Sunday, November 30, 2014

Iron Bowl Grades

The final score of the 2014 edition of The Iron Bowl will be recorded as: Alabama 55-Auburn 44. Analysts and stat geeks will slice and dice the game in all sorts of ways trying to understand how the Tide came back in the second half to win the game in the 4th quarter. For example: Compare the six consecutive offensive possessions each team had from the time the score was 14-3 mid-way through the first period. Alabama gained 96 yards of offense, ran 20 plays, had only 7 points to show for its efforts, punted twice, scored a single TD and threw 3 interceptions. All while Auburn was running 39 plays, gaining 325 yards and scoring 23 points on 3 field goals, a TD and a punt. Then consider the next 6 consecutive possessions. Auburn gains 253 yards on 43 plays, but scores only 17 points, suffering an interception and turnover on downs; while Alabama runs 30 plays, gains 345 yards and scores 5 consecutive TDs. 

I know.....it is more than a little mind-numbing.

So how can you wrap your head around this game?  How and when did Alabama find a way to win the 79th game in college football's most bitter rivalry? Pundits have already started writing about how Nick Saban challenged the team in the locker room at halftime to play up to their potential....or words to that effect, after all, this is a family-friendly blog....but is that right? Was it a halftime pep-talk that turned the course of the game and, for a week at least, salvaged Alabama's season and kept alive the campaign for a 16th national championship?

I don't think so.  I believe that Amari Cooper got it right when he told the ESPN on-field reporter that this game was won long before it was played. "We won this game back in the summer and in the off season. We have already put ourselves through adversity. So we know how to respond when we have adversity in a game."

If there is an architect of this win, it is Scott Cochran. Nobody does adversity like Alabama's strength and conditioning coach. This win has Cochran's fingerprints all over it. The Tide players proved they were the better conditioned athletes.

By the start of the fourth quarter, Alabama's defense, which had been on the field for a punishing 27:40 at that point, asserted itself physically. Auburn, which had amassed more yards of total offense than any team has ever achieved in the Nick Saban era, found itself unable to move the ball, and was held scoreless in the final stanza until only 20 seconds remained in the game.  Meanwhile, the offense put together five consecutive scoring drives of 75, 75, 31, 72 and 92 combining precision passing-mostly from Blake Sims to Amari Cooper-and punishing running by TY Yeldon, Derrick Henry and Jalston Fowler.

On the second play of the second half, Blake Sims threw his third interception of the game. Seven plays later, Auburn increased its 5 point lead to 12, Jake Coker was warming up on the sidelines and the Villagers were breaking out their family packs of toilet paper. But Coach Saban decided to stick with Sims, and the fifth-year senior responded like a champion. Over the remainder of the game, Sims completed 11 of 13 pass attempts including three for TDs [Cooper (39 yds); Cooper (75 yds); White (6 yds), and rushed for a TD of his own. 

Amari Cooper is the best wide receiver to play at Alabama since Don Hutson. TJ Yeldon is a fierce competitor. The Tide defense is stocked with players who will make millions playing in the NFL. But for my money, there is no better college football player on the Alabama roster than Sims....nor is there a player more indispensable in the last half of the season. I cannot recall a Tide quarterback who has had to engineer as many crucial rallies as Sims. To be sure, other Tide QBs have lead great come-from-behind wins in crucial games. Kenny Stabler and  Steadman Shealy readily come to mind as quarterbacks who put together comebacks in the Iron Bowl. But Sims has done it in his only year as a starter against three ranked opponents over the last four games. 

There are all sorts of reasons to hand out some tough grades. We had a PAT blocked. The opening kickoff went out of bounds. Auburn set an Iron Bowl record for total offense. But this is Auburn. Reverse the score and there are no statistics that would salvage a failing grade. Instead, Alabama won the Iron Bowl by 11 points, in a game it trailed by a dozen with 10 minutes to play in the third quarter, therefore, here is how I grade the game:

Offense:     A+       Aside from the three interceptions, Blake had an excellent game throwing the football. He completed 20 of 27 pass attempts for 312 yards and 4 TDs. Amari Cooper was his favorite target. The Junior wide receiver caught a career high 13 passes and set an Iron Bowl receiving record with 224 yards. DeAndrew White caught 3 passes for 19 yards including a crucial 4th and 3 to pick up a first down at the Barn 39 yard line. On the next play, Sims found Cooper open down the middle for the first of five consecutive TDs. Six different receivers caught passes from Sims.

Yeldon was the rushing leader with 127 yards on 19 carries. He scored 2 rushing TDs and his longest run from scrimmage was 25 yards. Henry gained 72 yards on 5 carries and scored a TD. Blake ran the ball 5 times for 23 yards and scored a rushing TD. Jalston Fowler rushed 3 times for 11 yards.

Alabama converted 5 of 9 third downs and ran a play twice on 4th down converting both, once for a TD. The Tide gained 539 yards of total offense. 

Bama had five red-zone possessions and scored TDs each time.

Defense:      A+       Auburn converted 9 of 19 third downs and 3 of its 4 attempts on 4th down. In addition to a fumble recovery [Reggie Ragland], the Tide intercepted Nick Marshall [Nick Perry] and forced a turnover on downs at the Alabama 10 yard line.

Trey DePriest was the leading tackler with 14 stops [7 solo]. Nick Perry made 13 tackles, Gino Smith was credited with 10, Landon Collins made 9 and Cy Jones made 8. Collectively, the Tide defense made 9 tackles for lost yardage [2 sacks], broke up 6 passes and hurried the AU QB 8 times.

Special Teams:    A+      OK, I admit it .... this is a sympathy grade. Ordinarily place kicking would get an F due to the blocked PAT and kickoffs would suffer a serious down grade as a result of the opening kickoff that went out-of-bounds. I still have not heard whether that was an intentional on-side attempt or if Griff pulled a muscle in his back. I suspect the latter inasmuch as he did not see the field again. The fact that the Tide beat Auburn trumps everything else.

Coaching:      A+       The participation report lists 60 players who saw action; fully 10 more than the Tigers.  The Tide was only penalized 3 times and gained 649 all purpose yards. 

