Princeton/Cornell Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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With no game to grade this week the Commissioner is able to store up energy before the Wild Rumpus coming on Saturday.  We loaded up the entire Tire Store crew and headed to New Jersey to visit relatives.  Boy, if we had taken along some snow tires and chains we could've made a killing.  We were a little concerned before we left home that we might run into some chilly weather.  Instead, we ran into one of those really bad days where you are driving down a local street and one of the guys who goes and covers the hurricanes for the Weather Channel is standing on the side of the road with a cameraman.

But we are always interested in any sort of football and so we went Saturday to watch Princeton play Cornell.  Rutgers and Princeton played the first ever intercollegiate game, so we were excited to see a game in the cradle of college football.  With the Commissioner’s indulgence we have decided to grade that game -- from the Princeton perspective since that is the alma mater of  my brother-in-law -- the true heir to the Tire Store empire.

Before we get the grades, a little bit of background is probably appropriate.  The Princeton Tigers play in the Ivy League.  They list a 105 man roster but no one is on scholarship.  The University itself has about 5,000 undergraduate students.  They play at 27,800 seat Princeton Stadium, a replacement for the historic Palmer Stadium, which was closed in 1996 after over 80 years of hosting football games on campus.  Interestingly, the new stadium seats fewer fans than the old one did.  But it is a nice generally-horseshoe shaped stadium offering good views of the field and a scoreboard with a Jumbotron.  The field is some version of prescription turf.  Tickets are $9 at the gate; programs are free.

On game day, they fly an American flag over the entrance to the stadium and on either side of it a Princeton flag and the flag of the day’s opponent.  Outside the entrance to the stadium there are two artsy and impressive looking polished metal sculptures of Tigers, the Princeton mascot.  We understand that at one point ivy was trained to grow around these two statues (ivy is a big deal around Princeton) but after several unfavorable comparisons to Chia pets, the ivy was removed.  Good call in our estimation.  The Princeton band is, um, somewhat smaller than the Million Dollar band.  The members wear orange and black plaid sport coats, hats, and slacks.  We understand that musical talent is not a requirement and some members of the band only loosely play instruments.

The Princeton team has players from all over the United States.  Their sizes, at least according to the program, are somewhat, though not a lot, less than you would see in the larger conferences.  The game was not televised and it is easy to forget how quickly a college game can move when there are no television commercials or instant replay deliberations intruding on the flow of the action.

If this wasn't a one-time thing, we would be tempted to grade everything as an “Incomplete”.  They apparently regularly enjoy a weather phenomenon on the northeast coast of the United States called a "nor'easter".  Without getting too far afield we will just say that it turns cold very quickly, the wind blows very hard, and a significant amount of heavy wet snow falls.  In this particular case, on Friday afternoon it was sunny, near 50, and on the whole not a bad afternoon at all.  By Saturday morning it was overcast and the rain was mixing with snow by 9 AM.  By 2:00 we would estimate that 4 or 5 inches of snow had fallen.  By Saturday night over 300,000 people in New Jersey were without power.  To their credit, even people who live in New Jersey mentioned that this was an unusual event.

To say that the weather had an impact on the game would be like saying that the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill had an impact on the Gulf of Mexico.  I am not making this up:

• some children built a 4 foot tall snowman in the stands just below the press box;
• during halftime they brought a Bobcat onto the field to scrape the snow off the sidelines, hash marks, and yard lines;
• at one point on a first and goal situation the back judge called timeout and literally swept the snow away from the goal line with his foot in case he had to make a call about whether the ball had broken the plane.

The team that was playing with the wind at their back could throw the ball distances that their quarterbacks probably only achieved in PlayStation games before Saturday; into the wind, they threw it, like, well, like I do.  Kicking into the wind was harsh enough, but added to that there was so much snow on the field that the ball would come down and stick like you had hit a golf ball into a sand trap.

The crowd for the game was very small.  We understand that Princeton usually averages about 5,000 fans a game but a combination of the weather and the student body being on fall break made the attendance far lower than that.  The fans that we met were welcoming and hospitable.  They were knowledgeable about Princeton football and the game in general.  They did not seem to know much about other teams either from their conference or around the country.  The new stadium has been constructed with areas for skyboxes but for the most part it is now unfinished storage space.  Where it is completed it is less a series of individual boxes than a long, open, climate controlled space with a row of chairs near the window. 

Neither team is having a great year.  Cornell was favored to win the game and did so 24 – 7.  The game was probably closer than the final score indicated.  Football is no different whether you play in the SEC, the Ivy League, or the pee wee version sponsored by the County Parks and Recreation Department.  You need to run the ball, stop the run, avoid critical turnovers, and win the kicking game.  Princeton's loss on Saturday was mostly attributable to a failure in these areas although it did rush the ball acceptably well.

With no further whining about the weather conditions, here's how I grade the game:

Offense:  C-.  I would like to tell you what sort of offensive scheme Princeton likes to run, but I don’t really know.  The weather conditions limited play calling and execution.  Princeton was most effective running the ball to the left side, away from Cornell’s Cadell Williams, a mobile 260 pound defensive end who occasionally shifted inside, and was giving Princeton all sorts of trouble up front.  Princeton is playing a two quarterback system, and their freshman, Quinn Epperly has the potential to be an exciting player and gained nearly 100 yards net rushing. But if you aren’t a wishbone team, having your quarterback gain that much on the ground is a mixed blessing.  He also made a few mistakes and misreads and his fumble inside the Cornell five was a clear turning point in the game.  On the other hand, he made two or three very good reads and throws through the wind and snow.  Another freshman, rb Chuck Dibilio (Ivy League All-name team) gained well over 100 yards and looked good doing it.  He added a 20-yard td reception.  Princeton’s starting qb, Tommy Wornham, left the game with a hand injury. 

Defense:  C.  The Princeton defense was on the field a lot, and despite giving up well over 300 yards of offense played well enough to win the game.  The defense played multiple sets but seemed to base primarily from a 4-3 look, though the variety may have been dictated by conditions.  Running a 5-2 in the ice and snow might just be common sense.  Ten of Cornell’s 24 points were directly attributable to special teams mistakes.  Holding the Big Red to essentially 14 points was a good effort by the stop troops in spite of giving up drives of 80, 73, and 55 yards.  Cornell’s quarterback is a league leader in passing and made several spot-on passes despite the weather conditions.  Princeton’s dbs did have a tendency to get lost in coverage, but tackled pretty well.  Cornell had a 100-yard rusher, but it took nearly 30 attempts to get there.  The grade is reduced for the loss, an inability to get off the field on third and longs, and because near the end of the game the D could not get the ball back and give the offense a chance as weather conditions improved slightly.  Princeton’s best defensive player appears to be Andrew Starks, who led all players with 11 tackles.

Special Teams: D. Special-teams breakdowns cost Princeton dearly.  Cornell's first score came after Princeton's punter was forced to one knee to field a snap resulting in his being declared down deep in Princeton's end of the field (I couldn't really tell you where, it looked to be around the 20).  The weather may have played a factor in this play.  But the weather did not play a factor in Cornell's 78-yard kickoff return for a touchdown just before half time and immediately after Princeton had gained momentum with a touchdown – and its only lead of the day.  The ST also committed a couple of key penalties.  This grade would be lower but Princeton did manage to block a punt to set up its offense in great field position – its first punt block in six seasons.  Otherwise, we will just give the kicking specialists an Incomplete and applaud their courage to go out and do something no one should be required to do.

