Auburn Game

84 seconds.

Just 84. One minute and 24 seconds. That’s how long Alabama had the lead over Auburn in the 2009 Iron Bowl. But when it’s the last 84 seconds on the game clock, that lead is good for 365 days.

The statistics from yesterday’s game provide some other interesting studies in time. For example: Alabama’s time of possession for the game was 7:34 more than Auburn’s [33:47 t0 26:13]; Alabama’s last offensive possession of the 4th quarter was 7:03.  Auburn had 14 offensive possession in the game-10 of those possessions lasted less than 2:00 of game time. Alabama had 13 offensive possessions-7 of those possessions lasted more than 2:00 of game time. Alabama had three possessions that lasted more than 3:00. Auburn had only 1.All four of these drives resulted in points. 

But perhaps the most compelling time-related statistic requires a longer view:   30 years.

Three decades. That’s how far into Crimson Tide history you have to travel in order to find a game-winning drive that compares favorably with the near-perfect 15 play, 79 yard march that Alabama made yesterday to keep its season record perfect, and its chances for a national championship alive. In the run-up to kickoff, the Auburn people were touting the 1989 Iron Bowl as the point of  comparison. They had it all wrong. The better point of comparison is ten years earlier. By the final game of the 1979 season, Alabama was undefeated, untied, and headed for a national championship show-down in the Sugar Bowl against the best team the Southwest Conference had to offer. And late in the fourth quarter all of that achievement and all of that potential glory was on the line as unranked Auburn held a one point lead. Under the direction of quarterback Steadman Shealy, Alabama marched the length of the field and scored the game winning touchdown.

The Auburn / Alabama series has its share of 4th quarter rallies; 1985 comes to mind. The drive in the waning seconds of the 1985 Iron Bowl that Van Tiffin won with what will always be known as "The Kick", was thrilling, and the time pressure was enormous, but the 1985 edition of the Crimson Tide was not playing for a conference or national championship. For a moment, on Friday, I thought that we might witness some cosmic-symmetry and that Van Tiffin's son would kick the go-ahead points. An excellent play call - perhaps the best of the game for Alabama's staff - produced a touchdown, and Auburn was faced with a point deficit greater than a field goal, and only 84 seconds to do something about it.    

I give Auburn’s coaching staff and its players all the credit in the world for using their open week to put in trickeration, and schemes on both sides of the ball that allowed them to get a quick lead and to shut down Mark Ingram. But Alabama proved that it has too much depth, and too much character, to lose to Auburn with so much at stake.

Cecil Hurt has an excellent essay on the nature of Alabama’s character.  I highly recommend it. http://tidesportsextra.com/cecil-hurt/2009/11/28/nov-27-column-a-drive-for-the-ages/

People say that character is forged in adversity, and I think that’s partially true.  The adversity that forges character is not the adversity of a game-day situation like the Tide faced yesterday. It is the adversity of practice, the adversity of constant repetition, the adversity of preparation, and the adversity of discipline that provide the crucible where character is formed. If a team has not formed its character on the practice field, then the game-day adversity will come too late. Being behind to your greatest rival with so much at stake is not where you build your character.  It’s where you find out what sort of character you have.

Julio Jones was questioned by reporters following the game yesterday.  Everyone wanted to know if the offense was nervous or intimidated by the prospect of having to drive 79 yards to win the game. Jones seemed a bit puzzled by the question. His answer?  “No. That’s what we practice every day.” Time and again, the media pressed him on the emotional aspects of the drive  Did you have confidence?  “Yes. Because this is what we practice.” Did you think you would score and win the game? “Yes. That’s what we practice.”  

Nick Saban told the press that yesterday’s drive was the greatest fourth quarter game-winning drive he had ever been associated with. “Ever” is also an interesting time statistic.

Here’s how I grade the game:

Offense:              A -          I thought at the time, that if Alabama could just get ahead on the scoreboard, that Auburn would lose all of its steam.  The Tide defense and special teams did their part in twice setting the offense up on a short field, but the offense had to settle for field goals and allowed Auburn to keep the lead.   We never figured out how to adjust to Auburn’s scheme to stop Mark Ingram.  It appeared to me that the Tiger’s middle linebacker was keying on Ingram every time Mark was on the field.  There may have been more that Auburn was doing, and I solicit input on this point from subscribers who are more schooled in the Xs and Os.  Fortunately, what seemed to be working for Auburn to defend against Ingram, did not have the same success with Trent Richardson. 

Auburn was committed to stopping the run and making GMac beat them with his arm. We ran the ball just well enough and GMac gave Auburn a horse doctor’s dose of Julio Jones.

Alabama earned 17 first downs-13 by passing. Bama gained 291 yards of total offense-218 in the air.  GMac completed 21 of 32 pass attempts for 2 TDs and no interceptions. On the final drive he threw incomplete on his first pass attempt, then completed the next 7 in a row; including 4 to Julio, each one good for a first down. 

Julio caught a career high 9 passes for 83 yards. Colin Peek, Trent Richardson and Ingram each had 3 catches, and Peek’s 33 yard TD catch and run was Alabama’s longest pass of the day. The official post-game notes credit Roy Upchurch with his first career TD reception for the game-winning catch on 3rd down at the Auburn 4, but I would swear that we ran that exact play earlier in the year. Terrence Cody came into the game as part of the Tide’s “Big” package on short yardage, but this time he served as the world’s largest decoy. Every player on the Auburn defense sold out to stop Richardson who was hit in the Tide backfield.  But Trent didn’t have the ball. Instead, GMac rolled to his right and lofted a perfect touch pass to Upchurch who was open on an out route in the endzone.

Richardson gained 51 yards on 15 carries, while Ingram gained 30 on 16. 

Defense:             A--          Yes, Auburn outgained Alabama in total offense [332]. Yes, Alabama gave up two big plays, both for touchdowns. Yes, Auburn scored 21 points, more than doubling the average points that Alabama has allowed on average this season. But Auburn had 14 offensive possessions, the Alabama defense earned it’s A grade by what it did to the Tigers on 11 of those possessions: 8 punts; 7 possessions that ended after only 3 plays;  2 turnovers; and  the end of the game.

Roland McClain led all defenders with  12 tackles [1.5 for loss]. Javier Arenas and Eric Anders each had 7 tackles; Arenas is credited with 1 tackle for 10 yards of lost yardage,  Anders is credited with 3.5 tackles for 16 yards of lost yardage. Auburn’s quarterbacks were sacked 3 times and hurried 6. Nine times Auburn was tackled for a loss of yardage and the defense had its own version of “The Drive”; call it “The Reverse Drive”.  Bama punted from its own 5 yard line and Auburn got possession of the ball at the Bama 44 holding 1 point lead.  Any points at all would have put the Tigers in control of the game. On first down, Ben Tate gained a yard. On second down, Kareem Jackson tackles Tate for a 7 yard loss. On third down, Roland McClain sacked Chris Todd for a 10 yard loss.  Auburn punted from its own 40. Alabama took possession at its 21 yard line with 8:27 seconds to play in the game.

Special Teams:

Punting:            A+          Fitz punted 5 times for an average of 45.2 yards per punt. His longest was 55 yardes, he landed 2 inside the Auburn 20 and had one touchback. Auburn only had 5 yards in punt returns.   Javier had 67 yards in punt returns including one return for 56 yards, making him Alabama’s all-time leader in career punt return yardage, and placing him only 25 yards shy of the NCAA record in that category.

Place Kicking:     B+        Leigh Tiffin missed from 42 at the end of the first half.  A score at that point would have been huge psychologically.  He was good from 27 and 31 in the third quarter.When you win a game by 5, the 6 points you earn from kicking field goals are huge.

Kickoffs:               C--          Bama’s average kick off was only 59 yards gross and the net was only 39.2.  Javier was only able to return 1 Auburn kick but the return was good for 46 yards.

Coaching:              A--          I was going to give the coaching staff a B+, but I reconsidered. The fact that we beat Auburn in the Cow Pasture deserves an A. We were able to weather a violent storm in the first quarter, settle down, keep our poise, and win the next 45 minutes of game time. Alabama had 418 all purpose yards. Officially, we were penalized only 4 times for 28 yards, but that stat is missing something, because we had 2 false starts, a kick out of bounds, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a pass interference. The false starts were all right in front of the Auburn students as we tried to get off of our own 1 yard line.