As he was leaving the field at the half, Coach Saban was asked about whether he still had confidence in Sims due to the two interceptions he had thrown at that point. Saban was very supportive of his player. He complimented Sims as a competitor and said that he knows that Blake is upset with himself for the turnovers. Then he turned the topic to the defense. "We are not playing our game," he said. The Alabama game is to smother opposing offenses. To grind them down and make them quit. That is what the Tide did starting late in the third period. Auburn's final TD was in fact a win for the defense since it drained 3:20 from the clock and left no doubt about the ultimate outcome of the game.

There is a message in this game for Missouri and whomever else Alabama is destined to play this year: Never count this team out. Not as long as number 6 is under center. Not as long as number 9 is playing wide receiver. And, in honor of Senior Day: Not as long as the likes of Leon Brown, Trey DePriest, Xzavier Dickson, Jalston Fowler, Brandon Ivory, Christion Jones, Arie Kouandjio, Anthony Orr, Nick Perry, Austin Shepherd, Blake Sims, Brian Vogler, DeAndrew White and Jarrick Williams answer the recruiting call of the best head coach in the game, to be developed, tutored, trained and conditioned by the best staff in the business. 

The 2014 Alabama Crimson Tide are the Champions of the SEC West without benefit of tie-breakers and other voodoo. And there is also a message in all of that for the facilities folks at The Capstone: start making plans for more marble slabs commemorating Conference and national championships.  This team is not finished.....and neither is Nick Saban.

We've got one more set of Tigers to beat.....Roll Tide, Y'all.

The Commissioner 


   

Monday, November 24, 2014

Tire Store Report Western Carolina

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We were in the stadium for the game Saturday.  Homecoming is always a festive occasion to celebrate.  However, setting the homecoming game for the penultimate game of the regular season seems a little off.  Perhaps that’s a way to encourage attendance.  The student section was noticeably somewhat empty.  Some of that is certainly attributable to quality of competition.  However, other factors are in play.  Things have changed a bit since we left Tuscaloosa.  Classes are now officially dismissed on Tuesday afternoon of Thanksgiving week.  More than a few professors decided unilaterally to add an extra day to the holiday, therefore making Monday classes an endangered species.  Bottom line, lots of students, especially the ones who live more than a few county lines away, take Thanksgiving week off and slipped off after Friday classes.  We can understand how skipping the Western Carolina game made sense if you were already pushing a point with mom to head back to school the Friday after Thanksgiving.

We do not see much to add to the Grades; they were excellently done.  We’d have been tempted to give everyone an Incomplete on this pop quiz, pending completion of the major exam that is coming on Saturday. 

No doubt about it, Alabama could have pretty much won the game with one hand tied behind its back.  And sort of, they proved it.  The offense played without T. J. Yeldon, DeAndrew White, and Amari Cooper (after about the fourth play).  Our starting place kicker “rested”.  We hope this means that this quartet will be well rested and raring to go come Saturday. 

We did notice some things that may not have been obvious if you only saw the television broadcast.

1.  Blake Sims, with relatively little fanfare, has achieved some milestones worth mentioning.  Here’s an interesting comparison of recent first-year quarterbacks:

                         Year    Att/Comp        Percentage       Total Yards     TDs     Int.

 McElroy          (2009)  198/325           60.9%             2508                17        4
McCarron        (2011)  219/328           66.8%              2634                16        5    
Sims                (2014)  187/301           62.1%              2676                20        4 

Please note that the numbers for the first two fellows on that list reflect a full season.  If the dates associated with the first two names don’t give you a warm fuzzy feeling, then you have dropped into the wrong blog. 

2.  We know that sometimes people close to the football program read The Grades.  Accordingly, will one of you fine folks please: 1. go in Coach Kiffen’s office; 2. open his playbook to that page with the play where Cooper lines up in the backfield to start the game and runs wide so as to be hammered by gigantic defensive players; and 3. tear that page out and eat it.  Cooper reached for his leg and asked to come out of the game after the very first play, but the coaches told him to stay on the field.  When he got a helmet in the leg near the goal line a few plays later, the entire stadium took a deep breath and held it. 

3.  This was the Catamounts’ last game of the season.  For a decent number, Saturday was the last time they would ever play organized football.  That probably didn’t help with the attitude and shenanigans that went on in the game.  Getting called for two chop blocks probably means there were several others, especially given the officiating (see below).  We need to be more careful about that scheduling in the future.  This winter’s P5 meetings may take care of that problem by itself, but I would hope the Catamounts are not on the list of potential future opponents.

4.  Compared to the team that played in Oxford, these guys are noticeably having a lot more fun.  The team mobbed Nyeswander when he scored the first touchdown of his career.  The only thing that would have made it better is if Verne would have had to pronounce his name.  The same thing for Bell, who was taking all sorts of good-natured ribbing for not scoring on his fourth-quarter carry. Great to see guys like this get in the game and contribute. 

5.  In the same spirit of Nyeswander and Bell getting their carries, Western Carolina’s coach decided to let one of his unappreciated heroes get a chance.  He called a fake field goal to give his placekicker, Richard Sigmon, the play of his dreams, a chance to score a touchdown for his alma mater.  I fear that the Catamounts’ coach may have set a record in the category “Unintended Consequences”.  Instead of a lifelong memory of sprinting around end for a touchdown in one of the cathedrals of college football, Sigmon probably just got nightmare fuel for the next dozen years.  Before the snap, Trey Depriest moved out of his position in the middle of the line and sprinted for the left side of the Alabama formation.  The 190-pound kicker took the ball and ran in that direction, with Eddie Jackson in hot pursuit, and found himself on what amounted to a naked bootleg alone on the edge facing DePriest (255 program weight) and Landon Collins (a svelte 222).  Collins got there first.  “Wake up, Richard, you are having the dream again”. 

6.  We don’t know for sure what happened on the play were two of our receivers essentially ran a pick play to keep either of them from being where Sims threw the ball for his first interception in forever.  They were both looking at each other with their palms turned up as if to ask, “what are you doing here?”  Sims was asked about the play after the game.  A good leader, he immediately took the blame for what was obviously an error by at least one receiver.  He said he must not have answered their questions well enough.  I admire him for that, but hope someone else got their rear end chewed out.  It didn’t much matter against Western Carolina, but we can’t have that sort of thing from here on. 

