Colin Cowherd sets out to prove that even broken clocks are right sooner or later

The sun will rise tomorrow. February is coming soon. After winter's chill is over, spring will thaw and summer will warm again. Nick Saban's time will come to an end, some other program will enjoy a fleeting period of success and Colin Cowherd thinks that time is now.

Cowherd, Paul Finebaum and Jim Rome are sports media personalities that don't get ratings and don't make money unless they say stuff knowing that they may have to take it back and apologize for saying it later. It's just what they do. Car dealers sell cars, thieves steal things and pot stirrer-uppers stir up the pot.  But pot stirrer-uppers have an out when they make bold predictions like "the end of an era is upon us." Even the most outrageous doomsayer will be right sooner or later. This is much like the proverbial broken clock. It's always right twice a day.

Nick Saban is a mortal human and his time at Alabama is limited. It is unlikely that any near term replacement will duplicate (or even exceed) his success. But anybody who watched all of the Tide's 13 games in the 2019 season saw a program that was about a cat hair's distance from being another link in the dynastic chain. The team was loaded with talent among the first-teamers but just didn't have the depth and experience of the 2015-2018 teams. Those teams made four appearances in the CFP Championship game and won two while beating would-be aspirants Clemson and Georgia twice each. Injuries and eventual graduation to the NFL are part of the game of Big Boy College Football. That both bugs bit in the same season doesn't mean that an empire is crumbling. Not... yet.

Anyway, here's the pot stirrer-upper, practicing his craft.

New England Patriots. Golden State Warriors. Alabama Crimson Tide. @ColinCowherd on 2020 — the end of the dynasties: pic.twitter.com/G4HDxN3PO7

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) January 3, 2020

Dylan Moses to return to Alabama

He's coming back, y'all.

Dylan Moses was the missing part in a good-but-not-great 2019 Alabama defense. After the devastating knee injury suffered in August, the team lacked a squad leader. Fans watching Alabama football this season could sense that something was missing:

Moses brings a steadying presence to the quarterback spot of a complex Alabama defense. He was the veteran voice obviously missing from a defense that regressed through attrition. This program overcame incredibly bad linebacker injury luck in 2017 but just didn’t have the depth when disaster struck in August.

Opponents picked on the inexperienced middle linebackers with schemes designed to attack them. Moses was always around the program but couldn’t have the impact he’ll have next fall counseling them from the field instead of the film room.

“I think a lot of the times,” Golding said Sunday of the freshman linebackers, “they are looking for confirmation and the guy beside him doesn’t really know either. And I think that’s been the big difference.”

Coach Nick Saban is delighted, of course:

“He can create value by coming back, and we certainly have to, as an institution and an organization, make him feel comfortable relative to how we insure him and what he can do so that hopefully he’s not going to have these kinds of problems and he’ll be able to improve his draft status.

“I think the big thing with Dylan was he wanted to be a part of the team. He wanted to be a leader of the team, he wanted to come back and play well for Alabama and that was probably the deciding factor for him. Obviously, he’s a great player, he’s a good person and a good leader, and he can make a significant impact on making us better next year.”

Some people who fancy themselves gurus of the draft were a little perturbed:

Pretty shocking Dylan Moses is going back to Alabama. A potential top 10 prospect and LB1 in this class. He’ll be one of the first players off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft. So big for that Alabama defense. https://t.co/tZibpF5wyV

— Rob Paul (@RobPaulNFL) December 31, 2019

Oh, well. Roll Tide!

Bama fans have reason to dream about the 2020 team's roster

Another year older, another year of experience and another year better. Based on mock draft reports and some intrepid reporting from Sports Illustrated's Chris Walsh, it looks like the 2020 Crimson Tide football team could come back loaded with talent, experience and a hunger maybe not seen since the 2009 season.

First, the mock drafts. CBS has seven Tide players going in the first round, as does USAToday. Fox Sports also has seven Alabama players going on Day One. Not all of these guys are Juniors with a year of eligibility remaining. Raekwon Davis, Anfernee Jennings and Trevon Smith are all done at Alabama. But there are Juniors who are still on the fence about jumping early.

We've already talked about Tua Tagovailoa's prospects, but what about others with a season of eligibility left? That's where SI's Chris Walsh pencils in some of the blanks.

There are a LOT of names not mentioned yet who seem at this point to be leaning toward staying. Among those I’m hearing are least 75 per cent certain to remain on the Crimson Tide roster are quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Henry Ruggs III, offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood and linebacker Dylan Moses.

That last paragraph may seem like a too good to be true fantasy – and perhaps it is in part – but Nick Saban is emphasizing to his underclassmen, as evidenced by recent remarks by Tagovailoa, how important it is to not just be a first-round pick but to be in the top 15 players chosen when the NFL Draft takes place April 23, 2020 in Paradise, Nevada. ...

The situation remains fluid, and a lot could change, but there is strong evidence that much of it may not and that Alabama’s 2020 team may be much deeper and experienced than initially thought.

A lot of what could change depends on how the remainder of the NFL season and playoffs pan out. Coaching changes in the league don't start until Black Monday, which is December 30 this year. Some more of what could change will play out during the college football bowls and playoffs. Both college seniors and underclassmen could see their draft prospects change according to who's expected to bolt after this season and who else in the country is expected to come back in 2020. 'There are lots of moving parts' is not wrong.

One thing we can count on is that Alabama players considering the move are getting sound advice. Counsel is coming from real grownups with no reason not to shove a Junior in the right direction.

