SB Nation - Mike McCoy

If College Football Had a Playoff: #16 Troy @ #1 Alabama

Jeremy Mauss — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:00:25 -0000

by Dave Martin - AP

So, starting each week day from now till the title game a 'What if Playoff' will occur here with readers voting on who should win the matchup.

Today's would be Sun Belt champion Troy @ Alabama. An upset is unlikely, but the way Troy plays against big time competition who knows how close this game would be. Yes, a playoff would feature home teams by the upper seed to give them an advantage for a better season. The bracket and stats on each team are listed below.

Just make sure to vote and the winner moves onto the next round. Voting is open for 24 hours, and look for these to be posted each day at 12 eastern time.

#16 Troy Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Levi Brown	12	60.0	248	386	64.2	3264	272	8.5	19	5	46	19	1.6	.400	1	-	-
Dantavious Parker	9	50.0	10	19	52.6	87	9.7	4.6	0	0	28	154	17.1	5.5	2	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Levi Brown	12	46	19	1.6	.400	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jason Bruce	10	2	11	1.1	5.5	0	20	260	26	13	2
Maurice Greer	10	34	244	24.4	7.2	3	6	59	5.9	9.8	0
DuJuan Harris	12	137	471	39.3	3.4	8	23	193	16.1	8.4	1
Josh Jarboe	8	2	9	1.1	4.5	0	14	236	29.5	16.9	1
Jerrel Jernigan	12	34	227	18.9	6.7	1	62	947	78.9	15.3	4
Nathan Nolin	2	1	9	4.5	9	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dantavious Parker	9	28	154	17.1	5.5	2	0	0	0	0	0
Chip Reeves	11	3	9	.800	3	0	22	363	33	16.5	3
Austin Silvoy	10	1	-15	-1.5	-15	0	13	182	18.2	14	0
Shawn Southward	12	100	574	47.8	5.7	10	10	94	7.8	9.4	0
D.J. Taylor	3	8	71	23.7	8.9	0	0	0	0	0	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Travis Boyd	2	3	41	20.5	13.7	0
Jason Bruce	10	20	260	26	13	2
Jonathan Chandler	1	0	0	0	0	0
Patrick Cherry	11	20	260	23.6	13	1
Andrew Davis	8	13	149	18.6	11.5	2
Tebiarus Gill	11	44	553	50.3	12.6	6
Maurice Greer	10	6	59	5.9	9.8	0
DuJuan Harris	12	23	193	16.1	8.4	1
Josh Jarboe	8	14	236	29.5	16.9	1
Jerrel Jernigan	12	62	947	78.9	15.3	4
Zack Marcum	12	33	315	26.3	9.5	1
Chip Reeves	11	22	363	33	16.5	3
Austin Silvoy	10	13	182	18.2	14	0
Shawn Southward	12	10	94	7.8	9.4	0
Cornelius Williams	11	18	320	29.1	17.8	2

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Sam Glusman	5	-	-	-	-	-	7	9	80.0%	9	9	100.0%	30
Michael Taylor	8	-	-	-	-	-	9	10	90.0%	38	40	100.0%	65

#1 Alabama Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Star Jackson	2	70.0	13	18	72.2	116	58	6.4	0	0	6	3	1.5	.500	0	-	-
Greg McElroy	13	93.0	192	315	61	2450	188.5	7.8	17	4	47	110	8.5	2.3	1	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Demetrius Goode	3	16	108	36	6.8	0	0	0	0	0	0
Terry Grant	7	40	166	23.7	4.2	3	3	47	6.7	15.7	0
Mark Ingram	13	249	1542	118.6	6.2	15	30	322	24.8	10.7	3
Star Jackson	2	6	3	1.5	.500	0	0	0	0	0	0
Julio Jones	12	2	4	.300	2	0	42	573	47.8	13.6	4
Marquis Maze	10	4	7	.700	1.8	0	30	519	51.9	17.3	2
Greg McElroy	13	47	110	8.5	2.3	1	0	0	0	0	0
Trent Richardson	13	126	642	49.4	5.1	6	14	107	8.2	7.6	0
Roy Upchurch	10	46	290	29	6.3	2	12	72	7.2	6	1

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Earl Alexander	3	4	52	17.3	13	0
Michael Bowman	1	1	7	7	7	0
Preston Dial	3	3	25	8.3	8.3	0
Brandon Gibson	2	2	25	12.5	12.5	0
Terry Grant	7	3	47	6.7	15.7	0
Darius Hanks	9	17	272	30.2	16	3
Mark Ingram	13	30	322	24.8	10.7	3
Julio Jones	12	42	573	47.8	13.6	4
Marquis Maze	10	30	519	51.9	17.3	2
Mike McCoy	3	10	149	49.7	14.9	1
Colin Peek	10	26	313	31.3	12	3
Trent Richardson	13	14	107	8.2	7.6	0
Brad Smelley	5	7	50	10	7.1	0
Roy Upchurch	10	12	72	7.2	6	1
Michael Williams	2	3	29	14.5	9.7	0

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Jeremy Shelley	1	-	-	-	-	-	0	1	0	1	1	100.0%	1
Leigh Tiffin	13	-	-	-	-	-	29	33	90.0%	39	42	90.0%	126

Poll

Who wins this matcup?

Senior Day in Bryant-Denny

outsidethesidelines — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:26 -0000

by Ed Reinke - AP

Kentucky running back Moncell Allen is tackled by Senior Eryk Anders, bottom, Senior Javier Arenas (28) and Rolando McClain (25) during the first half of the Crimson Tide's victory at Kentucky.

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Saturday morning in Tuscaloosa will feature more than just the game against Tennessee-Chattanooga, for Saturday will also bring Senior Day, and for the senior class this will be their final game in Bryant-Denny Stadium. After spending years and years performing at 100 Bryant Drive, this will be the final time that this senior class will strap it up in front of the home crowd.

Given such an occasion, I think it's only fitting that we should pause for a moment and take a bit of reflection on this class and just how they got here. Things haven't always been easy for this group, and far from it in fact it has almost always been difficult. Most of them weren't very highly-touted recruits, and most of them signed with Alabama when our program was struggling. Adversity has really been a constant for them almost throughout their entire time at the Capstone, and what these men overcame to reach this level should not be forgotten.

Eryk Anders was a one-star recruit coming out of San Antonio that played nose guard in high school at a mere 195 pounds. He didn't get a single offer before Alabama swept in late, and was actually planning on being a walk-on at Ole Miss before Alabama came along in late June of 2005. Coach Saban himself didn't think he'd ever be a contributor when he arrived, and Anders actually told his father he was going to transfer in his hotel room the night of the 2007 Independence Bowl. His father encouraged him to stick with his commitment and get his degree, and he died later that night in his sleep with a heart attack. And Anders not only stuck around, but he came out of nowhere to thrive.

Cory Reamer was a two-star safety out of Hoover who drew little interest from most BCS conference schools. He actually grew up an Auburn fan, but the Tigers signed two more highly-touted safety prospects in the previous class -- Tony Bell and Lorenzo Ferguson, both of which eventually became busts -- and never really gave Reamer much of a look. He signed with Alabama, and then proceeded to blow out his left knee as a true freshman, and when Saban arrived he looked to be the epitome of a player that would get caught in the crunch of systems turnover. Yet Reamer turned into a starter at outside linebacker on an elite defense.

Mike Johnson was a two-star offensive lineman out of Pensacola. He participated on the camp circuits, but no one really ended up biting. Alabama offered and he was Tuscaloosa bound, which was just about the only major school recruiting him. He came out of nowhere in 2007, and will finish his career as a three-year starter and an All-SEC player. A lucrative career in the NFL awaits him when his tour of duty in Tuscaloosa comes to an end.

Javier Arenas was a late signee in the 2006 class. His only other offers were from Florida Atlantic and Florida International, and not only was he not a big deal on the national scene, he really wasn't even a big deal in his hometown of Tampa. Then UA special teams coach Dave Ungerer argued vehemently on his behalf for a scholarship as a returner, and after we missed on some other guys like in that class -- Peanut Whitehead, Tim Hawthorne, and others, most of which turned out to be busts -- we signed Arenas. We signed him thinking he'd be a returner, but since he has became arguably the greatest returner in Alabama history, and an All-SEC defensive back who will play on Sunday.

Drew Davis was a two-star recruit in the 2004 class. He played at a tiny private school, and drew really no interest whatsoever on the recruiting trails. Alabama, in fact, only gave him a greyshirt offer, despite a complete lack of depth along the offensive line, and more than a few 'Bama fans questioned his viability as a legitimate SEC caliber player. And in the first four years of his career, he was an afterthought. But in 2008 he burst onto the scene as a starter, and in 2009 he has been an All-SEC caliber player who has kept at least two five-star prospects sitting on the bench. So much for his viability as an SEC player, eh?

Others went through much of the same. Tyrone King was a walk-on transfer from Grambling... we never recruited him, but he decided to chase a dream anyway. Roy Upchurch has fought through no less than three major surgeries including two season-ending ankle injuries that threatened to end his career before it ever began. Mike McCoy turned down both of his home state schools to play at Alabama, had a redshirt year wasted by the previous coaching staff, and then watched arguably the biggest recruit we've ever had take away his role. Lorenzo Washington spurned his in-state Georgia Bulldogs for 'Bama, then endured a tour of duty at Hargrave, a redshirt year in Tuscaloosa, a major injury, played out of position at nose guard, and found himself relegated to the bench when Terrence Cody arrived. And speaking of Cody, he had to overcome poor academics and poor physical care of himself to be a star, but he conquered both obstacles. Marquis Johnson became the pin cushion for the entire fan base after he was forced into a situation that he never should have been in against Florida State in 2007, but he persevered and turned himself into a fine football player. Justin Woodall was put through pure hell when the hometown homers in Oxford realized he wasn't going to sign with the Rebels. Leigh Tiffin has endured more criticism than any kicker ever should. Ali Sharrief lost his role in the coaching turnover, but he remained a valuable contributor nevertheless. Colin Peek spurned 'Bama the first time around, but nevertheless still ended up in Tuscaloosa. Brandon Deaderick passed up on in-state Kentucky out of high school and turned into a starter at 'Bama. And then he got shot. Twice. And he kicked ass in the Georgia Dome four days later.