I’ve got to say something about the officiating. What I am going to say has been heavily edited since The Grades are often read by persons under 18 years of age. SEC officials are not "professionals" in the sense that this is not their full-time gig, but they do get paid. If someone gets paid to do a job, they should be expected to do it with some degree of competence. Otherwise, how can it be said the person "earned" their pay-check? That being said, the only way the Umpire in Friday's game should get any money for the way he spent the afternoon, is if he shows up at the league office carrying a gun and wearing a mask. I realize that officials are “part of the field” but that ignorant tub-o-guts who clogged up the middle of the field yesterday twice interfered with what would have been a successful first-down generating play, and made no effort whatsoever to get his ginormous butt out of the way.  When we had third and 4 at our own 7 yard line, we attempted a pass to Ingram over the middle. There was not a blue shirt within 15 yards of a wide-open Mark Ingram. So, what does the Umpire do? Does he move his lard-ass out of the way like he is supposed to do?  NO! If anything he takes a step or two in the direction of the play and Ingram, who is turned to face the line of scrimmage, collides with the dufuss. And don’t get me started on the penalty called on Justin Woodall in the first quarter! OK, no doubt Auburn’s left tackle false started on that play.  So blow the $&%* whistle, ref!  You don’t wait until the quarterback has thrown an interception, and the defender has run 30 yards with a completely unobstructed path to the goal line; THEN blow the whistle and get all offended because the player whose glory you just stole shows a little frustration. It that call on Woodall was within the rules, then the rule is stupid and should be changed.  That was officiating malpractice  and it  caused a 14 point swing in the game.  

Auburn was penalized 8 times. It could easily have been twice that number. How do you miss calling a personal foul when one player pulls another player's helmet off and throws it 5 yards? How do you miss a holding call when a would-be tackler is grabbed by the inside of the shoulder pad and horse-collared? Why do we have to endure such horrible officiating in what is supposed to be the nation's best college football conference?

OK.  I feel better now.

We have an extra day to prepare for Florida and the SEC Championship. That 24 hours is yet another interesting time-statistic. I have no doubt that the coaching staff will put it to good use. They need to.  Florida dispatched FSU with clinical precision. Julio Jones said after the game on Friday that Alabama had been guilty of taking Auburn too lightly. There should be no chance of that mistake being repeated with the Gators.

The first time that Alabama won at least 10 games in a season was 1925. The coach was Wallace Wade. This season's 12-0 record is Alabama's 29th season with 10 or more victories. This is the first time in Alabama's football history that the team has compiled consecutive 12-win regular seasons, and it is the third time that Alabama has posted back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. Coach Wade achieved the first pair of perfect regular seasons in 1925-1926.  Coach Bryant achieved the second pair in 1973-1974. For Bryant, the loss to Auburn in the 1972 Iron Bowl was the only regular season loss for the Tide between September 10, 1971 and September 8, 1975. Both Wallace Wade and Paul Bryant won multiple national championships at Alabama. Will Nick Saban follow in these footsteps? There are only three teams that are in the mix to play for the 2009 BCS Championship. Alabama is one of them. Will it still be next Sunday? The answer will come in one week. A matter of time: just like 84 seconds, 365 days, and 30 years.     

The Commissioner

UTC Grades

What a day to be in Tuscaloosa!

No, the opponent was not a conference rival, but, as the Office Manager for the crew from The Tire Store observed, “It’s great to just go out there and give somebody a good butt-whipping.” The weather forecast called for an 80% chance of rain, but the first drops didn’t fall until well after the last crab-claw and oyster had been consumed at Wentzell’s Oyster Bar in Northport. Bryant-Denny Stadium was sold out, but the Quad was no more crowded than it is on the morning after an LSU game, and we got to visit with several of our correspondents:  Section G Row 10, The Tire Store, The FAB.
 

It was nothing short of a perfect day to be in Tuscaloosa. Especially, if you were a senior on the Alabama football team, or the Million Dollar Band.

I get a big kick out of Senior Day. There’s something really special about recognizing the accomplishment of endurance.  As the senior players and their families lined up along the near-side hash-marks, there was symbolic parity between the starters and the guys who never made it off the scout team. The bond of shared sacrifice knits together the likes of Corey Reamer, and Hampton Gray, Brandon Deaderick and Alex Benson. Some of these seniors will play next year on Sundays. Others, have only three more games left in their careers. But yesterday in Tuscaloosa, they stood on equal footing as athletes who earned the right to wear those iconic crimson jerseys.

Senior Day also recognizes the players’ families; the people who helped make it possible for these athletes to stand on that field and receive the grateful applause of 92,000 fans. Just like the difference between the lettermen and the squad players, these families come in a variety of configurations. There is Leigh Tiffin with his parents; Leigh and his father are two generations of record-holding Alabama lettermen. There also is Javier Arenas with a middle-aged couple introduced as his “god-parents”; obviously not related to him biologically, but clearly bound to him with ties of meaningful affection.

And there was Terrence Cody.  This man-mountain. The gargantuan defensive tackle who will forever be remembered in Alabama football lore.  Generations of Tide fans will rank Cody’s two, fourth-quarter, blocks of Tennessee field goal attempts with The Goal Line Stand, and The Sack. After the game, he was the last Tide player to leave the field. It appeared that he wanted to take it all in one final time.   After he shook hands with practically every UTC player, Cody stood on the field and waved to the Alabama fans. Only after the echoes of the last notes from the Million Dollar Band had faded into the afternoon, did he make his way to the tunnel that connects the field with the home locker room. The final image on the jumbo-tron, was Cody, as he made his way into the depths of the stadium. Those two numerals- “62”- seemed to fill up the screen.     

What a day, indeed.

Here’s how I grade the game:

Because of the quality of opposition, and the fact that most starters only played a single half, it is inappropriate to award letter grades to yesterday’s contest. Therefore, for the first time in the history of the Bama E-Mail Group, the Grades will be on a pass/fail basis

Offense:              Pass       Alabama gained 422 yards of total offense (313 rushing), 26 first downs (22 rushing) and controlled the ball for 37:02 (22:36 in the second half).  The offense sustained 5 drives of more than 40 yards (51, 69, 62, 50 and 72) that resulted in 4 TDs and a missed field goal. Even the drive that ended with the missed FG attempt accomplished a purpose; Bama ran 19 plays and consumed 10:14 of game time. GMac completed 6 of 11 pass attempts for 80 yards, a TD and no interceptions. He found Julio Jones deep on a 44 yard play-action pass that only Julio could grab, and later threw a bullet to Jones in the endzone.

Star Jackson, who started the second half, completed 4 of 5 pass attempts for 29 yards.

Julio led all receivers with 65 yards and a TD on 3 receptions. 

Mark Ingram gained 102 yards on 11 carries (9.3 yard per rush), scored 2 rushing touchdowns and left the game with 9:53 to play in the second quarter.  His two scoring runs showcased his immense toolbox of talent.  The first was a 26-yard power run over left guard where he broke three tackles and carried two defensive players into the end zone with him.  The second was an amazing display of cut and sprint ability where he weaved his way through the UTC defense for 40 yards.  The play started over left guard, but Ingram made at least four changes of direction as he gashed the Mocs’ defense for 40 yards.   

Sophomore, Demetrius Goode, gained 70 yards on 11 carries and freshman, Trent Richardson, gained 60 yards and scored a TD on 9 runs.

But this was Senior Day, so a  special mention has to go to Senior, Roy Upchurch, who had more carries that any other Alabama running back (17).  He gained 70 yards and scored a beautiful, 4th quarter touchdown over left-tackle from 21 yards out.          

Here’s to you, Roy:

Defense:             Pass          The Mocs were held to only 84 total offensive yards and 5 first downs (2 by penalty). 

Rolando McClain led all tacklers witih 7.  He also recorded 3  hurries and broke up a pass.   Nico Johson and Josh Chapman each were credited with 4 tackles.  The Mocs QBs were hurried 9 times, 7 passes were broken up and 3 were intercepted.   UTC’s quarterbacks only completed 7 passes on 27 attempts for a total of 36 yards. 

Javier Arenas made a  spectacular interception on a play where he broke up the pass and grabed the ball out of the air.  He finished off the play by returning the pick 22 yards.

In honor of Senior Day, however, a special tribute is due to Senior linebacker, Corey Reamer, who made his first career interception in the first quarter to set up Alabama’s third touchdown of the day.

Here’s to you, Corey:

Special Teams:

Place Kicking:     Pass       Leigh Tiffin was perfect from  41 yards on his only attempt.  Freshman, Jeremy Shelley, missed from 43.

Kickoffs:              Pass       Tiffin averaged nearly 69 yards on 7 kicks, two of which were  touchbacks.  Shelley managed only 57 yards on his lone kick.


Punting:                Pass       Fitz only punted twice.  He averaged 39 yards per punt.

But this was Senior Day.  And on this day, Senior Javier Arenas became the SEC’s record holder for most punts returned for a touchdown in a career and he is only 37 yards short of setting the league record for career punt return yards.  Let’s plan on Javier adding to both records next week down in the Cow Pasture.