“A lot of guys, man, they got it in their mind that they’re gonna go out for the draft no matter what, and I think you all know my philosophy on that: If you’re a first-round draft pick, you should go. If you’re not, you should stay in school and try to graduate. I think it’s getting tougher and tougher, and more and more guys are making the decision to go out early.

“And at least 50 percent of those cases, it’s not a good decision, and a lot of those guys don’t make a team. What people don’t understand, and everybody should know, is professional football is the only sports league, professional sports league, that doesn’t have a minor-league system. Baseball has a minor-league system. Aaron Judge, he’s a pretty good baseball player, right? He spent a couple years in the minor leagues developing. Well, you don’t do that in football. The only development you can do is in college. So where you enter the league is of utmost importance.

“And I just think that gets overlooked by a lot of players, because it’s all or nothing, and if they don’t make the team, there’s no place else for them to play, and they can’t go back to college and play. I think the road we’re going down right now is not always best for the players that are making decisions to go out early.”

And Coach Saban is not shy about how their decisions affect them as well as how their mindset affects his program.

“I’m sure that guys are going to make individual decisions based on their circumstance and their situation, and what we want to focus on is the guys who want to look to the future and look to trying to improve themselves as players and improve our team in getting back to the standard that we want to play to. This has been something that has been a bit of an issue in the past with other programs and other teams. We haven’t experienced it for a while, but we’ll see what happens with this group. We will have those conversations, and we’ll let you know if any of those decisions are imminent to the players that we have on our team.”

The Nick Saban coaching tree extends a branch into Ole Miss

Nick Saban's dynasty isn't over. It's just beginning. He is the Genghis Khan of college football.

There are 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference. With Saturday's hiring of Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, there are now five current head coaches in the SEC who have served as assistant coaches under Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

They are:

1. Kirby Smart - Georgia
2. Jimbo Fisher - Texas A&M
3. Will Muschamp - South Carolina
4. Jeremy Pruitt -Tennessee
5. Lane Kiffin - Ole Miss 

The Florida Gators have twice put their hopes and dreams with Saban disciples, hiring Muschamp in 2011 and following with former Bama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain in 2014. The impatient Gators traded Mac for former Urban Meyer disciple Dan Mullen in 2018.

What's obvious here is that a successful stint under the coach who's almost certainly the best in his era (if not best ever) has led to very lucrative head coaching jobs at six different programs in the best conference in big boy college football. 

But wait: There's more.

Saban himself has coached at two SEC programs. He won his first national title in 2003 at LSU. So that makes eight SEC programs that have either been coached by Nick Saban or coached by at least one of his former assistants.

Only Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and Vanderbilt have yet to feel Saban's touch. Missouri may get a Saban branch of their own if rumors of McElwain's imminent hire there play out.

How has coaching under Saban worked out for the programs that have hired his former assistants? The clear answer is "not too shabby." We excuse the patience-less Florida Gators, of course. (They're special and they'll tell you so if you ask.)

Jimbo Fisher has three conference titles and a National Championship and has a record of 99–32.

Kirby Smart has three SEC East championships, one SEC title and an appearance against his mentor in the championship game for the 2017 season. He's 43–11 in his first and only head coaching gig.

Will Muschamp has a winning record as a head coach, going 54–46 overall between Florida and South Carolina.

Jim McElwain has a 52–31 record with head coaching stops at Fresno State, Colorado State, Florida and Central Michigan.

Lane Kiffin has been the head coach at Tennessee, Southern Cal and Florida Atlantic. Along the way, he's cobbled together an impressive 61–34 record with two Conference USA titles. 

Jeremy Pruitt is the only Saban Padawan with a record at/below .500 with a 12–12 record at Knoxville.

That's a combined record of 321–166 with a national championship and six conference titles. In a 12-game season, that's an average 8–4 record, with a realistic shot at division, conference honors and an occasional chance at national championship contention. Not too shabby.

The only bad news for SEC programs with Sabanites at their helms is that they are a collective 0-19 against their mentor. Sooner or later, one of the students will best his master, but so far... they're not that good.

So, why the Genghis Khan wisecrack? An early 2000's genetic study shows that at least 1-in-200 men living today are direct paternal (Y-chromosome) descendants of the Mongol conqueror.

I'll leave you with this quote, attributed to Genghis hisself:

"The greatest joy for a man is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them all they possess, to see those they love in tears, to ride their horses, and to hold their wives and daughters in his arms."

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Iron Bowl 2019: It's tough to beat luck like that...

For this Iron Bowl, both the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers laid everything on the field on a perfect Saturday evening at Jordan Hare Stadium. This is the way this annual grudge match is supposed to be.

What seems to set the 2019 apart from the standard fare of the series was the sloppiness. Sloppiness is a symptom of a lack of discipline, lack of experience and poor concentration. Neither team had much of any of that good stuff.

Auburn won this game using their athleticism and incredible luck. But as the old saying goes, luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Auburn was prepared, Alabama was not.

Four plays epitomized Alabama's fortunes in the game:

1. Auburn's Smoke Monday (is that a name or a play call?) picked off a sailed throw from Alabama's Mac Jones and took it in for a 29-yard touchdown. This is not typical Mac Jones--he's never wild or careless with the ball. It just sailed this time.
2. After three 1st and Goals, Auburn took a Jones pass that bounced off of Naji Harris's back into his hands and raced 100 yards for another pick six.
3. With the score 48-45 Auburn's way, Joe Bulova boinked what should have been an easy kick to tie the game. That's pretty much been Bama's poison for a lot of Nick Saban's tenure at Alabama, but anyway...
4. With Auburn facing 4th and 4-ish with about a minute left, and with everyone in the world except Auburn expecting a punt, AU instead showed a standard offensive lineup. That forced Bama to too-hastily substitute and AU caught'em with 12 men on the field. Automatic 1st down; ball game.