Obviously a lot of things have changed in Tuscaloosa the past several years. Most of these players actually signed with Mike Shula. When Lorenzo Washington and Drew Davis signed with the Tide, Alabama was coming off a 4-9 season, ineligible to participate in bowl games, and playing in a stadium that held all of 83,000 people. It had been a mere eight months since Mike Price was fired for his actions with Arety's Angels. Nick Saban, fresh off of a national championship, had signed what most LSU fans hoped would effectively be a lifetime contract to stay in Baton Rouge. Most 'Bama fans at the time were just hoping we could show enough improvement in 2004 to get somewhere like Shreveport or Nashville.

Now, though, Alabama finds itself at the opposite end of the spectrum. Nick Saban now resides in Tuscaloosa, and we look to play for a spot in the national championship game for the second year in a row. At the very least, we'll end up with back-to-back BCS game appearances, and we may very well find ourselves back in Pasadena for the first time an SEC team has made the trek since Frank Thomas' War Babies wrapped up an undefeated season by crushing USC in 1945. Recruiting is better than it has been since the glory days of the Bryant years, and shows no real signs of slowing down any time soon. We've got more top-end talent and quality depth in Tuscaloosa right now than we've had since the late 1970's. And Bryant-Denny Stadium? It will hold over 100,000 people this time next year.

Again, the times have changed in Tuscaloosa, and we should all acknowledge the role that all of these young men played in delivering us out of the dark ages. Our newfound recruiting juggernaut has helped tremendously, of course, but realistically recruiting has a very long lag time before it translates into on-field success -- rest assured, even for an elite recruiting class, players like Julio Jones and Dont'a Hightower are very much rarities -- and if you are going to have success in the interim, you are going to need some otherwise unknowns to turn into high-end players in their own right, and that is exactly what many of these young men have done. It has never been easy for them, but they have persevered in the face of adversity and played an immeasurable role in rebuilding our program.

Moving forward, I have no clue where we will go from here. We will thump Tennessee-Chattanooga and these men will walk out of Bryant-Denny for the final time as winners, that much I know, but after that I really haven't the slightest clue. We'll probably beat Auburn, but who knows? Maybe we fall at the hands of Florida in Atlanta again, maybe we pull off the upset. Maybe we beat Texas in Pasadena, maybe we lose to TCU in the Sugar Bowl. Who knows? Only time will tell for certain.

Regardless of how the season ultimately plays out, though, nothing should take away from what this group has done. They have literally played an instrumental role in rebuilding the Alabama football program back as a national powerhouse, and all those who bleed crimson and white ought to be forever indebted to them for that. If we have had a better senior class than this one in my lifetime, I'm not aware of it. And, moving forward, we can only hope that the senior classes to come can legitimately match what this group has done.

Week Six Preview: #3 Alabama at #16 Ole Miss

outsidethesidelines — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

"Quit throwing so many picks!"

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The Alabama v. Ole Miss series isn't one filled with hatred quite like the Auburn or Tennessee series, nor is it generally a series that has a high degree of relevance on the national level. Nevertheless, over the course of the past four years, no series anywhere in the country has produced as many gut-wrenching, nail-biting contests as what we've seen when the Tide took on Johnny Reb.

The past four games in this series have been decided by a grand total of thirteen points, and that statistic alone does not even begin to adequately describe how close things have been. The 2005 game ended on a time-expiring kick, while the 2006 game ended in overtime. The 2007 game was decided on a controversial penalty with seven seconds remaining, and last year's game also went into the final minute. And most shockingly of all, somehow, someway, all of those contests have fallen in our favor. How we've had the good fortune from the Football Gods to pull all of those games out, I'll never know.

After Ole Miss rallied late last year, this game has been marked for months as one of the games of the year. Of course, though, Johnny Reb effectively wet the bed in its only real test thus far in the 2009 season, and that has knocked a lot of the luster off this game. Ole Miss was clearly overrated as a top five team, and had no real business being ranked that high. That said, however, the Rebels are still a quality team and a very dangerous opponent. This game is likely to be yet another close one that goes down to the wire, so let's take a closer look at the match-ups:

Alabama Offense v. Ole Miss Defense

Even with a slow start in the passing game and some questionable early play-calling against a good Kentucky defense, Alabama nevertheless managed to rack up 38 points and 352 total yards in Lexington. The Alabama offensive juggernaut has seemed to slow with each and every game the past three weekends -- largely because the quality of the defense faced has increased each week -- and things won't get any easier this week when we go to Oxford.

The strength of the Ole Miss defense is clearly at the point of attack. The defensive end rotation of Greg Hardy, Kentrell Lockett, and Marcus Tillman is easily the best we'll see all year long, and while Hardy has not been able to get completely healthy -- and thus he's really no longer an every down player -- he's still a dangerous weapon when he is in the game. The ends are also solid on running downs, and mixed with the size of the interior players, it forms a very difficult run defense up front when these guys show up to play. Interior tackles Ted Laurent and Lawson Scott are both over 300 pounds, and the monster 340 pound Jerrell Powe is quickly starting to show why he was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. You can make all the reading jokes you want, but literacy isn't really a core competency for playing nose tackle, and Powe can at times dominate interior offensive linemen like he's a man among boys.

At linebacker Ole Miss has had more than their fair share of struggles since Patrick Willis went to the NFL, but they've got a solid group there now. The unit is led by Patrick Trahan, the senior linebacker that Houston Nutt signed out of the JUCO ranks in his first class in Oxford. Trahan started his collegiate career as a safety -- he was a former track athlete in high school -- but he kept getting bigger and bigger so he was moved to linebacker. The end result now is a 6'3, 225+ pound 'backer with great athleticism, and he's tough on opposing offenses. He's big enough to play the run, but also versatile enough to play the pass and rush the passer. He's a legitimate three-phase linebacker. Jonathon Cornell and Allen Walker start alongside Trahan, and while they aren't quite the caliber of Trahan, both are upperclassmen who are more than adequate.

The real surprise of the Ole Miss defense to date, however, has been the defensive backfield. Ole Miss was almost universally expected to struggle in the secondary this year, but surprisingly enough they have allowed very little success through the air. That said, however, we really don't know anything about this group because they have yet to face a decent passing attack, so it could be all a paper tiger for all we know, and if nothing else the Alabama passing game will be easily the best this unit has faced all year. What we can safely say is that so far this year Cassius Vaughn and Marshay Green have been solid at cornerback, Johnny Brown and Kendrick Lewis have been more active than usual at safety, and the back-ups have generally been pretty adequate. But, again, we really have no clue as to whether or not this Ole Miss defensive backfield is a contender or a pretender.

Looking at how we match up against Ole Miss, you really have to worry about our running game. We ran the ball well against Kentucky on the meaningful attempts -- i.e. factoring out the garbage time, clock-killing carries late -- but Arkansas still shut us down, and frankly this is easily the best defensive line we've seen all year. Ole Miss shut down our running game last year better than any other team on the schedule -- we had 31 carries for only 107 yards, averaging a meager 3.1 yards per carry -- and it's going to be very difficult to run on these guys again this year. These guys can flat out whip you in the trenches, and we're going to have to show up ready to play at a very high level if we look to move the football on the ground in Oxford.

Hopefully we will be able to take advantage of Ole Miss in a couple of areas. Their defensive line features a solid, deep rotation, but the linebacker corps is very thin. The starting three are good players, and back-up Lamar Brumfield is a solid, versatile player who can play all three positions. After that, though, all you really have is true freshman D.T. Shackelford -- an Alabama native who the Tide passed over last, so extra motivation there -- and while he has been a bit of a freshman sensation, he is also slowed by a high ankle sprain, and he likely won't play a lot against the Tide. So, it's a thin unit already, and both Trahan and Walker also play extensively on special teams, so hopefully we can wear them down and take advantage of their lack of depth. Likewise, the Ole Miss secondary is also a very small unit -- all starters are 5'11 and under, and three starters are 190 and under -- so hopefully we can really take advantage of the size match-ups with the likes of Julio Jones, Mike McCoy, Earl Alexander, and Michael Bowman.

Now, along those lines, I do like how our passing attack matches up against the Ole Miss secondary, but of course success there is predicated upon us being able to protect Greg McElroy against a very good pass rush. If we can give McElroy time, we should be able to move the football through the air. On the other hand, though, if Ole Miss can legitimately rush the passer, this is not going to be pretty. Either way, this isn't going to be an easy assignment for the Tide's offensive line. Ole Miss is tough off the edge, and Nutt will likely be aggressive in blitz packages, so the offensive line has its work cut out for them.

All in all, this one is a tough match-up for the Tide. Hopefully we can have some success running the football and block Ole Miss off the edge, but that's a lot easier said than done. Ole Miss will be tough to run on, and if they can get to McElroy, we're likely to find ourselves in Oxford with an offense that cannot run or throw effectively. It's going to be one heck of a fight, and we're going to have to play very well to move the football against this defense.

Alabama Defense v. Ole Miss Offense

The good news for Alabama is that this match-up favors the Tide a bit more. The Ole Miss offense is no slouch, to be sure, but it is a unit that has struggled early. Jevan Snead hasn't played anywhere near well enough to justify the preseason hype, the loss of Mike Wallace has hurt more than its gotten credit for, and there has been nothing close to a comparable replacement for Michael Oher.