Coaching:  B  It is hard to earn a grade of B for coaching in a two-touchdown loss, but Coach Bob Surace had his players in a position to win the game.  The Princeton offense twice turned the ball over in goal-to-go situations.  Coaches also get credit for having the team geared up and ready to play on a miserable day.  Their no huddle offense limited substitutions by the Cornell defense and was run effectively – a challenge even in good conditions.

Next week Princeton takes on the Penn Quakers, a good team coming off a surprising (and rare) league loss on Saturday.  We’ll be otherwise occupied.

Bottom line, if you get a chance to see a game in a place like Princeton, we really urge you to do so.  It is a fun experience and the football is good.  But we don’t recommend you go in the middle of winter a/k/a October.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Tennessee Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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For those of you not able to attend, it was a great atmosphere on Saturday.  The Quad was full, though not quite as buzzing as it was before Arkansas. It was foggy in the early morning, and despite dire predictions of chilly weather, was almost a perfect day.  A bright blue sky, unlimited visibility after the fog burned off, little breeze….  I don’t know if they showed it on the broadcast, but the twilight fighter flyover was impressive as only such things can be.  I like that they bring the flight crews back to the stadium for a round of applause later in the game.  I like it better when they have Alabama t-shirts under their flight suits, as these guys did.  The cigar smoke started wafting through the stadium by early in the fourth quarter and the Quad, in places, was as smoky as a speakeasy after the game.  Some traditions may be endangered, but this isn’t one of them.  Tennessee’s band performed, and performed, and performed.  Perhaps they just think they won’t see very large crowds the rest of the season, but man….  The crowd was very loud and contributed to a couple of Tennessee miscues.  The last shuttle bus didn’t leave the Quad for the soccer lot till 11 p.m. and many tents were still watching the delayed Oklahoma Texas Tech game then.

I agree with the grades, Commissioner, though I might rate the coaches a little higher.  Our defensive staff, in particular, is making great adjustments and not just at half time.  If you coach one of our opponents, you’d be well-served to have a completely different game plan for the second half than the first.

Speaking of the defense, I think getting off to a slow start made what was otherwise an impressive performance not look quite as good.  I will always feel like keeping a conference opponent from scoring a touchdown is a remarkable achievement.  And one of the Tennessee scores was a 52-yard field goal.  Nothing to do but tip your cap to their kicker for that effort.

The offense was just out of sync in the first half.   Tennessee had decided that Trent Richardson wasn’t going beat them, though he pretty much did anyway.  Tennessee overloaded the tight end side on most every down and often had 9 in the box.  Richardson’s touchdown on three consecutive carries for ten yards were 10 of the hardest fought yards by a running back I can recall.  To state the obvious (and it should be stated) he is a very special athlete.  The exact problem is hard to diagnose, but saying Alabama was “flat” is not quite the explanation.  Partly there was a new player on the o-line with Steen sidelined, partly our passes were just a little out of range – my guess is the early interception was on the quarterback’s mind a bit and he was making sure the ball was where only our guys could get it.  His near-touchdown pass to Williams was high, but catchable.  Hanks bailed him out a couple of times.  On one catch Hanks was so open it looked like summer skeleton drills on the Quad, but we led him too much and he had to dive for it, probably costing a touchdown.  But the TD pass to Bell was a route Mccarron has been overthrowing.  If he was due for an off night, I’m glad it is over with.  And to be fair, it only lasted half the game.  His third quarter performance was as good as I can remember since the SEC Championship.

The kicking game was better.  We had the touchback the Commissioner mentioned, and most of the kicks at least made it to the 5.  Coverage was far better than at Mississippi.  It was good to see Foster back after the concussion and it was also good to see him hit a 45+ yard field goal.  He had a few more yards on it, actually, and after the hash he made of the attempt at Oxford, it was good to see him hit it solid.  We might need it at some point.

It has been glossed over this year, partly because the starters have gotten in the habit of taking a quarter off each game, but it is good to get to the break.  This is a tried football team, and a lot of guys are banged up.  Cyrus K-unpronounceable and Alex Watkins both did not look good after the game.   Lacy needed this game to knock some rust off – he is still not quite where he was before the toe injury.  Even Upshaw looked a half step slow in the second half.

I continue to believe that the only team I have seen (and I haven’t seen Stanford yet) that is capable of beating Alabama is Alabama.  The first half Saturday night, however, proved that we are fully capable of doing it.  I hope that an off week will provide a chance for the team, as the Head Coach put it, to chill out.  There’s some work to do in November.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Tennessee Grades

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For 30 minutes in the first half it was a rivalry.

For 30 minutes in the second half it was a route.

The Alabama-Tennessee game is one of college footballs best traditional clashes. It has produced iconic moments: Paul Bryant playing on a broken leg. Terrence Cody blocking two fourth quarter field goal attempts. It has provided memorable quotes: Gen. Neyland, "You find out what a player is made of when they play Alabama." Paul Bryant, when asked what Alabama would have done if UT's potential game-winning field goal attempt in 1966 had been straight: "We'd have blocked it."

It was also the well-spring of a poisonous envy that produced a scandal which stains Alabama's otherwise glorious football history. The cast of characters in that squalid drama includes Logan Young, Albert Means, Philip Fulmer, Mike Dubose, Miles Brandt and Rick Johaningmeyer. But in a very real sense, the devastation of NCAA sanctions arising out of the Albert Means affair, created the conditions that ultimately led to the hiring of Nick Saban and a renaissance of the Alabama football program.

Saturday's game is a metaphor for the dramatic arc of the two programs. The first half was a testament to where Alabama and Tennessee used to be in relation to each other. The second half was a demonstration of where they really are.

In the first half, Tennessee played with intensity while Alabama appeared to be going through the motions. This disparity of focus had the score all square at 6 points apiece and UT's Tauren Poole in position to be the first running back to accumulate 100 yards rushing on the Tide defense since ... well since he did it in 2010.

In the second half, Alabama played with a ferocity to match its talent and the Vols didn't have a prayer. They also didn't have a first down. After intermission, UT ran only 19 offensive plays and had fewer punts [3] than turnovers [1 fumble, 1 interception, and 2 on downs]. While the Tide defense strangled UT's offense, the Alabama offense exploded for 31 unanswered points and with 10:00 to go, even the fans who bought a program were having trouble keeping up with who was playing.

The programatic gap between the Tide and Vols is wider than at any time in the history of the rivalry. By bringing about the Alabama Renaissance, Robert Witt and Mal Moore have earned places in the University's pantheon equal to George Denny and Wallace Wade. Meanwhile, up on Rocky Top, Fulmer and Mike Hamilton presided over an egregious period of neglect born of hubris. The proud Volunteer football program, which could do nothing wrong in the blinkered vision of the NCAA and SEC central office, was rotting from the inside. The arrogant decision to replace Fulmer with the callow Lane Kiffin exposed Tennessee football as being nothing but a hollow shell.

Alabama's rebirth has been mid-wifed by the coaching of Nick Saban. Derek Dooley is a Saban acolyte. Whether Dooley will be able to do for Tennessee football what his mentor has done for Alabama remains to be seen. But based on yesterday's performance, the Vols remain far behind the Tide. Dooley may eventually manage to close the gap, but it will be a long and difficult road.