That last penalty was the 13th against Alabama, which is the most ever for a Saban coached team at Alabama. Almost every one of the flags went against underclassmen, every one of them on the field at Auburn for the first time.

In many of the 2019 games, the left side of the defense seemed to always have at least one guy out of position. Opposing teams exploited that weakness repeatedly. Often on 3rd down. Usually for a conversion. Almost always against underclassmen.

Truth be told, Alabama has been cheating lady luck all season. Had this team of uncharacteristically young Sabanites faced up-to-speed and healthy opponents in South Carolina, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Mississippi State, a 10-2 regular season record would have gotten Coach Saban legitimate nominations for SEC and National Coach of the Year awards. The team lost a treasure trove of talent to the NFL after the 2018 season. No fewer than five freshmen started on defense. There were no more than seven seniors starting against Auburn on the whole team. The offense didn't have one senior starter on the field against Auburn. Not one. The defense only had four. The starting lineup for the Iron Bowl consisted almost exclusively of underclassmen, and only a handful will (or should) depart early for the NFL Draft.

All Bama fans want Alabama to win every single game they play. The players and coaches want that even more. But when your team's best players lack big game experience, you're at risk. When you're up against teams in the SEC, and your team's best players lack big game experience, you're really at risk. When you're the Alabama Crimson Tide and every opponent on the schedule has your game circled on the calendar... luck is just about the only thing that gets you through unscathed. Alabama lost to the only two ranked teams it played--LSU in a down-to-the-wire shootout at home, and Auburn in a down-to-the-wire shootout in their corral. 

There is still a bowl game to play and Alabama will be at the top of the list for the SEC's top tier bowl tie-ins. The few seniors and departing juniors still have one more chance to show their stuff.

After that, Alabama will get down to business putting the 2019 season's experience to very good use. Nick Saban never misses an opportunity to use disappointment as a motivator. The 2019 true and redshirt freshmen will come back and work with the rising upperclassmen. Between 25-30 players from this team will be back for 2020. A year older, a year better an a year hungrier.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity and it's my bet that Alabama will be more than prepared this time next year to take advantage of many more opportunities. And other fans can complain about bad luck.

Bama will be just fine.

Iron Bowl 2019: A game that is almost always won or lost in the trenches

This is the Southeastern Conference, where big boys come to play big boy football and all little boys watch'em and pray they grow up to be'em. This is the Iron Bowl, an uncivil civil war between two in-state rivals. This game is like almost every other game played in this league in that it is almost always decided in that scant yard or so we call the neutral zone--a gentleman's euphemism for warfare's No Man's Land.

If your big strong ugly dudes can knock down the other team's big strong ugly dudes, you can win the game. If your less big, less ugly dudes can also block, catch and run, then you probably will win.

Auburn's defensive front seven is probably the best front seven in the league. They are big, athletic and have been wreaking havoc on opposing offensive lines.  Their defense has kept them in games that they shouldn't have had a chance at winning.

Alabama probably has the best offensive line in the league. It's better than Georgia's and at least as good as LSU's. Bama's offensive line finally gelled when Deonte Brown returned from a four game NCAA suspension against Ole Miss in September. The line has worked together as a unit since then--a usual key to success up front.

Auburn's offensive line has been a disappointment. Some of that is due to youth, but some of it is due to injuries. The shifting of players and lack of experience has kept the unit from working successfully together for any considerable stretch. Talent at 'skill' positions only counts if the defense isn't on your side of the line of scrimmage every other snap.

Likewise, Alabama's front seven has struggled. Part of those struggles are also injury related. Bama lost LB Dylan Moses to a freak injury in practice before the season started. The team has never lacked the physical talent necessary to make plays. But Moses was to be the defense's quarterback, making sure the players were in position for Coach Saban's 3-4 Over/Under defense. The left side of the defense has frequently been caught flat-footed or just plain out of position, and the team has often found it hard to get off the field on third downs. Whether Moses' presence could have made a difference is pure speculation but it damned sure wouldn't have hurt.

So we'll likely see a push and push--Alabama's offensive line will struggle to keep Auburn's front seven from wrecking plays, and Alabama's talented front seven will likewise wreak havoc on a young Auburn offensive line.

In games like this, anything can happen. I have no idea who wins.

2019 Iron Bowl: It's that time of year again

Ahh, Thanksgiving. Turkey & fixin's on Thursday, a mad grab for material reward on Friday and the most uncivil civil war on Saturday. Then triage and hangover-nursing (for some) on Sunday.

Look at the history of the series. The average margin of victory is about 16 points. In the College Football Playoff era, the margin has been 17 but the BCS era was closer with a margin of 12.5. Alabama owns the only blowout victories in recent history, all in the Nick Saban era. There was a 36-0 shutout to end the Tommy Tuberville regime in 2008. Then 42-14 in 2011; then 49-0 in 2012 to end Gene Chizik's head coaching career and last year's 52-21 beatdown.

Rivalry games are always emotional. In a rivalry this heated, this bitter and this intense, the rivals’ adrenaline lasts a little longer than the first quarter.

A lot the players in this game are from the state of Alabama. They probably played against each other in high school and may have even played against each other in pee wee leagues. Their families know each other. They’ve gone to the same churches, the same schools and played on the same playgrounds. Sooner or later the two teams will settle in and just play football, but this game is always a little more intense than other rivalries.

Almost all of the fans in this state know each other. We work together. We live in the same neighborhoods. We worship together, shop together and share the road with each other. A big percentage of us all are related to one another, too. I have cousins and in-laws who have crossed over to the Dark Side, for some mysterious reason (I do pray for them; you should, too). Civil wars are always like this.