Here’s to you, Javier:

Coaching:            Pass       Alabama had 607 all-purpose yards and was penalized 5 times for 61 yards.  Seventy seven players participated in the game.  Although the staff had planned for the first-team offense to start the second half, the decision was made to start the second team offense when Justin Woodall intercepted UT transfer QB, B. J. Coleman, on the first play of the half to set the Tide in business at the UTC 32 yard line.   Game situation experience is extremely helpful in developing younger players.  And it was a good thing that Star Jackson got as many reps as he did.  From what we saw yesterday, for Alabama to finish off Auburn this coming Friday, beat Florida and play for the BCS Championship, GMac needs to stay healthy. 

I want to take a moment and say something about the Million Dollar Band.  What would the Alabama football experience be like without those 400+ musicians and performers?  I’ll tell you one thing, it wouldn’t be as spectacular as it is.  Sure, there are the time-honored standards, like the “Alabama Medley” in the pre-game show, and the “Fourth Quarter Song”.  But the half-time show just keeps getting better and better.  The Big Band tribute the MDB performed on Saturday was nothing short of terrific.  They were just giving it there all; and The Commissioner’s Wife wanted to get up and dance!

Now we must turn our minds to more serious matters. 

Alabama is undefeated at 11-0.  The Tide is in its third year of The Process, and it stands three-games away from winning its 13 national championship.  There are 13 players on the roster who have graduated with eligibility remaining, including seven starters: Corey Reamer, GMac, Mike Johnson, Fitz, Eryk Anders, Drew Davis and Lorenzo Washington.  If last season proves nothing else, it demonstrates just how hard it is to win a BCS Championship in the SEC.  Coach Saban used the word “fragile” after the Tennessee game, to describe how tough it is to win every week.  An undefeated season may very well be a fragile thing.  But the individual players who make up the 2009 Crimson Tide are a tough and formidable group.   Auburn stands between them and the chance for greatness.  Auburn will be ready.

So will The Tide.

The Commissioner

MSU Grades

What’s the deal with black jerseys?

I’m mean, really.  Are you serious?  Do you have to resort to gimmicks in order to get your players in the proper frame of mind to compete in a football game?

Remember last year’s “Black Out” game where a heavily-favored Georgia team planned to intimidate the visitors from Tuscaloosa with all their players and fans a la couture noire?  That didn’t work out so well for the Dawgs, as I recall.

On Halloween, Tennessee rolled out black jerseys in their game against South Carolina.  I guess this was a precursor to the “black hoodie” that Nu’Keese Richardson and his crew broke out in the wee hours of last Thursday morning in their lame audition for an episode of “American Gangster”.   At least when the Vols came out in their Halloween costumes, the Fighting Chickens generously obliged by giving UT lots of turn-over treats.

Last night, Mississippi State joined Georgia and Tennessee in this fashion choice.  What did the Puppies get from this stunt?  A 31-3 beat-down from a ticked-off Alabama.

Safety, Mark Barron, was asked by reporters after the game whether State’s black jerseys motivated the Tide players.  Barron said, “Me personally it did.  I guess [the State players] thought it was going to do something for them …. but it didn’t.”   Nick Saban was also asked about the black jerseys in his post-game presser.  Coach Saban said that he didn’t even notice what MSU was wearing.  “I just worry about our team,” he said, adding, “I’m an old traditionalist when it comes to that.  I think our fans expect to see ‘Alabama’ – our trademark.”

Alabama’s fans certainly saw a traditional Alabama last night, and not just in the uniform department.  Alabama’s oldest rivalry is with Mississippi State.  No other school has played more football games (94) against the Tide than has MSU.  Fittingly, no other school has lost more games (73) to Alabama than has State.  The Bulldogs always play hard; last night was no exception.  They also play very chippy; just ask Mark Ingram, who had his helmet ripped off by a State player looking for a chance to punch and scratch Mark’s unprotected face.  The Bulldogs should have beaten LSU earlier in the season.  They gave Florida fits.  Against four other teams currently ranked in the top 15, State has been outscored by 10, 11, 7 and 4 points; a total of 32 and a per-game average of only 8 points.  Alabama  beat State by four touchdowns.  The Tide offense had its best scoring performance since the Kentucky game on October 3.  The defense matched its previous season-best in points allowed, established against Ole Miss.  A three-game slump in points production has been reversed, and since the open week, the Tide is on a two-game run of increasing points production. 

The Tide won yesterday’s game in a very old-fashioned, traditional way; with hard-hitting, tough, physical play, good execution and few mistakes.  That’s Alabama’s trademark.

Here’s how I grade the game:

Offense:              A             The Tide gained 444 yards of total offense [252 rushing], 17 first downs and controlled the ball for 31:36 of game time.  The offense had no turnovers and no penalties.

GMac completed 13 of 18 pass attempts for 192 yards and 2 TDs.   For the first time this season, wide receivers dominated the passing game; 11 passes were completed to wide-outs, only 2 to running backs and none to tight ends.  Julio Jones and Marquise Maze each had 4 catches.   Julio had the most yards [66] and a TD.  Darius Hanks caught 3 passes for 59 yards including Bama’s first TD of the night, a 45 yard catch-and-run that was a perfect blitz-read by both GMac, who knew Hanks would be open, and Trent Richadson, who made the key block on the blitzing linebacker.

The TD pass to Julio in the 4th quarter deserves special mention.  The play-action fake was flawless, the protection was excellent [GMac had time to count the change in his pocket] and Julio was so open he looked like he was out to practice early.  It must have been a bust in the MSU secondary, because Julio Jones has not been that open since the last time he and GMac played catch during the off-season.  In any event, it marks the second game in a row where GMac and Julio have delivered a one-play scoring drive.

Mark Ingram continued to prove he is the best running back in the SEC, gaining 149 yards on 19 carries.  He scored 2 rushing TDs including a career best 70 yard run in the 4th quarter.  Richardson added 47 yards on 11 carries, and Roy Upchurch contributed 19 yards on 5 runs.

Alabama had 6 drives in excess of 40 yards [50, 80, 72, 47, 48 and 70] that resulted in 4 TDs 1 FG and 1 turnover on downs.  The last two long drives came on possessions of only 1 play each – Julio’s long TD and Ingram’s 70 yard run – prompting the joyful observation that our offense wasn’t doing a lot to help the defense get a rest.  Bama’s most sustained drive took 11 plays, covered 72 yards and consumed 6:14 off the clock.

Defense:             A+          MSU was held to only 213 yards of total offense and the Bulldogs’ stud running back, Anthony Dixon, only gained 81 yards rushing.    MSU had 12 offensive possessions, 6 ended in punts, 3 were ended by interceptions, and 1 resulted in a turnover on downs.  MSU was only able to convert 2 of 13 third downs and 2 of 4 tries on 4th down.

Rolando McClain led all tacklers with 10 [7 solo; 2.5 for loss and a sack].  Corey Reamer, who appears fully recovered from the knee bruise he suffered prior to LSU, had 7 tackles  [5 solo; 2 for loss and a sack].   When the front 7 were not putting MSU on the ground, the secondary was putting on a show.  Kareem Jackson and Justin Woodall each recorded 6 tackles, Mark Barron made 2 interceptions and broke up 2 passes, and Marquis Johnson had a pick a QB hurry and 3 spectacular breakups.

Special Teams:

Punting:               B+            Fitz averaged 41.2 yards per punt on 5 punts and dropped 2 inside the MSU 20 yard line.  MSU returned only 1 punt and that gained only 2 yards.  Javier gained 48 yards on one punt return.  It was spectacular, and set up the first one-play drive in the 4th quarter [TD pass to Julio].  This is partially due to the excellent hang-time achieved by the MSU punter and partially due to the fact that the officials ruled that Javier had signaled for a fair catch [arm raised over head] when he was in fact signaling Bama players to get out of the way of the ball [arm extended at a downward angle waiving from side to side].  A check of these officials “Permanent Record” also reveals that they flunked “Shapes and Colors” in kindergarten.

Place Kicking:     A             Leigh Tiffin continues to burnish his record as Alabama’s all-time scoring leader.  He was perfect on 4 PATs and made his lone FG attempt [39 yards]

Kickoffs:              D             Nick Saban referred to Bama’s kick coverage as “boo-boos”.  I’ll say!  Tiffin averaged 64 yards per kick gross, and only 28.7 net.  Bama’s kick coverage allowed 212 yards on 6 returns including a return of 50 and one of 78.  Not a single kick came within 5 yards of the goal line.

Coaching:            A --         Alabama gained 514 all purpose yards and was only penalized 3 times.  The down tick on the grade comes from the step-backwards taken in kick coverage.