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: B+ The first half was, in a word, awful. The running game was not able to establish itself, and, the passing game was inconsistent. The offensive highlight of the first half was a 69 yard completion to Marquis Maze. Otherwise, AJ appeared a bit uncomfortable and out of sync, prompting the ESPN broadcast crew to opine that in the second half the coaches would take the ball out of AJ's hands and rely on Trent Richardson to get Bama's offense on track.

There's a reason why broadcasters broadcast and coaches coach. The Tide's first offensive possession of the third quarter generated 75 yards on four passes and a run by AJ that scored Bama's first touchdown against the Vols in Tuscaloosa in 7 quarters of play. AJ followed up with a 40 yard TD pass to Kenny Bell [officially it's listed as a 39 yard play, but the line of scrimmage was about 6 inches inside the UT 40 so I'm going with 40].

Alabama earned 19 first downs and generated 437 yards of total offense [143 rushing]. AJ completed 17 of 26 pass attempts for a career high 284 yards. On Bama's initial drive of the game, he threw his first interception in more than 150 pass attempts.

Trent Richardson gained 77 yards on 17 rush attempts and scored 2 TDs. Eddie Lacy added 46 yards on 7 running plays.

Marquis Maze had his second 100+ yard game of his receiving career, gaining 106 yards on 5 catches. Darius Hanks had 3 receptions [each one a circus catch] for 55 yards. Six different receivers caught passes.

The offense had 6 drives that gained at least 40 yards [72, 48, 75, 40*, 53, 46] that resulted in 3 TDs and 3 FGs. The Tide's final TD of the night came on a 9 yard drive following Dont'a Hightower's interception return.

Both of Alabama's first half scores were drives where the Tide did not finish after getting into the red zone.

Defense: A- Tennessee had only 6 first downs, all earned in the first half and was able to gain only 155 yards of total offense, 41 in the second half.

C. J. Mosley led the defense with 8 tackles [4 solo], but it was Lewisberg, Tennessee native, Dont'a Hightower, who deserves MVP status. Number 30 recorded 7 tackles [3 solo], 1 tackle for loss [a sack], broke up 2 passes, hurried UT's quarterback twice and made an interception that he returned for 29 yards to the UT 9 yard line.

Courtney Upshaw also recorded 7 tackles, Nico Johnson had 5 stops, and Will Lowery, Robert Lester and Mark Barron each had 4.

The defense as a whole recorded 4 tackles for loss, 6 breakups, and 2 forced fumbles [Upshaw, Chris Jordan].

Special Teams:

Place Kicking: A Jeremy Shelley was good from 26 and 29 while Cade Foster was good from 45. Shelley was perfect on 4 PATs.

Punting: B Alabama punted twice for an average of 35 net yards per punt. UT's punting did not present many return opportunities.

Kickoffs: B Cade Foster had a touchback! His gross average per kick was an acceptable 65.4, but the net was a mere 44.2. Marquis Maze had 29 yards in kick returns, with a long of 20.

Coaching: C+ The players were not emotionally ready to play. The larger responsibility for being emotionally ready is on the individual player, nevertheless, the coaching grade suffers for it. I was also not particularly impressed with play calling in the first quarter. For some reason, we seemed to run everything to the short side of the field in the first half, and with a first down at the UT 12 on our third possession of the game, we ran on first down for positive yardage and then elected to throw twice. But I give the coaches lots of credit for sticking with AJ in the second half; I hope John Chavis is scheming to force AJ to beat LSU in two weeks. That's a plan that will blow up in his face like a trick cigar. The participation report contains the names of 67 players who saw action against the Vols.

The college football landscape had some brush clearing on Saturday, as both Wisconsin and Oklahoma fell out of the ranks of the unbeaten. More pruning is inevitable as Oklahoma State has yet to play Kansas State. Will Stanford get past Oregon? Can Clemson run the table in its conference? Who knows, and who cares? For Alabama fans there is only one game that counts, and that's the next one. It just so happens that this time, the next one is November 5. After that, it will be November 12, and so on, as the 2011 Tide pursues its destiny.

It tells you something about the decline of the Tennessee program, that the 2011 Third Saturday in October proved to be a "trap" game because of the looming showdown with LSU. Although LSU whipped Auburn in embarrassing fashion, I believe that Alabama is the better team. I would not trade AJ right now in a package deal for both Jefferson and Lee. In fact, I wouldn't swap a single player on our team for one of theirs.

The crowd at Tiger Stadium was chanting "We want Bama" as the game clock ran out yesterday. In two weeks time they are going to get Bama. With Halloween being an official holiday in Louisiana, the traveling freak show that is the LSU fan base will start rolling into Tuscaloosa starting on All Saints Day. Lock your doors at night. When you encounter the guys in purple zoot suits with tiger-striped lapels and the cat-woman with stiletto heels and Mardi Gras beads, try not to make eye contact. If you act like they are invisible, they will go away sooner.

Alabama won't start off slow against LSU. The Tide will bring its "A" game, and I expect that The Grades will reflect it.

The Commissioner

UT Week: The Report From The Tire Store

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I first posted this during Tennessee Week a year or two ago.  Several of our regular readers have asked if I'd send it again at some point.  So here you go.

True Story

My junior year in college I took a history course that I'm sure had some prosaic official name like "U.S. Southern History 1607-1860" but which all students referred to as "History of the Old South". On Friday morning of Tennessee week the professor showed up at ten Hoor and said something relatively similar to the following:

"Good morning. For today's lecture it is necessary that you understand something of a key Southern geological feature. The New Madrid Fault is a fracture in the Earth's crust that manifests beneath the Mississippi River, roughly centered near where Tennessee meets Arkansas and Missouri and radiating through the surrounding area. This fault line has been active for thousands of years, of course, and also has affected the region in relatively modern times. In 1812, a massive earthquake shook the region, altering the course of the Mississippi River such that it completely submerged the town of New Madrid, Missouri. The river itself even flowed backwards for a time. The river channel was permanently changed.
The fault is still active. A similar earthquake today would devastate Memphis and have serious effects as far away as St. Louis, Nashville, and Jackson, Mississippi. It might be as destructive as an earthquake along its more famous cousin, the San Andreas Fault in southern California. As many of you know, people who live in that region have concerns that the San Andreas fault might one day rupture and allow a portion of California to "slide off" into the Pacific Ocean. Scientists discount this for various reasons. Despite the size and location of the New Madrid Fault, however, scientists are sure that Alabama will never be in danger of sliding off into the Gulf of Mexico, because . . .

Tennessee sucks. Roll Tide. Beat Tennessee. Class dismissed."

And he gathered up his things and walked out of the room. We at the Tire Store hope that you all have a pleasant weekend. Roll Tide. Beat Tennessee. If you haven't purchased a cigar yet, we recommend you leave work early today.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Ole Miss Grades - Report From The Tire Store

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An excellent set of grades, Commissioner, as was deserved by an excellent effort from the Alabama football team.  It was not an easy report to write.  After everyone correctly analyzing what happened in the Swamp as a whipping, and Vandy as domination, it was a puzzle how to describe this one.  It was certainly beyond those terms.  Make no mistake, Mississippi is a team in complete disarray right now.  Two years ago the then-Rebels were the media darling to upset everyone and win the SEC championship.  Getting Houston Nutt from Arkansas was supposedly a steal and the Glory Days of Ole Miss football (the Archie Manning era, I guess) were about to return.  It, uh, hasn't quite worked out for them.  They are a beaten football team, apparently now with off-field shenanigans going on, a coach who is probably looking for a soft place to land, and two Cotton Bowl appearances a distant memory.

