SB Nation User Blog: NiceLittleSaturday

22=13?

NiceLittleSaturday — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:09:17 -0000

A few of you may remember how significant the number 13 was the last time we won a national championship: it had been 13 years since our last title (1979), we allowed Miami only 13 points, George Teague wore #13, we were the first ever 13-0 team, etc. Something else you may have noticed Saturday is the significance this year of the number 22 in securing our only SEC title of the decade.

(19)22: The year of Alabama's first 'signature' win, a 9-7 victory at then-mighty Pennsylvania...also the last year for famed head coach Xen Scott at the Capstone. He would be replaced by Wallace Wade, who would lead 'Bama to her first three national titles.

22: The number of points Alabama scored vs. Ole Miss, who graced the Sports Illustrated College Football Preview issue and was favored by them (and others) as the favorite to win the SEC West this year. Obviously, these prognosticators were way off...the Rebels are just lucky that Les Miles still has a job at LSU.

22: The number of Mark Ingram, who carried the ball 28 times for 113 yards and a season-high three rushing touchdowns vs. the Florida Gators Saturday. He also had two receptions for 76 yards in the 32-13 win, which helped the Tide garner an appearance against Texas in the BCS National Championship Game on January 7th. Ingram has gained 1542 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns this season while also gathering 30 receptions for a total of 322 yards (three touchdowns). Ingram has averaged 6.2 yards per carry and topped the century mark eight times in 13 starts. His best game came against South Carolina when he carried the ball 24 times for 246 yards and one touchdown in a 20-6 victory.

22: The number of total wins against Florida, versus their fourteen versus Alabama.

2/2: Leigh Tiffin's field goal performance in the SEC Championship game. For posterity's sake, we won't discuss post-touchdown conversion attempts.

22: The number of SEC Championships for Alabama, the most of any school in SEC history. The University of Tennessee is a distant second with 13 titles.

Trivial, perhaps, but this has been a special year for a special team, much like the aforementioned 1992 squad. Speaking of which, you may also have noticed the number 13 is still playing a significant role in 2009...we only allowed 13 points to Florida, to win our 13th game, to allow us to play for our 13th national championship....

NLS SECCG R10

NiceLittleSaturday — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:29:58 -0000

I must have missed the memo about the reason(s) that there would be no Random 10 this week, or that it would be late, or that it's moving to Saturdays, or whatever. Or maybe it's already up and I'm just blind or stupid. All of these are possibilities, yet I still can't find it. So, since I am both a creature of habit and a music lover, I present to you my own Random 10, which you may notice has a couple of touches of local flavor in Kate Taylor (twice) and the Storm Orphans (as this is truly a random selection, I can only presume this means good things for the Tide in Atlanta). Anyhow, may the Gators die a slow and painful death tomorrow (metaphorically speaking, of course...we'll still need their input for next week's Meltdown). On with the 10:

1. The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me '86

2. Kate Taylor - From The Start

3. Storm Orphans - Just Calling

4. Luscious Jackson - Faith

5. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Me & My Friends

6. Elvis Presley - Don't Be Cruel

7. Taj Mahal - Cakewalk Into Town

8. Grateful Dead - Easy Wind

9. Elvis Presley - Wooden Heart

10. Kate Taylor - Walk Fast

Roll Tide!

Ingy

NiceLittleSaturday — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:54:11 -0000

Ingy

Mark Ingram for Heisman video. I touchdown...I touchdown...

Alabama vs. LSU

NiceLittleSaturday — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:50:01 -0000

Clearly, Coach Saban's 24-hour rule doesn't apply to the fans here at RBR, but as I've grown weary of the whinings of the pale orange last-week's losers from up the road, I thought I would share a few of the reasons the Alabama-LSU rivalry has long been an important one to me.

First of all, as many of us could have guessed before the season began, our upcoming game has become the biggest of the year. We may or may not have expected to be 8-0 at this point, what with replacing last year's starting QB, RB, TEs, and three members of our offensive line (two of them highly touted), not to mention the 'quarterback' of the defense, safety Rashad Johnson. However, despite our recent struggles offensively, Greg McElroy has filled in nicely for John Parker Wilson, the offensive line has exceeded the expectations of most, and Mark Ingram is suddenly being touted as the best player in America. Furthermore, it seems that the combination of Robby Green and bright new star Mark Barron has filled the shoes of Johnson quite nicely. Ugly or not, our beloved Tide has won every game thus far, standing at the break with a perfect 8-0 record.

We also may not have expected LSU to have only one loss this far into the season, seeing as how they lost five games last year...and the Bengal Tigers' start to the season did little to strike fear in our hearts, what with their season-opening nail-biter vs. a previously unbeaten UW (though that game doesn't look quite so ugly since Washington's upset of USC), not to mention their lucky escape in Starkville. LSU has had offensive struggles of their own, most surprisingly in the running game. It's difficult to imagine that their running issues will be solved against what appears to be the best run-stopping defense in the land; nevertheless, LSU enters this game with only one loss, and controls their own destiny as of today.

You may have noticed that I haven't even mentioned the emotions surrounding LSU's severed relationship with our own exalted CNS, or the thrilling finishes to the prior two meetings in Baton Rouge and Tuscaloosa, nor the pungent smell of corn dogs that you may encounter on your walk to BDS next weekend. It goes without saying, despite the recent focus on Rocky Block and whiny puke-orange coaches, our next game is the biggest of the regular season.