When asked by reports  to comment on MSU’s obvious pre-game emotion and commitment to physical toughness, Nick Saban revealed something that the coaching staff emphasizes to players.  Every game will present some form of adversity.  And when that adversity is presented, the challenge to the players is to exhibit the “Honor” in themselves to do what is expected of them in their assignments, the “Courage” to do so in adverse circumstances and the “Perseverance” to do it all the time.  Those character traits of honor, courage and perseverance are also a part of Alabama’s football trademark, just as much so as the crimson helmets with white numerals, the classic uniforms and the quest to be a champion.

Achieving a championship takes a lot of hard work, focus and dedication.  It also helps to have a little luck along the way; injury luck and scheduling luck.  Alabama has had some bad injury luck, but players have stepped up and the team as a whole has managed to play through those adverse injuries.  The Tide has played a tough schedule.  This coming Saturday’s game, however, should not be a tough one.  It’s fitting that Senior Day this Saturday can be a game where the seniors get to spend most of the second half as spectators while Alabama goes deep into its bench to finish off UT Chattanooga.  That presupposes, of course, that the coaches and players realize that strange things can happen in a football game.  Alabama cannot expect to throw its traditional jerseys on the field and notch up another W.

It’s tempting to ignore UTC and think only about Auburn.  But that’s a temptation that Alabama must avoid.

I don’t think that anybody needs to tell that to Nick Saban.  
           
The Commissioner

LSU Grades

Making predictions is easy.  Making accurate predictions is hard.

I know from first-hand experience.  I try to make accurate predictions on SEC football games every week in The City Paper.   If you want to be accurate, you do your research, you analyze data, you draw upon you experience, and make the best call you can about how you think the opposing teams will play.  If you do your work, you can be right more than you are wrong.

Last Friday, a large group of LSU fans arrived in Tuscaloosa on Amtrack’s Southern Crescent; a passenger train that originates in New Orleans and bisects Alabama on its way to its northern terminus in New York’s Grand Central Station.  A reporter and film crew from The Tuscaloosa News was on hand as this traveling costume party detrained near the Waysider.  Actually, now that I think about it, that might actually have been a delegation from the LSU faculty rather than a group of fans.  This is just a guess, but the 250 lb guy wearing the purple frizzie-wig and size XXXL cheerleader’s skirt and top could have been a department head. . . . But I digress.  These LSU people were full of predictions about how Saturday’s game was going to play out.

Oh, sure, there was still a little bit of “Saban=Satan” talk by the Tiger faithful, but by and large they seem to have entered the “acceptance” stage of grief over the loss of the SEC’s best head coach.   But mostly these LSU people were predicting what would happen on Saturday.  Let’s examine some of those predictions against the reality of events:

Prediction # 1:

Normal Looking Guy With Heavy NOLA Accent:  “LSU is the better team.  Better coached.  Better players.  Better condition.”

Reality check:

LSU backup QB Jarrett Lee, playing in place of injured starter, calls LSU’s last timeout of the second half in the third quarter.

Prediction # 2:

Guy Wearing Purple No. 15 Jersey: “Cody will only play the first half because he is too fat the play the whole game against the Tigers.”

Reality check:

Terrence Cody stops LSU fullback on 3rd and 1 preventing LSU from gaining a first down in the 4th quarter.

Prediction # 3:

The  Person Wearing The Purple and Gold “Scream” Mask And Dancing The Macarena:  “Alabama will not score a touchdown against LSU because they have not been able to score any touchdowns in two games.”

Reality check [in two parts]:

Part 1:

Darius Hanks scores in the third quarter.

Part 2:

Julio Jones scores in the 4th quarter.

From what I’ve been able to determine, these LSU people were perfect in their predictions … like the way last year’s Detroit Lions were a perfect 0-16.  I hope they had someone to physically get them back on board Sunday’s south-bound Crescent, because with their ability accurately to predict events, I can only imagine them reading the train schedule and saying “It don’t matter what this piece of paper says, the train going back to Tiger Land will arrive when I’m good and ready.” 

Here’s how I grade the game:

Offense:    A      There was a time in the game when I had to do some serious introspection because I actually found myself agreeing with Gary Danielson who was saying that Alabama needed to quit trying to throw the ball and put it in Mark Ingram’s hands instead.  There is a reason why neither of us are being paid to coach football.  In his post-game presser, Coach Saban confirmed that it was a deliberate plan to favor the pass early and to go to the run only after we had LSU spread out and [these are my words] a little tired.

Alabama gained 452 yards of total offense [176 rushing], 24 first downs [10 rushing] and controlled the ball for 32:52 [10:56 in the 4th quarter].  GMac completed 19 of 34 pass attempts with 2 TDs and 1 interception.  He could have been intercepted a second time when he made the decision to force a pass to Julio Jones rather than throwing it away.  The official judged the LSU DB as having his foot partially out of bounds when he snagged the ball and a video replay did not demonstrate that the call was incorrect.  Had the call on the field gone the other way, the replay would not have overturned it.  Six different players caught passes.  Marquise Maze caught 6 for 88 yards, Mark Ingram caught 5 for 30, and Julio caught 4 for 104 and a TD.  Darius Hanks and Brad Smelley each caught 1.  Julio’s TD was more run than pass; and Jones was running like Nick Saban was chasing him still upset over Julio being the 12th man in the huddle to kill a TD chance on the previous drive.

Ingram had another excellent day running the ball, gaining 144 yards on 22 carries [6.5 average].  Trent Richardson added 27 yards on 6 rushes and GMac contributed 23 yards on 6 runs.  The net rushing total was reduced by 16 negative yards, but 7 of those  came on Bama’s final possession of the game when we were taking consecutive knees.

The offense converted 4 of 14 third downs and 1 of 1 on 4th down.  Bama had 6 drives of more than 40 yards including an 8 play 81 yard drive that consumed the first 3:20  seconds of the second half and resulted in the McElroy to Hanks TD pass.  In the second half, Bama  had 6 possessions.  Four of those possessions resulted in Alabama points.  One ended in a safety, and the final possession came at the end of the game with LSU unable to stop the clock.

We outscored LSU 14-0 in the fourth quarter and out gained the Tigers by more than 100 yards over the last 15 minutes of game time.

I  have to give LSU credit for setting up a situation where they could get a safety.  Because we missed a sure TD to a wide-open Julio Jones in the second quarter, missed out on the opportunity to get points at the end of the first half with an interception, and had to settle for a field goal in the fourth quarter when a substitution penalty took us from 3rd and goal from the 1 to 3rd and goal from the 6, I can’t add the + to the offense’s otherwise stellar effort.

Defense:    A+     We held LSU to only 253 total yards [95 rushing], 13 first downs and 13 offensive points.  Of LSU’s 11 offensive possessions, 8 ended in punts and 1 ended in an interception.  Six of LSU’s 8 punts, came on possessions of only 3 plays from scrimmage, and one came after 4 plays.

LSU did not have a first down in the fourth quarter until garbage time, and even then the Tigers only managed to move the chains once.

Rolando McClain was the leading tackler with 9 tackles [1 solo].  He was followed by Javier Arenas and Mark Barron who each were credited with 7 and Cory Reamer who had  5.  Reamer had a  rough day on Saturday as he missed several tackle opportunities and LSU’s first TD was caught by the receiver he was trying to cover.  LSU’s quarterbacks were hurried 8 times and sacked 3 times for 27 yards in losses.  In addition to the sacks, Bama stop-troops were credited with 4 tackles for loss of yards.

Special Teams:

Punting:        A        P.J. only punted 4 times, all in the first half.  His lone punting attempt in the second half was nullified with a 5 yard LSU penalty, and the coaching staff elected to run a play on 4th and 1.  He averaged 38 yards per punt and nailed LSU inside the 20 on 3 of his punts.   Javier returned 4 LSU punts for 11 yards.

I do not typically comment on the quality of the opposition’s punting, but it would be an injustice not to give some props to LSU’s outstanding punters, Josh Jasper and Derek Helton, who combined for an average of 46.6 yards per punt [longest 53] and nailed Bama deep 3 times.  It was the best job of punting Alabama has faced this season.

Place Kicking:    A     Leigh Tiffin was perfect from 28, 20 and 40 yards.

Kickoffs:            A+    I have been waiting all year for the opportunity to give the kick-off team a stellar grade and do they ever deserve it!  Tiffin averaged 68 yards per kick on 6 kicks, and put the ball into the endzone twice for touchbacks.  Return coverage was outstanding.  LSU’s hot-shot return man, Trendon Holiday, returned 4 kicks for only 85 yards and his longest return of the night was only 29 yards.