7.  On a non-football matter, we are usually fans of the Alabama Department of Transportation.  Usually they are not too speedy in getting big potholes fixed, creating tire and alignment business.  They are also occasionally guilty of leaving construction debris around, which leads to more of the same.  But, if you live near the person responsible for deciding on when to close interstate lanes, please do us a favor and go over to their house sometime, preferably when it is raining, and let all the air out of their tires.  It should not be a difficult calculation to know that closing I-65 down to one lane in Birmingham on a day when Alabama and Auburn both had home football games is a boneheaded idea.  To all of you that we missed at the tailgate and otherwise on the Quad because of our tardy arrival, we apologize.  The only bright spot was that the traffic was so slow we got a chance to hop out and snatch a couple of those mangy looking tiger tails the API fans have taken to hanging out of their trunks.  Well, we actually resisted the temptation, but it was a temptation. Blue Toyota Camry, Madison County plates, you are welcome. 

Officiating:  We’ve run out of adjectives for the sorry state of SEC Officiating.  Saturday night, however, may have been a new low. 

This group made the Three Stooges look like Nobel Prize nominees.  We looked it up, inadvertent means “not achieved through deliberate planning.”  How in the world that description applies to blowing a plastic whistle is hard to imagine.  Sadly, as far as we can find out, they applied the rule correctly.  If you cause a fumble on a play where Curley blows his whistle without deliberate planning, even though Larry correctly signals the change of possession, then Moe has to give the team that just lost the ball the choice of whether to re-run the play.  Choice?  Wonder what the set of circumstance would be where the offense says, “oh, yeah, just let them have the ball”?  Apparently at least one of the stooges is on the rule-writing committee -- Shemp would be our guess.  Our hope is that this play becomes the film they review before they quietly change this rule over the summer.  Or maybe Moe will just poke Larry in the eyes and slap Curley on the top of his head and we’ll just go along.  The Commissioner has already cataloged the major blown calls from Saturday evening.  This group apparently had not finished reading the rule book before the gane and therefore didn’t understand that you can call offensive pass interference.  These guys shouldn’t be allowed to officiate the Hubbertville Marion County game on Friday night. 

As we say, this  may have been a new low, but we’ve only been watching for 45 years or so. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. 

Happy Thanksgiving.  Roll Tide, everyone.  Beat Auburn.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Western Carolina Grades

It just does not seem like Alabama got its money's worth on Saturday. What is the point of paying the Catamounts $400 Large for three quarters of chop-blocks, cheap-shots, and trash-talk? And while I am on the topic of getting value for money: what is the point of paying the SEC whatever portion of the football program's revenue gets diverted to compensate those officials? I am confident that any random group of high school refs could have called yesterday's game with fewer blown calls, missed calls, and "inadvertent" whistles than the Zebras who stumbled bummed their way around Bryant-Denny Stadium. 

I've got an idea: why not just have a chain-gang and a couple of guys to spot the ball after each play, and let the broadcast guys call the penalties, fumbles, catches and touchdowns from the instant replay! Palmer and Musburger ended up doing as much anyway. 

There is so little benefit that comes from playing teams like Western Carolina. Beat them like a rented mule? Ho, hum. What else should you do when you play an overmatched opponent? Get in a dog fight and pull away late in the game? Good grief! What were the coaches doing all last week? Start slow for a quarter, but put the game away by the time the alumni-band takes the field at half-time? Holy cow! I knew I should not have given my brother-in-law WCU plus 40, but he's such an obnoxious Auburn fan!

Do you get my point here?

Alabama won the game handily, 48-14. The Tide set a school record for first downs (36), completed passes to 11 different receivers (another record), gained 612 yards of total offense, and held an opponent to -8.....that's right minus 8 yards rushing for the game. But on Sunday morning, it feels like a game that just was not worth playing. This is particularly so because as I write this column, the full report on injuries sustained during the game is yet to be made public.

Because of the quality of opposition, a full grade deduction is appropriate for the offense and defense. With that in mind, here is how I grade the game:

Offense:       C+         The Tide rushed for 275 yards and gained another 337 through the air. Blake completed 17 of his 25 pass attempts for 222 yards and two TDs [Cam Sims; Derrick Henry]. Jake connected on 12 of his 18 pass attempts for 115 yards and a TD [Michael Nysewander-his first collegiate TD reception].

Chris Black was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 101 yards. ArDarius Stewart gained 51 yards on 5 receptions followed by Robert Foster who caught 4 passes for 40 yards. C. Sims and Amari Cooper each caught 3 passes, while OJ Howard and Malcom Faciane each caught 2.

Derrick Henry rushed for 92 yards on 12 carries and was finished for the day early in the second period. Tyren Jones gained 75 yards on 11 carries. Altee Tenpenny ran for 66 yards yards on 11 carries, all in the fourth quarter, including 6 consecutive plays in Bama's final, clock-killing possession. Jalston Fowler had a fine day running the ball [30 yards on 5 plays], so did Buddy Pell. .... 

"Who", you ask?  Buddy Pell. Oh come on! For crying out loud.....Buddy Pell. Two carries for 15 yards Buddy Pell. 

No?

OK.....walk-on freshman running back from Mountain Brook.  Grandson of Charlie Pell, Florida's head coach from '79 - '84 and long-time friend of Coach Bryant. ..... Talk about a Homecoming!

Bama's offense mounted 9 sustained drives [52, 63, 69, 77, 57, 51, 85, 68, 47] which produced 6 TDs, a FG, a missed FG and the end of the game. The Tide converted 9 of 14 third-downs, including 6 of 8 in the second half, and was 2 for 2 on 4th down conversions. 

Defense:         B          The Catamounts scored 14 points including a TD on the game's opening drive, becoming the first opponent to do so this season. Of course the score was only made possible because the aforementioned.....uh....."officials"....gave the ball back to WCU after Alabama recovered a fumble on the third play of the drive. The excuse for this outrage was an "inadvertent whistle." A call that prompted the less polite fans to say: "Whistle THIS, you morons!" WCU's second TD came on a short field after Derrick Henry lost a fumble at the Alabama 12 yard line. One again, the Blind Mice blew the call, as replay clearly showed the receiver did not have possession of the ball until after he and it were lying on the ground in the end zone and he scooped it up.