Really, the struggles of this offense have started up front with the offensive line. The run blocking has been good at times, but has also been terrible at times, too. Smashes at the point of attack that spring good gains have been mixed with whiffs that result in tackles for loss. Pass protection, though, has really been the Achilles Heel of this group. Left tackle Bradley Sowell was beaten to a pulp against South Carolina, and right tackle John Jerry hasn't looked very good either. The interior linemen haven't played much better, either. Houston Nutt and company have rotated in a lot of linemen looking for the right mix, but they haven't found anything yet, and making matters worse this bunch simply looks out of shape. When John Jerry was literally begging to come out of the South Carolina game, all that came to mind for me was Mike Dubose, 2000, and the infamous "Pankcake Posse."

With the struggles up front, the rest of the offense just hasn't been able to compensate. Jevan Snead has been decent at times, but he has generally struggled to complete a high percentage of his passes and he has turned the football over a lot -- only a completion percentage of 51% and five interceptions. With Mike Wallace gone, the Rebels really do not have the big vertical threat in the passing game, and while the likes of Shay Hodge, Markeith Summers, Lionel Breaux, and Patrick Patterson form a solid wide receiver corps, they haven't been able to make up for the loss of Wallace. Likewise, Dexter McCluster is a threat, but he has really been more of a cog than a game-changer thus far in conference play.

The true strength of the Ole Miss offense to date has really been in the backfield with the tailbacks. Brandon Bolden has played as well as any back in the SEC to date, and at 5'11 and 220 pounds he is an absolute load. Back-ups Cordera Eason and Enrique Davis were both highly-touted recruits coming out of high school, and with their raw talent they form one of the most potent backfields in the country. Combined with Dexter McCluster's ability out of the Wildcat, this is a very dangerous group if their offensive line can give them any help up front.

Defensively for the Tide, I'll be brief on the overview because most RBR readers are more than well aware of who we are as a defensive unit, but I will address that the biggest issue we face here is exactly what we will do to replace Dont'a Hightower. Based on the practice reports, it's clear that Cory Reamer will be back at strongside linebacker this week, and we're going to have to be bigger inside to take on an Ole Miss team that will clearly look to be physical at the point of attack and establish the run. Chris Jordan is going to get a lot of playing time this week, and look for both Nico Johnson and Tana Patrick on the field -- even though playing will cost Patrick him a redshirt year.

As a whole, we are going to have a good bit different look defensively this week. Again, Ole Miss is the physical, run-based attack that we've come to expect out of Houston Nutt, and we are simply going to have to play smashmouth football against these guys. Simply put, if our defensive line doesn't show up with more energy and intensity than they did last week in Lexington, it's going to be a long afternoon. This isn't a spread passing attack where we'll constantly be in the nickel; you're going to see a lot of base 3-4 this week with safeties coming into the box to stop the run. The Rebs are far from pass happy.

And with that in mind, Injuries may make an impact on Ole Miss' power running attack. Fullback Andy Hartmann, a senior, is one hell of a lead-blocking load at 5'11 and almost 250 pounds, and he may be the best lead blocker in the conference. However, Hartmann sprained a knee a couple of weeks ago and has missed time. He missed practice on Tuesday, and while he is going to play on Saturday, we don't know how effective he can be and we do not know how much he will be able to play. Likewise, tight end Gerald Harris missed the South Carolina game with a hamstring injury, and while he did return against Vanderbilt, he's probably not 100%. Their back-ups, Dan Hoffman and Ferbia Allen, are a good 20-30 pounds lighter than the first-teamers, so if Hartmann and Harris are at less than 100%, that is going to make it more difficult for Ole Miss to run the football.

Furthermore, we need to use our depth in the defensive front seven to our advantage. Even with injuries to Hightower and Damien Square, plus the suspension of Jerrell Harris, we are still very deep in the front seven, and if the South Carolina game is any accurate indicator, the Ole Miss offensive line isn't in very good physical shape. We need to rotate players all afternoon and wear these guys down. Few things can better insure a 'Bama victory than to have John Jerry once again begging to come out of the game in the second half.

All in all, we're just going to have to line up against Ole Miss and be able to stop the run. That has to be priority #1 going into this game, period. Jevan Snead is overrated, but he can still be a threat, and with Nutt at the helm you have to be adequately prepared for every trick in the book. Nevertheless, those concerns are secondary to stopping the run. Given Snead's turnover issues to date -- which is to say nothing of Ole Miss' struggles in pass protection and the struggles of the receiving corps -- Nutt and company will likely play a bit conservatively here and try to establish the running game. If Ole Miss does that, they can move the football effectively and that will allow them to selectively use Snead and the trickeration to their advantage. On the other hand, though, if we can stop the run, particularly on early downs, we get Ole Miss in a lot of obvious passing situations, which limits the use of the Wildcat and other trick formations, and which also gives our defensive line numerous opportunities to take advantage of their struggles in pass protection and tee off on a quarterback who will be forced to take a lot of seven-step drops while waiting for routes to develop downfield.

Putting It All Together

On the whole, this one looks to be much like the last four contests in this series... a very hard, physical game that goes right down to the wire. Yes Alabama has looked very good to date, and yes Ole Miss wet the bed in their only true test to date. And, yes, Ole Miss was overrated coming into the year, no arguments here. Nevertheless, this is still a pretty good Ole Miss team, and they are a dangerous opponent that is more than capable of pulling off the upset.

Furthermore, the West is still absolutely wide open right now -- three teams are still undefeated, and Ole Miss still controls their own destiny -- and that fact mixed with Nutt's love of playing the underdog role, not to mention the recent acrimony that is surely present in the Ole Miss roster thanks to how this game has turned out the past four years, you can bet your life that Ole Miss will show up to play football on Saturday like men possessed. For all of the talk of Ole Miss wetting the bed, if Johnny Reb can pull off the upset on Saturday, they will quickly vault back into the top 10 and they will once again establish themselves as the front-runners in the SEC West if Florida can beat LSU, as expected. And, of course, rest assured they are well aware of those facts. Make no mistake about it, there is a lot on the line here for Ole Miss, and they will play accordingly. Do not expect Colonel Reb to lay an egg Saturday afternoon.

I do think we are the better team here. We have a tad more top-end talent, and a good bit better quality depth throughout the roster. Nevertheless, again, this is a dangerous Ole Miss team that actually matches up with us pretty well thanks to the strength of their defensive front seven and their ability to rush the passer with a base four-man rush. If you think victory is a near certainty in this game, you really need to drink something other than the crimson Kool-Aid. This should be a close game, and if we play like we did last week in Lexington, we're probably in a lot of trouble. We are a better team here who is justifiably a slight favorite, but nevertheless we are going to have to play really well to go into Oxford and get this victory, and at the very least victory is unlikely to come without one hell of a fight.

Hope for the best.

Initial Impressions from the Kentucky Game

outsidethesidelines — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:20:20 -0000

A few initial impressions after the Kentucky game:

From the outset, looking at the entire picture, the Tide simply did not play very well against Kentucky. Of course you should never complain too much any time you can go on the road in conference play and get an 18-point victory, but by the same token you shouldn't be so blinded by the scoreboard to not realize that we played poorly and that, based purely on the performances of the two teams, that this game should have been a lot closer.
Without doubt, Kentucky was their own worst enemy in this game. They had five personal foul penalties, a slew of dropped passes to open receivers, several incredibly bone-headed throws by Hartline (many of which resulted in interceptions), and that is not counting the last-second fumble to end the first half that resulted in a Courtney Upshaw touchdown. Truth be told, Kentucky beat themselves in this game more than anything else. The lopsided margin of victory was really the result of Alabama just allowing Kentucky to keep shooting themselves in the foot.
Offensively, our strategy in the beginning of the game really made very little sense. Kentucky never even remotely stopped our running game, but we decided to stop it ourselves by airing the football out. And making matters even more head-scratching was that we kept throwing deep, instead of trying to establish the short and intermediate passing game. And that strategy was even more perplexing given how Nick Saban talked after the game about how the strong winds made throwing the football so difficult early. I really just never understood what we were trying to do offensively, nor did anyone else, and our offensive play-calling was perhaps the most suspect it has been since McElwain arrived.
And speaking of the running game, I worried coming in that Kentucky would be able to shut us down, but our guys really answered the bell. Kentucky never really stopped us in the running game, and Mark Ingram and Roy Upchurch combined to run for 153 yards on only 24 carries. Trent Richardson's stat line doesn't look very good because he got the workhorse duty in the fourth quarter trying to run out the clock, but again in meaningful situations Kentucky never really stopped us. The problem was, really, that we stopped ourselves by simply choosing not to run the football.
The offensive line did a very good job in pass protection. As I said in the preview, Kentucky could really get after the quarterback, and we largely neutralized them at the point of attack. McElroy was hit several times -- which is honestly a given for any team these days really wanting to throw the football a lot -- and he is clearly helping the offensive line out by not holding onto the ball too long, but even so our guys up front did a fine job. McElroy threw 26 passes yesterday, and was sacked only once. Moreover, thanks to McElroy's pocket presence, he limited that sack to only a two yard loss. Truth be told, protecting the passer is a joint effort between quarterback himself and the offensive line, but I do think it's clear at this point that McElroy and the newly revamped offensive line do a better job of it than John Parker Wilson and the group we had a year ago.
Good news on injuries... there were none. I did see Barrett Jones gimpy at one point, but he never left the game and looked to be okay. Few things in football are more precious than staying healthy.
The Wildcat... didn't see it a single time all day, to my knowledge. I think it's clear now that our offense uses it as a weapon -- and forces the opposing defense to prepare for it -- but for the most part we really do not see it as an integral part of our offense like many other teams do.
Earl Alexander came up with a huge catch on the touchdown drive late in the second quarter, and the redshirt junior continues to make good things happen when he can actually get in the game. The problem is he's buried on the depth chart by Julio Jones and Mike McCoy, and he doesn't get very many balls thrown in his direction.

