Auburn Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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That was an excellent set of grades, Commissioner.  Like the team, you saved one of your better efforts for the final regular season game, and that is as it should be. 

With the long weekend, we had a lot of time to read what a lot of writers thought of the game.  We were struck by that fact that so many of them were looking so desperately for a new way to describe this game -- woodshedding, curb stomping, humbling, etc.  The best thought of all that we came across, and it was noted by more than a few writers, was how hard it must have been for the Auburn University faithful (at least those who bothered to watch) to see Alabama take pity on their team.  Make no mistake, if it had wanted to, Alabama could have scored six or seven more touchdowns.  Alabama had the luxury of resting most of its key players for the second half because it has bigger things to play for next month.  Auburn had no such incentive; all they have next month is final exams.  And job searches.

As to the grades themselves:

Offense:  Even against such inferior competition, the offense may have played its best game, at least since Michigan way back on September 1.  It is hard to score seven consecutive touchdowns against the scout team, much less a talented opponent.  I believe that whatever injury AJ McCarron suffered against MSU (and I think it was worse than we were told) is improving.  His throws on Saturday looked as smooth and accurate as they have been in weeks.  He got us into the correct plays at the right times.  Lacy also seems to be healing, or at least has learned how to play through his various issues. Yeldon should be well-rested after only 8 carries.  Our pass protection was better Saturday than it has been in a long time, and Auburn has two high quality pass rushers that did little to affect the game.  Losing Bell was not good.  I cannot remember a time when any team has lost as many wide receivers as we have this year.  Black, White and now Bell.  If Auburn had open the game in a four wide receiver set, those three would have been in their starting line up.

Defense:  We gave up a few pass completions that were a little unsettling, but on the whole, I think this group played exactly to the game plan.  You cannot make mistakes against them.  Even the second unit seemed to be dominating the Auburn starters.  Strength of opponent notwithstanding, shutting out your arch rival and never letting them inside your 40 yard line, can only earn an A+.  Would that scheme and effort have beaten UGA?  I’m not sure, but we weren’t playing bulldogs, we were playing tigers.

Special Teams:  The rough patch that the special teams went through for a few weeks there seem to have smoothed out.  We don’t know much about our kick off return unit after Saturday, but those days make me happy.  We, apparently purposely, did not kick off into the end zone and as you point out, we came out net ahead on that decision even though it was a lot of kickoffs. 

Coaching: The coaches had the team focused and ready to play. Concerns about looking past Auburn to the SEC Championship or a slow start or a let down in the third quarter were unfounded.  The plan was very good.  Our offensive play calling, in particular, seemed tailored more to what we do well instead of what we wish we did well.

Officiating: C-  They have got to get a handle on this above the shoulder contact penalty.  It is not being called consistently, which is not fair to the players and coaches and also not achieving the worthy goal of protecting players.  Also, when a runner’s forward progress is stopped, the whistle needs to blow before 5 or 6 players from the other team push the runner back 8 or 10 yards and throw him to the ground.  That’s a lot easier call than deciding who hit whom with a helmet.  The decision to not run off the last 11 seconds and force the players to risk injury in a game like this was stupid.  It gives the team winning a blowout an incentive to run more time consuming plays (and thus embarrass the other team by scoring more points) when there is no need for it.  It also risks injuries in a fruitless pursuit.  Worst of all, it almost caused our head coach to have a stroke.

Broadcasters:  Even Verne and Gary are now making fun of Verne’s inability to get players’ names right.  The most telling remark of the night was as halftime started.  I suspect that the producer had just told Verne and Gary, off air, that they needed to announce that they would be going down to the field where Tracy would get comments from the Auburn coach.  Verne dutifully did so.  Gary, apparently not realizing his mike was open said, “that’s just cruel”.  I think it was the only time I agreed with him all night.

So, a word about Auburn.  I’m going with “fiasco”.  The word comes from the Venetian glass-making industry.  Fiasco really just means a small bottle.  But the idea was that a glass-maker had started out with the design to create a vase or similar valuable work of art and so botched the job that it was only fit as a nearly-worthless container -- it wasn’t completely useless, it was just so far from the intended purpose as to be unrecognizable.  That, I think, is the state of the “program” in Lee County.  The Athletic Department is in some financial difficulty, there is now an entire coaching staff to be paid off, a new coaching staff to be hired, the NCAA prowling around, recruits being wooed by every program with access to telephone service, the worst season not just in recent memory but getting close to in living memory….  This was a head coach that two years ago was hoisting the national championship trophy and landing a top ten recruiting class.  Any inclination I have to feel sorry for him is tempered by my memory of him taunting the Alabama student section two years ago.  How can that big a disaster happen so quickly?  I’m not just sure, actually.  It is a great case study.  I do know that today it is not great to be an Auburn Tiger.

A word about Georgia.  I look forward to playing them.  I expect there to be much handwringing on the Alabama side this week about the perceived weaknesses in the Alabama pass defense.  I agree that it is not on par with last year, but I’ve gotten myself comfortable that last year may have been a once-in-a-lifetime group.  Georgia has played more consistently of late, though admittedly some of that may be attributable to the quality of opponent (their November opponents were Mississippi, Auburn, Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech of whom only Georgia Southern is above .500).  It should be an interesting game.

A word about Alabama:  Roll Tide.  Beat the Bulldogs.  Win #23.  A victory means not only the SEC title, but a trip to the BCS Championship game in Miami.  A loss means most of the season’s goals unfulfilled and a trip to Orlando on New Year’s Day, probably for a rematch with Michigan.  There is something poetic about starting the season with Michigan and ending it with Notre Dame.  Starting and ending it by beating the stuffing out of Michigan? Not so much.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Auburn Grades

This time last week, the future course of Alabama's football season was a fairly simple equation: win two games and play for its 15th National Championship. Today, things are simpler by half. A win over SEC East Champion, Georgia, earns the Tide a ticket to Miami to play the Fighting Irish for the Big Crystal Football.