 

Speaking of memories, we have painful memories of the Lost Years between Stallings and Saban.  In the interim, even the few 10-win seasons smacked of a feeling that with the right leadership, perhaps there would have been more than 10 wins.

 

Alabama should have beaten Mississippi badly, and did.  It is a little bit shocking to say that you hung half a hundred on an SEC team AND that it could have been much worse.  But in this instance, it is exactly the case.

 

Down at the Tire Store we share your concerns about the kicking game.  Informal reports indicate Foster may have suffered a concussion.  Saturday presented a new issue, as it was not just the depth of the kicks but the kick coverage itself that was weak.  We purposely did not look up Mississippi's average starting field position after kickoffs.  In fact, the coverage looked suspiciously like it did two years ago, but that seemed to work out ok.  What will not work out is letting teams with more offensive talent than the Rebel Black Bears work on a short field.

 

Lots of people, Coach Stallings being my favorite, would always respond to those "how are you going to win the game?" questions by saying "Run the ball, stop the run, and don't turn the football over."  You can win an awful lot of football games if you do those three things.  Right now, Alabama is mastering those three aspects.  Continuing to do so will lead this team to realize its potential.  And this team's potential is growing every week.

 

It's Tennessee week, look for a reminiscence from the Tire Store later in the week.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Ole Miss Grades

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OK, Class, here's a pop-quiz:

Raise your hand if you remember what the Alabama football program was like before Nick Saban. ... Yes, you there in the red shirt with the logo of an elephant walking through the block A. What's that you say? Saban followed Coach Stallings who followed Coach Bryant?

No. I'm afraid that's not right. Anyone else? Yes sir, wearing the crimson blazer.... Well, yes that's right. Alabama did win 12 National Championships and 21 SEC titles prior to Coach Saban, and the Tide put southern football on the national map with its first Rose Bowl victory on January 1, 1926; but my question was really looking for some more recent history.

Yes, young man ... that's right, wearing the khakis with elephants embroidered on them. ... Is this a trick question? No, I don't think so; just tell us what Alabama football was like before Coach Saban. ... I'm sorry, could you repeat that? .... There was no football program before Coach Saban. No. I'm sorry. That's not correct.

There most certainly was a football program at Alabama in the decade between Coach Stallings and Coach Saban, but it's just hard to remember it. Hard, and painful. There was the "dream-job" neglected and ultimately wasted by Mike Dubose. There was the entire Alabama family left "holding the rope" while the vagrant, Dennis Francione, hopped an empty freight car headed to College Station, Texas. There was the disgraceful, but prompt, exit of Mike Price; he of the $10 million lap dance. And there was Mike Shula; decent, dedicated, loyal but ultimately unready.

It's hard to remember those lost years, but it is important that we do. Alabama fans need to have a long memory. Recollection of the dismal years between Stallings and Saban helps fans to keep in mind the fact that all glory is fleeting, that being successful and staying successful are two different things and that the latter is much more difficult than the former.

The time horizon may be shorter, but Saban knows how important it is that players recall how sweet it is to win, and how bitter is the taste of defeat. During the broadcast of yesterday's merciless beat-down of hapless Ole Miss, the announcers mentioned how Coach Saban is keeping the memory of the inexcusable "come from ahead" collapse in the 2010 Iron Bowl sharp in the minds of the 2011 team. "Never Again" is the message, and at the mid-point of the season, it appears that the Tide players have heard and taken it to heart.

Oh, sure, the Tide is not playing perfect A+ football every week; at least not yet. But a year-over-year comparison to the 2009 BCS Championship campaign favors the 2011 squad at this point. Yesterday's game is a case in point. The 45 point margin of victory is Bama's most lop-sided victory over Ole Miss in 80 years [55-6 in 1931]. Trent Richardson is on a pace in yards rushing and touchdowns scored that is ahead of Mark Ingram's record in his Heisman Trophy year. The Tide defense is dominating teams-including those ranked in the polls-more than its 2009 predecessor. Two years ago, Bama defeated Ole Miss 22-3. Then, the Rebs were ranked 20th in the polls, and the Tide was number 3. Fast forward 24 months and Alabama destroys Ole Miss 52-7. Part of that disparity is due to a precipitous decline in the quality of Ole Miss football in the intervening time, but I believe the larger part is due to Alabama being better as a team.

After the game, Houston Nutt told reporters that he would just have liked to score one more time. "I wish we would have scored one more time," he said. "I wish we would have put 10 or 14 points on the board." That tells you all you need to know about where Alabama is at the mid-point of the 2011 season.

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: A+ This was a game against a SEC opponent, and Alabama gained 615 yards of total offense [389 yards rushing]. Alabama earned 27 first downs, converted 7 of 11 third downs, 1 of 1 4th down, and held the ball for 33:56 of the game.

Trent Richardson gained 183 yards on 17 carries [10.8 yd. avg.] and scored 4 TDs. This was his 6th consecutive game rushing for 100+ yards, which ties Shaun Alexander's school record for consecutive 100+ games. I have no doubt that TR will be alone in first place at this time next week. His longest run from scrimmage was a 76 yard instant highlight reel run for a TD on the second possession of the 3rd quarter, and it was his last play of the night. It's hard to describe the play. As he told reporters after the game: "I didn't want those good blocks to go to waste." He make an excellent read to avoid a run blitz, broke an arm-tackle and crossed the line of scrimmage. He then cut to his right in a lane created by the offensive line and angled to the side-line. By this time, Marquis Maze and Deandrew White had locked up the Ole Miss secondary with blocks that allowed Trent to run down the sideline. A Rebel DB with excellent closing speed and a great angle appeared headed to intercept Richardson at about the 10 yard line. Trent stopped. I'm not exaggerating. He came to a complete stop and turned to face his adversary. He then made a fake-move to his left and then took off back to his right leaving his pursuer helplessly lying on the turf. As Richardson celebrated with his teammates, the Ole Miss players helped the disgraced, would-be tackler, collect his shoes, socks, and underwear which by this time were scattered on the ground like yard-sale leftovers.

Trent spent the remainder of the game watching Jalston Fowler run for 125 yards on 9 carries [13.9 average] and score 2 TDs. Blake Sims also saw action in the 4th quarter, gaining 74 yards on 5 carries including a 45 yard scamper against an utterly dispirited Ole Miss defense. Eddie Lacy, nursing a turf-toe, gained 22 yards on 5 runs.

AJ completed 19 of 24 pass attempts for 224 yards. He threw a TD pass to Brandon Gibson and although he was sacked once, he threw no interceptions. Philip Sims completed his solo pass attempt for 2 yards at a point in the game where Alabama was throwing the ball in order to keep the score down. Darius Hanks caught 4 passes for 63 yards. Kenny Bell, White and Maze each had 3 receptions, and 8 different players caught passes, including Richardson, whose 30 receiving yards on 2 catches made his all purpose yards 213.