Julio Jones... I just really don't know what to make of him. I really don't think he's 100% right now, and for much of the day yesterday Trevard Lindley got the best of him. That's no shame because Lindley is the league's best corner and a future first round draft pick, but it would be nicer to get Julio more involved in the game. We're doing just fine without him being a major producer, but it's hard to believe that through five games he has a mere nine catches on the year. Against Arkansas we really didn't get him involved that much, but I saw eight passes go his way yesterday, and it netted two catches for 13 yards. Julio's presence makes our offense much better simply because it allows us to get other players consistently isolated, but it would still be very nice to get some more production out of Julio.

Colin Peek finally put together a big game yesterday. He has been plagued by the drops for most of the season -- at least four by my count -- but he emerged yesterday as a big weapon. Hopefully he keeps producing like that.

Notice something eerily similar on that touchdown pass to Darius Hanks? It was the exact same play call that we won the 2007 Arkansas game with, except this time it was Hanks in place of Matt Caddell, and Julio Jones in place of Keith Brown.

Greg McElroy, in some ways, had his worst day of the year yesterday afternoon. Just like he did against Virginia Tech, he rallied strong after a slow start, but it wasn't his best day. Nevertheless, I'm not complaining a bit. The SEC has some tough pass defenses, and Kentucky may be the best one of them all, and even against them McElroy had a solid day throwing the football and completely avoided all big, negative plays. As a general matter, you can really ask for little more out of your signal caller.

Moving to the defensive side of the ball, things weren't so pretty. Kentucky has an offense that will almost certainly finish near the bottom of the SEC in most statistical categories, and they scored 20 points against us. Making matters worse, we never really stopped them, and they should have scored more. Again, we never really stopped them, they only stopped themselves. Had Kentucky not been so hell bent on shooting themselves in the foot, they could have legitimately scored 30+ points.

Kentucky effectively had 11 possessions yesterday. Of those 11, they scored on four of them, four of them resulted in turnovers, two of them stalled out with four dropped passes / penalties, and the Tide forced all of one legitimate stop. In other words, Kentucky had 11 possessions yesterday, and on 10 of them they either scored points or stopped themselves with their own incompetence.

Obviously the turnovers were the biggest difference-maker defensively, and while it's nice to see we got the four turnovers, I'm afraid to say that we didn't necessarily do that much to force those turnovers. The three interceptions by Kentucky were the result of two unbelievably stupid throws by Hartline, and a pass that bounced off the UK receiver's face mask (i.e. a ball that should have been caught). The fumble was a heads-up play by McClain, but again Cobb was really not securing the ball properly. The point is that a lack of turnovers has been a problem to date, and while it was nice to see us generate four turnovers against Kentucky, I'm afraid they were generally of the bone-headed variety that we cannot count on future opponents to give us.

Without doubt, the single biggest play of the game was the Rolando McClain strip and subsequent Courtney Upshaw fumble return for a touchdown. That single play absolutely changed the game, and it would have been a very different contest had it not occurred. If we don't get that then we go to halftime leading 14-6 with Kentucky getting the ball to start the second half. After that play, victory was never in serious jeopardy.

The biggest thing that Kentucky did to us defensively was win the battle in the trenches. They didn't mow us over, but they did neutralize our defensive line. We could not get pressure on the quarterback, nor could we get penetration into the backfield in the running game. By and large, they whipped us up front, plain and simple.

Kentucky had a good bit of success running the football, but notice how they did it. They didn't pound the ball in the A-gap like many choose to do, they instead ran things a bit wider in the B-gap and outside the tackles. It placed a greater premium on the lateral quickness of our defensive linemen than usual, and likewise with the linebacker corps. And again, we really didn't respond. They racked up over 130 yards rushing, and we struggled to stop it. Expect other teams to do many of the same things Kentucky did.

So, to replace Hightower, we went with Reamer in the middle, Anders at Sam, and Upshaw at Jack. Chris Jordan saw some time, but Nico Johnson only played on special teams. And I'm really not sure how well things worked. Reamer wasn't really the problem -- as much as he will probably get blamed for it -- but Upshaw was a bit suspect at times in run support. He didn't play the run as well from the Jack linebacker position as Anders did in the first four games, and that hurt. Moreover, things just generally looked out of sync at times. Saban has said in the past that he generally doesn't like re-shuffling a lot of players, and there is a reason for that. Perhaps we'll see something else moving forward. I know one thing... that South Carolina game cannot get here soon enough.

The most interesting thing I noticed about Hightower's absence was that we seemed to be taking fewer risks defensively. With Hightower and McClain in the game at the same time, we were taking a lot of risks with blitzes because we felt the linebacker corps could still get the job done even if they were undermanned simply because those two were in the game. Against Kentucky, though, we didn't see that kind of risk-taking, and that may have been one of the reasons why we didn't rush the passer as well. Truth be told, of Hartline's 31 passing attempts, we really only had one sack, and that came after Anders put a great move on Zipp Duncan out of a basic four man rush.

Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke made our defense look bad. Period. We couldn't cover 'em, and we couldn't tackle 'em.

The pass defense wasn't great, but it generally played pretty well. Javier Arenas looked really bad on the deep touchdown pass Cobb -- seriously, Cobb watched that football for about three seconds and Arenas never was even aware the ball was in the air -- but aside from that things were good. Taking out that one pass, Kentucky completed only about 50% of their passes and averaged only about 4.0 yards per attempt. Of course, though, given how poorly Hartline played, that should have been the outcome.

On the whole though, being unable to stop the Kentucky offense, this was probably the worst defensive performance we've had since 2007. Sure, Florida and Utah did well against us last year, but they were great offenses. Kentucky did well against us yesterday, and they were a bad offense. Big difference there. Our defense ought to be fuming mad after watching this film.

The kick coverage unit... this has to be one of the worst I've ever seen. Yesterday was actually one of our "better" days, and still two of the four returned kicks went out to midfield. It's been five games of this and we've seen no improvement, and right now I really just don't see much of a reason to expect any better. If all that was required was a simple fix, it would have been fixed by now.

Best fact of the day? With the win over Kentucky, Alabama has an 18-2 record in our last 20 games. That is easily our best mark since the height of the Stallings era.

All in all, not the best day for the Tide. We didn't play very well, and the lopsided final score was more the result of Kentucky beating themselves than anything else. We clearly will have to play better moving forward. Of course, though, wins in this league never come easy, and in all fairness Kentucky is a decent team that will likely make a bowl game, so an 18-point victory, on the road, is far from shabby. We clearly need to play better, but more than anything else this game just shows how much Saban has changed the mindset and the culture of the program. At every point from 1997-2008, we would have been literally wetting ourselves with glee over such a victory, and now such a victory is met general criticism. The times have changed in Tuscaloosa, that much we know.

UK vs. Alabama: Breaking Down the Rolling Tide

Ken Howlett — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:03:16 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

Did Rich Brooks make his point this week? We're about to find out.

Browse more photos »

The Kentucky Wildcats enter today's tilt (12:20 EST) with college football royalty, in great need of affirmation. After last weekend's titanic sinking at the hands of the Florida Gators, the 'Cats' collective psyche needs a renovation. And there is nothing better to renovate the soul, than a win over No. 3 Alabama (4-0, 1-0).

That was pretty easy to type, but it will much more difficult to execute. After-all, Alabama comes into today's contest, perhaps the most impressive team in the country, up to this point in the season. The Tide have totally dominated their opponents since the second half of their initial contest with then No. 7 Virginia Tech (a 34-24 'Bama win), outscoring their foes 146-35.

Alabama not only overwhelms their opponents with stifling defense, the Tide offense is averaging over 40 points per game, a rather large number considering the preseason questions about the quarterback position. Simply put, Alabama is a dangerously complete football team, and here's why ...

Alabama Offensive Personnel

Greg McElroy -- 6'3", 220 lb junior quarterback: This year, McElroy's first as a starter, he has completed 63 of 93 passes (67.7%) for 938 yards (234.5 yards per game), seven touchdowns, and one interception.

Versus Arkansas last week, McElroy completed 17 of 24 passes for 291 yards, and three touchdowns (no interceptions). He came into the season as one of the "Mystery Men of the SEC," a club chock-full of unproven quarterback talent. McElroy, though, has played brilliantly. The UK secondary is in for a real challenge Saturday afternoon.

Mark Ingram -- 5'10", 215 lb sophomore running back: In 2009, Ingram has rushed 61 times for 347 yards (5.7 yards per carry), and four touchdowns. He's also caught 13 passes for 141 yards (10.8 yards per reception) and three touchdowns. Last season, in earning Third Team All-SEC honors (Phil Steele), as well as making the All-SEC Freshmen Team, Ingram rushed 143 times for 728 yards (5.1 ypc), and a freshman school record 12 touchdowns, while splitting time with Glen Coffee (now of the San Francisco 49er's). His father, Mark Ingram, played for the New York Giants, and was a key figure in the 1992 Giants Super Bowl win -- Last season versus UK (a 17-14 Tide victory), Ingram ran 11 times for 66 yards (6.0 ypc) and a touchdown.

Bullish, yet speedy runner presents a real problem for UK's defense. His combination of speed and strength is not a combo Kentucky's defense has handled with aplomb in previous contests.

Trent Richardson -- 5'11", 220 lb freshman running back: This season Richardson has rushed 38 times for 280 yards (7.4 ypc) and four touchdowns. He's also made five receptions for 42 yards (8.4 ypr). Richardson is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week after carrying the ball nine times for 65 yards (7.2 ypc) and a touchdown, in last week's game against Arkansas. Coming out of high school in Pensacola, Florida, Richardson was rated the No. 6 overall prospect in the nation by Rivals. He was a Parade, USA Today, and SuperPrep All-America. In his senior year in high school, the five-star athlete rushed 225 times for 2,090 yards (9.3 ypc) and 26 touchdowns.