For most of the three months of college football's regular season, we kind of look at each other a little differently. For the other nine months we tolerate each other. For one holiday weekend, we hardly speak to one another and rarely about the Iron Bowl.

For about 3-1/2 hours on that Saturday afternoon, it's war.

The stakes for the 2019 installment are pretty high. Alabama still has a good chance to make its sixth straight appearance in the College Football Playoff. With three losses already, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is probably coaching for his job. Win this game and he probably comes back. Lose it, and he probably doesn't.

For us fans, there's just the Braggin' Rights thing and the schadenfreude pleasure of wearing the T-shirts, sporting the bumper stickers and sharing the memes on social media. Win or lose life will go on. We'll keep working together, worshipping together and living together because it's... just a football game.

The SEC deserves to have two teams in the Final Four, and Alabama should be one of them

First of all, if you're a Bama fan reading this you're just a fan, just like me. As fans, we have absolutely no obligation to not look ahead of the next opponent. No amount of future-tripping will have one bit of impact on what the rest of this season deals out to the Alabama Crimson Tide. We don't matter unless we don't show up for games and we don't show support win or lose. We are the Bama Nation and this program's tradition has us rightly expecting to be in the mix for the national championship every single year.

If you're not just a fan then you are (1) a member of the allegedly objective sports media (2) a coach or player and you should know better than to eat this rat poison or (3) a fan of a rival school and your therapist has told you not to hurt yourself by obsessing over stuff like this.

The Southeastern Conference is the best football conference in the country. Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and LSU are the five most lethal teams in the country (Auburn and Florida are both better than their records indicate). Put any two of these against any other two teams in the country. Play each matchup 10 times and there's better than a coin-flip chance that those two SEC teams end up meeting each other in the Championship Game every time.

You can't change my mind.

Even with the injuries to Tua Tagovailoa, Henry Ruggs, Christian Hale and Raekwon Davis Alabama is still one of the elite teams in the most elite conference in the country. The College Football Playoff selection committee is supposed to nominate and seed the four best teams in the country.

Alabama needs to win out, of course. They have to win the Iron Bowl and it doesn't matter if a one loss-Georgia wins or loses the SEC Championship Game. If Georgia loses, Alabama is in because its one loss compared to Georgia's two is a better resume.  If LSU loses, Alabama gets in because LSU lost last. If Georgia stomps LSU, all the better because Alabama lost one game by a measly five points in a slugfest.

I hear and respect the arguments of teams like Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma. Pick Clemson and either of the other two for playoff berths. For the odd man out you can make a case that the jilted team could have never survived an eight game SEC schedule with their skins intact. They'll be ok--they know that's true and besides, they're used to being left out. They can play one of the other SEC elites for third place bragging rights.

If Alabama wins the Iron Bowl, then the Tide should make its sixth appearance in the College Football Playoff. Anything else is a travesty.

Don't argue with me.

The Crimson Tide and some Tide fans both have some gettin' better to do

What a great day for college football. The two best football teams in the nation's best college football conference went toe-to-toe yesterday when Alabama hosted LSU in an epic slugfest. The President of the United States was in attendance. The 41 points Alabama scored against LSU was the most they'd scored in regulation since Florida and Georgia both hung 50+ points on them in 2008. Unfortunately for our side yesterday, LSU hung 46 on Bama, the most in series history.

Suffice it to say that both Alabama and some it its fans have a lot of gettin' better to do.

LSU and Bama are both the kind of team that can and do make you pay for you mistakes. Alabama made more mistakes and LSU made'em pay. Two critical first half turnovers led directly to two Tiger TD's. Both turnovers were quarterback Tua Tagovailoa mistakes. It would be too easy to second-guess Nick Saban's decision to start Tua; to claim that had he not started the two miscues wouldn't have happened.

Alabama has started four freshmen all season on defense and at many times yesterday there were five freshmen on the field. Freshmen make mistakes. They will get better at not being out of position. They will get better at recognizing what the offense is showing and getting into the right coverage, and they will get better at tackling. Experience is solid gold and we're a little short of specie this year.

The officials also made mistakes. Both teams were guilty of defensive holding and defensive pass interference and weren't flagged. Then there was the highly questionable sideline throw that should have been overturned (I call BS on the "forced out" excuse). LSU's offensive line held on every other pass play and never got called. Alabama was offsides at least a half-dozen times. But when thinking about officiating, it's best to remember that if your team just does what it's supposed to do, bad calls or no calls can't change the outcome.

LSU's offense is nothing short of jaw-dropping. They don't make many mistakes. A very good offensive line. A very good receiver corps. And a great quarterback with uncommon grit and toughness. LSU has a chance to win it all.

Coach Ed Orgeron of LSU is the real deal. He talks funny but he's building a formidable program through great recruiting, great coaching and a mutual love with the state of Louisiana.

Alabama fans welcomed President Donald Trump with warm hospitality. It's rare for the Commander in Chief to visit your house in a game with such magnitude, Greatness attracts greatness. Usually. It sometimes attracts the pettiest among us.

So it comes with great embarrassment to learn that some idiot decided to go full Antifa and vandalize the Baby Trump balloon that anti-Trump protesters had brought to pre-game activities. Protesting is the most American thing ever. There's a reason why freedom of expression is guaranteed in the very First Amendment to the Constitution.