The Tide offense had 8 drives that gained in excess of 40 yards [79, 62, 44, 73, 92, 41, 98, 63] resulting in 6 TDs, 1 missed FG, and the end of the game. Bama possessed the ball 6 times in the second half and produced 5 TDs and 8 plays [two of which were in the victory formation deep in Ole Miss territory] to put Ole Miss out of its misery.

Defense: A+ Yes, I know there are some who will accuse me of being an easy grader for the Stop Troops. You will point out the coverage bust that allowed Ole Miss to gain 54 yards on a single passing play to set up the Rebs eventual touchdown run on their opening drive of the game. I believe the + is justified by not only the complete domination the defense established, but also the fact that in the 4th quarter, Ole Miss had a first and goal at the Tide 2, and were forced to turn the ball over on downs.

After its TD to start the game, the Ole Miss offense produced 7 punts, a lost fumble, an interception and a turnover on downs.

Nico Johnson led all tacklers with 6 [4 solo], Vinnie Sunseri and Dont'a Hightower each had 5 tackles, and Dre Kirkpatrick, Mark Barron and Damian Square each recorded 3.

Bama defenders recorded 14 tackles for lost yardage [52] including 5 sacks. Robert Lester intercepted a pass and returned the pick 30 yards to set up Bama's third score of the second half.

Courtney Upshaw, benched for the first quarter for an unspecified violation of team rules [my guess is this was corrective action taken because Upshaw appeared to kick at a prostrate Vandy player last Saturday] made a significant impact in the slightly more than 2 quarters that he played. He recorded 2 tackles, both for loss, and forced a fumble that Ed Stinson recovered.

Special Teams:

Punting: B+ Cody Mandel only punted once [Bama's second possession of the game]; a 44 yard kick with no return. Bama returned 2 Ole MIss punts for a total of 16 yards.

Place Kicking: B Jeremy Shelley was good from 24 yards and perfect on PATs. Cade Foster missed short from 53 yards; an attempt that was fielded and returned.

Kick Offs: D Foster averaged only 59.3 yards gross per kick and the coverage unit allowed 24.8 yards per return on average, yielding a net per kick of an unacceptable 34.5 yards. Short kicks are a chronic problem. Poor coverage is a new one.

Coaching: A Alabama was penalized 5 times for 34 yards, but one of those flags was a bogus holding call that erased a touchdown. Center William Vlachos pancaked the Ole Miss nose tackle and the umpire threw a flag. I think it was a bad call. Once again, the coaches went deep into the roster. The participation report lists 65 players who saw action in Oxford Saturday night. Trent Richardson could have compiled 300 yards rushing but the staff wisely spelled him early in the second half.

Tennessee limps into Bryant-Denny Stadium this coming Saturday following a 38-7 loss to LSU. How Bama plays against the Vols will no doubt be argued by many as a proxy for how the Tide will perform against LSU on November 5. In 2009, the eventual BCS Champions had to block two fourth quarter field goal attempts in order to preserve a narrow victory over the Big Orange. On the Third Saturday in October, 2009, the Tide was playing on tired legs, playing without Dont'a Hightower who was lost for the season, and had some nagging injuries that needed a bye-week to heal. The 2011 Tide has enjoyed significantly better injury luck than its 2009 predecessor.

However, I look for UT to be better prepared to play Alabama than it was to face LSU. The injury of starting QB, Tyler Bray, in the Vols' loss to Georgia, threw the number 2 QB, Matt Sims, into the starting role against the Tigers. Sims will have one more week of practice as the number 1 between now and next Saturday. The 3-3 Vols are reeling and in desperate need of a win. With the loss of their number 1 wide receiver [Florida game] and starting QB, the Vols may be thin but are not completely without talent. No one should take this game for granted.

History teaches that the winner of the Alabama - Tennessee game usually wins the SEC title. Of course, twenty-two times that ultimate SEC Champion has been Alabama, but there is nevertheless a statistical association between victory on the Third Saturday in October [even when it's really the 4th] and achieving a conference title. This season, there remain several steps that Alabama must take in its march to Atlanta, and beyond, but beating Tennessee next weekend is, for now, the most important.

Remember what a season is like when Tennessee beats Alabama. For those of you who can't recall, trust me, you don't want to experience it.

The Commissioner

Vanderbilt Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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I agree that Saturday's game was not the best effort the team has turned in this year, but anytime you beat a conference opponent by more than 30 points, shut them out, and continue an undefeated season it was a good weekend.  I suppose it is not really a surprise to anyone that after playing Arkansas and Florida a team of 18 to 21-year-old young men was a little bit flat about playing Vandy.  It was also midterm week at Alabama and it is easy to lose track of the fact that these young men have a lot of things going on in their lives besides football.  The team is mentally and physically tired and carrying the bumps and bruises that SEC competition inevitably brings.

Beyond that, Coach Saban has said that about six games is as many as a team should play in a row before getting a break.  Thinking about that for a few minutes reminded me that what is turning out to be another special season of Alabama football is now halfway over.  I am at the front rank of those who have been guilty of thinking forward to November 5 so much that I am in danger of losing the special excitement that should come with each week of Alabama football.  It seems like I've been thinking about November 5 since about July 4.  Accordingly, rather than comment on the Vandy game I thought it appropriate to consider the first half of this season.

Offense: It has been a good first half of the year for the offense. With 4 out of 5 starters returning the offensive line was expected to perform like a well-oiled machine from day one.  The line did not perform quite as well as everyone expected and partly I believe that was attributable to early-season tinkering with the right personnel.  They now appear to be operating as previously expected. Everyone knew that our our running backs were a strength and they have been.  The question was whether our quarterback could successfully hand the ball to them and throw it to the guys in the right color jerseys.  The budding quarterback controversy that many people worried about in early August was quickly settled by the players on the field.  McCarron appears confident (sometimes perhaps too confident) in his own arm.  We are definitely missing the big body receiver but have made up for it by getting the tightens more involved in the offense.  The bottom line, the lowest number of points the offense has scored in any game is 27 at Penn State, where the Coach called off the dogs (as he frankly has in every game).  For a team that averages giving up about 8 a game, that will do nicely.

Defense: The defense was supposed to be the strength of this team.  It is.  Defense is at or near the top of most of the national defensive categories despite playing teams like Arkansas and Florida that supposedly had outstanding offensive weapons.  Josh Chapman is having a very good season as nose guard, one of the most critical positions in Saban's 3-4 alignment.  Jesse Williams, who is still really learning the game, is becoming a force to contend with along the line.  We lost our most versatile linebacker to an elbow injury and we have hardly missed a beat.  The linebackers and defensive backs are as good a group as any I can ever remember.  Conversations on message boards and around the water cooler begin to draw comparisons with Alabama's historically powerful defenses.  Not only is this premature, I am not a big fan of doing it generally, especially when you need to make a comparison across eras of football.  I just don't think it's meaningful.  The 1992 defense was very good and carried us to a national championship.  The 1961 defense only surrendered 25 points all season.  But how would it have competed against this year's Arkansas offense?  Probably there is no one alive who remembers the play of the 1925 defense, but the statistics say that before the Rose Bowl game that group had given up a total of seven points all season long despite the fact that after a punt they just turned around and played offense.  Check back in January and we can talk about whether this defense is one that will make for comparisons to future teams.  But it's not premature to say they have the potential.