The Tide's entire focus is on beating the Bulldogs and according to post-game comments by players last night, the "24 Hour Rule" is inoperative this week. No disrespect to Auburn-there will plenty of time for that later in this column-but, I am fairly certain that Alabama's offensive starters were already thinking about Georgia at the 9:08 mark in the third quarter, that is the point in the 2012 Iron Bowl that their work for the day was concluded as reserve quarterback Blake Sims and the second-team line took over the offensive duties.

Can there be a better exemplar of the current paradigm for the two football programs? Over the last five meetings, Alabama has beaten Auburn four times by a combined score of 153-35. The lone Auburn victory was by a single point in a game, indeed a season, that will forever bear an asterisk for the dubious circumstances surrounding the eligibility of Cam Newton. Twice during that five-game stretch, the Tigers were shut out. In three of those games, the Auburn offense failed to achieve so much as a field goal.

Yesterday, Alabama scored seven touchdowns-the same number that Auburn could manage for first downs. While the Tide reached the Auburn end zone four times through the air and three times on the ground, the Tigers got no closer to the Alabama goal line than the Alabama 41 yard line. In the first half, Alabama scored on each of its six offensive possessions. Auburn responded with three punts, an interception and a lost fumble.

The Auburn football program is only two seasons removed from a BCS Championship yet in the 2012 Iron Bowl, the Tigers were no more effective against Alabama than the Catamounts of Western Carolina. Last week, in order to take into account the quality of the opposition, I decided to evaluate the game on a pass/fail basis. My Son And Heir has urged me to treat this game the same way. But this is Auburn, and it doesn't matter to me whether the result is a squeaker or a curb-stomping, no downward adjustment will be applied.

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: A+ Alabama earned 25 first downs, gained 483 yards of total offense [267 rushing] and converted 11 of 14 third downs. The Tide scored a touchdown on each of its first seven offensive possession and had seven drives in excess of 40 yards [75, 61, 88, 64, 61, 53, 51].

AJ completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 216 yards and 4 TDs without an interception or a sack. With 45 TD passes in his career, AJ moves into second place behind only JP Wilson [47]. Amari Cooper caught 5 passes for 109 yards and two TDs. Kevin Norwood added two TDs and 65 yards on 5 receptions. Christion Jones caught 3 passes for 22 yards. Kenny Bell and Michael Williams-the Pride of Reform-each caught one pass.

Eddie Lacy picked up his running form where he left off last week against WCU gaining 131 yards on 18 carries. The stunning statistic, however, is that by intermission, Eddie had already gained 111 yards rushing. Kenyan Drake gained 67 yards on 10 carries but his performance was marred by a lost fumble at the Auburn 7 yard line with 1:31 to play in the third quarter. That turnover, and Coach Saban's decision to take a knee on fourth and goal at the end of the game, kept the 2012 Iron Bowl from being the most lopsided in history, TJ Yeldon carried that ball 8 times gaining 38 yards. Blake Sims added 25 yards on 6 runs and Ben Howell gained a net of 5 yards on 3 carries.

A special mention is due to the excellent work done by Cyrus K who absolutely neutralized Auburn's defensive line star, Cory Lemonier who entered the game with 12.5 sacks on the season and left Tuscaloosa without adding to that total.

Defense: A+ Auburn managed to convert a 3rd and 8 as well as a 3rd and 10 on its second offensive possession of the game. Those two plays were pretty much the only blemish in a stellar defensive performance.

Robert Lester made 5 tackles [4 solo] and intercepted a pass that he returned for 31 yards. Landon Collins also made 4 [2 solo] as did Tana Patrick. Trey DePriest, Quinton Dial and Brandon Ivory each made 3 tackles. As a group, the Tide Stop-Troops made 7 tackles for lost yardage including 2 sacks. AU's QB's were hurried 4 times. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix also made an interception and Adrian Hubbard, Nico Johnson, and Reggie Ragland forced fumbles. Dee Milliner recovered one of the forced fumbles and broke up two passes.

Special Teams:

Punting: A+ Auburn's punter never gave the Tide a chance at a return. Since he was totally unused and forgotten until the 4th quarter, the trainers had to go looking for Cody Mandel who was playing XBox in the dressing room. He punted twice for an average of 48.5 yards and his second effort was downed on the AU 1 yard line.

Kickoffs: A+ Cade Foster averaged 43.2 net yards per kick, but this was deliberate. The coverage scheme the Tide has been working on all year was highly successful as the Tigers starting field position after kicks was their own: 24, 22, 15, 24, 26, 24, 20, and 19. Perhaps a new statistic should be created. Call it "Touchback Differential." For this game, that stat would be: -27.

Place Kicking: A+ Jeremy Shelley continues to be perfect in PATs.

Coaching: A+ Alabama was penalized only twice for 10 yards. The participation report lists 66 players who saw action. This could be an Iron Bowl record.

Even as I write this blog post, the firing of Gene Chizik is being announced at an AU press conference. He joins the growing list of head coaches at Alabama's two greatest rival programs to be fired after losing ignominiously to Alabama.

Paul Finebaum tweeted earlier today: "Gene Chizik will likely become a Final Jeopardy answer to the question: Who is the worst coach to ever win a BCS title?"

Andrew Brandt tweeted: "2 yrs ago Gene Chizik and Cam Newton were the toast of football. Newton has 2 wins this year, Chizik had 3 and is now dismissed."

AU's AD, Jay Jacobs, said: "This season demonstrated that we need a different direction to get where we want to go." I guess that's like saying: "We wanted to drive to the beach, and when we passed the exist for Huntsville on I-65 North, I said to Coach Dye, 'Do you think we ought to turn around? ' "

Alabama fans, upset about Auburn firing such a great coach, can take solace from the composition of the search committee: Mac Crawford, Bo Jackson and Pat Sullivan. Clearly, Crawford is the decision-maker with Sullivan and Jackson along for window dressing. According to reports, Chizik's buyout is $7.5MM. The total package including assistants is $11MM. Reports do not disclose how big a piece Trooper Taylor will receive of the buyout pie.