Like it or not, ridicule is a protected form of free expression. The balloon, the people behind it and the message it sends are an affront to common decency. That's not surprising--the left's inability to accept the legitimacy of the Trump Administration is itself nothing more than a spoiled brat throwing a hissy fit over the 2016 election. The Baby Trump balloon couldn't be a better representation of today's left if you prayed for it. The whole left is a great big baby, throwing  a great big tantrum.

The man who slashed the balloon  is Hoyt Hutchinson. He is no better than that piece of shit Harvey Updyke, who poisoned Auburn University's famed 100+ year old oaks at Toomer's Corner. It is appalling and deeply embarrassing that Hutchinson, like Updyke, is being celebrated by some Bama fans as some kind of hero today. Consider that Antifa is a lawless and violent organization that routinely destroys historic landmarks and violently confronts peaceful marches and demonstrations they disagree with. To the left, Antifa is a bunch of heroes. To decent society, they are thugs. To some Bama conservatives, Hutchinson is the new Updyke. To me, he's not much better than Antifa.

Updyke. Hutchinson. The unnamed Tuscaloosa protest "organizers." Antifa. All cut from the same rotten cloth. Most Bama fans are better than this. Some, like the Tide they profess to love, have some gettin' better to do.

The most anticipated preview of the most anticipated game of the season

Tidefans.com has been my "home" on the football side of the internet since May 2001. For every game Alabama plays during the football season, Jess Nicholas gives TF denizens a preview of the matchup, going position-by-position of both teams. He talks strengths, weaknesses and schemes and makes a pick.

With LSU undefeated again and coming  back to Tuscaloosa to face an undefeated Alabama (again), this week's preview is the most anticipated yet.

An appetizer:

Alabama will have to win this game amid a circus that will be taking place outside the stadium: the arrival of ESPN’s College Gameday set, the attendance of President Donald Trump. But the biggest circus act this week has been the high-wire balancing act of media pundits, who have had to balance their newfound love for LSU against criticism of Alabama despite the Crimson Tide being no worse than the Tigers’ equal.

He's right. As an example of the media's Wallenda Act, look no farther than SI's Pat Forde. Click that link only if you really like 500+ words of equivocating bullshit.

It's gonna be a great game. If you want to see how a really talented phrase-turner expects the game to end, click the first link.

Not all fans are happy that Alabama will play ACC opponents in future non-conference games

The Alabama football program has inked deals to play ACC opponents Florida State and Virginia Tech in future years. Alabama agreed to a home-and-home series with the Seminoles for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The Hokies games aren't set until the 2034 and 2035 seasons.

Not all fans are happy about it.

Bama fans are ok with it, In fact, we're rather tired of the whining from other teams' fans about the Crimson Tide's "weak schedule." We'd like to see Bama play anyone, anywhere. It's not Bama's fault that no one of national consequence wants a high risk game on their schedule.

It's the fans of the other schools that aren't too keen on a Bama home-and-home.

Hokies:

---

Atc4vt
Oct 31st, 10:32 AM

Maybe saban will be retired by then
17 upvotes


vtfan 90
Oct 31st, 10:33 AM

Atc4vt said... (original post) Maybe saban will be retired by then

well he would be mid 80's so he probably will be.

---

Seminoles:

Why would we do this??? Do we not remember that playing bama last time literally ruined our team?

— Joey Planz (@Broseph_Planz) October 31, 2019

Joey is right. During the second half of the 2017 season opener, Alabama's relentless pass rush left FSU without their starting QB and the 'Noles saw a complete breakdown on special teams. Alabama won 24-7 and went on to win the National Championship. Florida State rashly fired Jimbo Fisher during the season, and sent the program into a downward spiral that hasn't yet hit rock bottom.

In the 2013 season opener, Alabama rode three non-offensive touchdowns to a 35-10 victory over the Hokies. The two-time defending national champions finished that season with a disappointing 11-2 record, losing the Iron Bowl and the Sugar Bowl.

To their credit, many of the Hokies' fans welcome the opportunity to play one of college football's titan programs.

So... why doesn't Alabama schedule Clemson? The answer is, Bama has tried to. The last time the teams met during the regular season, Alabama walloped the Tigers 34-10 to open the 2008 season. IBCR has learned that the Alabama Athletics Dept has reached out "more than once" to Clemson since current head coach and Alabama grad Dabo Swinney was hired. Clemson has been "not very keen" on playing two SEC opponents every season (Clemson faces South Carolina every year in their regular season finale).

It's also worth noting that both Clemson and Florida State ended up firing their coaches after disappointing seasons that started with lopsided losses to Bama. Maybe Dabo's onto something...

More Bama navel gazing on the second bye week

We have nothing else better to do, so why not meditate on where the 2019 Alabama Crimson Tide is and where it might be going?

First, when it comes to the "quarterback situation," let there be no doubt that the Tide is just fine. If there were any questions about the potency of Sarkisian's offense sans Tua Tagovailoa, handy backup Mac Jones couldn't have answered them any better against Arkansas. In three full quarters of play, he had a workmanlike afternoon going 18 of 22 for 235 yards and three TD's. Not flashy, but still very effective. He hit the quick passes and threw the ball downfield with all the confidence of a veteran. He never made any potential game changing mistakes. He never held the ball too long, usually found the right receiver and ran the run-pass option calls just as designed. The angst of having to rely on a gimpy-legged Tua has faded. If faced with a choice between a 90% Tua vs 100% Mac, I'm ambivalent. How about you?

The offensive line and the Tide ground game have gotten more comfortable to watch all season long. The return of Deonte Brown to the starting lineup and the shift of Landon Dickerson to center has put the unit in just the right gear going into the most challenging part of the season. Brown is a beast--he is routinely knocking his guy down and getting out to the linebacker, making  holes that Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr hit for an average of about 5.2 yards per carry. Any football team that can legitimately choose to either throw or run the football on 3rd and 4 will keep drives alive and wear out any other defense. 