Kicking game: Heaven help us.  Our return game is good and Maze continues to improve week by week.  It is perhaps the ultimate compliment that teams have started to kick away from him.  But the kicking part of the kicking game is probably what is causing Coach Saban's hair to thin.  We even missed an extra point this weekend.  Against the likes of Vanderbilt you can get away with that.  Performances like that will not cut the mustard in the second half of the season.  The kickoff part of kickoffs are an unpleasant adventure.  Once during the Vandy game I thought our kickoff specialist was going to fall all the way down after kicking the ball.  He leads the league in tackles by kickers.  I believe this is one of those dubious sorts of honors that you would just as soon avoid.  It is sort of like playing the most consecutive games in AAA baseball, having the most sand saves on tour in golf, or being the quarterback who has recorded the most tackles on interception returns.  It is comforting that the biggest criticism most people can come up with about the 2011 version of the Crimson Tide is that its kickoffs don't go deep enough.  But if we want to win the West division, the SEC, and the national championship game we cannot get it done kicking off the football to the 15 yard line and letting them catch it on the run.

Coaching: It is easy to forget the critical role that our assistant coaches play.  Coach Cochran has our team in excellent physical shape and is an inspirational leader on the sidelines.  Our defense makes faster and better adjustments to new game plans and wrinkles from opponents than any school I know about and maybe as well as any professional team.  Our quarterback development continues to produce athletes who are able to direct scoring drives and to not make the sort of mistakes that lose ball games. It is so consistent that people have started to criticize its steady consistency.  Somebody ask Florida, Auburn, or South Carolina what they would give for that sort of consistent performance at the position.  It is funny but too flippant to say the easiest job in America is coaching the University of Alabama's running backs.  Sure, Ingram, Richardson, Lacey, and now Fowler are great physical talents but someone is coaching them up to the point that last week one of the ESPN talking heads said "Alabama is the only team in the country that can run up the score by running up the middle."

On to Oxford to play the Rebel Black Bears, or whatever they are now.  Unless he's getting some really great new coaching advice by text message from an attractive television anchorwoman this may be the last chance we have to see Houston Nutt on the opposing sidelines.  I hope we do our part to ease his way into retirement.

 

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Vanderbilt Grades

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As the Alabama players ran out onto the field for the start of the second half of Saturday night's game against Vanderbilt, I noticed that a team of maintenance workers headed into the Tide locker room. They had to repair the scorched pain, broken furniture and busted ceiling tiles produced by Nick Saban's half-time "remarks." Those University employees were not the only guys who were busy in the second half; the Tide players, who sort of sleep-walked through the first half really turned it up in the second. Rushing yards: first half 45, second half 108; points scored: first half 14, second half 20. And this was accomplished in a little more than twenty minutes of game time. With about 9 minutes left in the game, the starters were finished for the night and Bama used its last two offensive possessions to run out the clock in its 34-0 win.

Earlier in the week, a colleague asked me whether Bama would cover a 30 point betting line. I told him to take VU and the points. Vandy has a starchy defense, I could foresee a situation where Alabama might be leading by more than 30, but suffer a pick-six during garbage time. There was plenty of garbage time last night, but the Tide's turnovers were on downs, not interceptions, as Coach Saban elected to give the ball back to Vandy rather than add meaningless field goal points.

In his post-game remarks, Saban said that the team played flat in the first half. Big wins over Arkansas and Florida induced a sense of complacency, which is, according to Saban, human nature. In his view, guiding players so that they overcome human nature is one of the functions of coaching. It's pretty obvious that he provided a full measure of that guidance during intermission.

The game started in a peculiar manner with the 'Dores staying in the locker room long after the Tide had taken the field. It made some fans wonder whether they had left early so they could get a jump on the traffic headed north on I-65. But eventually, they did emerge from the south locker room and they quickly demonstrated that they had come to play.

This is not the Vanderbilt of prior years. Coach James Franklin is doing a good job turning the VU program around. They play good, opportunistic defense, and have a good punter. With two weeks to prepare, Vandy showed up with some wrinkles on offense that gave the Tide defense some challenges. We took a long time figuring out Vandy's screen passes. They ran a drag-route over the middle that we didn't cover well, and their tight end was completely uncovered more than once. But for poor execution by the VU field goal unit the score at intermission could well have been 7-6 instead of 14-0.

Statistically, Alabama played a very good ball game and beat a conference opponent by more than 30 points and lots of younger players saw action. From a physical standpoint, this game was a lopsided affair as several Commodores, including starting quarterback, Larry Smith, were knocked out of the game. Although Vandy under James Franklin is improved, he still has his work cut out for him. While Nick Saban is working on overcoming human nature, Franklin is trying to improve the humans he has to work with.

The talent disparity on display last night, reminds me of something that Franklin said during SEC Media Days. When asked what he thought about the quality of the league compared to the others where he had coached, Franklin replied: "There are three conferences in America that are pretty much alike, the NFC, the AFC and the SEC."

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: A- That's the average of a not so good first-half grade and an excellent grade in the second half. Alabama's 5 first half possessions resulted in 3 punts and 2 TDs. The second half began with three straight touchdowns, two on long drives and one that took advantage of a short field following a take-away.

Bama earned 24 first downs, converted 12 of 17 third-downs [4 of 4 in the third quarter] and gained 419 yards of total offense [153 rushing, 266 passing].

AJ completed 23 of 30 pass attempts for 237 yards and 4 touchdowns. His 4 passing TDs ties him with Mike Shula who threw for 4 touchdowns against Memphis State on October 26, 1985 [JP Wilson holds the single game TD record with 5 TD passes against Arkansas on September 15, 2007]. Philip Sims was 3 for 3 for 29 yards. Marquis Maze had a career high 9 receptions for 93 yards, Darius Hanks had 5 catches for 60 yards and a TD. DeAndrew White caught 3 passes for 58 yards and 2 TDs. Brad Smelley gained 19 yards and a TD on 3 catches. For both players these were the first touchdown receptions of their careers. Eight different receivers caught passes during the game.

Trent Richardson rushed for 107 yards and one TD; his fifth straight 100+ yard game. With Eddie Lacey nursing a case of turf-toe, Jalston Fowler played behind Richardson and gained 58 yards. Richardson led all players with 108 all-purpose yards.

You knew that the Tide was ready to dispatch Vanderbilt with its first offensive possession of the second half, a 94 yard TD drive that consumed 6:31 of game time. Only 1 of the drive's 13 plays was a pass. Bama had four drives that gained 40 or more yards [77 (10 plays), 78 (13 plays), 94 (13 plays), 81 (9 plays)] each resulted in a TD.

Alabama possessed the ball for 36:14, and had no turnovers, but surrendered 2 sacks.

Defense: A- Vanderbilt was limited to only 190 yards of total offense [41 rushing] and Bama defenders made 2 interceptions, and 7 tackles for lost yardage.

Mark Barron recorded 6 tackles [4 solo] and broke up 2 passes. Dont'a Hightower made 5 stops [2 solo] and Robert Lester is credited with 4 tackles [2 solo]. Jerrell Harris, Nico Johnson and Nick Gentry each had 3 tackles. Johnson made one interception which he returned 2 yards. D. Milliner returned his pick 37 yards to set the offense up at the Vandy 20 yard line.

Special Teams:

Kick Offs: C Cade Foster recorded 2 tackles against the 'Dores giving him 5 tackles on the season. This leads all other kickers in the SEC, and might explain why kickoffs are chronically short. We averaged only 41.8 net yards per kick and had no touchbacks.