There was speculation yesterday among folks at the Waller Tailgate, that Auburn might have turned itself in to the NCAA in order to avoid having to pay buyouts to any of this crew. The timing of today's announcement would suggest, however, that the inmates who are running the API asylum are content to continue their time-honored tradition of paying people not to coach football.

I hope the Search Committee does not run into the NCAA investigators who evidently have been in Auburn long enough to register to vote in Lee County.

Here's what I want to know: Pat Dye never won a national championship and was forced out as head coach following a Pay-For-Play scandal but they named the football field in his honor. Chizik brought the Coaches Trophy to the Village. What will they put his name on?

For anyone wondering what the shelf-life is for winning a BCS Championship. the fate of Gene Chizik provides the answer. In his four years at the helm the Tigers were 15-17 in SEC play with only one winning SEC season.

Who could have seen this coming? Maybe anyone who took a look at his 5-19 record as head coach at Iowa State, which obviously does not include Jay Jacobs. One final tweet, again from Finebaum: "I know I'm late to the party, but how did Jay Jacobs ever become Auburn's AD?"

So much for the Barn-razing; we must all turn our attention to Georgia.

The Dawgs are playing excellent football. Aaron Murray is very efficient and their
defense has improved as the season has progressed. Las Vegas odds makers have the Tide favored by a touchdown.

Win one game and go to Miami.

Win one game and play for the national championship for the third time in four years.

Win one game and take the field against Notre Dame for a game that the sport desperately needs.

Win one game........

Then go win another!

The Commissioner

WCU Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

We have nothing to add to those grades Commissioner. That was an excellent and comprehensive effort. I am certain that all in this group have much to be thankful for this week. I know that we do down here at the Tire Store. The Powerball lottery had risen to over $200 million smackers this week. We didn't win it, but it felt almost the same way after we switched off watching Baylor destroy KSU and its dreams, including a fourth quarter that was essentially two possessions long, in time to see Stanford deliver both on offense and defense in overtime, as well as earn some redemption for a place kicker who had probably been hurting since the end of the bowl game.

We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Being a member of this group and the community that supports Alabama football is one of our blessings. We urge you to read Cecil Hurt's column in today's Tuscaloosa News, which was written before last night's events and carries much the same message, and quite eloquently:

http://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1437864.

Finally, we'll remind you of the wise words of a famous Alabama man who said, "NOTHING IS AS IMPORTANT AS BEATING THAT COW COLLEGE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STATE." This year, as much as ever.

The Correspondent from the Tire Store

PS Nobody else won the Powerball, either. It's close to a quarter of a billion dollars now. If I remember to buy a ticket, I'm wearing the same shirt I had on last night....

Western Carolina Grades

Well, that sure didn't take very long.

This time last week, Alabama fans were....what's a polite word for it?.....Dyspeptic! Yeah, that describes it. It looked as if the Tide's campaign to win its 15th National Championship had come to an early and unsatisfactory conclusion thanks to a toxic combination of too little offense, too little defense, too little coaching and way too much Johnny Manziel. Not even breakfast at the Waysider could get the bitter taste of ashes out of your mouth.

Once the BCS standings were recomputed Sunday afternoon, Alabama found itself sitting in fourth place staring up at Notre Dame, Oregon and Kansas State. Sure, the Tide was at the head of the parade of one-loss teams, but there were three undefeated schools ahead of us and the chances of two of them losing at least one game were long odds.

Well, folks, here we are seven days later, on the first day of Iron Bowl week, and Alabama is once again in the driver's seat on the road to Miami.

For a pre-Thanksgiving appetizer, Stanford stuffed the Ducks, and the waterfowl may get gnawed to shreds by the Beavers of Oregon State over the holiday weekend. Oregon had the toughest path to staying undefeated. You could see them losing a game, but how improbable is it that the number one team in the nation would get boat-raced by 4-5 Baylor?

Fan reactions have been hilarious. The text in-box on my phone alternated between score updates from My Son And Heir and one word exclamations like "BAYLOR!!!!!" from our Youngest Daughter. Reports out of Tuscaloosa said that the celebration on The Strip was akin to the joy that followed theTide's comeback win over LSU two weeks ago. But I think that the best reactions have been on Twitter. Here are a few of my favorites:

Reggie Ragland: T'town gone jump all night.

Carson Tinker: THE ROOF THE ROOF THE ROOF IS ON FIRE.

Anthony Steen: Quack Quack Quack Quack CHOKE!!!

Ross Durant: College football is a Disney movie. And Alabama is the main character.

Mark Roberts: My church has 3 Sunday morning services. I think I might just go to all of them.

Mark Schlabach: Even Harvey Updike is hugging trees.

and speaking of trees, the Stanford University's Chancellor, Condoleezza Rice tweeted: And yes, Go Irish and Roll Tide! It's a great day for college football.

The business of this blog, however, requires that I turn my attention to the game that Alabama played. In all of last night's excitement, I hope that you did not forget that Alabama demolished Western Carolina University 49-0 in what might have been the shortest college football game played since the invention of the clock.

Readers of this blog will recall that it is my custom to impose a downward adjustment to the grades in order to take into account the quality of the opponent. So how great a mis-match was this game?

The statistics tell the story: Alabama gained 484 all-purpose yards that included 300 yards of rushing and scored on its first six offensive possession that produced drives of 62, 44, 62, 99, 71 and 61 yards. Bama's defense devastated Western which went 3 and out in seven of its ten offensive possessions. WCU was so bad that the only meaningful thing to do is to treat this game as Pass/Fail

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: Pass AJ completed his 21st TD pass of the season to become the the school record holder for touchdown passes in a season. That 29 yard, sideline pass to Christion Jones was also his 40th touchdown pass in his career as Alabama's quarterback, a total that moves him to third on the record list behind only Brodie Croyle [41] and JP Wilson [47]. AJ was a perfect 6 of 6 passing for 133 yards and his work for the day was done by the middle of the second quarter. Blake Sims completed 2 of 6 pass attempts for 26 yards.