Landon Collins made 7 tackles [4 solo]. Trey DePriest was credited with 5. Reggie Ragland, Xzavier Dickson and Cy Jones each made 4 stops. Collectively, Tide defenders made 6 tackles for lost yardage [2 sacks], broke up 1 pass, hurried the WCU QB 3 times, forced 8 punts, and limited the small-bodied predatory mountain felines to converting only 3 of 12 third-downs. Five times-all in the first half-WCU was held to possessions of 3 downs and out. Because of officiating malpractice, the Tide defense was denied a take-away, but they did hold WCU on a second-half drive resulting in a turnover on downs.

Special Teams:

Punting:      B        JK Scott did not punt a single time in the game.  Neither did any other Tide player.....not even Buddy Pell, although I am confident that he would have given it a try if the coaches had asked him.....WCU's punting was atrocious. Bama's return game was reasonably good with the exception of one mishandled punt that was fumbled out of bounds.

Kickoffs:       A+        JK Scott did the kicking duties and averaged a gross of 63.6 yards per kick with 2 touchbacks. The coverage unit bottled up the WCU return game and generated a net per kick of 44.1 yards. The Tide kick return game was materially assisted by short Western Carolina kicks, and the Catamounts net kicking average was only 26 yards. 

Place Kicking:     B      Adam Griffith watched the WCU game from the Alabama sidelines as freshman walk-on, Gunnar Roborn [5' 10"; 180] handled the place kicking duties. Roborn, who hails from the same home town as former Tide punter, Cody Mandell, Lafayette, Louisiana, played his high school football at St. Thomas Moore, High School and was invited to walk on after coaches saw his performance in football camp. In his debut performance, Roborn was perfect on 6 PATs. He kick two good field goals from 20 and 28 yards, but missed from 31 in the 4th quarter.

Coaching:        B          Coach Saban told reporters that the team was not ready to play emotionally and that getting the players ready psychologically is his job. This lack of readiness manifested itself in poor ball security [2 turnovers] and penalties [5 for 50 yards]. The Tide gained 686 all purpose yards, and controlled the ball for a staggering 38:01 of the game.   The participation report lists 71 players who saw action. Play calling was excellent some times and puzzling at others. Blake executed the two-minute-offense about as well as he did three weeks ago against LSU. This time, however, the season was not on the line.        

At the risk of borrowing a metaphor from our Correspondent At The Tire Store, the game against Western Carolina turned out to be more than just a tune-up. It was like a bumper-to-bumper inspection that uncovered a couple of cracked hoses, a loose belt, and some worn break pads.....I think it is best if I stop right there with the mechanical analogy. That sort of writing requires a degree of specialization I do not have. Stay alert for Andy's report on Monday.

You can be sure that the Crimson Tide football players and coaches are already very alert to the repair work and preparations required between yesterday evening and this coming Saturday night's Iron Bowl. Some writer might call it: "The Showdown In T'Town."  Another pundit may call it: "The Kick Six Revenge." 

I don't call it anything other than "The Auburn Game." Those three words say it all. 

The broadcast crew had a graphic: of the last five consecutive Auburn/Alabama games, the winner has played in the national championship game and has gone on to win the national championship 4 times. Of course, Alabama accounted for 3 of those 4 Championships; the Tigers having failed to bring the Big Crystal Football back to the State of Alabama last January. If you rewind the tape two additional seasons, the Iron Bowl winner has played in 6 national championship games and claimed the title 5 times. 

The last time these two teams met, Alabama ran off the road to its 16th national championship and ended upside down in a ditch at Pat Dye Field. 

That will not happen this year. Get ready for a game worth every penny of the price of admission.....and I won't even tell you how much I would pay for each time the fans do the Rammer Jammer!

Roll Tide, Y'all

The Commissioner 

Monday, November 17, 2014

Tire Store Report Mississippi State

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Commissioner, those Grades were indeed worth waiting for.  We are glad that you and TCLSW were there to pull us through.  From the look and sound of things on television, the crowd had a major role to play in the game. 

Make no mistake, Alabama was a tired and physically beat up football team after last week’s overtime game in Baton Rouge.  Most regular players at the major college level are nursing some sort of injury -- bruise, sprain, strain, pull, etc. at this time of the season.  But not every team has to play LSU in Baton Rouge with a quick trip home to play a relatively rested #1 team.  If the team was fatigued, it didn’t show.

At half time Alabama’s head coach acknowledged that there was still a lot of football remaining.  He said the players had been encouraged to play like the score was 0-0.  Going by that standard, Alabama had lost the third quarter 3-0 and were quickly down by 7 more early in the fourth.  Then Alabama, behind some tough catches in traffic, outstanding scrambles by its quarterback, and determined running by its still-injured starting running back, melted nearly half of the quarter away and re-extended its lead to two scores.

Mississippi State got the ball with just under 4 minutes left, needing two trips to the end zone to win the game.  Early in the week, media reported that Mississippi State coaches had said they didn’t plan to double team Amari Cooper, because they planned to “do what we do”. (FWIW, it looked to us like they double teamed #9 a lot.) When you are undefeated, in first place in the best football conference in the country, and ranked first in the major polls, that’s probably a reasonable strategy.  But when Alabama apparently decided to trade yards for time, MSU seemed to become so focused on doing “what they do”, namely using their talented and experienced athletes to make big plays, that they lost track of the clock.  Mississippi State went with a variety of runs, swing passes,  and cut backs that wound up getting players tackled in bounds, and often short of the first-down marker.  Unlike O.J. Howard last week taking 6 yards on a catch and getting out of bounds to stop the clock, Mississippi State’s players would cut towards the middle of the field,  hoping to chew up a big chunk of yardage.  It never quite happened.  When Mississippi State finally reached the end zone, only 15 seconds remained and it was out of time outs.

