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