Amari Cooper caught 2 passes for 50 yards. Cyrus Jones added 12 yards on 2 catches. Kenny Bell, Christion Jones, Michael Williams and Marvin Shinn each caught one pass.

The Tide earned 22 first downs and converted 6 of 9 third down opportunities.

Eddie Lacy carried the ball 10 times gaining 99 yards and scoring 3 rushing TDs. Sims gained 70 yards on 8 rushes and also scored a rushing TD. TJ Yeldon also scored a rushing TD and gained 55 yards on 7 carries. Brent Calloway ran the ball 7 times for 52 yards and The Pride of Gordo, Ben Howell, entered the game in the third quarter and gained a net of 9 yards on 5 carries.

Defense: Pass Alabama's sixth touchdown of the game came on a second quarter fumble return by Dieon Beleu. Western was so out matched that the turning point of the game came right after ".... home of the brave."

The Catamounts' first six offensive possessions gained only 61 yards and resulted in five punts and a lost fumble returned for a TD.

There are few meaningful statistics to report inasmuch as all of WCU's gains all came after the Tide went deep into the roster. However, it is noteworthy that our 2s and 3s held the Catamounts on downs in the 3rd quarter ending Western's only scoring threat of the game.

CJ Mosley lead all tacklers with 6 stops [4 solo]. Nick Perry recorded 5 tackles. Nico Johnson and Brandon Ivory each had 4.

Special Teams:

Kickoffs Pass Cade Foster averaged 64 yards per kick which resulted in 3 touchbacks. The coverage team allowed only 16.6 yards per return.

Place Kicking: Pass Jeremy Shelley continues to be perfect on PATs.

Punting: Here I have to break it down into two parts: punting/coverage and returns.

Punting/Coverage: Pass Cody Mandel was napping on the sidelines until the 4th quarter when he finally had to put on his helmet and go into the game. He punted twice for an average of 42 yards per punt. Neither was returned and one was downed at the WCU 18.

Returns: Fail Christion Jones made some poor decisions in fielding punts, fumbling twice. The first fumble went out of bounds, but the second was a turnover that gave Western the ball back at the Alabama 34. Similar problems have emerged in previous games. This needs to be addressed.

Coaching: Pass Alabama was ready to play and was penalized only once. The participation report lists 66 players who saw action.

While Oregon and K State were being upset last night, the underdog in the Tennessee-Vanderbilt game was being soundly thrashed. The remarkable thing about that, however, is that the underdog was Tennessee. The 'Dores led 13-10 at the half but scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter on the way to a 41-18 drubbing of the Vols. This prompted another one word text from our Youngest Daughter: "VANDY!!!!!"

What a year this has been for Alabama's two greatest rivals! With one game remaining, Tennessee and Auburn each are winless in the SEC. Both have experienced disastrous seasons and the firing of both head coaches are foregone conclusions. It could not happen to two more deserving programs.

Alabama's third greatest historic rival is the only remaining unbeaten team in college football. The SEC partisan in me is hoping for a Southern Cal victory over the Irish next week so that the BCS Championship game will be between the SEC Champion and Florida. But there are two considerations that lead me away from that temptation: I have a really hard time rooting for Lane Kiffin under any circumstances and I believe an Alabama vs. ND game would be good for the sport.

College football has sustained some self-inflicted injuries over the last two years. Auburn's championship will forever carry an asterisk in the minds of most observers because of the dubious circumstances surrounding Cam Newton. The reputations of Ohio State and Southern Cal were tarnished by their lawless recruiting and compliance practices. But the greatest injury came from Happy Valley. The corruption at Penn State did lasting damage to the innocent victims of a criminal conspiracy, the institution whose leadership opted to facilitate unspeakable crimes rather than risk embarrassment to the football program and to the entire sport of college football. A championship game between the two most celebrated programs in the game would be a good way to turn the page and start writing a new chapter for those who value the sport. That seems to be the point of Dr. Rice's tweet, and I agree with it.

I really respect what Coach Kelly has accomplished in South Bend. The Irish are a sound football team that has played a rugged schedule. Sure, they have won a couple of close games, but Alabama is only .500 in the "close game" category. They deserve the top sport in national rankings and Alabama fans ought to be excited about the prospect of playing them for the national championship.

But Alabama's work is far from finished. Georgia awaits the winner of the SEC West and Auburn stands between the Tide and the Western Division crown.

Put all thoughts of trips to Atlanta and Miami out of your mind. There is nothing more important to Alabama football right now than beating Auburn. I don't care that the Tiger program is a dumpster fire. I don't care that Gene Chizik faces the prospect of joining the long list of people that Auburn pays not to coach football. I don't care that this game is a statistical mis-match of historic proportions.

This is Auburn, y'all. Nothing.....and I mean absolutely nothing matters more to the "Auburn Fambly" than beating Alabama.

Early indications are that the Alabama players understand this and will be eagerly awaiting the Tigers on Saturday.

Marc Torrence tweeted last night: Vinnie: "I'm not even doing the 24 hour rule, I'm already thinking about Auburn....it's the civil war of Alabama."

See you on the Quad this coming Saturday for Rammer Jammer practice!

The Commissioner

Texas A&M Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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“…the only thing that changes are the excuses when we lose.”

Down here at the Tire Store we like to watch football, but we really aren’t all that smart at the X’s and O’s part.  So we just rely on what we have heard various coaches (good and bad) say over the years.  To win a game you need to run the ball, stop the run and not turn the football over.  Saturday, Alabama could not stop Texas A&M from running well, particularly at the quarterback position, did not run the ball as much as it passed, and turned it over three times (and got zero).  Added to that 30 yards in personal foul penalties and giving up three straight touchdowns in the first quarter before scoring a single point, and it’s enough to lose two games.