Offense:  The offense is full of the walking wounded.  Robinson was back again this week, despite the high ankle sprain.  He struggled somewhat playing across from a fifth-year senior who is a likely All-American, but acquitted himself well.  He is not “going” to be a good one, he is good right now.  We suspect Yeldon probably had a set number of plays the training staff recommended he play because of his bad ankle.  We suspect he exceeded the limit.  Sims seemed reluctant to run for available first downs until crunch time.  His shoulder injury in the Florida game probably dictates discretion about carrying the football.  DeAndrew White suffered a hamstring injury, but showed up on the “hands” team to cradle the on-side kick. 

Defense:  This unit came up huge in the game.  I’ll bet if you had told most of the Alabama faithful that the defense would hold the Bulldogs under three touchdowns, they would have taken it without playing the game.  Unlikely heroes continue to pop up.  Nick Perry probably had his best overall effort since before he graduated from high school.  Teams continue to pick on Cyrus Jones.  Despite primarily defending a player who looked a full 6 inches taller, Jones mostly made Mississippi State regret that choice.  Collins is improving with every game, which given his performance last week, is a little hard to contemplate.  His stand-up stop on the last drive against one of the best running backs in the conference was a very impressive individual performance that cost MSU valuable time.

Special Teams:  When Griffith is good, he is very, very good.  His kicks elevate quickly, they rotate end over end, and mostly pass near the very middle of the uprights.  When not, well, the ball often seems like it never has a chance.  We suspect the injury the Coach has referred to has limited his practice repetitions.  Scott is just an outstanding punter.  Not an outstanding freshman punter, just an outstanding punter.  Not only was he hitting long ones when necessary and dropping short ones near the goal line otherwise but when a blown assignment allowed a Bulldog to come free up the middle on one punt, Scott coolly punched it out.    

Coaching:  Sure, there were things to question in this game.  If you take the ball after winning the coin toss, putting the one player everyone on the defense is going to key on in the backfield and handing him the ball, especially when he’s a wide receiver, might have done with some further thought. Right after Jones’s interception the decision to throw three straight passes and take only a minute or so off the clock was a head-scratcher.  The defense lost containment a few times, but with an athlete like Prescott, that’s probably just going to happen.  The coaches deserve top marks for having this team ready to go after the drama of last Saturday night.

You are correct to emphasize that Coach Saban is 5-2 all time against #1 teams.  Since he has been at Alabama, the Tide is 17-5 against top ten teams.  A defeat of Western Carolina on Saturday will secure Alabama another 10-win season, its seventh in a row with at least 10 wins. 

That kind of history leads to Alabama fans this morning on chat boards, in Sunday School classes, and at the local Cracker Barrel talking about where Alabama left points on the field or where the defense didn’t manage a stop.  Despite the facts that Alabama just defeated the #1 team in the country, is one conference win away from a return to the SEC Championship game, is ranked in the top 3 in both the AP and Coaches’ polls, sits at the top of the Sagarin Ratings, and is in control of its own destiny, Alabama fans are still hungry for more and better.  We can rest assured the head coach is.  Let us hope the team shares the attitude and ambition.  We think so.  As one of the former quarterbacks once said, “They talk about the Alabama family not being reasonable and realistic. Well hell no, we're not supposed to be reasonable and realistic. We're Alabama -- we're supposed to be the best.”  Nice to know you can depend on some things in this world.

Roll Tide, everyone.  Hope to see you at Saturday at homecoming.   I’ll be the one in the crimson shirt, telling all the students what it used to be like when I was at Alabama….

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Mississippi State Grades

Playing the number one team in America is a big deal, which only gets bigger, the later in the season the game is played. So, when Alabama played its oldest and geographically nearest rival, as the tenth game of the 2014 season, and that rival had been occupying the top spot in the college football rankings for several weeks, it was one of the biggest of big deals.

The atmosphere in Bryant-Denny Stadium matched the significance of the game. The stadium was packed, the crowd was loud, and from what I could tell, nobody left early unless it was on a stretcher. Whether television was able to convey the scene adequately, I don't know, but the Alabama home crowd was a factor in the game. Enough so, that Coach Saban not only waived his appreciation to the fans as he trotted off the field at game's end, he mentioned the vocal support in both his post-game presser and radio network interview. 

Mississippi State deserved its ranking. The Bulldogs are big, they play hard, are well coached, and have a leader in QB Dak Prescott who is a fierce competitor. But the 2014 Crimson Tide is also big and hard-playing. Alabama is well coached, and the Tide roster is loaded with talented, relentless competitors. Bama proved it has a few more of those star-quality players than State. Against the number one team in the county, Alabama showed that those annual recruiting-class rankings may not be the product of exact science, but they basically get it right.

You could not have arranged for this game to have been played in better weather. The temperature was brisk, the sky was deep blue, and the brilliant afternoon sunshine lent a vibrance to the crimson uniforms worn by the players and the band. 

You could also not have arranged for a more thrilling arc to the story of the game. The Tide defense scored first, when Trey DePriest dropped State's featured running back, Josh Robinson, in the end zone for a safety. The offense added a 36-yard, Adam Griffith, field goal to make the score 5-0 at the end of the first quarter. 

The second quarter saw the Tide control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The offense scored two touchdowns [Amari Cooper, Derrick Henry] while the defense frustrated State's very potent attack, holding the Bulldogs to a lone field goal with :03 to play in the half. 

The third quarter, however, was like the middle rounds of a heavyweight boxing match, as State punched its way back into the game. Alabama could not move the ball on offense, and could not get off the field on defense. Forty five seconds into the final stanza, State scored a touchdown to cut the Tide's lead to a mere 6 points. The Dogs' touchdown came on a five-play 38 yard drive, set up by a 23 yard punt return; the only flaw in an otherwise stellar effort by the Tide punt team.

State had succeeded in erasing a 19 point Alabama lead, and, with almost the entire fourth quarter to play, was positioned to go ahead with a touchdown and PAT. All MSU had to do was exactly what it had been doing for all of the third quarter; hold the Tide offense in check and grind out another touchdown against Alabama's weary defense. 