Coaching:           A     Alabama had 541 all-purpose yards, and was only penalized 4 times for 20 yards.  This was a team-win.  Every phase of the game contributed to this victory.  Alabama was the better conditioned team and this showed up glaringly in the 4th quarter.  The game was very physical, and the Alabama players had the upper hand on their opponents.     Some of you may be saying: “How can you not award the + to the coaches for winning the SEC West Championship.”  That’s a fair criticism and if we didn’t have loftier goals in mind, I might have added the + to the job done by the coaches.  The decision to run a passing play in 2nd and 7 from mid-field late in the fourth quarter, when all we had to do was drain the clock nearly blew up in our face; but, the decision to set aside Fitz’s excellent 4th quarter punt and go for it on 4th and 1 was gutsy beyond belief.  When asked about it after the game, Coach Saban said he had faith in the defense, but he had just as much faith in our ability to win on the line of scrimmage and get the first down.  “It was a great call because it worked,” Nick said.  “If it hadn’t worked, it wouldn’t have been a very good call.”

After the game, a reporter asked Coach Saban to say something about the fact that the Tide will face Florida for the SEC Championship.

He refused to do so.

The only game Nick would take about is the next one.  This is vitally important.  Mississippi State ought to have beaten LSU earlier in the season.  MSU has a chance to become bowl eligible if it wins out.   MSU has an excellent running game and the Bulldogs would like nothing better than to spoil Alabama’s championship aspirations.  Bama’s players must continue to work hard, stay focused and not look ahead.

Alabama is playing very good team football.  Defensively, Alabama is excellent.  Offensively, the Tide is working its way out of a mid-season slump.  The LSU victory ought to be a confidence booster and the Tide has the chance to improve each week and peak at the right time.

It is indeed easy to make predictions.  And it is tempting to get on the SEC Championship train and start throwing around all sorts of confident prognostications.  But I think the more prudent course is to follow the example set by Nick Saban.

I’m going to focus this week on Mississippi State.

The Commissioner

Tennessee Grades

“I think great teams have great players that can make great plays in critical situations in the game and I think we had a couple of defensive lineman that made some huge plays”  Nick Saban.   

I don’t mind saying “I told you so!”

All week I’ve been saying that the Tennessee game really had me worried.  It wasn’t a “trap game”, but it was not setting up very well.  Alabama was tired.   This would be the eighth game in a row with no bye-week.  We had played two extremely physical games back-to-back.  GMac had struggled against Ole Miss and South Carolina.  UT was coming off an open week.  The last time the Vols played, they beat the stuffing out of Georgia in a game where Jonathan Crompton looked like Joe Montana. 

Sure, Bama ought to win the game.  But it was going to be a slug-fest.  The 14 ½ point betting line that favored the Tide was so out of kilter that Chase Goodbread picked the Vols to cover.

But I wasn’t prepared for the way this game turned out.

With just over 3:40 to play, Alabama had the game completely under control.  Sure, the offense had not put up a lot of points, but thanks to Leigh Tiffin having an outstanding day, the Tide had a 9 point lead and the ball with first and 10 at the Bama 38 and UT only had one more timeout to call.  Even without a first down, Bama could drain the clock, punt Tennessee deep and win the game as time expired.   But then IT happened.  The one thing that Alabama could not afford to happen.

Mark Ingram, the heart and soul of our offense, a guy who personifies all the championship qualities that Coach Saban talks about, did something that he has not done before in an Alabama uniform: he lost a fumble!

The fumble was not the result of anything other than a great play by a great player – UT’s Eric Berry.  Fueled by desperation, Berry forced the ball out of Ingram’s grip and recovered it to give the Vols possession at the Alabama 48.  The game clock showed 3:29 to play.

For the next 3:25 seconds it seemed like everything was going Tennessee’s way.  Marcel Dareus sacked Crompton for 7 yards, but on second down Montareo Hardesty gained 16 on a screen pass to set up a third down and 1 from the Bama 34.   Tennessee alternated runs by Bryce Brown and passes by Crompton to score the first touchdown allowed by Alabama in 12 quarters of play.  This was followed by a successfully executed on-sides kick and two complete passes, including a 23 yard completion from Crompton to tight end, Luke Stocker on second and 15 from mid field.

Then another IT happened.  The one thing Tennessee could not afford to happen.

Fueled by desperation, Terrence Cody ripped apart the center of the UT offensive line and blocked his second field goal attempt …. Not of his career, not of the season.  No.  This was Cody’s second blocked field goal attempt in the last  10:33 of game time.

Coach Saban said after the game: “I think great teams have great players that can make great plays in critical situations.”

By that standard, Alabama is a great team.

Cody is not the only great player that made great plays in critical situations yesterday, he is just the most obvious.  Javier Arenas played out of his mind, turning in a 13 tackle performance that included 3 for a loss and none greater than his 12 yard sack of Crompton on the 12th play of a sustained drive in the third quarter that put UT out of field goal range.  Mark Ingram gained 99 yards rushing but his greatest play-13 yards over right tackle-came with Alabama in the critical situation of first down at its own 4 yard line.

Championship teams typically become champions because they overcome adversity.   Sometimes, that adversity is a regular season  loss like Florida in 2008 and 2006 and LSU in 2007 and 2003.  Sometimes, that adversity is a regular season squeaker against an under-rated opponent; example, Alabama’s three point victory over Tulane in 1992.

Is Alabama a championship team?  We don’t know yet.  It remains to be seen how the Tide overcomes the adversity of having to block two field goal attempts in order to win by two points. 

Here’s how I grade the game:

Offense:              C --         Tennessee’s  defense is the best that Alabama has faced this season.  It might be the best that it will face from here on.   And GMac turned in his best statistical performance in the last three games.

Ingram gained 99 yards rushing on 18 attempts for an average of 5.6 yards per carry.  Trent Richardson averaged only 2.2 yards per carry on 8 runs that gained 18 net yards. 

GMac completed 18 of 29 pass attempts (62%) for 120 yards.  He did not throw a TD, but neither was he intercepted nor sacked.  Julio caught 7 passes for 54 yards, Darius Hanks had 3 catches for 17 yards.  Nine different players caught passes: 2 were running backs Richardson and Roy Upchurch, 3 were tight ends, including Baron Huber from Knoxville, and 4 were receivers, including the Pride of Reform, Alabama, red-shirt freshman, Michael Williams.

Bama managed only 16 first downs and 256 total yards (136 rushing), converted 5 of 14 third downs, and controlled the clock for only 27:42.  Alabama mounted only three drives in excess of 40 yards [45, 49, 64].  Two resulted in FGs, the other in a turnover on downs.  Mark Ingram’s fumble-his first in 322 touches-came after Bama had gained 39 penalty assisted yards.

I was considering a lower grade for the offense on account of the failure to score a TD.  Upon reflection, however, I think the play call on 3rd and 2 from the UT 6 is on the coaches, and the failure to call blatant pass interference is on the refs.  See more on both infra.

Defense:             A+          Yes, UT gained 341 yards, but the Vols were held to only 76 rushing.   Yes, UT consumed 32:18 of the clock and converted 6 of 15 third downs and 2 of 2 fourth downs.  But the stop-troops sacked Crompton twice for 19 yards, added 6 more tackles for loss, 5 hurries, 8 broken-up passes and an interception. 

As stated above, Arenas, who didn’t play last week due to bruised ribs, was credited with 13 tackles [7 solo; 3.5 for loss including 1 sack and a hurry].  Five linebackers accounted for 39 total tackles [Barron, Anders, Johnson and McClain each had 8, Cory Reamer had 7].  Marcel Dareus added 4 more tackles, including a sack [7 yards] and a pass break up.  

Special Teams:

Place Kicking:     A+          Leigh Tiffin moved into second place for career points scored with his 4 for 4 performance against the Vols.  He was good from 50, 49, 38 and 22.

Punting:               B+           P.J. averaged 44 yards per punt on three punts with one touchback.  Arenas returned two Tennessee punts for a total of 33 yards, and UT’s Dennis Rogan returned one punt for 23 yards.

Kickoffs:               B+           Tiffin averaged 66 yards per kick on his 5 kickoffs.  The coverage unit allowed an average of 28.4 yards per return while the Tide’s kick return game averaged 30 yards per return.  There were no penalties called on Alabama in the return game, but put an asterisk next to that stat because of the officiating.

Coaching:            C+           Alabama was penalized only once for 10 yards.  Fifty one Tide players participated in the game.  Tennessee played 58.   UT outgained Alabama by 85 yards and dominated time of possession in the third quarter.  I understand why the coaching staff went back to Julio for the fade route on 3rd and 2 from the UT 6 in the second quarter; either Julio will make the catch or draw the interference foul.  He was indeed interfered with, but there was no call.   We were running the ball extremely well at that point and the likelihood that we would pick up the first down was pretty good.  I also disagree with the decision to attempt a screen pass to Ingram on 3rd down and 4 at the Bama 23 with 3:58 to play.  Tennessee had just taken its second time out.  A running play, even if we don’t pick up the first down, continues to drain the clock or forces UT to burn its last TO.