We agree with the grades.  Outside of special teams, everyone “earned” an F.  If you take a gander at the statistics, and we only read them quickly so that the breakfast orange juice wouldn’t sour in our stomachs, it is relatively amazing that Alabama was still in the game, much less in position to win it at the end, much less in a position so that we can say we should have won it in the end. 

The excuses are legion and, with the massive level of respect due Coach Bryant’s reminder above, some of our excuses are starting to border on reasons.  Facing a bitter truth, Alabama was a tired and beat up football team.  The schedule juggling that occurred for this year did Alabama no favors.  We know a tired crew when we see one and if this had been our bunch they wouldn’t have been able to rotate the tires on a golf cart. 

Winning a championship requires a certain amount of luck on injuries.  All of our luck in that regard has been bad.  Reciting the list of players either lost for the season or limping around is a bit horrifying, frankly.  For example, Chris Black is a freshman wide receiver.  Early camp reports were that Amari Cooper would likely redshirt this year, because Black was looking to be the superior choice at wide out.  Black suffered a shoulder injury in Fall Camp.  He just started working with the team last week.  Cooper took himself out of the game twice that we saw Saturday night.  Hart is gone.  Fowler is gone. White is gone. Lester has enough tape on his ankle to circle the Quad.  Norwood left the game injured Saturday.  Damion Square (the program cover athlete this week) left with an injury.  Lacy is now wearing so much tape on each ankle I can’t remember which one he hurt first. Belue is nursing a shoulder.  Bell did not play much at all against LSU and reports at the end of the week said he had injured his heel.  We think AJ is nursing at least one and possible more nagging things that are limiting his effectiveness and willingness (or maybe he doesn’t have permission) to scramble….  We have a weakness at the defensive back position that A&M attacked relentlessly and we are not sure what the option would be at this point.  We could go on, but why?

All of that said, though, Alabama was in a position to win the game.  The play calls on our last four offensive downs will haunt our dreams for a long time.  Actually, a number of the offensive play calls in the game, as well as the decision to go for a field goal deep in A&M territory, raise questions on which reasonable minds can differ.  Coach Saban took responsibility for those issues, as he should have.  Duties, such as play calling, can be delegated; responsibility cannot.

It’s a cloudy, rainy day with temperatures falling throughout the day, ending in the 40s.  The kind of day that no one wants to buy tires.  The 24-hour rule requires that we turn attention to the fact that we have two remaining games on the schedule.  One of the team’s goals, an undefeated season, is now out of reach.  A chance to play for the national championship probably is. 

But on a day like this, it is also a good thing to reflect on just how lucky we really are.  You can call us Pollyana all you want, but we are ranked #4 in the country.  It is very likely that in two weeks we will be talking about going to the SEC Championship game, probably even as the favorite.  In the last two seasons we have lost 2 games by a total of 8 points.  A shot at Miami is unlikely, but not impossible.  The future “playoff” system would probably include an Alabama team that no one really wanted to play.  On the middle day of November, two of our chief rivals are winless in the conference.  At least three SEC teams will be hiring coaches this winter, more likely four. We are headed for another top 10 recruiting class.  The waiting list for season tickets continues to grow.  If you look at the roster, we are one of the youngest teams in the conference, especially at the so-called skill positions.  Yes, Saturday night was hugely disappointing and less than six feet separated Alabama from being #1 today.  But we have lived through bad Alabama Football times and good Alabama Football times.  Trust us when we say that these are very good times, indeed.

Roll Tide.  Beat Western Carolina.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Texas A&M Grades

Six yards.

That's eighteen feet. Less than half the distance between one side of University Boulevard and the other. Roughly the length of the elevator lobby of Tuscaloosa's Hilton Garden Inn-I know this because I stepped it off just for a frame of reference.

With three minutes to play in the game, six yards was also the distance that separated Alabama from staying undefeated at 10-0, winning the SEC West Division Championship, and keeping its BCS Championship prospects alive. Trailing by five points and two time outs still in hand, Alabama had the ball first-and-goal just six yards from the Texas A&M goal line.

The 2012 Crimson Tide is supposed to have the best starting offensive line in college football. Even with injuries to Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart, Alabama still has a stable of dynamic running backs. In short yardage situations, nose tackle Jesse Williams has heard his number called to line up at fullback, thereby presenting opposing linebackers with the Hobson's choice of being blocked by Williams or one of three players on this year's Outland Trophy watch list. So what play do you think the Alabama offensive staff called needing to travel no further than half way across University Boulevard? A straight-ahead power play with Eddie Lacy running behind Chance Warmack, Barrett jones and Jesse Williams out of the Jumbo Package? Or maybe a trap play with Lacy running behind a pulling Anthony Steen? A quarterback draw like the one AJ scored on against LSU last week?

Not yesterday. No sir. With everything on the line, and four plays to complete a second memorable comeback in as many weeks, AJ was told to pass on first down. Nobody was open and AJ was fortunate enough to get back to the line of scrimmage. On second down, Eddie Lacy ran left for two yards. Third down was another pass call where no receivers were open and AJ scramble away from pressure to the two. On fourth down, Alabama ran yet another pass play, a roll out pick route, that was intercepted at the goal line and returned to the four.

After the game, Coach Saban told reporters that he accepted full responsibility for these offensive decisions. I suppose that is all well and good. The head coach is the head guy, and when the time comes to explain the incomprehensible, the head guy has to take it all on himself.

But I can't sugar-coat this. The best O-Line in the country should be able get Eddie Lacy, TJ Yeldon, Kenyon Drake or Ben Howell into the end zone in four tries from six yards out. The decision to try throwing the ball instead was nothing short of coaching malpractice.