Even with a slightly sore Devonte Smith, Alabama has the best receiving corps in the country and it's a long, long way to second place. Pick any one and you'll have a guy who has great hands, runs routes right, blocks well downfield and can just flat outrun anybody on the other team.

Early in the season, the Tide defense was a unit that had no place to go but up. Thankfully, they have. Last season's defense saw a ton of talent and experience take their skills to Sunday play. The exodus was so great that there are five true freshman in critical defensive roles this year. DJ Dale, Justin Eboigbe, Christian Harris and Shane Lee all played high school football last year and are starters for Nick Saban in 2019. Jordan Battle comes in in dime situations.

Terrell Lewis is finally hitting his stride. Anfernee Jennings is a beast. Raekwon Davis is a monster. Christian Barmore is a terror when subbing in for Dale. Best of all, the defensive backfield are taking away the middle and doing what a 3-2 over/under defense is supposed to do--make the QB patiently beat you play after play in the face of a relentless pass rush.

There is a weakness, though. The left side is still having difficulty staying home, biting on RPOs to their right, getting stuck out of position and leaving the edge soft. LSU, Auburn and any future post-season opponents will try to exploit that. All Lewis and defensive backs Patrick Surtain and Shyheim Carter have to do is pursue a tad bit to the right and a play for a loss can get the first down (ore more. Gulp).

Even special teams are showing marked improvement. We no longer hold our breath (much) on field goals and points after. Freshman punter Ty Perine has become a coach and fan favorite, too.

Alabama is now 8-0. With the exception of Tua's ankle sprain, The team has escaped the injury bug and faces the toughest part of the schedule in good shape. At +13 in the turnover ratio, Alabama leads the nation and the SEC.

LSU's visit to Tuscaloosa on November 2 is probably the game that determines who represents the SEC West in Atlanta on December 7. LSU struggled to put away a middlin' Auburn team, had some defense issues against Florida and really hasn't faced a complete, deep roster on the road.

Not too surprisingly, Georgia has an uphill struggle to get to Atlanta--they will meet a very good Florida Gators team on the same day Bama hosts LSU. Having been upset at home against South Carolina, Georgia needs to beat the Gators at neutral Jacksonville.

Can there be a better time of the year than this?

Free Mac Jones!

Believe it or not, Mac Jones may be a critical part of Alabama's trek to a title. The question may then may be whether or how much he grows in the next three weeks. You tell me if I'm saying what you're thinking.

First, let's set the table. Tua Tagovailoa suffered the dreaded "high ankle sprain" in the first half against Tennessee last week. He underwent surgery the next day and was said "to be out for a few weeks," or something like that. So Mac will be the starter against Arkansas tomorrow night. He'll work with a healthy receiving corps, an improving offensive line and a pair of running backs who have gotten better as the season has progressed.

Arkansas is 2-5 and appears headed for a bad 5-7 (at best) or a dreadful 3-9 (at worst) final record. But the Razorbacks are not without teeth or talent. Defense was supposed to be the plus side of a talented but young team that just needed time to jell. It hasn't happened as well as hoped, but the team is good enough to make Alabama work a little harder with a backup quarterback.

The reason I say Jones' development over the next two weeks could be so important is that there's a high likelihood that Tua won't be ready enough for the onslaught that will be a ferocious LSU defense. Jones may get the start again, with big time stakes on the table. How much he grows with things running at real game day speed will make tomorrow night a must watch game.

Now we have to ask: How much will freedom will Nick Saban and Steve Sarkisian give Mac? I would like to see him given all the leeway he wants, even if that means he makes mistakes he can learn from. Arkansas won't have the  horses to turn those mistakes into an upset so if those mistakes become important lessons to use against LSU, all the better.

There's also the issue of Jones being right-handed playing with an offense that's used to the motions and tendencies of a southpaw. The blind side has flipped, the quarterback moves differently and the ball spins the other way. That's gonna be a thing to watch all night. What does the brain trust do to mitigate risk that they weren't doing before? I think playing safe and shrinking the playbook would be a mistake but hey... for a football genius your beloved blogger makes for a brilliant economist, so...

I think a player who might please us all is another quarterback, Slade Bolden. New Orleans Saints' fans will recognize what a threat he could be in (dare I say it?) the Boldcat Formation. But not many previews of this game are talking about how important a play or three out of this situation could give future opponents a real planning headache.

Bama QB Tua Tagovailoa undergoes surgery for high-ankle sprain

The bad news is that Tua Tagovailoa sprained his ankle.

The good news is twofold: It's not the same ankle he injured against UGA in the SEC Championship Game and; it is the same surgery he had last year. The new technique had him near 100% by the time Oklahoma showed up in the playoff semifinal.

Via ESPN with a statement from Coach Nick Saban:

"Our physicians performed a successful tight-rope procedure on his right ankle this morning," Alabama coach Nick Saban said in a statement. "This is the same injury, but the opposite ankle that Tua injured last season. Tua will miss next week's game against Arkansas, but we expect a full and speedy recovery."

...

Tagovailoa, who currently leads the FBS in QBR (95.6), has thrown 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

The junior from Hawaii had the "tightrope" procedure on his other ankle following the SEC Championship Game last season and returned in time to compete in the College Football Playoff.

I dunno about y'all, but I really wish he'd stop trying to be a hero. The boy might get hurt, or something.

From the SEC Network: "The standard in college football is going to reside in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.”

Here's a brief video snippet from Saturdays in the South, the very nice series on the very best conference in college football.