In 'Bama's game last week versus Arkansas, Richardson exploded for a 52-yard touchdown run, which followed up his 35-yard run for six versus Florida International earlier in the year.

Terry Grant -- 5'9", 190 lb junior running back: On the year, Grant has ran 40 times for 166 yards (4.2 ypc), and three touchdowns. He's also snagged three passes for 47 yards (15.7 ypr). He started at the running back spot in 2007 for the Tide when he ran for 891 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2008, Grant rushed 35 times for 88 yards (2.5 ypc) and one touchdown.

Grant unleashed a 42-yard touchdown run versus Florida International earlier this season.

Roy Upchurch -- 6'0", 205 lb senior running back: In 2009, Upchurch has run for 107 yards on 11 carries (9.7 ypc), and scored one touchdown. He's caught three passes for 10 yards (3.3 ypr). He played in 10 games in 2008, recording 350 rushing yards on 58 carries (6.0 ypc), and nine catches for 101 yards (11.2 ypr). In 2007, Upchurch played in 12 games; he carried the ball 50 times for 237 yards (4.4 ypc) and one touchdown. He also caught seven passes for 51 yards (7.3 ypr) -- Last season versus UK, Upchurch carried the ball five times for 19 yards (3.9 ypc).

Julio Jones -- 6'4", 210 lb sophomore wide receiver: In three games this season, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year has caught 7 passes for 120 yards (17.1 ypr), and one touchdown. Last year Jones started all 14 Alabama games, becoming only the 11th freshman Tide football player to start 'Bama's opening game since freshmen became eligible in 1972. In 2008, Jones caught 58 passes for 924 yards (15.9 ypr), and four touchdowns -- Last season versus UK, he made three catches for 52 yards (17.3 ypr).

Last week versus Arkansas, Jones caught a 50-yard touchdown pass. One of the most talented receivers in the country, Jones will receive attention from Kentucky cornerback Trevard Lindley. Their battle might go a long way in determining who's happy, and who ain't, come the final horn.

Marquis Maze -- 5'10", 179 lb sophomore wide receiver: This year, Maze has caught eight passes for 194 yards (24.2 ypr) and two touchdowns. He started four games as a freshman in 2008, recording 11 catches for 137 yards (12.5 ypr) -- Last season versus UK, Maze started, but did not make a catch.

Maze caught an 80-yard bomb for a touchdown last week versus Arkansas, to go along with a 34-yard touchdown reception.

Mike McCoy -- 6'3", 215 lb senior wide receiver: In 2009, McCoy has caught eight passes for 138 yards (17.2 ypr), and one touchdown. In 2008, he started nine games along side Julio Jones, and made 16 catches for 191 yards (11.9 ypr) -- He did not play against UK last season due to a hamstring injury.

Colin Peek -- 6'6", 255 lb senior tight end: This season Peek has made 8 catches for 95 yards (11.9 ypr). A Georgia Tech transfer, Peek sat out last season, but in his sophomore year for the Yellow Jackets, he caught 25 passes for 258 yards (10.1 ypr). and a touchdown.

Brad Smelley -- 6'3", 218 lb sophomore tight end: In 2009, Smelley has caught three passes for 12 yards (4.0 ypr). He came off of his redshirt last year in the seventh game of the season against Ole Miss. Over the second half of last year, he caught seven passes for 98 yards (14.0 ypr). Smelley's brother, Chris, played quarterback at South Carolina, and now plays baseball at Alabama.

Alabama Special Team's Dynamo

Javier Arenas -- 5'9", 198 lb senior kick returner/defensive back: Arenas has returned 15 punts this year for 285 yards (19.0 yards per return). He's returned five kick-offs for a total of 141 yards (28.2 ypr). In 2008, the Second Team All-SEC performer averaged 15.9 yards per punt return, and 23.6 yards per kick-off return. Also, in '08 he returned three punts for touchdowns -- 87, 80, and 73 yards. In 2007, he returned 21 punts for 323 yards (15.4 ypr), and one touchdown, as well as 27 kick-offs for 657 yards (24.3 ypr). In 2006, Arenas returned 31 punts for 286 yards (9.2) and two touchdowns, to go along with 18 kick-off returns for 313 yards (17.4). Arenas is Alabama's record-holder in the following categories: Punt Return Yardage (Career) - 1,544: Punt Return Yardage (Season) - 650 ('08): Punt Return Yardage (Game) - 153 (vs. Ole Miss last year) -- Last season versus UK, Arenas returned four punts for 52 yards.

What's been keeping UK special teams coach Steve Ortmayer up at night, Javier Arenas my friend, Javier Arenas.

Alabama Defensive Personnel

Rolando McClain -- 6'4", 258 lb junior linebacker: The First Team All-SEC (Third Team All-America by the AP), has recorded 23 tackles (15 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and three quarterback hurries in 2009. McClain is a finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nations top linebacker -- Last season versus UK, McClain led the Tide in tackles with 10 (four solo). He also returned a first quarter Mike Hartline fumble four-yards for a touchdown.

Mark Barron -- 6'2", 215 lb sophomore defensive back: In 2009, Barron has made 20 tackles (eight solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, one interception and four pass breakups.

Terrence Cody -- 6'5", 365 lb senior defensive lineman: "Mount Cody," as he is nicknamed, has recorded 10 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup,and one quarterback hurry in 2009. The First Team All-America anchors the defense that is second in the nation (and first in the SEC) in rush defense, allowing only 47.3 yards per game -- Last season versus UK, Cody recorded two assisted tackles, and allowed UK to run for only 35 yards.

Eryk Anders -- 6'2", 227 lb senior linebacker: This year Anders has made 19 tackles (9 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and three quarterback hurries -- Last season versus UK, Anders executed two tackles.

Javier Arenas -- 5'9", 198 lb senior defensive back: In 2009, Arenas has made 18 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, and two pass breakups -- Last season versus UK, Arenas recorded six tackles (4 solo).

Brandon Deaderick -- 6'4", 287 lb senior defensive end: The former Elizabethtown High School stand-out has recorded 5 tackles in 2009. Coming off a gunshot wound suffered the week prior to Alabama's opener against Virgina Tech, Deaderick has played in all four Tide games, but he has yet to start. Saturday, Deaderick will be lining up across from his high school teammate, UK's Zipp Duncan -- Last season versus UK, Deaderick had two tackles.

Tide Tidbits

Alabama gives up only 1.7 yards per rush to their opponents ... Florida International ran for one yard on 26 carries ... The Tide receivers are averaging 14.2 yards per catch ... 'Bama has converted 45% of their third down conversion tries ... Opposing quarterbacks are completing only 48.4% of their passes (59-122) against the Tide ... 'Bama has recorded 13 sacks ... Alabama's punt return average - 18.8 yards, their opponents - 4.3 yards ... Virginia Tech scored 24 points on the Tide, but averaged only 2.1 yards per carry ... Florida International had a 96-yard kick-off return for a touchdown against the Tide ... Alabama has outscored their opponents 162-52 in their four games ... The Tide held Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett to only 12-35 passing (34.3%) for 160 yards, one touchdown and one interception ... Mallett was sacked three times.

Alabama Accolades

Alabama is ranked in the top-11 in the country in the following categories: 2nd - Rush Defense (47.3 ypg); 2nd - Total Defense (202.5 ypg); 5th - Offensive Pass Efficiency (169.0); 8th - Total Offense (490.5 ypg); 9th - Scoring Offense (40.5 ppg); 10th - Rush Offense (234.3 ypg); 10th - Tackles for Loss (8.0); 11th - Punt Return Average (18.8).

CliffsNotes Analysis ("Must" Edition)

1. UK must be mentally focused.

2. UK must not commit silly, mental mistakes, i.e. excessive penalties.

3. UK must not start playing in the second quarter. The game starts at 12:20 fellas.

4. UK must run the ball. Some how, some way.

5. UK must not allow big plays, which 'Bama has a penchant for.

6. UK must throw for more than 85 yards (Hartline's total against Florida)..

7. UK must find a way to get Randall Cobb into space (no, not the heavens, open space).

8. UK must not allow the 'Bama backs to run as with gifted with impunity (less than 175 would be nice).

9. UK must not average less than 10.0 yards per catch.

10. UK must score (twice would be nice) a special teams or defensive touchdown.

11. UK must play like Wildcats, or risk ending up a skinned cat.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats, beat the Tide!

Initial Impressions from the North Texas Game

outsidethesidelines — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:15:09 -0000

A few initial impressions after the 53-7 route of North Texas:

Obviously a dominant performance by the Tide, and frankly one that was over before it ever really started. North Texas was never even close to being in our league and they were just outmatched from the very beginning. We effectively could have named the score today, and honestly this was probably the most dominating performance we've had over a Division 1-A team in many years. At the very least, it was the most points we scored since UTEP in Legion Field way back in 2001.
On the offensive side of the ball, you really just cannot say enough about the performance of Greg McElroy. Ever since he took off in the Virginia Tech game, he has been practically unstoppable. I think he threw about one bad ball today, but aside from that his performance was completely flawless. And the amazing thing is that he has had three touchdown passes dropped the past two weeks, which means his already gaudy statistics ought to be even more inflated. I'm sure it won't be this good all year, but you would have been hard-pressed to even script a better debut for McElroy.
Likewise, even without the presence of Julio Jones, the wide receiver corps looked great. Mike McCoy has basically done everything Julio would have done the past two weeks, and Marquis Maze, Darius Hanks, Earl Alexander, and others have all filled out the rotation nicely. Now obviously I'm not going to be so swayed by the past two games to think that we can miss a guy like Julio Jones against the stretch run of SEC teams and not see a dip in production, but it's still encouraging to see that we can get the job done against lesser opponents with #8 sitting on the sideline.
Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson may very well be the best tailback duo in the conference. Both are big, physical runners with good speed, good field vision, and both are threats to catch the football out of the backfield. There is not another duo anywhere in the country that I would trade for those two right now.
Defensively it was a great day, but honestly things were really vanilla by both the Alabama defense and the North Texas offense. For such a supposed offensive guru, it would be difficult to get much more plain jane than what Todd Dodge put on display today. It was all dink and dunk passes that came out almost immediately, mixed in with a bunch of runs out of shotgun into the interior of the line for no yardage. We were equally vanilla on defense, but there was no reason to do anything else. Terrence Cody and Josh Chapman had a field day with the UNT guards and centers and the 'Bama linebackers were free to roam all day. Our defensive backs were superior athletes anyway, and they were never legitimately tested by the Mean Green dink and dunk offense
The pass rush looked terrible on paper today, as we weren't able to get a single sack on 23 passing attempts. In reality, though, it was no major issue. North Texas was getting the ball out almost immediately on the snap and it really never gave our pass rush a chance. It took all of the edge rushers out of the game, effectively, but it's no major concern. Our pass rush didn't do anything wrong today, and we should still be in good shape moving forward.
It was nice to see Leigh Tiffin getting such great distance on kick-offs, but we still had at least one major breakdown in the kick coverage team, and Tiffin played a huge role in that. Every single kick return that has went for a long distance today has been largely assisted by Tiffin being far out of position. It has gotten so bad that it's practically an 11-on-10 match-up when we kick-off, and frankly I don't think I've ever seen someone consistently as lost on a football field as Tiffin is during kick returns. Again, he had a nice day today in terms of kick-off distance and positioning, but at this point you just have to be honest and say that if we need to rely on Tiffin in any way whatsoever to assist bringing down the returner, we're just out of luck.
And speaking further of Tiffin, the two missed extra points today were ridiculous. What can you say? Just pray that no 'Bama game this year legitimately comes down to a kick. If it does, the post-game drinking is most likely going to be rooted in depression, not celebration.
One nitpick on the Alabama pass defense: Care to guess how many interceptions we have had since the LSU game last year? One... and that one was Mark Barron's relatively meaningless interception very late last week against Florida International. All told, that is seven games and only one interception to show for it all. The pass defense has generally been good during that stretch, but the complete lack of an ability to force turnovers is very frustrating, and honestly it is something that we need to be able to do in order to truly become an elite defense. As well as our offense has performed, we can really be absolutely explosive in terms of point production if our defense can start getting turnovers for our offense.
You know whose playing time has almost been entirely eliminated? Cory Reamer. He's still a "starter," per se, I suppose, but he really has not had a lot of meaningful playing time the past couple of weeks, and honestly most of his time today came late in the game with the back-ups. For a "starter," he's probably played less than anyone with that designation in a long time.
Speaking of Reamer, I think one of the things interesting on defense is that we have largely went with a 3-3-5 look the past couple of weeks. Reamer has gone off the field, and in his place Marquis Johnson has been on the field as a fifth defensive back. And then in long-yardage, obvious passing situations, we move to a dime package with four defensive linemen -- with Rolando McClain the only linebacker on the field -- and the defensive line consists of the two "normal" defensive ends being moved inside, and Dont'a Hightower and Eryk Anders playing with their hand on the ground at defensive end. All in all it's been successful, but it's still an interesting note. We really haven't lined up very much in a traditional 3-4 look (or 4-3 look, for that matter) the past couple of weeks. These past two opponents have been spread teams trying to throw the football, so perhaps the 3-3-5 is the way we're choosing to attack spread passing teams moving forward. Given the success so far it's hard to overly complain.
With the playing time that Star Jackson saw today, there is no question whatsoever that he is indeed our back-up quarterback. We simplified things for him and kept everything short and underneath -- and he did get away with one pass that could have easily been an interception -- but he looked pretty decent. He has good physical tools and he's developing nicely. He's not ready to play right now against high level competition, in my opinion, but we knew that Jackson was a developmental project when we signed him, and to that end he seems to be developing nicely. That said, though, again, he's not really ready to play right now, and if McElroy goes down against quality competition, we're really going to see a drop in offensive production.
Very few true freshmen on the field today, even against North Texas. Trent Richardson, Rod Woodson, Dre Kirkpatrick, Michael Bowman, and Nico Johnson played, but those five players had played already, and to the best of my knowledge no new true freshmen played today. With that in mind, I imagine the general plan for just about everyone else at this point is to redshirt.
Speaking of players who didn't play today, Burton Scott was absent for the third consecutive game. He's healthy, not suspended, and he was dressed out today, but he never went in. Instead, Dre Kirkpatrick, Tyrone King, and Chris Rogers played corner in mop-up duty. I'll be honest, at this point I think you have to say that Scott is going to redshirt this year.
Fortunately, no major injuries today from what we can tell. The only other semi-serious injury was to Demetrius Goode who went down with what was later diagnosed with a hyper-extended knee. Thankfully it doesn't look to be anything overly serious, and hopefully he'll be ready to go in a week or two. Unlike what was the case against Florida International, thankfully the price of victory in terms of injuries wasn't quote so high this week.
All in all, it was just a dominating performance today by the Tide, and with no major injuries confirmed thus far, there is really nothing to complain about. Of course, on the other hand, North Texas was clearly nowhere in our league, so by the same token you shouldn't necessarily draw any hard and fast conclusions about anything from today. Nevertheless, it was a good day for the Tide, we won big and we stayed healthy in the process. Now let's just ready for Arkansas...

Week Three Preview: Alabama vs North Texas Overview

outsidethesidelines — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:30:14 -0000

North Texas QB Riley Dodge

When the 2004 season came to a close, North Texas fans had to be feeling pretty well. With a blowout win over Arkansas State in the regular season finale, the Mean Green wrapped up their fourth consecutive Sun Belt Conference championship and were headed to New Orleans for their fourth consecutive bowl game. Unfortunately for the North Texas faithful, however, the wheels fell off the following year. Then head coach Darrell Dickey would go 2-9 and 3-9, respectively, over the course of the next two seasons, bringing his nine-year tenure to an end.

Looking to breathe new life into the program, North Texas went into the high schools ranks and hired Todd Dodge, head coach of Carroll High School, one of the nation's most prolific high school football programs. Leading the Carroll Dragons, Dodge went a combined went a combined 79-1 in his final five years at Carroll with four state championships coming in five years -- the only loss came in the state championship game in 2003 in a 16-15 loss to Katy. Dodge had previously coached at North Texas in the early 1990's, and having that kind of success just 20 miles south of Denton proved to be too tempting for the Mean Green administration to pass over.

Unfortunately, the Dodge era at North Texas hasn't exactly gone to plan. He went 2-10 in his debut campaign, and things got worse in 2008 as the program fell to 1-11. Making matters even worse, the losses generally weren't even remotely close. Nine of the eleven losses came with a margin of defeat of 28 points or more, and Rice even managed to put 77 points up on the board. The sole win came after winning a 51-40 shootout over Western Kentucky, a Division 1-AA team trying to make the jump up to the highest classification. As a result, not surprisingly, Dodge comes into the 2009 campaign with an increasingly warm seat. His tenure hasn't been entirely a disaster -- he hire created a lot of publicity, he has made some strides recruiting the Dallas area, and interest in the program is clearly up -- but everyone knows that this game is ultimately a game of wins and losses, and no coach with a career record of 3-21 can ever feel safe in his job.

Offensively, North Texas likes to spread the field and throw the football. Their base formation is a four-wide receiver set, and they operate almost solely out of some variation of that personnel grouping. There are no fullbacks on the roster, nor are their any tight ends. It's a spread team at its core and they make very few intentions of doing anything else.

At quarterback, normally, is Riley Dodge, son of head coach Todd Dodge. The freshman Dodge is a dual-threat player who is probably the biggest recruit the North Texas program will ever get -- he was committed to Texas before spurning the 'Horns to play for his father -- and he's legitimately a good player. Though he's a bit of a small player, he can make plays with his feet and he is an accurate passer. Fortunately for the Tide, however, Dodge separated his shoulder last weekend against Ball State, and he will not play this Saturday. In his place will be Nathan Tune, a senior, who is more of a traditional pocket passer without near the mobility and athleticism that Dodge brings to the table.Tune's start against Alabama will be the first start of his career.

The wide receiver corps, likewise, is also a major question mark at this point. They have only one returning starter from a year ago, sophomore Sam Roberson, and it's been a unit that has struggled to date. Mike Outlaw dropped two critical passes last week in the loss to Ohio, and outside of one long catch-and-run by JUCO transfer Jamaal Jackson, the unit as a whole has failed to generate any big plays.

RB Cam Montgomery

With question marks at quarterback and wide receiver -- already a big negative for a spread passing team -- the strength of the offense becomes the line play and the tailbacks. The offensive line itself is a veteran group that returns all five starters from a year ago, and they do have as many as eight linemen with meaningful experience. Unfortunately for North Texas, however, starting left tackle Victor Gill will also miss this game with a separated shoulder, and that has caused a re-shuffling of the offensive line. It's still a pretty decent group even without Gill, but his absence clearly makes life easier for the Crimson Tide defense.

With both the starting quarterback and starting left tackle missing this game, not to mention question marks at wide receiver, expect tailback Cam Montgomery to take on a pretty big role in this game, and don't sell short on Mr. Montgomery. He plays the part physically, coming in at around 6'1 and 220 pounds, and he's a physical back who is difficult to bring down. He was a four-star recruit coming out of the Mississippi JUCO ranks, and he rushed for almost 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns last year. He'll have an even bigger year this year, if he can stay healthy, and you may very well see him playing on Sunday.