Most of my own memories of this game are positive. Before this decade, the series record in this game from 1970-1999 stood at 22-7-1 in favor of the Tide. Unfortunately, a variety of factors -- most prominently probation at Alabama and the arrival of Coach Nick Saban in Baton Rouge -- have swung the series dramatically during the aughts, with LSU winning seven of nine, including a five-game streak that ended last year in Bama's 27-21 OT victory at Tiger Stadium. Here are some of my own recollections from the past 30+ years:

When I was a boy, LSU was a mere afterthought on the road between opening day and Auburn. The Tide owned the SEC and the nation in the 1970s, beginning an eleven-game streak against the Bengal Tigers in 1971. I don't mean to say they were an afterthought for the team; there were many tense games, as LSU was ranked in five of them and was already a long-standing rival with their own solid football history. An unranked LSU team played us down to the wire in a stressful 3-0 game in Baton Rouge in our undefeated championship season of 1979. But for young Tide fans across the southeast, LSU was just not a team that we worried about. We owned them.

That came crashing to a halt in Coach Bryant's last year, and I've always believed that this game had a lot to do with his decision to retire at the end of the 1982 season. Alabama was ranked eighth and LSU eleventh, and the game was still played at Legion Field. By halftime, I'm not sure we had earned a yard on offense, much less a first down. It was a miserable game, and the 20-10 final score showed little how well LSU had dominated us that day. To make matters worse (for me), a cocky LSU fan I knew showed up the next day wearing an Alabama t-shirt that read 'LSU 20, Bama 10' on the back. Needless to say, I felt a new loathing for those clad in purple and yellow. My old disinterest was gone.

Our record against LSU over the next six years was 2-3-1, and two games stand out for me during that time. The first was a 32-26 victory in Baton Rouge in 1983, partly because it was revenge for the previous year's loss, but mainly because it was the first (and only) game I attended in Tiger Stadium. The atmosphere was electric, and it was easily the most exciting football game I had yet encountered in person. I'll never forget the politely veiled threats I received from the Tiger faithful who did not like the colors I wore or the outcome of the game, and they encouraged me to get back home to Alabama...fast.

The second was a heart-breaking loss at Legion Field in 1986. It was a huge loss. We entered the game ranked sixth in the country, but we gave it away, literally, as my hero Bobby Humphrey fumbled (was it only twice?), and we walked out baffled by a 14-10 defeat. That team also featured Mike Shula and Cornelius Bennett, and was talented enough to win a national championship. It wasn't the only loss of the year, or the most painful (we also lost to another Tiger team at the end of the regular season), but it was the one that killed our title hopes.

We only lost twice to LSU from 1989-1999, as LSU was struggling to find a head coach and Gene Stallings had resurrected much of our own old glory. The end of the decade, of course, gave us a glimpse of what probation and poor coaching could do to that glory, as we were shut out 27-0 in MIke Dubose's inaugural year. However, the two most memorable games for me during that time were the bookends to that season, beginning with Shaun Alexander's amazing 291-yard game as a freshman in 1996 (a record that still stands) and closing with a thrilling comeback in Tiger Stadium in 1998. If I were an LSU fan, I can't imagine a more disappointing finish. For us, it featured incredible fourth-quarter plays by Shaun Alexander (again), a beautifully executed onside kick, and Andrew Zow's final TD pass being ripped out of the sky by phenom Quincy Jackson. It is still one of my favorite games.

This decade has not been a fun one for Crimson Tide fans, especially as it relates to this rivalry. We did shut out and shut down a Nick Saban team in 2002, but he paid us back royally with a 27-3 loss the next year in what still stands out to me as the worst in terms of a team that just completely dominated us (I do seem to recall that LSU was pretty good that year...). Of course, that began a five-game win streak for LSU, which still seems unfathomable, with or without probation.

And that's what made last year's OT win in Baton Rouge so sweet. And that's what makes next week's game so important. For most of this decade, Alabama has fielded forgettable teams, and it's been arguably the worst decade of Alabama football of the past fifty years.

But we can feel the undercurrent changing direction, and we can see the Tide turning. I, for one, have got that old championship feeling again. Next weekend is the game that can propel us in that direction more than any other this season. You may want to keep your Halloween costume handy for one more week. We need to bring the fear back to BDS next Saturday. Roll Tide.

News From The Underground

NiceLittleSaturday — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:33:08 -0000

News From The Underground

For those of you who love to hate Lame Kitten, UT, and all things inside-of-a-pumpkin orange, here's a little more fuel for the fire. Enjoy.

Marquis Johnson Is Perfect Example

NiceLittleSaturday — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:23:32 -0000

Marquis Johnson Is Perfect Example

If you're not excited enough about the job Marquis Johnson did Saturday night, Alabama being 7-0, or the job Coach Saban is doing at the Capstone, please try this story from Bleacher Report.

"I wouldn't like to compare it to last year's team because we're in the present. We're just trying...

NiceLittleSaturday — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:35:38 -0000

"I wouldn't like to compare it to last year's team because we're in the present. We're just trying to get better each and every game and move forward, work on things we didn't do right the previous week. We're not trying to think about last year because it would be a distraction. We can get much better."

--Javier Arenas after yesterday's win in Oxford.

For Todd

NiceLittleSaturday — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:26:05 -0000

For Todd

I'm guessing you have your tickets already, but just in case....

The Bama Way

NiceLittleSaturday — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:05:25 -0000

The Bama Way

"We're a team offense," McElroy said. "Alabama has 12 national championships and no Heisman Trophy winners. That's the mindset coming in here. This is a team game, and we're going to win as a team."

From kansascity.com. There's no question: our QB gets it.

Arkansas O vs. Bama D

NiceLittleSaturday — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:49:29 -0000

Arkansas O vs. Bama D

Like many statistics, some of these are a little misleading. Still, this is an interesting look at an area where Bama has struggled vs. one where Arkansas has so far excelled.