Nick Saban described what came next as "One of the big drives in Alabama history." Alabama has a lot of history, and that history includes a lot of big drives. Considering the circumstances of this game, it is hard to argue that the 15 play, 76 yard touchdown drive directed by Blake Sims does not belong on the short list of Big Drives.
Ten of those 15 plays were running plays. Five of those, including the last four in a row, which gained 30 yards and the TD, were by TJ Yeldon, whose availability to play was a game time decision. But it was Blake Sims who led the drive, and converted three possession downs. I am not the first commentator to make the observation, but it is a fact: At the beginning of the season, Blake had not even won the starting QB job. Today, he is the indispensable man in the Alabama Offense. 

State was better than Alabama in several statistical categories: first downs [26-17], total offense [428-335], rushing yards [138-124], pass completions [27-18] penalties [4-7], time of possession [31:55 - 28:05]. Two categories, however, leap from the page of the stat sheet: turnovers [MSU 3 (int) Bama 0] and punting average [Tide: 45.6 Dogs 34.4]. Alabama enjoyed a field position advantage for most of the game, forcing State to drive in order to score. This created opportunities to pressure Dak Prescott contributing to three drive-stopping interceptions.

Of course, the score is the most meaningful statistic. Alabama 25 Mississippi State 20  is a big statistic and here is how I grade this big game:

Offense: B+ Blake completed 19 of 31 pass attempts for 211 yards. Amari Cooper led all receivers with 8 catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. His longest reception gained 50 yards and looked like a touchdown from where I was sitting in the South Zone. DeAndrew White added 40 yards on 4 receptions. Ardarius Stewart and Yeldon both caught 2 passes and 7 different receivers caught passes in the game.

Yeldon was the Tide's leading rusher with 72 yards on 16 carries. Derrick Henry gained 36 yards on 11 attempts while Blake carried 4 times for 18 yards. 

The Tide offense mounted five sustained drives [40,43, 61, 51, 76] producing a punt, one FG and three TDs. 

Defense: A- The defense had a hard time getting off the field on third-downs, and let the opportunity to win the game with a stop on 4th and 7 slip through its hands. MSU was only able to convert 5 of 15 third-downs, but converted three times on 4th down. Nevertheless, holding State to 20 points was huge. In addition to the three interceptions, the Stop Troops forced State to settle for field goals when they needed touchdowns, denied the Pups any play longer than 30 yards and held the State offense in check most of the night.

Nick Perry was the leading tackler with 12 [9 solo], Reggie Ragland was credited with 10 [7 solo] and Trey DePriest recorded 9 [4 solo].  Jarren Reed was credited with 8 tackles, and four players each made 7 tackles [Landon Collins, Eddie Jackson, A'Shawn Robinson and Dalvin Tomlinson].

Alabama made 5 tackles for lost yardage including a sack [Tomlinson], made 3 interceptions [Cy. Jones, Collins, NIck Perry], broke up 6 passes and hurried Prescott 6 times. 

Special Teams:

Punting: A+      JK Scott was a difference-maker. He averaged 45.6 yards per punt, had a long of 56 yards and dropped 5 of his 7 punts inside the MSU 20.

Placekicking: C Griff was good from 36 in the first quarter, missed from 37 in the 3rd quarter and made the two PATs he attempted.

Kickoffs: A Griff averaged 63.2 yards on 5 kick offs. The coverage team played extremely well and Christion Jones gained 92 yards returning 4 MSU kicks.

Coaching: A Alabama had 436 all-purpose yards, and was penalized 7 times for 61 yards. The participation report lists 51 players who saw action against the Bulldogs. Blake Sims' development as a player is a tribute to excellent coaching. 

When it comes to excellent coaching, however, here is one statistic that is really big: With a record of 5-2, Nick Saban holds the record for wins against opponents ranked number 1 at the time of the game. Before coaching the Tide to a win over number one-ranked Mississippi State, Saban was tied with the likes of Lou Holtz and Tom Osbourne. He now stands alone in the college coaching fraternity with the most wins over the best teams in the land. Four of Saban's five wins over number 1 ranked teams have come since he has been the head coach at Alabama.

Back in June, The Commissioner's Long Suffering Wife and I were trying to figure out what games we would be able to attend this fall. It turned out there was only one: Mississippi State. We were happy just to be going to Tuscaloosa for a game against an SEC opponent. The "big games" against Florida, A&M and Auburn just didn't work for our crowded calendar. Who knew that Mississippi State would come to town holding and deserving the number 1 ranking? Who could have guessed that Alabama vs. Mississippi State - 2014 would forever be a Big Game?

A reporter asked Blake Sims what he says to his teammates as they take the field needing game-winning drives. "I pretty much say, 'Let's be champions.' " 

If the 2014 Crimson Tide are going to be champions, it will be Blake Sims that leads them. And in college football, that is as big a deal as deals can get.

Roll Tide, Y'all

The Commissioner

   

 
       
  

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Tire Store Report LSU

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The way the games in Baton Rouge have played out, you almost wonder if Coach Saban is just toying with the Tiger faithful.  Letting them have hope and excitement till the very last minute (or after) and then turning his team loose to deliver (another) spirit-crushing defeat.  If you are keeping count (and we sure as heck are) Coach Saban has now won four in a row over his old employer.  Overall, the Alabama Crimson Tide has a better winning percentage in Tiger Stadium than LSU does.

We agree with your eloquently delivered set of grades, Commissioner.  It is hard not to award a higher grade to a defense that played its collective heart out, but the inability to get off the field for practically the entire third quarter means that you awarded what they earned.  However, in the face of so thrilling a victory, it seems kind of wrong for us to spend much time nit picking some questionable play calls, iffy execution, and slow adjustment to quarterback runs.

We choose to focus on the positive.  Last night, the Crimson Tide got unlikely positive contributions from those you would expect to play a key role and also contributions from some darned unlikely contributors.  Writ their names in Crimson Flame, so to speak.

1.  Jarran Reed -- The Commissioner wisely pointed this out; Reed had 15 tackles last night.  Think about that for a minute.  Lest we be accused of making football into something other than a team sport, only two of those were solo.  Those statistics are a tribute to him and the whole defense.