Defensively, North Texas was absolutely atrocious last year in every single facet, effectively finishing as nearly the worst team in the country in almost every single major defensive category. In the off-season, though, Dodge brought back former defensive coordinator Gary DeLoach, and the early returns look good. Eight starters return from a year ago, and through two games the unit as a whole looks much improved. They only gave up 10 points to Ball State, and the following week gave up only 13 points in regulation to Ohio. It's nothing overly special, of course, but the defense does look to be a relatively solid one thus far, and honestly there are some talented players on that side of the ball. The defensive line is a bit green, but Craig Robertson and Tobe Nwigwe are both very good linebackers, and honestly cornerback Kylie Hill would probably be one of the SEC's better defensive backs, and he will probably play in the NFL next year.

For the Tide, offensively we will probably continue to do what we have done to date. We will have a multiple attack that will look to both establish the run and throw the football efficiently. Roy Upchurch is almost certainly out of this game, and likewise Julio Jones probably will not play, but the Tide should have plenty of skill position firepower to get the job done even without those two participating. Expect a lot more touches for Trent Richardson, Terry Grant, Mike McCoy, and perhaps Michael Bowman. Likewise, on defense, don't expect to see anything overly different than what we typically do. The biggest adjustment will likely be in terms of personnel. If the Mean Green spreads the field with four wide receivers as usual, expect to see a lot of nickel and dime packages from the Tide, and specifically look to see more playing time for the likes of Dre Kirkpatrick, Robby Green, Ali Sharrief, Tyrone King, and Chris Rogers.

And that is effectively the North Texas game in a nut shell. After being easily one of the worst teams in the country from 2005-2008, if early returns hold true, the Mean Green looks to be an improved team this year, but even so it's a team that should give Alabama no real trouble. And frankly, with Riley Dodge and Victor Gill missing this game, the Tide simply ought to beat North Texas like a drum. No excuses. In a game like this -- at the risk of causing another ULM-esque disaster solely due to bad karma with the Football Gods -- it's not a matter of whether you win, it's a matter of how you win, and how healthy you are once the clock reads 0:00. Last week's win over Florida International was a solid victory, but with Julio Jones banging up his knee, Roy Upchurch getting a high ankle sprain, and Damion Square being knocked out for the remainder of the year with a torn ACL, it was a very costly victory. For the North Texas game, the Tide should win with relative ease, but we all just have to hope that the price of victory isn't quite so high against the Mean Green.

Hope for the best.

FIU Penalties Breakdown

outsidethesidelines — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:00:16 -0000

After the Virginia Tech game last week we took a closer look breaking down the penalties and how they harmed the Tide.As long as the penalties keep up I figure it's a good idea to keep a running tally of these things, and unfortunately with seven penalties for 65 yards in the FIU game, I'm afraid to say that the rash of penalties did continue. Thus, here's a closer look at the penalties themselves:

False start penalty on Barrett Jones in the first quarter, when the Tide had a 2nd and 6 at the FIU 10 yard line. The penalty effectively negated a four-yard run on first down by Mark Ingram, and combined with the penalty that followed on the next play forced the Tide to settle for a field goal.

Holding penalty on Drew Davis in the first quarter, immediately following Barrett Jones' false start penalty. The hold wiped out an eight-yard reception by Mike McCoy that would have set up a 3rd and 3 situation for the Tide, and moved 'Bama into a 2nd and 21. Trent Richardson ran for six yards the following play, and Ingram took a dump pass for another seven, but ultimately the Tide was faced with a fourth and long situation and was forced to settle for a Leigh Tiffin field goal.

Pass interference on Kareem Jackson early on the second quarter on a 2nd and 17 from the FIU 49. Florida International had a clipping penalty before this which set up a 1st and 25 situation, but the interference call erased what would have been a third and long situation for the Golden Panthers, giving them new life with a first down at the Alabama 36-yard line. Six plays later, Paul McCall would hit Greg Ellingson for a touchdown pass, temporarily giving FIU a narrow 14-13 lead.

False start penalty called on Marcell Dareus on the extra point after Mark Ingram's touchdown run in the second quarter. Ordinarily this penalty would not have cost the Tide because the extra point try was ultimately successful, but in this unique situation it actually did cost us. The five-yard false start penalty moved the ball back to the 8-yard line, and when FIU was called immediately thereafter for having twelve men on the field, the ball was moved half the distance to the goal, thus putting it on the four-yard line. Had we not had the false start penalty, the ball would have been moved to within 4.5 feet of the goal line, and Nick Saban was planning to send Terrence Cody into the game to be a lead blocker on the two-point conversion opportunity. The false start penalty on Dareus, then, forced the Tide to forgo the possible two-point try.

False start penalty on Barrett Jones early in the third quarter. We had just taken the ball over on the FIU 42 yard line after 29-yard punt return by Javier Arenas. This was Jones' second false start penalty of the night, but fortunately it did not cost the Tide here, as Trent Richardson gained 18 yards over the course of the next two plays with a fine run and a nice catch out of the backfield. Unfortunately, after the Richardson first down, the Tide was unable to convert on third and short with Mark Ingram in the game, and a Leigh Tiffin field goal attempt sailed wide left.

Holding penalty on William Vlachos early in the fourth quarter at the Alabama 46. The penalty occurred on a 1st and 10 and wiped out a two-yard run by Trent Richardson, but it ultimately turned out to be harmless. Even despite the fact that the Tide had the game well in hand with a 33-14 lead at the time, Trent Richardson immediately hereafter ripped off runs of 10 and 12 yards, respectively, and the following play Terry Grant raced around left end for a 42-yard touchdown run.

Facemask penalty called on Ali Sharrief early in the fourth quarter. I really have no clue what happened here because the play-by-play data at RollTide.com only says "Team Rush," but either way it was a fifteen yard penalty that gave FIU a 1st and 10 at the Alabama 21-yard line. Ultimately, though, it was pointless because the next three plays for the Golden Panthers only netted four yards, and Mark Barron intercepted a pass on the fourth down play.

So, all in all, seven penalties for 65 yards, and to be quite frank a lot of them were really costly. The last two penalties padded the penalty yardage by 25 yards, but they were in effect meaningless. We overcome both with relative ease and even had that not been the case the game was well at hand by the time they occurred. The other five penalties, though, were really costly because each and every single one of those penalties directly cost us points. We ended up winning by 26 points and putting 40 points up on the board in our own right, but without those five penalties, we score more points, FIU scores fewer, and the margin of victory is a good bit higher. And perhaps most concerning of all, four more penalties were called on the offensive line this week. Bottom line, as has been the general theme of the FIU postgame, there's no major room to complain, but there is still clearly room for work to be done for the Tide.

Editors note: Click here for the Virginia Tech penalties breakdown.

Box Score and Such: Alabama vs FIU

Todd — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:45:06 -0000


1st Downs	26	13
3rd Down Efficiency	3-10	7-17
4th Down Efficiency	1-1	1-3
Total Yards	516	214
Passing	241	213
Comp-Att	18-24	18-38
Yards per Pass	10.0	5.6
Rushing	275	1
Attempts	42	26
Yards per Rush	6.5	0.0
Penalties	7-65	8-54
Turnovers	0	1
Fumbles Lost	0	0
Interceptions Thrown	0	1
Time of Possession	31:38	28:22

Snap Judgements:

The pass coverage was horrendous in the first half, but after we came back out FIU could hardly move the ball. How much was the fact that this was FIU's first game and we had no film on what they might be doing in this game, and how much is it that we just really miss Rashad Johnson back there?
Pass rush? Yes, please. Marcel Dareus had a monster of a game with two sacks and four total tackles (most of the down linemen), while we managed five total sacks in the game along with nine QB hurries.
Greg McElroy has his first school record with 14 straight completed passes. John Parker Wilson previously held that record with 12 straight against Tennessee and Arkansas State last year.
Third down efficiency is still poor on our end. We were at 35% against a stout Hokie D, but we dropped to 30% against a Sun Belt D. Not shooting ourselves in the foot on early downs with penalties and digging ourselves into a hole would probably help in that regard.
We were pretty even so far as time of possession goes (unlike last week when we held about a +15 minute edge), so getting off the field was a problem for the defense. Not good.
Another solid, balanced outing for the offense, though the total yardage stats are a little padded from the big runs by Richardson and Grant late in the second half.
The penalties? The penalties! 7 for 65 yards is an improvement over 10 for 83, but the line is still making me nervous with the false starts and holding calls.

Players of the Game

Offense:

Greg McElroy

vs Florida Intl / 9.12.09	Passing					Rushing
	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Rush	Yds	Avg	TD
Greg McElroy	18	24	80.0	241	1	2	-14	-7.0	0

Honorable mentions have to go to Mike McCoy (5 catches for 100 yards and the lone receiving TD of the night) and Trent Richardson (15 rushes for 118 yards and 2 TDs) for stepping up big time early on in relief of other guys, but McElroy continues to look like the kind of kid we need running our offense right now. His second half against Va. Tech was apparently no fluke.

Defense

Marcell Dareus

Young Dareus leads the team with 3.5 sacks so far this season (two of those coming last night) and is quickly becoming a super star on the defensive line.

Initial Impressions from the FIU Game

outsidethesidelines — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 06:51:37 -0000

Things weren't always pretty, but nevertheless everything generally worked out well in the end with the Tide knocking off the Golden Panthers of FIU 40-14 in the home opener in Tuscaloosa. A few initial impressions on the game:

After an impressive debut against Virginia Tech, Greg McElroy built on that foundation again today with his performance over Florida International. He ultimately went 18-24 for 241 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions, and frankly regardless of the opponent you can never complain when your quarterback completes 75% of his passes, averages 10 yards per attempt, and doesn't turn the football over. I'm sure McElroy will experience some pains later on down the road, but nevertheless he has gotten off to as good of a start as we could have hoped for, and frankly he's played better in the two games so far this than John Parker Wilson ever did at any point of the 2008 campaign.
The knee injury to Julio Jones has gotten a lot of attention, and rightly so. Obviously he must have been in some degree of pain for him to stay on the sideline, but I imagine it was more to do with the staff wanting to be cautious with him than anything else. Obviously we'll know more in the next couple of days, but the fact that he never went to the locker room, never went to get an MRI, an x-ray, or anything of the sort bodes well for the (hopefully) limited severity of the injury. Furthermore, keep in mind that Jones was injured on the end-around, and stayed in the game for several more players after the injury occurred. Again, we won't know anything definitive until another day or so, but for now I see no real reason to be concerned.