For most Bama fans, this game was a turning the corner moment. For 16 years before it, and despite one SEC Championship in 1999 10 years before it, fans just didn't quite get a sense that the Tide was back in its righteous place at the top of college football. This game ended that doubt.

“Florida is no longer going to be the standard in college football. The standard in college football is going to reside in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.”

— @GregMcElroy | Saturdays in the South pic.twitter.com/9DmEcKpA62

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 18, 2019

Extra point: Has it really been 10 years since that magical season?

Alabama Crimson Tide is becoming the team the nation feared it would be

Giving up 28 points to a "middlin'" Texas A&M team would have led to pearl clutching and hauling out of the fainting couches just 10 years ago. I admit to feeling a little light-headed after the Aggies' opening drive. That drive ate half of the first quarter, took 14 plays and resulted in the first opening drive TD Bama has given up all season. But by the time the teams trotted into the locker room with the Tide up 24-13, you knew that this was gonna be one for the good guys.

Aggie QB Kellen Mond was the only real weapon Jimbo Fisher had in his arsenal and he got 90 yards on the ground and 264 through the air. Most of it was in garbage time and stats don't tell the story of how the Tide defense handled him. Terrell Lewis, Christian Barmore and Anfernee Jennings weren't letting the Aggies do anything when they needed to. There's no substitute for the combo of depth and experience in the front seven and Alabama is developing both. Splendidly.

On the other side of the ball, the gradual change from the pass-first attack of early September into the deadly efficient balanced pro set we'll need in November and beyond is nearly complete. As this space predicted weeks ago, guard Deonte Brown is changing the whole texture of the Tide ground attack. Alabama ran the ball when they wanted to and threw it when they wanted to, mostly with positive results. Brown was 350+ pounds of murder against Aggie defenders and regularly terrorized the second level. Accordingly, Najee Harris and Brian Robinson combined for 165 yards.

Tua Tagovailoa made only two mistakes, but both were in the red zone. One was a failure to read a fake blitz and resulted in the season's first INT. The other was a miscommunication with WR Jerry Jeudy. Other than that, he was Heisman efficient. He hit seven different receivers for 295 yards and three scores and set a school record for career TD passes. What's scariest for all future opponents is that he's getting even better. He's checking down his receivers to find the open man and he's gaining more confidence. He's improvising as the play develops and making stuff happen instead of panicking ala the 2018 SEC Championship and that Clemson nightmare.

Bama needs to tweak the red zone performance. We need to see fewer penalties--especially the ones that suggest a lack of composure and personal discipline. Defensive consistency needs to improve--there's no such thing as taking a play off and letting the other guys break out and make a play.  Yes, there's lots of young blood on the D side of the ball but a missed tackle is a lack of effort, not a lack of ability. These are not fatal flaws though, and they can all be outgrown.

What we're seeing is a talented, well coached and very deep football team hitting mid-season stride just in time. With LSU, Auburn and Georgia or Florida still ahead, we're about where we'd like to be.

Bama faces a bit of a test on the road

After a week off, Alabama takes a rested team into Kyle Field, taking on the Texas A&M Aggies in CBS' Game of the Week. If this game is still competitive at halftime, the Tide could be in for its first real challenge.

Last season in Tuscaloosa, the Aggies' QB Kellen Mond rolled up almost 300 yards of offense and A&M scored 23 points. Mond has shown bursts of greatness so far in 2019 amid long stretches of ho-hum. At home and with almost half of the season under his belt, he faces a defense with questions at right defensive end and an inside linebacking corps that's still finding itself. Coach Jimbo Fisher is a well-respected offensive mind and we can expect him to probe Saban's 3-4 Over/Under scheme for weaknesses. We shouldn't be surprised if A&M puts 20 or more on the board again.

As we explored in this space just before the Ole Miss game, Alabama's offense is changing in a potentially profound way. What we didn't know then was that Center Chris Owens is nursing a leg injury that will surely keep him out, causing a shift that gets Deonte 'Cornbread' Brown a lot of time at guard or tackle. Deonte is a true difference maker in the running attack and his continued improvement and enmeshment into the offensive line rotation is a key to building the balanced attack Alabama will need later in the season. A respectable runnung game is important to keeping the ferocious defenses of LSU, Auburn and maybe Georgia and Clemson out of QB Tua Tagovailoa's face.

We also know that Tua is nearly perfect now with 1,700+ passing yards, 23 TD's, 0 INT's and an eye-popping 76% completion rate. We further know that Alabama has an NFL-caliber receiving corps and Tua's newest ability to check through receivers after the snap has them at the top of college football.

This game shouldn't be competitive at halftime. But if it is, and Kyle Field's legendary 12th Man comes roarin' out later in the game, we might just see what the 2019 installment of the Crimson Tide is really made of.

Tennessee Sucks so bad, ESPN almost didn't want the TSIO game

You know an SEC football game is gonna be bad television when ESPN has to decide whether it wants to broadcast it or let the SEC Network deal with awful ratings.

Alabama will host the Tennessee Vols on Oct 19 at 7:00pm CDT. It's prime time, yes. But ESPN rarely puts SEC matchups in that slot, usually choosing to take mid-major and/or direction school games instead. It means that the game will certainly go well past midnight in the Eastern time zone.

This is happening because Tennessee sucks.  The Vols haven't been competitive in the SEC or national title races since 2001 and haven't beaten Alabama on the field since 2006. They have never beaten Alabama under Nick Saban.

It didn't used to be that way. Tennessee used to be Bama's most potent rival and the traditional Third Saturday in October used to be the marquis game of the SEC regular schedule.

