good, the bad, and ugly. Hereś my take about the SEC from a round ball manś perspective.

1, Kentucky lost to Texas A&M.  Look for more Wildcat losses. No doubt, Kentucky has improved, and they are lucky to play in the B Flight of the SEC. If they played in the West they would be just above hapless Ole Miss. Trending: Schedule may save a 9 win season.

2.   LSU lost to Florida. I believe that the Tigers are in for some more sad Saturdays. Coach O has the Tigers playing better than last year. The Bengals started a tough four-game stretch in the SEC with that loss to Florida. It is possible the Purple and Gold will lose the next three games. Welcome back to mediocrity. The Tigers would like to beat Georgia, but if you ask LSU fans who they really want to beat, the name Çrimson Tide will mean the most. Trending: LSU is on the cusp to a complete meltdown.

3. Auburn lost to Mississippi State and a whole lot more. Auburn lost their second SEC game and any chance to make it to SEC Championship game. They also lost faith in their quarterback and their head coach. As one Auburn fan told me, ¨we can do anything about Gus for at least two years. His buyout would be 39 million. Perhaps they can get Tim Cook from Apple to write a check. AU made some critical mistakes. They got enough questionable calls to keep the Auburn broadcasting crews with enough subject matter to last a season or two. I thought the AU defense was pretty bad. After a while, you would think someone would have noticed that State wasn´t passing much. Oh well, War Damn Eagle. Trending: Say hello to Georgia, Texas A&M, and Alabama. Say goodbye to their season.

4. Arkansas lost big to Bama but found hope. Alabama trounced the Razorbacks, but showed their fan base they had a lot of heart. The Hogs scored 30 points which were at least enough to give the Hogs hope for a brighter day. For Tide fans, giving up 30 was pretty scary. Crowning the Tide the best team in the nation might be a bit premature. If the defense comes around that will probably be true. The Tide´s linebackers and secondary looked pretty bad in my opinion. Trevon Diggs injury reminds me of the Eddie Jackson loss. The could have scored eighty. How often do you see a team on the wrong side of the time of possession and win by three touchdowns?

5. Missouri lost to South Carolina. In a road game, Mizzou saw a last moment field goal dash their upset hopes. Missouri shows me they can score. I don´t think they can defend. Look for a pretty high scoring shootout in TTown this Saturday. Georgia is going to win the Eastern Division. Second place is still wide-open.

   Those were the games that have some impact on the rest of the season from my seat in the living room. 

TIDE WINS WITH DEFENSE

      Things looked a little dicey when FSU knocked 'Bama on their collective heels in scoring their first-half touchdown. Visions of De Shaun Watson danced in lot of heads. That one touchdown was the end of the Seminole dream to join the race of a college football championship. There would be no additional Seminole touchdowns. The FSU defense was ready for prime time. I'll grant them that. The FSU offense? Not so much. Jimbo Fisher had his 'Noles ready to play anyone in the NCAA except the Alabama Crimson Tide. Once again, the teacher beat the student. Once again, Saban shows the futility in trying to beat the Tide when they have an excess of time to prepare. The same could be said for almost anyone who schedules Alabama. Like it or not, the world of NCAA football has turned into the Crimson Tide prime time show and on occasion someone else manages to crash the party.

Alabama offense had its problems...

Damien Harris blocks punt

    Despite some obvious problems, the Alabama offense had enough to  manage 24-points. The defense made a lot of that possible with three second half turnovers. None was bigger than a fumble recovery after a kick-off. Those fumbles and interceptions killed the ACC powerhouse. The Tide also blocked a punt in the first half which led to a Tide field goal. That three pointer followed a picture perfect pass from Hurt to a wide open Calvin Ridley. That bomb was the result of great pass blocking, a pass with enough air under it to allow a wide open Ridley to track it down for a TD. Those two first half scores put the Tide up 10-7. For the Seminoles the lights had been turned off,  but it took a while for all of us to grasp the fact FSU wouldn't score additional points. 