The good news is how well we've done in Jones' absence. After his critical drop on third and short early in the fourth quarter of the Virginia Tech game, we didn't throw in his direction the rest of the night, and the offense still put 18 more points on the board. Likewise, Jones really wasn't a factor today -- three balls went his way, and they included a nine-yard catch, a five-yard end around, and a dropped touchdown pass -- but in his absence guys like Mike McCoy, Earl Alexander, Darius Hanks, and others stepped up to fill the void, and we still put up 40 points on the board (and it should have been more). Obviously there is no replacing a player like Julio, and it goes without saying that we all hope his injury is nothing serious, but it is comforting to see that we can still field a solid, functional offense even when we aren't getting any real contributions from the Foley product.
Speaking of other injuries, the knee injury to Damion Square is particularly disheartening. The redshirt freshman from Houston had been playing really well, and the general consensus is that the severity of the knee injury will force him to miss the remainder of the season. Square had to be carted to the locker room, which is never a good sign, and I imagine it's some type of ligament damage involved. Nevertheless, he's a fine young man with a promising future ahead of him. Hopefully he can take things in stride and start getting prepared for 2010 (if the knee is as bad as feared), and then hopefully we can successfully petition the NCAA for a medical hardship waiver on down the road if it comes to that.
The rest of the injuries, fortunately, aren't as serious as Square's knee injury. Mark Ingram showed no signs of limitation from the knee injury he suffered late last weekend against Virginia Tech, and while Roy Upchurch's ankle sprain was a bit frustrating, Upchurch's fragility isn't exactly breaking news, and at this point you just have to be happy that it was nothing more serious, and from here on just count any production from Upchurch as a bonus. For what it's worth, the ankle sprain did look pretty serious -- Upchurch returned to the sideline in street clothes, and was sporting a protective boot on his lower leg -- and I imagine he either misses the next few weeks or is limited for the next few weeks. Hopefully that's not the case, but I'm afraid this wasn't just your typical minor day-to-day ankle tweak for Upchurch. Fortunately, though, there were no other major injuries reported for the rest of the team, so the news is good on that front.
With Ingram limited somewhat by the flu and Upchurch injuring his ankle early, the door was opened for the arrival of Trent Richardson and he did not disappoint. To date, Richardson has shown why he was so highly-touted coming out of Escambia. He is built like a bodybuilder and runs with great power, but he's no glorified fullback out there, he has a lot of top-end speed and overall agility to boot. Moreover, he did a decent job tonight in pass protection, and showed off his hands catching the football out of the backfield. He's still a true freshman and will experience some growing pains, inevitably, but he looks to be an asset for the Tide in 2009, and if Upchurch's injury issues continue, he's going to prove to be an invaluable asset at that. Prior to the season I said that he could probably get 150 carries on the year, and if Upchurch misses some time throughout the course of the year, Richardson will probably get near that mark. In particular, if Upchurch's sprained ankle indeed does keep him out or limited for a few weeks, expect Richardson to be a major cog of the offense.
As expected, we did see some more true freshmen in action tonight in addition to Trent Richardson and Rod Woodson -- both of whom played against Virginia Tech and played again tonight against FIU -- including Dre Kirkpatrick, Nico Johnson, Kerry Murphy, Michael Bowman, and Chance Warmack. The real surprises of the group were Michael Bowman and Chance Warmack, but in all fairness neither of those are necessarily big surprises. Bowman is supremely talented physically, and Warmack enrolled early and fought hard for a starting job this Fall. Of those true freshmen who didn't play tonight, most are probably headed for a redshirt season. Of the few possible exceptions, keep your eye on Tana Patrick, D.J. Fluker, and Kevin Norwood.
Thomas Darrah went into the game first tonight when Greg McElroy went out, but I wouldn't necessarily venture to say that he is the back-up at this point. Star Jackson was limited by the flu this week, and that had to hurt his chances against FIU. Truth be told, I still don't think anyone really knows who would take over if McElroy were forced out for an extended period of time.
Nobody will ever say that FIU has a dominating defense, but even so the offensive line did pretty well tonight. Greg McElroy was sacked only once on 24 passing attempts, and while FIU isn't exactly known for a fierce pass rush, the big uglies kept their quarterback upright, and that's all you can ever ask. Likewise, those guys did a pretty nice job in the running game as well. I think it's relatively clear that we cannot be the physically dominating unit like we were a year ago, but for the second week in a row these guys kept plugging at it and eventually got the job done. We didn't exactly annihilate FIU at the point of attack, but you can never complain about 42 carries for 295 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground. All in all, again, regardless of the opponent, all you can ask for your offensive line is to go out and get the job done, and our guys generally did that tonight.

The defensive line is continuing to perform at an extremely high level. Despite the disappointing injury to Square, the rest of the defensive line was nothing short of dominating. FIU ended up with zero yards rushing on the day, and the defensive line itself picked up three sacks, a particularly impressive figure considering that linemen in the 3-4 are more designed to occupy space and blockers and then let the linebackers run free to make plays. Marcel Dareus continues to have the look of a superstar in the making, and Lorenzo Washington is really playing at the level that so many hoped he would when he signed with the Tide way back in 2004 (Shula's first class).
The pass rush as a whole, moreover, continued to be particularly impressive. We ended up with five sacks on only 38 passing attempts, not to mention nine quarterback hurries and at least one intentional grounding penalty. I said in the preview that the FIU offensive line was nothing overly special, and admittedly they gave up a relatively high number of sacks a year ago, but the way we got after the quarterback was still impressive. Objectively, our ability to rush the passer in the first two games augers well for the stretch run.
The pass defense, generally speaking, had a good night, but in the first half we did struggle quite a bit and things got very frustrating. Admittedly, it is important to get perspective on the subject by pointing out that, while FIU had a 14-13 lead, seven of those points came on a kick return, and the following seven came after we spotted them the football on the 40-yard line thanks to a Leigh Tiffin kick sailing out of bounds. So it wasn't really that bad -- as maddening as it was at the time -- and in all fairness we really did shut down FIU in the second half with no problem. Their five meaningful possessions of the second half resulted in a whopping twenty yards of total offense, and it really became a non-issue. Perhaps our cover schemes were a bit vanilla in the first half, perhaps we struggled with the speed of their no huddle offense, but whatever the cause it was something that we fixed in the second half. I do think we still need to play better pass defense against solid spread teams, but I don't think I'd get overly worried about what we saw tonight. All told, the FIU passing game tonight went 18-38 for for 213 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. That's a completion percentage of only 47%, and a QB rating of only 97.8. Given that much of the production came on picking up third and long plays -- which generally tend to be a bit of a fluky occurrence -- I'm not complaining too much.
One guy who did struggle a lot tonight in the defensive backfield was Kareem Jackson. He gave up a couple of long passing plays, had a pass interference penalty that was key in a FIU scoring drive, and dropped what should have been an easy interception. Jackson played well against Virginia Tech, but he struggled a bit down the stretch in 2008, and tonight was probably one of his worst games. He can play well at times, but he's also a streaky player who can be a liability at times too. I just hope he works out whatever his issues are before the stretch run of conference play begins.
Also frustrating tonight was that we continued to leave points on the board. Leigh Tiffin was his consistently inconsistent self, which included a missed 39-yard field goal and a kick-off that went out of bounds. Julio Jones, though it's hard to say how much the knee injury was limiting him, nevertheless dropped a touchdown pass that he should have caught. The same goes for Colin Peek as well. Likewise, penalties continued to be an issue, and in particular a holding penalty on Drew Davis in the red zone likely took away a touchdown drive. It's hard to complain too much when you still put 40 points up on the board, but even with that kind of production we still left a lot more out there, and while we can get away with this against the FIU's of the world, this type of foot-shooting can very well result in a loss (or losses) in conference play. Hopefully we can improve offensive efficiency moving forward and stop leaving so many points on the board.
The biggest problem tonight, of course, was continued breakdowns by the kick coverage team, and that point I really do not even know what to say. We have some of the best athletes in the country playing kick coverage, and there is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't have one of the best kick coverage teams around. What I can say, however, is that unless we get this problem fixed immediately, it's going to cost us a game at some point. SEC play is just entirely too tough, and the margin of error against many opponents in conference play is so small that we will not be able to afford to allow our opponent to just race to the end zone on a kick return and still expect to win. Either we take care of this problem soon, or this problem will take care of us soon. Hopefully it's the former, not the latter.
At the end of the day, FIU looked pretty solid in this game. They aren't a great team, obviously, but again they are nowhere near the laughingstock that many of our fans ridiculed them for being prior to this game. They are a solid Sun Belt team with a lot of experience and a good young coach, and it's a team that may very well end up in a bowl game came late December. Best of luck to them.
For Alabama, it's hard to complain too much. If nothing else, we're pretty healthy, 2-0, and #4 in the country. If you are asking for much more than that, chances are you are simply being greedy. We're in pretty good shape, and you won't see me doing any real complaining. On the other hand, though, in all fairness, we aren't a perfect team by any stretch of the imagination. We have more than our fair share of flaws -- offensive line isn't dominating in the run game like a year ago, we're leaving points on the board, penalties are hurting us, special teams are killing us, and the pass defense has looked shaky at times against FIU -- and no destination is guaranteed for us, not even Atlanta. Nevertheless, things have pretty much gone as well as can be reasonably expected thus far, and for now we just have to focus on fixing the shortcomings that we have displayed to date. We aren't there yet, but we've gotten off to a good start and now we just have to focus on improvement.