A win over a tough UT team used to mean something. Hell, a win over Alabama used to mean something to Tennessee. A win next Saturday night would probably mean a raise and a contract extension for current coach Jeremy Pruitt. That has about a 0.2% chance of happening because Alabama is gonna dog-slaughter'em. Again.

So, Bama fans. Get a nap on that Saturday afternoon and get ready to stay up late if you want to watch the 13th straight dog-whipping of Smoky & The Vawls.

Alabama has a bye week. We do some navel gazin'.

What a yawner. For five straight weeks we've been treated to the pleasure of watching the Crimson Tide dismantle, dismember and dispose of its competition. The average score is 52-15. Alabama has not scored fewer than 40 points in any contest. They've scored 50+ twice and 60+ once. 

QB Tua Tagovailoa is 113-148 for 1,718 yards, with ZERO interceptions and 23 touchdowns. That's a sizzling 76.35% completion rate and an average of 343.60 yards per game.

This week, we get to gripe a little about what needs improvement while our rivals duke it out with each other. The most meaningful games this weekend are (in order of importance) Auburn in the Swamp at Florida, Georgia at Tennessee and Utah State at LSU. It's a real test for the Tiggers because they're traveling to a much more hostile road venue and the Gators have a real offense, a real QB and a salty defense (relatively new in Gainesville). Tennessee is a dumpster fire; UGA will demolish them. Utah State has a good offense and LSU gave up 38 points to Vandy, so...

What's up with the right side of the Alabama defense, and why are our LB's not making the big plays that we're used to from Saban-coached teams? Opposing teams--starting with Duke and going right through Ole Miss--are cuttin' hay and converting third downs by either throwing to their left or running that way, and not much has gotten better over there. It's frustrating that edge containment over there seems nonexistent. It's also frustrating to see stars like Anfernee Jennings and Terrell Lewis out of position and playing catch up to the ball carrier.  Fortunately, none of the teams Bama has faced had the horses to threaten an upset.

Unfortunately, future opponents are astute students of the game tape. LSU, Auburn and Georgia (should we be so fortunate to meet them again in Atlanta) have seen this weakness, and all three teams have enough horsepower to embarrass Bama if this problem doesn't get fixed. We could see a close win against LSU in Tuscaloosa, a convincing loss to the Tiggs in Auburn and get relegated to a New Year's Day date with some nobody.

Such a revolting development would, of course, result in the talking heads and Twitterati wondering aloud: Has the game passed Nick Saban by? Is it Clemson's dynasty to lose, now?

Ugh.

I am fairly confident that we should start to see some improvement between now and next Saturday's visit to the venerable Kyle Field in College Station. Nick Saban is at his very best when he is given time to prepare. He is a bona fide defensive genius. His 3-4 Over/Under defense is being copied throughout the country. He sees what we see and he sees stuff we mortals will totally miss.

I am equally confident that the offensive line will see marked improvement, and we'll see more of the power-driven pro-set offense that can make Tua shine even better. We saw the return of monster-man Deonte Brown to the OL last week and his impact was felt almost immediately. If Bama's running game takes it to the next level... and the right side of the defense and LB's step it up... Alabama won't have to worry about not making the playoffs.

Deonte Brown could be the difference between an Alabama Championship and another year of coming up short

His teammates at Alabama nicknamed him 'Cornbread.' When he brought is 6' 4" frame and his appetite to Tuscaloosa, he weighed a scant few ounces shy of 400 lbs. His high school coaches called him 'Diesel' because of his size, strength and ability to just knock defenders down in the dirt.

"He’s a large human being,” said Jeremy Perkins, Brown’s former coach at Austin High School in Decatur, Ala. “He’s like a diesel truck coming through when he was out there. He was knocking people down left and right.”

He was beginning to show some of that promise in the 2018 season, but ran afoul of Coach Nick Saban and the NCAA and was forced to miss the college football playoffs last season and the first four games of 2019. His suspension is now over, and the question is whether he can get into the starting lineup early enough for the Tide offensive line to gel as a unit in time for the late season matchups against LSU, Auburn and (presumably) Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.

TideFans.com's Jess Nicholas notes that Brown has added a lot of weight over the offseason and hasn’t taken it off yet. Nicholas also notes that who he’d replace is up in the air, as both Evan Neal and Landon Dickerson have played well and shown improvement, and mentions that Brown doesn’t play center, which is where the offensive line is weakest.

 “The plan for every player on our team is the guy’s got to beat someone out if he wants to play,” Saban said earlier this week. “If he gets in shape, he does what he’s supposed to do, he shows he’s better than somebody else who’s playing, that’s the plan. Just like it’s the plan for every other guy on the team. That’s really kind of up to him. It’s not up to me.”

My bet is that Brown gets into the game--probably late--against Ole Miss. The coaches will want to see how he plays against SEC competition. He'll get looks in both running and passing situations and they'll be keen to see how he does in plays where QB Tua Tagovailoa improvises and changes what he's doing after the snap.

I said in the season preview that Saban wants to go back to power football. The problem so far (if you want to find one) is that the running game has not been up to Sabanesque standards. A 6' 4" 350-ish lb 'monster' at either offensive guard position who's able to knock down defensive linemen and plow up to the linebackers can do that for you.

Alabama's inability to convert on third down and score in the red zone against Clemson was a big factor in the championship game in January. It cost the Tide a 15-0 season, repeat championship and a debate over whether this Alabama team was (1) the greatest of all time or (2) being overtaken by Clemson at the pinnacle of college football.

One big, strong powerful offensive lineman may make the difference, and it might all begin to happen tomorrow against Ole Miss.