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
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
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