2.  Christion Jones --  After (another) fumble on an otherwise nifty kick return in Oxford, the boys in the grease pit wondered whether 22 would ever touch the ball again for Nick Saban.  When those guys are questioning your hands, well....  The Coach continued to trust him.  Now, we are not sure we agree with Gary Danielson's analysis that the Tigers' final kickoff dribbled out of bounds because Les Miles was thinking he didn't want to put the ball in Jones's hands and take a chance on him bringing it back all the way.  That is partly because we are pretty skeptical of anyone saying they know what Les Miles is "thinking".  Whether he affected that kick or not, Jones sure as heck made as pretty a just-off-the-top-of-the-grass catch as you will ever see at any level of football.  It went for 22 yards (a/k/a almost a quarter of the football field) on Alabama's game-tying drive.

3.  O.J. Howard -- Last year Howard took a down the middle pass to the house in a backbreaking play against LSU.  Frankly, they didn't much look like they wanted to tackle him.  This season he has been largely AWOL in the offensive game plan, more memorable for penalties and a catch he didn't make than anything else.  As one of the Tire Store crew remarked this morning, last night he was more like Kevin Norwood, making clutch catches and stopping the clock on the last drive in regulation.

4.   Blake Sims -- We know what you are thinking.  Sims didn't have his best game.  Not by a lot.  Communication issues were still there. He missed a few throws and had some drops.  In truth, though, Sims is the most unlikely contributor to this year's success.  Did you watch the A-Day game?  Go ahead, everyone who back in April thought "Blake Sims" would be on the list of top quarterbacks in America in the middle of November, much less lead a 50-second comeback against LSU in Death Valley, raise your hand.  Yeah, us either.

5.  Coach Scott Cochran -- These guys didn't show up with the ability to just grab a guy like Leonard Fournette and slam him to the ground.  The defense played substantially all of the second half.  And still looked good to go at the end of overtime.  That's a tribute to their conditioning, which is a tribute to this coach.

6.  Reggie Ragland -- By comparison, Ragland was only the show horse in the tackle competition, notching a mere 13.  Some extra credit needs to awarded, given that he broke his hand in practice and had surgery last week.   We don't know about you, but if we had hand surgery last week, on Saturday night we'd still be lying around on the couch whining for someone to bring us the remote control, not shedding blocks and knocking down ball carriers for one of the most potent rushing attacks in the SEC.

7.  Cam Robinson --  We last saw the true freshman sitting on an equipment box with his pads off and his leg bandaged in Knoxville.  Diagnosis was a "high ankle sprain".  We kind of hate that name.  It makes it sound like you could rub some dirt between your foot and knee, wrap an Ace bandage around it, and get back in there.  In fact, the misnomer actually means that you tore the ligament that connects the two bones in your lower leg.  See earlier notes about couch/remote control/whining.  Big Cam was not only recovered but started and played most of the game Saturday.  On the first play of overtime, he was split out in the slot as if he was a receiver (he wasn't eligible, actually) but he was calling for the ball.  Now, let's say you are a 180-pound defensive back and you look up and you are expected to cover a 6'6" 325 pound "receiver".  Sure, he's not going to run off and leave you, but he might just pick you up and trot to the end zone with you.  Robinson is from Louisiana.  He took a lot of heat for coming to Alabama.  Hope he has been able to send a few text messages out today.

8.  Brandon Greene --  OK, let's take a quiz.  Which Alabama player had the longest catch and run on Saturday night?  Cooper, White, Jones, Howard?  Nope, the team lead (officially 24 yards) went to Brandon Greene on his first legal football catch.  EVER.  He's a third year sophomore.  He's practiced at tackle some, tight end some, moved around to help the team and when he has been on the field it has been with the idea that he'd move defensive players, not the ball.  It took four Tigers, one pulling on the football, to bring him down at the one-yard line.  Christion Jones told him it was just like practice, according to newspaper reports, just catch it and tuck it.  Good advice, say, in the third quarter of a game against the likes of Western Carolina.  To get the ball on first down of overtime against a team that had held your offense to 13 points for the entirety of regulation?  Greene may never get the ball again, although we hope he does.  If it doesn't happen, you can bet he's still got a story to tell his grandchildren. 

9.  Adam Griffith --  You realize the game-winning field goal was from almost the exact same spot as the one earlier in the game that clanged the upright, don't you?  Think back, were you holding your breath?  We were.  Coach Saban has said that the young man is dealing with an unmentionable physical problem that is limiting his kicking.  Whatever that was, it didn't seem to bother him when it counted.

10.  Reuben Foster --  We still think it is even money as to whether this kid kills someone else with his vicious hits before he kills himself with his, um, questionable technique.  The hit he put on Fournette at the end of regulation lifted the ball carrier off the ground -- and lifted Alabama's team spirit and energy in a way that you could almost sense through the television.  Learn to tackle, Foster, before you hurt yourself, because Alabama needs you.  If we got to vote, that lick would be added to the BOOM section of the pregame video.  Tomorrow.

We've alluded to it before.  This is a young team, still growing up and finding its way.  Other young players at various positions contributed in ways small and large on Saturday (Freshman punter? No problem, he's probably All-Conference and nailed a 60-yarder Saturday.  How about our long snapper credited with three tackles?).  This team can be excruciating to watch some times.  They can also be a whole lot of fun.  Let's hope the energy and momentum from late Saturday night sets a tone for the rest of the season.

With compliments handed out, we cannot fail to say a word about the deficient officiating in this game.  Tom "Tex" Ritter's crew more closely resembles the Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight than anything Tex was ever involved with.  They are just plain bad.  At least they are equally bad for both teams.  How do you miss it when one player tries to pull another player's pants down?  If that isn't unsportsmanlike conduct, they need to take it out of the rule book.  Speaking of which, the stupid Push the Pile rule they changed for Reggie Bush needs to be changed immediately.  Someone is going to get very badly injured in these rugby like plays (Exhibit A is Cam Robinson).  We digress (as usual).  Ritter's crew just keeps showing up like a bad rash for big game after big game.  We acknowledge that it could have been worse, it could have been Penn Wagers and the Traveling Doofuses; guess we'll see them next Saturday.  Maybe Ritter's crew will ride off into the sunset for Alabama's 2014 campaign, but we aren't counting on it.