Now for the Officials:  The SEC Central Office saw fit to suspend the crew of zebras whose inexcusable performance determined the outcome of both the Florida/Arkansas and LSU/Georgia games.  In my City Paper column last Thursday, I vented about how bad the SEC officials are as a group and called upon Commissioner Slive to clean up the problem.  But was suspension the right thing?  It has been argued, most cogently by Our Correspondent From Parkway Commons (also known as: The Commissioner’s Son and Heir) that suspension sent the wrong message.  The suspension tells the other crews that while they risk getting booted for making a bad call, they face no consequences for failing to make the correct call.  Hence, the refs are incentivized to let things slide, rather than calling correct, but game altering, penalties. 

Examples abound in yesterday’s game:  (i) the failure to call pass interference when Julio got body-checked in the end zone; (ii) the failure to call holding when Kareem Jackson was practically undressed as Hardesty turned in the big run on the screen pass in the fourth quarter that ultimately led to the UT touchdown; and worst of all (iii) the failure to call the illegal block on Julio Jones where UT recovered the on-sides kick.  Notwithstanding what Gary Danielson said, the rule is clear:  the kicking team cannot block a player on the receiving team until (a) the ball has gone 10 yards, AND (b)  the ball has either touched the ground or a player of the receiving team.   Yesterday, Julio was in position to field the kick, the ball had gone about 7 or 8 yards at that point, and Dennis Rogan tagged Julio, knocking him out of position and the ball down field.  The correct call was for a penalty to be assessed against UT for the illegal block.  By rule, the ball should have been awarded to Alabama, 1st and 10 at the spot of the foul on Julio.  UT had no right to the ball on that kick and if the refs had been doing their jobs correctly Tennessee would never have been in position to attempt the second blocked field goal.            

I think that the SEC ought to implement a grading system for officials that is like that used in the NFL.   Crews are graded not only on what they call, but also on what they miss.  Then, the SEC ought to tell its officials that at the end of the season the two lowest graded crews are fired.

And speaking of people who deserve to be fired, allow me a couple of words about Vern Lundquist and Gary Danielson.

Lundquist:           Can that guy get any fatter?  Dear God, the man needs a membership in a health club. I’ve got a wide-screen TV but it is barely large enough to encompass all of Lundquist’s corpulent girth.   I know Sonic is a sponsor of the broadcasts, but does their contract with CBS require them to supply Lundquist with all of his meals?   And one more thing:  Vern, you were calling the game between Tennessee and ALABAMA.  How is it possible that more than 3 hours into the broadcast you could think that the home team was AUBURN???

Danielson:           You know, I really don’t mind Gary Danielson’s opinions.  I disagree with most of them.  But I don’t mind them.  Everyone has opinions, especially when it comes to college football, and sometimes opinions are ignorant.  What I can’t stand is his ignorant assertions of fact!  A perfect case in point is his absolute certainty that the on-sides kick, with its illegal block on Jones, was an excellent play.  Likewise, the blatant interference on Jones in the second quarter.  First he says “The ball was uncatchable”.  Then when he realizes that the only thing that kept Julio from being in position to make the catch was the shove from the Tennessee DB, he says “Julio Jones quit on the route.”  Give me a break! 

Last night, LSU continued the exposure of Auburn as a total fraud.  Florida and Mississippi State put on a classless display of sportsmanship that was unworthy of the league that considers itself to be the premier conference in the college game.   Thus did Alabama’s remaining conference opponents acquit themselves.  Alabama finally has its much-needed bye-week.   The players need to get their legs back, to get the remaining kinks ironed out, and to steel themselves for the stretch run of LSU, MSU, UTC, Auburn and Florida.

This season has gone past the tipping point where a champion can overcome a loss.  For Alabama’s championship drive there is but one course to follow: win them all.  It is a rugged course.  To run this gauntlet undefeated and land a birth in the BCS Championship Game, everyone associated with the Alabama program, from players to coaches, from trainers to administrators, must take the adversity of yesterday’s narrow win, and learn the many lessons that it can teach.  That is the way to overcome.  That is the way to win the rest.

There will be many more critical situations for Alabama to confront in the remaining games.  By Nick Saban’s standard, Alabama is a great team.  I believe it is great enough to be a champion.

The Commissioner

  

South Carolina Grades

Even watching in person, without the benefit of instant stats updates from the ESPN data mine, you knew you were watching something really special.  Alabama’s normally potent offense was not merely sluggish.  It was downright awful.  Through a combination of interceptions and fumbles, Alabama turned the ball over to South Carolina more than it did in the previous six games of the season combined.  Our inability to produce points that emerged last week against Mississippi, morphed into seven straight quarters with only a single offensive TD.  GMac was hurried and making poor decisions.  Penalties routinely wiped out positive plays, especially in the return game.  And all the momentum in the game belonged to South Carolina.

In many respects, the game was reminiscent of the South Carolina / Mississippi game earlier in the year, this time with the Chickens playing the part of the Rebs; smothering the opposing offense, keeping the score close, and threatening at any moment to break a big play.  But unlike that earlier game, Steve Spurrier was not going to make the same coaching blunders by which Houston Nutt doomed Ole Miss. 

The second ranked team in the country faced the very real prospect of being pushed into overtime on Homecoming.

Then, the coaches put the ball into Mark Ingram’s hands.

More to the point, they bet the game, maybe even the future course of this season, on Mark Ingram’s hands, his legs, and his heart.  The drive chart records that Alabama gained 68 yards on 6 plays that took 3:01 off the clock.  The drive chart doesn’t tell the whole story.  Neither does the play-by-play:  Ingram at right tackle for 24 yards, Ingram up the middle for 4, Ingram-right guard-5, Ingram-right  guard-9, Ingram-left end-22, Ingram-left end-4 TOUCHDOWN! 

For the 87 years that football has been played in the coliseum now known as Bryant-Denny Stadium, no Alabama running back has amassed more yards in a single game at that facility than Mark Ingram did last night against South Carolina.  In the 117 years that Alabama has played organized football, only two other Tide players have rushed  for more yards in a single game.

Mark Ingram didn’t win the game all by himself.  Mark Barron got the first “pick-six” interception of his college career.   Leigh Tiffin added two field goals when Tide drives stalled.  Ingram would tell you that his offensive line, especially starting right tackle Drew Davis, and wide receivers Marquis Maze and Julio Jones, made key blocks that allowed him to gobble up yards in chunks.  And, for the second straight game, the Alabama defense denied an opponent the endzone.

If you didn’t care who won, it was probably a highly entertaining game.  Since you did care, it was ugly and frustrating for most of the night.  But all the ugly and all the frustration was washed away by those six plays, those 68 yards, and more importantly , those 6 points, that Mark Ingram ran, made and scored.

Here’s how I grade the game:

Offense:              D+          It takes a whole lot of bad to offset the whole lot of good that comes from a running back gaining 269 all purpose yards [246 rushing] and beating an SEC opponent by 14 points.  Well, the Alabama offense dished up plenty of bad. 

GMac completed only 10 of 20 pass attempts and threw two interceptions.  He also fumbled twice-both lost to SC- but one of the two was a bad snap that cannot be laid entirely at GMac’s feet.  Only one wide receiver caught a pass.  It was Marquis Maze, who caught two.  Tight end  Colin Peak caught two.  The other 6 completions were to running backs.  The leading receiver?  Do you really need to guess?  Mark Ingram.

The ten offensive possessions that preceded Ingram’s final game-clinching drive ended in two interceptions, two lost fumbles, three punts, a missed field goal and two made field goals.  Alabama had 4 drives that gained in excess of 40 yards [46, 44, 62 and 68] but only two produced points. 

Alabama converted only 3 of 10 third downs and surrendered a sack.  The Chickens possessed the ball for 3:30 more than Alabama, but time of possession was equal after Ingram scored his touchdown and the defense traded space for time after the ensuing kickoff.

Defense:             A+          The stop-troops turned in another stellar performance against a ranked team that had been averaging 27 points per game.

Alabama’s pass rushers were in the Gamecocks’ backfield so much that they are going to be added to the South Carolina census totals.   Garcia was sacked 5 times and hurried 8.  He was hit on practically every play and by the end of the game was noticeably limited in his mobility. In addition, Bama tackled SC running backs for loss four times.

Mark Barron led all tacklers with 8 [4 solo] and he returned an interception 77 yards for a TD on the game’s second play. Rolando McClain, Tyrone King and Eryk Anders each had 7  tackles.