    

Going into the game I think most experts were more concerned with the Tide Defense. That turned out to be wrong. The Tide defense devastated FSU. In the second half it was clear that FSU had no chance of scoring. Shaun Dion Hamilton was must named the Defensive Player of the Week. So much for his comeback. He was a one man wrecking crew. The win was costly however. The Tide has lost both Hall-Lewis and Miller for the season. Evans is questionable for a while.  Regardless, whoever steps into the void has some big shoes to fill. I bet we will find someone.

 If you need a job done, and done right the first time, contact Vance Ballard of B&B Construction, LLC. Vance has put a roof on one of my homes and it was perfect. Vance graduated from the Captone, and loves the Crimson Tide. He loves doing quality work even more. You can contact him by leaving a Facebook Message at Vance Ballard

TIDE IS SET TO BEAT THE 'NOLEs

 All joking aside, does anyone really think that FSU is going to beat Alabama tomorrow? I can tell you a lot of reasons why Alabama will win this game, but I’ll give credit to Charles Hollis, who has a singular ability to incorrectly pick college upsets, and whose disdain for Alabama is well known. Hollis picking Alabama is akin to being on the cover of Sports Illustrated as favorite to win the Super Bowl. I read his pick and immediately felt better. You should too.

  As the kickoff for the big game draws nigh, more and more of the Alabama haters come out of the woodwork. I bet ESPN even considered bringing Danny Kannell out of forced retirement to add his two cents to the argument. Of course, Alabama might lose the game. FSU is a gallant opponent. Likewise, it is possible that Georgia Southern might beat Auburn, and Don Quixote will make windfall chasing a professional sport.  Why didn’t the Tigers open with a tougher opponent? Hoover High School already had a game on their schedule.

  For the younger fans, there was once a day when sportswriters reported on sports. Now they are part of the story. All the major networks like to take their “professional staff” and divide them down the middle of an argument. They claim it makes for better coverage of the games. It gives me much needed time to mow my grass, take out the garbage, and answer some emails from posters. 

 

Pressure is on Coach Daboll

 Granted, there are legitimate questions to address regarding 'Bama. Will Brian Daboll, in his first game as offensive coordinator, allow Jalen Hurts to throw the ball downfield? Or will Saban and Daboll give in to the great temptation to run the ball as the Tide's weapon in chief? Not a bad strategy for 'Bama, but it is unlikely that three yards and the smell of burning astroturf will be enough to put away the Seminoles. FSU gave up some pretty substantial number to opposition forces last year. 'Nol fans say the gaps are fixed and most observers think that may be indeed the case. Mathew Thomas, the best defensive player for FSU missed three weeks of practice but has been cleared to play. The big time linebacker is a force. Some NFL higher ups believe that the FSU defense has the most draft choices of any NCAA team this season. So, that is the what Saturday night brings to Brian Daboll. 

 

  Can Brian Daboll be the man in his first game as offensive coordinator for Nick Saban and Tide fans? I bet is he probably can get the job done. I'm almost`

   Last season, the Seminoles gave up a ton of yards and points. They are good. They are probably really good. But I don't think that they are 'Bama good. Every season it seems the Saban is faced with early departures to the NFL, and questions arise about depth. Each season he has answered them. The ACC pundits believe their league has now surpassed the SEC in stature. I don't and I think around 10:30 PM the clock will strike midnight for another team who thought they were a princess. Instead, they are the pumpkin

Tide Set For The Best Opening Game in NCAA College Football History?

 

A different kind of cat...