Punting: B Bama averaged only 34 yards per punt against Vandy. We had 1 punt for more than 50 yards for a touchback.

Place Kicking: C- Jeremy Shelley made 4 of his 5 PAT attempts, and one of the good ones was barely good.

Coaching: B+ Bama only had 2 penalties and the participation report lists 67 players who saw action. The half time .... "adjustments" were highly effective. By "adjustments" of course I mean the paint-blistering, furniture-wrecking, ceiling tile-busting chewing out that Saban must have delivered. Schematically, Alabama "simplified" what it had been running so that the players could focus on execution and eliminate mental errors. In laymen's terms, I think that translates to: "By golly, we're going to give the ball to Trent and he's going to run behind the Road Graders until they either stop us, or we run out of football field." The defensive version is: "Beat the man in front of you, get to the guy who has the dad-gummed ball and plant him so hard that he doesn't want to get back up."

It was a great day to be in Tuscaloosa and it was a great day around the league. Georgia is looking good in the SEC East; the trees down in The Village are getting a respite from the toilet paper, and LSU reaped the benefit of the beat-down Alabama delivered to the Gators last weekend. The Ole Miss Black Rebel Bears are next, and I think the coaches are going to have an easier time on the "human nature" issue this week. It's human nature to want to avoid the recurrence of unpleasant events, and the Tide locker room could not have been a pleasant place to be at half time yesterday.

Roll Tide

The Commissioner

Florida Grades - Report From The Tire Store

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It was not a great night to be a Florida Gator.  Once a protected species whose only enemy was a poacher with a gun, alligators made such a comeback that they became a threat.  They are now harvested regularly from the wild and on farms.  They are fearsome animals with great physical prowess – and very small brains.  They have no instinctual response when they meet a predator with superior skills, basically because there just aren’t many of those.  The Florida Gators ran into a superior group Saturday evening, and they, too, had little response.

I thought the grades were excellent, though I did not click the link for any fried Gator recipes.  I enjoyed barbeque last weekend, but that’s about as far as I’m willing to go.  Besides, I haven’t checked the local Kroger butcher section, but if they are stocking gator chunk my bet it is frozen, not fresh.

Offense --  The offensive line is coming into its own.  You may say that Florida’s defensive line did not play as well as advertised.  That would be true.  Some of that may be because our players were limiting their effectiveness through skill, talent and scheme.  It may be that they were “overrated” though I tend to be skeptical about that.  I’m sort of getting weary of hearing that the teams we have beaten weren’t that good after all.  Arkansas threw for over 500 yards yesterday just one week past being beaten like a yard pig.  It is fair to ask this question: “If Florida’s D line was overrated, for which group in the conference, besides Alabama and LSU, would you trade them straight up?”  In fact, going into Saturday I regularly read that their D Line was superior to ours.  So hurray for this group that, as you very correctly point out, kept McCarron upright all evening and created holes that I could have run through (assuming I didn’t have my eyes shut, which I probably would).  Richardson combines outstanding physical skills with more determined running than I’ve seen since, well, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this precise combination.  Ingram, Alexander, Patrick, Humphrey, Davis, Musso….  Some of our readers go back further than I, but I cannot honestly say I remember one who was better. The Wildcat was a wrinkle that I presume was put in just to give Les Miles one more thing to worry about late at night. Maze’s sideline grab was Joey Jonesesque.

Defense --  There was a complaint, justified I think, not that long ago that Alabama teams lacked a certain killer instinct.  I do not expect to hear that said about this year’s defense.  Chapman is rapidly improving.  In fact, the scary thing is that some of the defensive players probably are not yet playing to their full potential.  We broke up two passes (that I can recall) after they were completed.   Comparisons to the 92 or 61 defense are premature, in my opinion.  However, it is not premature to say that come December, this group has the potential to invite those comparisons.

Special teams --  Punting was generally better.  We averaged almost 40 yards a kick and if Mandell can keep the height he gets and go over 40 yards on average, our defense should make that serviceable.  Coverage was better.  Kickoffs and coverage still make me hold my breath.  I’m glad our 215 pound kicker put their returner out of the game for a bit, but I hate he had to make the tackle.  I continue to think there is a technique issue and we are going to pay for one of these kicks that the returners catch on the fly at the 10 to 15 yard line.  Our return game continues to improve.  You can almost see Maze gaining confidence with each outing.  He has matured a great deal, as evidenced by his cutbacks across the grain and willingness to let slower blockers catch up and position themselves.   Isn’t it nice when the biggest concern coming out of your toughest conference road game is how deep your (numerous) kickoffs went?

Intangibles – Our coaching staff outcoached theirs.  By a lot.  Sometimes is it said about a baseball pitcher that if you want to score on him, you need to do it early.  I cannot explain why it is so, but some guys just take a little bit to get into the game and are vulnerable till they do.  Our defense is like that.  In this case, I think it is a matter of our defensive staff adjusting to some wrinkles adopted early by our opponents – Penn State had a good first drive, Arkansas had a receiver open behind our defense who dropped one, Florida scored on the first play and their second possession.  After that, it was pretty much over.  I have heard Coach Saban say that lots of teams have new plans for about the first 20 plays, then they go back to what they always do, because there is only so much you can change in a week.  Perhaps that is it.

Things got a little chippy last night, as Florida got frustrated (and maybe they are a little bit of a reflection of their leadership).  Alabama did not back down.  It was interesting to see Saban tell our quarterback to calm down (that’s the edited version) and to go on the field to pull one of our special teams players out of a confrontation.  It was also interesting to see Kirkpatrick come and rescue that same player from the coach’s wrath – especially given that #21 has spent so much time in Saban’s doghouse that he ought to pay taxes on it.  No question about the leadership on this team.

Officiating --  Well, you knew this was coming, didn’t you?  Marc Curles’s crew is just a disaster.  This is the crew that was suspended a couple of years ago after a very questionable unsportsmanlike conduct call in the LSU / Georgia game and a similar but game-changing call in the Arkansas / Florida game.  Last night did nothing to make you think they’ve improved.  No one has yet explained the shenanigans that went on right before half time and resulted indirectly in UF losing Brantley for the remainder of the game.  But there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind after the replay that the play should have been an Alabama touchdown instead of Florida’s ball with a time out after a five-yard loss. It was inexplicable, so that’s why they didn’t try, I guess.  It was also incompetent, the back judge made the right call, threw his beanbag, moved out of the way of the play and did NOT blow his whistle.  He got it right.  He was the only one.  The crew disagreed with each other often.  The replay booth bailed them out some, but these guys need a new pastime – perhaps they could be useful training guide dogs.

And it isn’t just Alabama fans who should be steamed.  After our punter was attended to by the training staff (perhaps he’s been to the B. Jones School of Penalty Taking) on the roughing call, he should have been required to sit on the bench for a down.  He was not.  Because I cannot even name our back up punter, this was a break.  It didn’t mean beans to the outcome of the game, but…. For the second week in a row, you have to wonder how a group with this, um, resume ends up officiating the premier game of the day between  two top 15 teams on national television instead of say, going to Fresno with the Rebel Black Bears (or whatever they are now).