Marquise Johnson, playing in place of Javier Arenas, was challenged all night, but broke up 6 passes in an outstanding performance.
Marcel Darius was not credited with any tackles.  That’s understandable.  Since all of the tackles he was involved in were plays were he was tackled by an offensive lineman [see comment on officiating infra]

Special Teams:

Place kicking:     B      Tiffin was good on 2 of 3 FG attempts, his only miss coming on an attempt of 49 yards. 

Punting:               B             P.J. had a good average [45.3 / 43 net].  Javier did not play due to injury [he was dressed on the sideline but saw no action].  Julio did a good job with shagging kicks, making people miss and picking up yards.   One punt return was limited by a penalty.

Kicking:               F              Because there is no lower grade I can award.   We only averaged 36 net yards per kick and could not seem to return a kick off without incurring a blocking or holding penalty.

Coaching:            C --         The coaches made the right call with Ingram running out of the Wild Tide formation on the final drive [who was that knucklehead who wrote after the Va. Tech game about not wanting to see that formation again?] and the call on the final play that scored the TD was perfect.  Half of the Carolina defenders bit on the three-wide set.    We had 10 penalties for 113 yards, 5 of which were on special team plays.  Some would argue that this grade should be lower.  However, Alabama did beat a ranked team that came into the game with a record of 5-1.

As an aside, you should know that Dont’a Hightower was on the sidelines.  He was in a jersey and sweats.   He was engaged with his teammates, encouraging the defense.  During  TV timeouts when up-tempo recorded music was played over the PA, Dont’a would dance.  This earned him the fond nickname “Dancing Dont’a” from the Youngest Daughter.  From all appearances his rehab from surgery is going very well. 

A brief word on officiating:  I’m not sure what was worse; the calls the zebras made or the one’s they missed.  This was a disgraceful performance by the officials.  There were several flagrant fouls – mostly involving clipping or chop-blocks – that 92,138 people in Bryant Denny Stadium saw.   Evidently, none of these people were wearing white and black striped shirts.  Also, while I’m on this topic, let’s talk about pass interference.  If you saw the Ole Miss game last week, you will recall that any assault on a receiver that didn’t involve a firearm was permissible coverage.  Against South Carolina last night, merely making a great play on the ball was considered a foul.  This has got to stop.  Does the SEC Office not understand that the rules of the game ought not to be different depending on which crew of officials is calling a given game?

Bama is now ranked first in the BCS poll.  My superstitious side wishes that we were number 2 or 3.  But it really doesn’t matter.  Irrespective of where we are in the top 3, our future is a series of one-game seasons.  We have to win them all.

Can we do it?  There’s no doubt in my mind that we can.  I’m also starting to think that we will win the rest.  And I base that thinking on a couple of things.  First, I point to what GMac had to say to the media after Saturday’s game.  He didn’t get all worked up and teary-eyed like Tim Tebow, but his message was clear and unmistakable.  He put the responsibility for our lack of offensive spark squarely on his own shoulders.   He pledged to “sleep in the football complex” if necessary in order to correct the errors that he recognizes have been made.  What player could not want to follow this kid?  Second, I have to come back to what we witnessed last night from the team as a whole, and from Mark Ingram in particular, when Alabama needed to put the game out of reach and the goal line was 68 yards away.  When he was hired, Coach Saban famously said that everyone associated with the Alabama program had to be a champion in everything they did.

What does that mean? 

Look at Mark Ingram.  Do your part the way he does his.

The Commissioner

Ole Miss Grades

What a glorious morning this is in Middle Tennessee!

As I walked out of the house this morning to pick The Daily Fishwrapper off the driveway, the air was crisp and cool, the sky was deep blue and the birds sang gleefully in the tree tops.  The subtle changes in the tint of the leaves provided a harbinger of more vibrant hues, arriving perhaps as early as St. Crispin’s Day, but certainly not later than All Saints.  It’s one of those soul-refreshing mornings where all of nature is in harmony.  It’s a morning after Alabama has won and Auburn has lost in football.

That’s good news in and of itself.  But what is even better news, is that from the way Alabama won, and the way Auburn lost, we are going to enjoy many more Sunday mornings just like this one.

Alabama demolished the Ole Miss offense in front of the largest crowd ever to attend a college football game in the State of Mississippi, and Arkansas, which was only able to score 7 points against the Tide, rang up the Awbs for 44.  By the time Alabama was finished with the Rebs, the team that once was ranked as high as number 4 in the polls lay in ruins and head coach Houston Nutt had twitched himself into a state of exhaustion.  Over in the Ozarks, the “Spread Eagle” offense had managed to score 23 points, including 20 in a flurry of big plays, but the Tiger defense was shredded for nearly 500 total yards and Coach Gene Chizik’s quest to achieve a career coaching win-percentage of .500 has been deferred until next season.

The Tide faced a team that was determined to play a physical game; a team that was literally one play away from winning each of its last five meetings with Alabama.  By the end of the first quarter yesterday it was clear that, barring some alteration of the laws of physics, Alabama would win the slug-fest.   The Ole Miss defense is the best that Alabama has faced so far this season; better even than Virginia Tech.  It particularly made things tough close to its goal line.  The Rebs coaching staff did an excellent job game planning for Alabama’s offense.  GMac had his worst statistical performance of the season due mainly to the pressure generated by the Ole Miss pass rush.  But Jevan Snead would have gladly traded places with him.   Bama’s receivers were limited as well by a hard pressing Ole Miss secondary that was determined to take away Alabama’s big play potential.  Either that, or else street crime has reached epidemic levels in Oxford, because Julio Jones was mugged a half dozen times yesterday.

The odds-makers handicapped this game to be another close one, with Alabama a 4 ½ point favorite.   To beat a good SEC team 22-3 is no small accomplishment.   After the Kentucky game a week ago, defensive captain Rolando McClain, vowed that the Bama defense would work hard and improve.  It was a statement that didn’t get anywhere near the media attention of Tim Tebow’s “I Promise You” speech last year, but the teams that Alabama will face the rest of this season had better take notice.  Alabama is coming …. and their bringing a 55 gallon barrel of Whoop-ass with them.

Here’s how I grade the game:

Offense:              B--          Despite Mark Ingram’s outstanding performance [28 carries, 172  yards, 1 TD, 3 catches for 16 yards] Alabama got into the end zone only once.   But it was a great play. Ingram took a pitch and ran 36 yards untouched through a gaping hole created by an unbalanced line and an excellent block by Julio Jones on the cornerback.  Julio drove his guy so far out of the play that he had to buy a ticket to get back in the stadium.

The Rebs have a very good defense, and generated a lot of pressure on GMac with a combination of outside rushes and creative blitzes.  The O Line had a hard time handling what Ole Miss was bringing; a fact that will not be overlooked by future opposing coaches.  GMac completed only 15 of his 34 pass attempts [there were at least 2 drops by receivers] for 147 yards.  He did not throw a pass for a touchdown, but neither did he throw an interception.  Trent Richardson gained 40 yards on 9 carries, but his performance was marred by a forced fumble at the Ole Miss 10 yard line.  For whatever reason, Ingram and Richardson got all of the rushing calls.  My guess is that the Ole Miss defense presented such a challenge up front that the coaching staff decided to stick with the two players that gave us the best chance to make plays.

Alabama gained 354 total yards [200 rushing], earned 17 first downs, and converted only 4 of 20 third downs; but was perfect 4 times on 4th down conversions including a faked punt [that makes 8 successful conversions on 20 “possession” downs]. 

Marquise Maze and Julio each had 4 receptions, Collin Peek and Mark Ingram each had 3.  Ole Miss was determined to take away the big play and they were successful.  The longest pass play gained only 16 yards.

Bama’s offense mounted three drives that gained 40 or more yards [12 plays 58 yards, 4:01, FG; 6 plays, 61 yards, 2:49, TD; 10 plays, 45 yards, 6:30, end of game] and  two resulted in points.  But it also had two more drives that nearly reached the 40 yard threshold [38, 36].  Bama scored 5 times in 6 trips into the red zone.  The lone failure to score was the consequence of Richardson’s fumble.  The second quarter was Alabama’s most prolific from a scoring standpoint as the Tide scored 13 points [2 FGs, 1TD] in three consecutive possessions starting with 8:24 left to play in the half.  After the defense held Ole Miss on downs with 6:30 to play in the game, the Tide offense did not surrender the ball again as it drained the clock on 10 running plays that gained 45 yards.

Defense:             A+          There is no other grade that is appropriate.         