  It could be. It is difficult to think of a better one, isn't it?  Tip of the Hat to Nick Saban for taking on all comers in the first game of a season. This isn't a little warm up game like Georgia Southern. Saturday will be big boy football. Lace 'em up, strap 'em up tight, and get ready for mano y mano battles between the hash marks. This will be a take no prisoners type game. One team will walk off the field as the odds on favorite to win a national championship. Let's get the odds straight up front. Bama is a 7 point favorite to beat FSU. The Seminole fans don't believe the Tide will win. The rest of college football hopes the Tide won't win. I think the Tide wins. Why? To quote Gary Danielson, the Alabama quarterback is a "different kind of cat." When you have a true freshman that was the Offensive MVP for the SEC he is outstanding. Outstanding is about to give way to fabulous. Fabulous might give way to a National Championship.

Ridley is ready for a big season...

   Now we are told that Hurts is improved as a passer. If that is indeed true, he has a skilled set of young men who can catch the ball, and how good can the Tide offense be? I think the answer to that is great. Regardless of how good Hurts was last season he was still a freshman. It showed at times. Luckily, for the Tide, he was good enough to overcome a lot of mistakes. He was one short play away from having the best season any Alabama quarterback has recorded. The Tide would have won another National Championship. A lot of attention goes to the Clemson touchdown pass. The play I remember was a dropped third down pass late in the fourth quarter which would have allowed Bama to run out the clock.

Foster says he is ready ...

    Alabama has Calvin Ridley, the best wideout in the SEC, ready to take advantage of downfield throws. Cam Sims is ready, and Robert Foster seems poised to make Tide fans remember why he was signed. Foster was a five-star rated player out of high school. He has had some bad luck since arriving in Tuscaloosa. One thing is for sure about Nick Saban. He can turn a bad situation and get you in the NFL with one good season. This is what Foster is hoping for in his final year at Alabama. I have a good feeling that number eight is going to have a season to remember. He is a hard worker and has magic hands for catching passes. When you look at the Tide wideouts you see great talent and experience. Then look down the roster and you see superstar freshmen ready to take center stage. 

    Add the best running backs in the SEC or perhaps the NCAA and you can see why this season might be a great one. Some people on the SEC Network are picking the Seminoles to beat Alabama due to a questionable defense. Remember when sportscasters just reported the news instead of making it up as go along? I like the Tide in a low scoring game. 17-10.








q

" We Embrace It"

 He didn’t engage in coachspeak.  He didn’t dodge the anticipation. I suspect he is telling his players to feed off the media frenzy and enjoy the ride. I think Johnson knows he has the horses to win enter the derby. If you caught the practice earlier this week it is apparent that the Crimson Tide is going to be very good. At a minimum, the Crimson is NCAA good. I wonder what the maximum be. This team isn’t going to win the NCAA this season. Alabama might win the SEC, but it is possible they might. Don’t get overexcited. It likely won’t happen after watching team up close and personal it seems to me the talent is available to give it a good run. Why do I say that? Here are the reasons:

1.       You must understand the firepower that Alabama has on the floor. Sexton and Petty bring a new dimension to set the gym on fire. Add Ingram, Davis, Riley, Davis, and Jr. to the mix and you have a lot of high scoring options.

2.       How about the improvement on the offensive end by Hall? How about the contribution that Giddens is going to bring? Seriously, this big package can dominate the inside. Johnson is not likely to have both on the floor together consistently, but individually they both are big time players. The improvement of the post players is huge, and it could be the most important upgrade the Tide makes.

3.       This team can run and then run some more. The Crimson and White is going beat up some teams with their speed and quickness on the break. See #2 to understand what is going to make that possible.

4.       Alabama also can run a half-court offense that will be patient enough to get great shots. A good inside and outside game is going to win a lot of games.

5.       Think about this – Dazon Ingram may be the 4^th best player on the floor this year. Alabama still has Braxton Key who was last season’s go to guy by seasons end.

   Every time I try to temper my enthusiasm with common sense, the talent makes me even more enthusiastic. This team can win big if all the pieces fall into place. The Canadian swing gives the Tide extra practices and solid competition. One of the Canadian teams is almost SEC caliber.