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: F In the first quarter, Alabama only managed to gain 34 yards of total offense and in the critical third quarter, while the defense stopped the Aggies on successive possessions of three-and-out, the offense generated only 46 total yards. The second and fourth quarters accounted for 361 of Alabama's 431 total yards, but Alabama committed two turnovers in the final stanza. Alabama managed only 17 first downs and was pitiful on third down, converting only 7 of 15.

The Tide had six drives that gained at least 40 yards [75, 67, 41, 46, 94, 58] but while those long marches produced three TDs and a FG, they also yielded a lost fumble and an interception.

AJ had a career high night in passing yards, and with his fourth quarter 54 yard pass to Amari Cooper he matched GMac's school record of 20 TD passes in a season. But his streak of pass attempts without an interception ended in the first quarter when his 293d consecutive attempt was initially caught by Kenny Bell across the middle of the field, but was jarred loose by an outstanding hit by an Aggie DB. The ball practically landed in the hands of the A&M safety who was trailing the play. AJ was also intercepted on Alabama's final offensive play of the game. On the night, AJ completed 21 of 34 pass attempts for 309 yards and a TD.

Amari Cooper was a bright spot on offense. The true freshman caught 6 passes for 136 yards and a TD. Eddie Lacy caught 4 passes for 35 yards. Kenny Bell added 73 yards on 3 receptions While Christion Jones gained 21 yards also on three catches. Eight different players caught passes.

Eddie Lacy ran for 92 yards on 16 carries and scored a rushing TD. TJ Yeldon added 29 yards on 10 runs and also found the end zone, but lost a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter. AJ scrambled on a couple of plays, but no other running back carried the ball.

Defense F TAMU earned 23 first downs [5 rushing], converted a staggering 11 of 18 third downs, and gained 418 yards of total offense. By the end of the first period, the Aggies had scored more touchdowns [3] as the Tide defense had allowed in average first quarter points over nine previous games. Not surprisingly, the first quarter defensive stats look like the federal budget deficit: 172 total yards allowed [96 rushing], 10 of 11 pass completions, 10:29 TOP, and 20 points surrendered. It is certainly true that the offense did nothing to give the defense any relief, but for the first period of the game, Alabama had no answer for Johnny Manziel and the A&M attack.

A&M had seven sustained drives against the Alabama defense [73, 41, 73, 62, 63, 51, 66] which produced 4 TDs and a FG. The Aggies were held on downs by about a foot in the second quarter and missed a field goal in the fourth. Otherwise, the defense did not force a punt until the second half and A&M punted only 3 times the entire game.

Perhaps because A&M ran so many plays and gained so many yards, the game created opportunities for some significant personal defensive statistics. CJ Mosley recorded 14 tackles [9 solo], Dee Milliner had 10 stops, Damion Square recorded 8 and Vinnie Sunseri and Jesse Williams each were credited with 7. The defense recorded 7 tackles for lost yardage including 4 sacks.

Special Teams:

Place Kicking: A Jeremy Shelley was good from 28 yards and perfect on PATs.

Kickoffs: A Cade Foster averaged 64.2 yards per kick and Cyrus Jones returned 2 A&M kicks for 35 yards.

Punting: A- Cody Mandel averaged a career high 56.5 yards per punt but the coverage unit allowed a total of 30 yards in returns.

Coaching: F Alabama was not ready to play on either side of the football. Poor play in the first quarter dug a hole from which better play in the rest of the game was inadequate to overcome. Ball security was the worst of the season, and the Tide was penalized 6 times for 56 yards; the last 5 penalty yards gave A&M a first down that allowed the Aggies to run out the clock rather than punt the ball back to Alabama from the goal line with 0:40 to play. Whether the Tide would have been able to make something happen in the passing game with excellent field position is unknowable, but the offsides miscue made the issue moot. The participation report lists 51 players who saw action in the game.

Coach Saban naturally took responsibility for the loss. He told the media, "Everybody on our team had something to contribute to us not having success today, starting with me."

The atmosphere in Tuscaloosa could not have been better. The weather was perfect, the crowd was excited and the stadium was full to the end. The A&M fans are really great. They love their team, they appreciate the historic ties between our two programs and they are excited and appreciative to be in the SEC. And one more thing: that Aggie marching band is a sight to behold!

The 2012 Crimson Tide is an excellent football team and it controls its own destiny in the quest for another SEC Championship. Only Auburn-which was crushed by Georgia 38-0, stands between the Tide and a rendezvous with the Daws in Atlanta three weeks from now. Whether Alabama can catch a break from upsets of higher ranked teams and still play for the Big Crystal Football remains to be seen, but looks like a long shot at the moment. A return trip to New Orleans to play a Sugar Bowl game against Notre Dame is certainly not a shabby way to end the season.

Where Alabama sits today might have been best summed up by a fellow last night on the hotel elevator. The car was packed with Alabama people. The doors slid shut and for two heartbeats no one said a word. Then this guy in the back corner broke the silence: "Losing sucks, but at least we aren't used to it."

Roll Tide, y'all.

The Commissioner

LSU Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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Whew.  That was needlessly exciting.  LSU is a good solid football team that will end the season ranked below teams that it could beat.  The combination of having an extra week to prepare,  11 months to dwell on an embarrassing loss, night time in Baton Rouge, and a Quarterback who played a game that exceeded probably even his mother's expectations (reminiscent, to me at least, of the Garcia effort in Columbia in 2010) combined with the injury bug that has bitten the Crimson Tide hard this year nearly made for a bitter gumbo for Alabama fans to swallow.  By the light of a crisp November Sunday morning, though, it seems likely to become a very tasty memory.

I am not nearly the first, but since the Michigan game I have been of the opinion that the only team on the regular schedule capable of beating Alabama was...Alabama.  The Tide nearly did itself in last night.  LSU played a heck of a game in all phases, nearly overcoming some  coaching decisions that were, to put it mildly, questionable.  But Alabama played poorly enough to lose three games.  It is tradition to give the opponent credit for "causing" turnovers.  LSU had nothing to do with Alabama's two fumbles last night.  Neither player was touched by the LSU defense.  On Yeldon's fumble Alabama was on the cusp of scoring its 21st point, at least 17th, which would have changed the complexion of the game.