For those of you keeping track, I timed it – Gary Danielson did not mention Tebow until the 14:50 mark – of the first quarter – ah, the pain of unrequited passion.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Florida Grades

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I was looking on the Internet for a recipe for fried alligator and I discovered they all required a common ingredient: gator tail cut into chunks. The Food Network's recipe claims it only takes 15 minutes to fry up the big lizard. It took the Alabama football team a bit longer than that last night, but the result was the same.

By the time the scoreboard clock ran down to all zeros, and the Million Dollar Band was serenading the Bama fans who made the trip to Gainesville with the Rammer Jammer, the Florida Gators had been cut into chunks at the line of scrimmage, dipped into hot sauce by a relentless defense, and fried by the Tide rushing attack that ran for 226 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Most Florida fans, of course, didn't stick around long enough to see how completely Alabama dominated the game. The trickle of departing blue and orange spectators that started at half-time became a river in the fourth quarter. Eddie Lacy's exclamation point touchdown was witnessed by more fans from Alabama than Florida. Reports from Our Correspondents who attended the game in person were complimentary of the Florida people who stayed faithfully to the end.

This was no fluke. Coach Saban's pre-game comments were spot-on. Bama's challenge was to absorb Florida's opining punch, not let the crowd and emotions get the better of them, and focus on execution. That's exactly what the players did. Florida came out slinging the ball down field and scored on the game's opening play, a 65 yard Brantley to Debose pass and run for a touchdown. There may have been a bit of hesitation on the part of Mark Barron, who seemed to be anticipating something to Demps or Rainey out of the backfield, and consequently left Dre Kirkpatrick without help covering the speedy Gator receiver. It would prove to be Florida's longest play from scrimmage. Debose caught only one more pass the entire night, and the Gator's next longest completion gained less than half of the yardage earned on that single play.

The offense took the ensuing kick off and put together a 12 play drive that gained 52 yards and ended with a field goal. While the offense was on the field, the defense was making adjustments; the Gators next possession gained only 55 yards and a earned only 3 points. That would prove to be the last Florida points for the game.

Marquis Maze and the Tide return team took the ensuing kickoff 70 yards to the Florida 29 yard line. From there, 5 runs by Trent Richardson and a key 18 yard pass to Maze set up a 5 yard touchdown run by Richardson. It was the first rushing touchdown allowed by the Florida defense this year. It would be the first of four that Alabama would score on the night.

This was total domination. The numbers tell the story. First downs: Alabama 21 [14 by rush], UF 9. Rushing yards: Alabama 226 [4 TDs], UF 15 [don't refresh your browser, that number is correct!]; Tackles for loss: Alabama 11 [54 yards] UF 4 [12 yards]. Sacks: Alabama 3, UF 0. Take-aways: Bama 2, UF 0. Third down conversions: Tide 7-13, UF 4-14. Time of possession: Alabama 34:41, Florida 25:19.

Alabama's offensive line, which has made steady improvement, played its best game so far this year. Coach Saban, in his post game comments, was highly complimentary of the play by the O-Line. So was A.J. who was only hurried once. So was the equipment staff, who didn't have to wash AJ's uniform.

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: A The ground game accounted for most of Alabama's offensive statistics [366 total; 226 rushing, 140 passing], but key completions kept drives alive. Marquis Maze caught a pass on the sideline for a gain of 18 yards, converting a 3rd down on Alabama's first scoring drive of the 4th quarter. Receivers were open for big gains, but timing was just a little bit off.

AJ completed 12 of 25 pass attempts to 7 different receivers. Michael Williams caught 3 passes for 32 yards. Maze caught 2 for 36. Trent caught 2 for 27 and Hanks caught 2 for 19.

Trent rushed for 181 yards on 29 carries [6.2 average] and two TDs. Eddie Lacy added 35 yards and 1 TD on 5 runs and Jalston Fowler gained 19 on 5 rushing plays. Trent had 208 all-purpose yards [181 rushing and 27 receiving].

The Tide had four drives that gained in excess of 40 yards [52 (12 plays), 61 (10 plays), 92 (11 plays), 46 (4 plays)] that resulted in 1 FG and 3 TDs.

Defense: A+ The stop-troops were a bit over-anxious at the start of the game but adjusted well to Florida's speed and took control at the line of scrimmage. While the Tide offense was averaging 5.3 yards per rush, Florida could only mange 18 inches. The Gator's dual rushing threat of Demps and Rainey was limited to only 8 yards rushing; 4 yards apiece. Think about that: Richardson and Lacey each averaged more yards per rush [6.2 and 6.4] than each of Florida's two world-class sprinters were able to gain all night.

Nico Johnson had 4 tackles, all solo, and recovered a fumble. Courtney Upshaw was a one man wrecking crew with 4 solo tackles, all for loss, including a sack, and a 45 yard interception return for a touchdown. Dont'a recorded 4 tackles [3 solo] and 1 for loss. Josh Chapman, Ed Stinson, and Dre each had 3 tackles, all solo, and all of Stinson's were for lost yardage.

Tide defenders made 11 tackles for 54 yards of lost yardage, forced 2 fumbles, and broke up 5 passes.

After scoring 10 points on its first two possession, Florida's remaining 9 possession resulted in 6 punts, an interception, a missed FG and a lost fumble. The high-octane Gator offense, which had averaged more than 200 yards rushing per game, had 6 possessions that were 3 and out.

Special Teams:


Punting: B Alabama officially punted 5 times for an average of 39.8 yards and nailed 5 punts inside the Florida 20. What keeps the grade from being higher is the interference penalty committed on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter. But for the interference penalty, Alabama would have kept the ball and benefited from a roughing penalty. Instead, the penalties off-set and we had to punt again.

Place Kicking: A Jeremy Shelley was good from 32 yards and was perfect on all 5 PATs.

Kickoffs: B- Maze's 70 yard return set up Alabama's first TD, however Bama averaged only 41.4 net per kick and we had no touchbacks.

Coaching: A+ This was a big-time win over a big-time, conference opponent. The participation report lists 62 players who saw action and Alabama was penalized only 3 times for 29 yards.

Luck had nothing to do with Alabama's dominating win over the Gators. This was a game where the better conditioned, stronger, and more talented team imposed its will and wore down a strong talented opponent. There were, however, other teams in the SEC that got lucky yesterday. One was Auburn. The Tigers were lucky that South Carolina has a dreadful offense. The other was Georgia. Because Carolina lost and John Brantley may be out for several games [at this writing, Brantley's injury status is uncertain], the Dawgs find themselves back in the hunt for the SEC East. Whoever wins the East will have to play either Alabama or LSU for the SEC Championship. The West representative will win the league title and play for the BCS Championship. But that is many games into the future.

Coach Saban would not allow himself to be drawn into discussing any future opponent than Vanderbilt, which comes to Tuscaloosa this Saturday. Not being constrained as Coach Saban is about discussing the future, however, I can indulge in a little crystal ball gazing. I predict a showdown on November 5 that will decide the eventual National Champion. I also predict that if Charlie Weis doesn't lose some weight, he's going to explode. Oh my goodness! Did you see him? Somebody must blow him up with helium before games. Either that or he's trying to become the world's oldest Sumo wrestler. Charlie: put down the fork, push away from the table, and get a membership at Jenny Craig.

Tide fans, on the other hand: go ahead and enjoy your fried gator, but only for a day. This season's serious work has only just begun.

The Commissioner