Ole Miss had 8 possessions in the first half.  It managed to run only 20 plays that gained a total of 19 yards and four “drives” gained zero.  That’s right: zilch.  Zip.  Nada.  The second half was a bit more productive for the Rebs as they managed a FG on a 10 play 60 yard drive on their second possession of the third quarter, but with 6:30 to play and Bama with the ball, Ole Miss allowed the game to end with timeouts to spare [Note to Houston Nutt:  Time outs are not like AT&T “roll-over minutes”; you don’t get to keep them for next week].
 

Bama held the Ole Miss offense to a grand total of 212 yards  and intercepted Jevan Snead 4 times [Kareem Jackson, McClain, Justin Woodall, Javier Arenas].  Jackson returned his interception 79 yards.  His pick was a drive-killer and came when it looked as if Ole Miss might be finding some offensive momentum.

McClain, Javier, Corey Reamer and Jackson each had 4 solo tackles, and Mark Barron, Woodall, and Marcell Dareus each had 3 solo.  McClain, Reamer, Barron and Dareus were each credited with a tackle for loss.  I dare say that Ole Miss waterbug Dexter McCluster will have PTSD from the hit that Dareus laid on him.

Officially, Snead was hurried only 5 times and was not sacked.  Those stats do not convey adequately the relentless pressure that Alabama put on the Ole Miss signal caller who managed to complete only 11 of 34 pass attempts. 

Special Teams:

Field Goals          A+          Leigh Tiffin was perfect on 5 FG attempts [25, 21, 22, 21, 31] and his lone PAT.

Punting:               A+          Fitz averaged 40.8 yards on 6 punts, one of which pinned Ole Miss inside their 10.  The return effort only gained 5 yards on two returns.  But the outstanding grade comes from Corey Reamer’s block of Tyler Campbell’s attempted punt in the second quarter and the take-away fumble recovered during a punt return in the third.

Kicking:               C             Tiffin averaged 64.7 yards per kick off and got a touchback.  But the coverage allowed an average of 24 yards per return including one return for 34.  Javier would have had a return of 61 yards but it was wiped out by a holding penalty.   I find myself holding my breath every time we kick off.  It remains the one aspect of our game where the Tide has glaring weaknesses. 

Coaching:             A             It is a mark of how far Alabama has come under the coaching of Nick Saban that I actually had to think about whether to ding the coaches for only scoring 22 points in a road game against a nationally ranked SEC West team.  Bama gained 478 all-purpose yards and controlled the ball for 38:19.    We were penalized 4 times for 30 yards.

We have arrived at that tipping-point in the season where a team that aspires to compete for the BCS Championship cannot overcome a subsequent loss.  Virginia Tech, despite its opening game loss to Alabama, has a path it can follow that, with some luck, could lead to a birth in the BCS Championship Game.  Florida might conceivably overcome a loss to either South Carolina or Florida State but only if it won convincingly in the SEC CG, the poll voters surrender to their man-crush on Tim Tebow and it somehow manages to be a stand-alone one-loss team.  For Alabama, however, there is only one path and that is to win them all.  Coach Saban analogized Alabama’s situation to that of a mountain climber: “The higher you go the tougher it gets.”

Is Alabama tough enough to reach the summit?  Let’s ask those guys in Oxford who, for the first 30 minutes yesterday, managed to gain less than 3 feet on every play.

The Commissioner

Kentucky Grades

Officially it was second down and twelve.

Actually it was more like second and a grunt shy of thirteen.  For all practical purposes it was the second time in consecutive games for Alabama to make a statement about the kind of football team it claims to be.  The first opportunity came last week against Arkansas, and the Tide made the most of it with a 99 yard,  13 play scoring drive.  This week, Alabama repeated last Saturday’s performance.  The drive chart will reflect that Alabama gained 97 yards in 13 plays and consumed 6:50 off the clock.  But the stats fail to convey the reality of what happened.
 

On first down, Trent Richardson was tackled for a loss of two yards, two feet and six inches.  Few running backs have the strength that allowed Richardson to avoid the safety.  Richardson gained five yards on second down, and on 3rd and 7, GMac found Colin Peek for a perfect 21 yard pass that earned a first-down; the first of four in the drive.  Over the next ten plays from scrimmage, GMac completed passes to three of his wide receivers-Julio, Darius Hanks, and Earl Alexander-while Mark Ingram rushed for 19 yards, Richardson added 4 more and Peek snagged another reception to end the drive with a touchdown.  Along the way, the Tide offense converted three third downs and GMac completed 5 of 7 passing attempts.  An offense that had been AWOL since scoring on its opening possession had come to life.  Alabama had imposed its will on home-standing Kentucky.  And momentum in the game turned completely in Alabama’s favor.

Coach Saban, in his locker room interview with Eli Gold, said the long drive was the turning point of the game.  Indeed.  It was the hinge around which the rest of the game turned.  Without the long drive, Rolando McClain does not force the fumble that Courtney Upshaw returned 45 yards for 6 points a mere 14 seconds later. 

How many times has Coach Saban talked about the need to “finish”?  The 2009 Crimson Tide has proven that it knows how to do just that.

This was not a pretty game.  Alabama played poorly at times in all phases of the game.  But when Bama can play poorly and still beat a conference team on the road by 18 points, there’s something happening in the program that promises greatness.

Here’s how I grade the game:

Offense:              B             After the first quarter, the offense was working on a D+. From the 12:07 mark in the first quarter to the 8:21 mark in the second, Alabama’s offense had four consecutive possessions that went three and out. During this dismal stretch, the Tide had only 61 yards of offense and GMac completed only 4 of 9 pass attempts.  For the rest of the game, Bama made the most of its seven possessions, scoring 5 TDs, and a field goal while only punting once.

GMac completed 15 of 26 attempts with 2 TDs and no interceptions. The passin game earned 148 yards and surrendered one sack. Seven players caught passes and Colin Peek led all receivers with 6 receptions for 65 yards and a TD. Darius Hanks caught GMac’s longest pass of the day, 27 yards.

The running game netted 204 yards. Mark Ingram gained 140 on 22 carries. Richardson added 28 on 13 attempts.

Defense:             B             You would think that four take aways [three interceptions and a forced fumble] would earn any defensive unit an A.  But this is Alabama and the defense has played at such a high level that standards are higher and when the defense gives up 20 first downs, 133 yards rushing and 301 total offensive yards, a full grade deduction is deserved.

Rolando McClain was selected Player of the Game and he richly deserved that honor. Number 25 had 12 tackles [8 solo], a forced fumble, an interception a pass breakup and a QB hurry.  Stop Troops were credited with 5 tackles for a loss of 20 yards including 2 sacks. Courtney Upshaw added a sack and a hurry and  4 tackles to his TD scored on  the fumble return.Mark Barron and Eryk Anders each contributed interceptions to give the Tide its highest number of take aways so far this season.

Special Teams:

Punting:               C+           Fitz averaged only 39.8 yards per kick on 5 punts and for the first imte in memory, Javier Arenas did not return a single punt. The coverage unit gave up 58 yards on 4 returned punts.

Kickoffs:               C+           Leigh Tiffin averaged less than 38 net yards per kick off. Javier had an electrifying 60 yard return to start the game, but the coverage unit continues to be an area of concern as Derrick Locke returned one kick for 39 yards and Randall Cobb returned one for 34.

Place Kicking:      A+          Tiffin was 5 for 5 on PATs and made his only attempted FG.

Coaching:              B             Alabama gained 520 all purpose yards, was penalized 6 times for 47 yards.  The participation report lists 53 players who saw action against the Cats. I was surprised that the play calling in the first half appeared to favor passing plays against the Kentucky defense that is among the worst in the league against the run. Coach Saban’s post-game comments were all about improvement. The same is true for Roland McClain. To listen to his answers to a reporter’s questions you would never have guessed that he had turned in such a monster day. He was more focused on the fact that the defense had been vulnerable to Kentucky’s running game.  It was as if he anticipated what his head coach would say 15 minutes later.

Around the league, as I write these grades, Georgia lost to LSU after the officials imposed a ridiculous celebration penalty after the Dawgs scored to take the lead with barely a minute to play in the game. That sort of absurdity has to stop. Arkansas is pounding the stuffing out of Texas A&M proving that a team in the middle of the SEC West is way better than its Big 12 counterpart.  Auburn is shredding the UT defense late in the 3rd quarter. There is still time for a piece of space junk to fall from orbit and smash into big “T” at the 50, but short of that, it looks as if the Tigers are going to beat the Vols with an offense that is better than any to come out of the Village in several years.

In Nashville, Bama’s next opponent, Ole Miss, is taking care of business over on West End Avenue as it has a sufficient lead over Vanderbilt. The Rebs have talent, and have played Alabama close every year for the last several.  The Tide needs to stay focused on the task of getting better every week. If it does, there isn’t a team on the schedule that Alabama can’t beat. And won’t THAT be a statement about the kind of program Alabama football has become again.
 

The Commissioner