In addition to events on the field, fate seemed to be working against Alabama just as it did in Tuscaloosa last November.  For example, with two minutes left the other team fumbles and you recover at mid field down by three, only to find out that the play was whistled dead because a running back was in motion before the offensive line was set for one second?  Say what?  You had to wonder if the combined voodoo , hope, wishes, and prayers of LSU, KSU, Oregon and Notre Dame fans were finally going to bring to an end a glorious run of Alabama football.

Give the players a lot of credit for not giving up.  The defense stiffened when it had to.  The offense moved down the field when LSU seemed willing to play back and trade yards for time.  One hundred and twelve seconds seemed like far too little time for an offense that was, shall we say, ineffectual in the second half -- instead, it was really twice as much as it needed. 

Some comments on the grades.

Offense:  I agree with the grade and it might even be generous.  I do not think we have heard the complete story on McCarron's back "contusion".  He did not throw the ball like he has all season, including last week before he left the game, not to return.  Lacy ran hard and true and held onto the ball last night.  You may not notice, but he is a master at stopping blitzes and helping on rushing defensive linemen.  But his ankle is NOT well.  Similarly, Cooper was running very slowly and was not even in the game at several key points.  He was missed, badly.  The offensive line, on the other hand, probably played its best game of the year against the best defense they will see.  I don't care who we play in Atlanta or a bowl game, that will still be true.  LSU's ends are ready to play in the NFL now.  Fluker, who is in my opinion playing out of position at tackle, had a good game given what he was up against.  On McCarron's TD he lunged and got just enough of the LSU end to save the day.  If the skill players can get back to matching the line's effort last night, all will be well.

Defense:  It is a difficult, difficult thing to give up 400+ yards of offense and hold a team to 17 points.  Alabama's stop troops managed it last night.  We were frequently out of position on D, but I don't fault the players (see below).  When it had to, the defense rose up and held LSU.  They get a mark up for that.  But for all the times they could not get off the field....  Our cornerbacks have been a concern since A-Day, and having survived tough tests against the likes of Tennessee, did not do well last night, especially on one side.  On the other hand, give LSU credit for good matchup schemes and some perfectly thrown balls.  Your grading was fair, Commissioner, and they should not be heard to whine about it.

Special Teams.  Again, injuries continue to hurt.  The player who fumbled the punt last night was likely third on the depth chart at that position when the season started, if that.  I'm glad that the game did not come down to time running out field goal attempt from the LSU 30, but I would have been comfortable with it.  We should have seen the on sides kick coming, no matter how unbelievable it was, and we were fortunate they misplayed it.

Coaching:  What grade to give?  You beat the #5 team on its home field at night after they have a week off with two of your best offensive weapons hobbled and your quarterback having his worst game in a year?  You keep the kids' heads in the game, down by 3 without a yard passing in the second half and under two minutes to go with no time outs.  And you win in regulation?  That would deserve at least a grade of good, probably excellent one would think.  On the other hand, coaching got us into this hole a bit.  Coming out of half time up 14-3 you go three and out in your first two series gaining about 4 yards?  Sure, some of it is execution but a lot of it is play-calling.  There is room for some discussion about our offensive choices last night, especially going away from what was working.  It is rare for Kirby Smart to be out coached, but he was last night.  We constantly had the gallant Vinnie Sunseri matched up with tall, fast wide receivers.  It is not his fault when he cannot cover that play.  Full backs and tight ends ended up with catches against our lighter dbs.  Also not good.  We never really adjusted.  You can bet TA&M's coaching staff is in a meeting room right now putting formations in their play book that look just like LSU's.  I think the grade is right.  It's like a student who was inconsistent all semester long then shows up to the final, writes the best paper in class and gets the bonus question right.  Sure can't give that effort a C.

Officiating:  At least the zebras did not decide the game as they more or less did last November.  But I missed the memo where holding along the offensive line was removed from the rule book.  It was mostly rampant and mostly uncalled last night.

Broadcasting:  Arrgh.  Not more Verne and Gary.  Please, Commercials Before Sports, have mercy on us.  "Corey" Mandell, "Steven" Fluker and I are all begging you, go mangle someone else's football experience.

Mathematically, at least, Alabama won at least a tie for the SEC Western Division Championship last night (for which our neighbors to the east would be getting fitted for rings and tossing toilet paper), and it would have to lose to both Texas A&M and Auburn, as well as have a bunch of other stuff go wrong not to find itself in Atlanta in December.  But the goals are so much higher than a tie for the Western Division of the SEC.  Texas A&M has an excellent offense and statistically played LSU better than we did just a few short weeks ago.  It is the last of three very difficult games in a row in a season where everyone wants to knock off the number one team. 

Roll Tide.  Beat the Aggies.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

LSU Grades

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            It still seems surreal.

            This blog post by all rights ought to be about how Alabama’s quest for its 15^th National Championship ended on a wild Saturday night in Baton Rouge before a record Tiger Stadium crowd. You should be reading about how the undefeated and top-ranked Crimson Tide of 2012 which had dominated all comers, found itself dominated by a ferocious LSU defense and a quarterback having the game of his life. I should be explaining how Bama was inept in every phase of the game: a fumbled punt, 1 of 9 on third downs, 435 yards surrendered to the Tiger offense, and an offense that could only manage to possess the ball for 8:28 of the entire second half.

            The message today should be that LSU proved itself to be a superior team and once again Les Miles outcoached his predecessor. Instead, I write today about one of the most improbable Alabama victories I have ever witnessed.

            With the game, the season, the prospect of any sort of championship on the line, and his team trailing by three points with 1:21 to play in the game, AJ McCarron and the Alabama offense did something that by all reason and sanity they should never have been able to do. Something that every preceding second half possession suggested was beyond their reach. Having gained a total of only 49 yards in the previous 28:39 of the second half, Alabama marched 72 yards on 5 plays in 0:43 to score the game winning touchdown and send the stunned LSU fans into the stygian darkness wondering what they had witnessed and searching for some glimmer of meaning around which to organize the remainder of their lives…..or at least what remained of their lives before drinking themselves into a stupor, setting fire to their furniture, or telephoning the post-game radio show to rant about the obvious insanity of Les Miles.

            LSU outplayed Alabama in the first quarter but, thanks to just enough defense at just the right times, the Tigers held only a 3-0 lead going into the second period. The next 15 minutes saw Alabama assert itself with authority. The offense put together two stellar TD drives of 92 and 63 yards. The defense stymied LSU and denied the Tigers any points even when a special teams’ error set LSU up in favorable field position.

            The second half, however, was a nightmare. The offense could not convert a third down while the defense could not prevent LSU from do so. The Tigers punted only once in the second half while managing drives of 58, 90, 39 and 53 yards. Zack Mettenberger, the LSU signal caller with a checkered past and less than stellar present was virtually flawless. Time after time he withstood the Alabama pass rush to find receivers open in the secondary. These receivers not only made catch after catch, but gained extra yardage as Alabama defenders failed to tackle. Finally, the Tide managed to hold the Tigers to a longish field goal attempt which sailed wide left, giving AJ and the offense the ball at the Alabama 27.

            What happened next is the stuff of legend.

            Three complete passes to Kevin Norwood moved the ball to the LSU 28. A scrambling AJ tried Norwood once again but the pass was incomplete in the end zone. Then AJ tossed the ball on a swing pattern to TJ Yeldon who followed his blockers, split defenders and raced into the Tiger end zone for the go ahead points.

            Fifty one seconds remained in the game when Cade Foster kicked off.  LSU returned the kick to its own 20. Despite being void of timeouts, Mettenberger and the LSU offense had proved they could gobble up yards. The Tide defense, bone weary, and gassed from having played more snaps than all other teams this year could manage against Alabama in six quarters, had to preserve the win.  Two complete passes netted only 5 yards and Mettenberger was sacked on the final play of the game.

            This is a game that will be talked about for as long as Alabama plays football. It will take its place alongside the other great comebacks: The Iron Bowls of ’85 and ’09, the ’92 SEC Championship. An emotional AJ told the on-field reporter that this was a team win and that he was blessed to play with the best teammates and for the best coaches in college football. It’s hard to disagree with him.

            Here’s how I grade the game:

Offense:          C         Alabama earned 18 first downs, gained 331 yards of total offense [166 rushing] and scored three touchdowns, but could only convert a single third down opportunity in nine attempts.

            AJ completed only 14 of 27 passes for 165 yards, but he threw the game winning TD to Yeldon and continued his record-setting streak of pass attempts without an interception. He now has 19 TD passes in the season which puts him in second place all time at Alabama. Kevin Norwood caught 5 passes for 62 yards, with three of his receptions coming on the game winning drive. Christion Jones added 40 yards on 4 receptions. Seven different players caught passes, but Kenny Bell was not among them. The usually reliable Bell had some uncharacteristic drops. Also missing in action was Amari Cooper, who started the game but was covered all night by the LSU secondary.

            The running game was actually rather effective. Eddie Lacy had 83 net yards on 11 carries while Yeldon gained 76. Alabama runners averaged 6.6 yards per rush, but at times it seemed as if the play calling was too impatient. The best drive of the second half-prior to the game winner-was a 5 play, 34 yard march, primarily on the ground that ended with Yeldon losing a fumble at the LSU 9 yard line. Alabama had only three drives in excess of 40 yards [92, 63, 72] each ended with a TD.

Defense:          D         LSU shredded every statistical defensive benchmark. With 435 yards, the Tigers became the first team to crack the 400 mark against the Tide this season. The Tigers converted 10 of their 20 third down opportunities and Jeremy Hill became the first runner this season to rush for more than 100 yards against the Tide defense this season.

            Adrian Hubbard and Nico Johnson were each credited with 12 tackles. Nick Perry and Trey Depriest each made 10 and Dieon Belue made 9.  The defense recorded 10 tackles for lost yardage including 3 sacks.

Special Teams:

Punting:           C         Cody Mandell was brilliant in his punting with an average of 40 net yards per punt. He cranked out 2 punts that traveled in excess of 50 yards and twice nailed LSU deep. The down grade comes from a lost fumble on a punt return.

Place Kicking:            A         Jeremy Shelley was perfect on 3 PATs.

Kickoffs:         B         Cade Foster averaged 39 net yards per kick and the return game had few opportunities.

Coaching:        B+       It is not my custom to award a coaching grade that is a full letter better than either the offense or defense, however I believe that this game is an exception. It was very obvious that the coaches were managing the players’ emotions, keeping them in the game. Alabama was penalized only once and 51 players are listed in the participation report.

            Texas A&M and Auburn stand between Alabama and a return trip to the SEC Championship Game. The Tides’ probable opponent in Atlanta is Georgia which having dispatched Ole Miss today has only to beat Auburn in order to punch its ticket to the Georgia Dome.

            The Aggies present a significant challenge. The Tide defense was embarrassed in Baton Rouge. Receivers were open all night and made more yards after catch than any opponent the Tide has faced since the Utes in the 2010 Sugar Bowl. A&M’s quarterback, Johnny “Football” Manziel, will test the Bama stop troops.

            Champions find ways to win games. They do not fold under pressure. They exhibit strength of character, teamwork, commitment and a relentless will to overcome adversity. That is what Alabama did Saturday night in Baton Rouge. It was one for the books.

            As a wise man famously used to say, “Remember this moment.” I know I will.         

The Commissioner