So now the coaches have the interesting and difficult job of getting the team to put LSU behind them. No time to rest and heal.  The #1 team in the country and its multi-threat quarterback comes to BDS on Saturday, along with the ESPN Gameday crew, CBS broadcast team, the playoff committee's attention, and the eyes of the college football world.  Mississippi State is enjoying its best season since the memory of man runs not to the contrary.  Alabama has played far and away its best football on its own campus.  It is not too much to say that since the bye week, Alabama essentially has been in an elimination tournament for the playoffs.  If we were you, we'd make plans to watch.

Roll Tide everyone.


LSU Grades

I have been thinking this morning about comebacks; about being written off but refusing to give up. About overcoming adversity, elevating your own game, and achieving improbable victory. Think about James J. Braddock defeating Max Baer in 1935 for the heavyweight championship in boxing. Or Liverpool overcoming a 3-0 deficit at halftime, to defeat Milan on penalty kicks to claim the 2005 European Cup championship. Or, perhaps Paul Lawrie coming from 10 strokes back in the final round to win the 1999 British Open.

You may have a list of your own. If so, you can add to it: Alabama 20 - LSU 13 on a chilly night in Baton Rouge, November 8, 2014. 

For 59:10, LSU had taken the measure of Alabama. A punishing rushing attack had compiled 183 yards on 56 running plays as the Tigers amassed 17 first downs and controlled the ball for over 38 minutes of the game. LSU's defense had limited one of the nation's most prolific offenses to less than 100 yards rushing, and had held Alabama to 8 offensive possessions of three and out. With the score tied at 10, and the game clock at 1:13 in the 4th quarter, LSU forced a fumble from TJ Yeldon, at the Alabama 6 yard line. Three plays later, the Tigers kicked a field goal giving them a 13-10 lead with only :50 to play.

The Commissioner, and The Commissioner's Long Suffering Wife, watching the game in Franklin, told each other that the game was over. LSU had won. Alabama had proved itself to be  unworthy of championship aspirations in 2014. The Road to 16 would not be traveled this season.....but there were 50 seconds left on the clock.....

One of our Correspondents, who has been to many LSU games, tells what happened where he was at Tiger Stadium:

"I was sitting in premium seats on row 14 at the 45 yard line surrounded by
lifelong Tiger fans. Wise, old ones. When Yeldon fumbled and then LSU set
up its field goal I turned to my wife and all the LSU fans around me and
congratulated them. They were having none of it. They all said the game
isn't over. I insisted it was. They accused me of trying to jinx them. They
recalled the comeback two years ago. They said it's never over against
Alabama until the end. I was resigned to a loss. I chuckled at them. I had
heard these whispers before -- indeed as recently as 2 years ago when my
wife predicted the Alabama drive after LSU missed its try for a field goal.
She always sees it coming.

And then it happened. Their kicker squibbed it out of bounds. Blake
scrambled. Our receivers got it out of bounds. We drove the ball to the
seven.  Field goal from the same distance Griffith had missed his earlier.
And then that hit by Reuben!

When overtime started every LSU fan thought what I had thought several
minutes earlier: 'It's over. My team is gonna lose.'

And both times the LSU fans were right.

I've been to many improbable comebacks in Tiger Stadium. I watched Mike
Shula quarterback Bama to a tie in the mid 80s to keep our non losing
streak in Tiger Stadium alive. I watched Alabama score two TDs in 1998 in
the final minutes with help from an onsides kick.  I watched Saban return
in 2008 and Alabama snatch the win in overtime. I watched TJ run for glory
two years ago at the end of the drive.

But last night was the most improbable win of all-and the sweetest.

I have a special window into why LSU fans hate Alabama.  The hate grew
deeper last night. Les Miles is now seething. And I love it."

It would be tempting to award grades based on the results alone. Just as it would be tempting to award poor grades based solely on those 59:10 of regulation time. I think, however, that the numbers are determinative. So, with an eye on the math, here is how I grade the game:

Offense: B- Through 4 quarters and a single OT period, Alabama gained 315 yards of total offense [106 rushing], earned 15 first downs and converted 8 of 20 third downs. Blake went the distance and completed 20 of his 46 pass attempts for 209 yards and 2 TDs [Cooper, White].

TY gained 68 yards rushing on 15 carries. Derrick Henry rushed for 24 yards on 8 plays, while Sims gained 12 on 5 plays. Of those 12 yards, none were more important than the 5 Blake gained on 3rd and 4 from the Tide 41 to earn a first down with :30 to play. 

Amari Cooper gained 83 yards on 8 catches to secure both the career and single-season records for yards-receiving, as well as the single-season record for receptions [79]. Christion Jones and DeAndrew White each had 3 receptions for 38 and 36 yards. OJ Howard gained 21 yards on 3 receptions and Brandon Green gained 24 yards on his lone reception on the first play of overtime.

The offense had 14 possessions. Only three, produced sustained drives [70, 51, 55] resulting in a missed FG, a TD and a FG. The final drive, which produced the game-tying FG, took :47 and was accomplished with no timeouts. 

To his great credit, Blake Sims told reporters that he alone was responsible for Alabama's offensive woes in the game. Coach Saban acknowledged that Blake did not "play his best game." But when Alabama needed a leader, it found one in number 6.

Defense: A- LSU is a very good football team. Like Alabama, it was greatly diminished earlier this year by players, with a year of eligibility remaining, opting to take their chances with the NFL draft. The Tigers are very physical on both sides of the ball, and they play and old-style of power football calculated to break an opponent's will. The Tigers took their best shot at the Tide Defense, and Alabama proved itself to be the better side.

LSU's power running game was limited to only 183 yards on 56 carries. The Tigers 14 offensive possessions produced 9 punts, an interception, a turnover on downs, and, most importantly, only 13 points. 

Jarran Reed had 15 tackles [2 solo; 1 TFL] and Reggie Ragland made 13 stops [4 solo; 1 TFL]. Trey DePriest was credited with 9 stops, while Brandon Ivory and Nick Perry each notched 8 tackles. Landon Collins and A'Shawn Robinson each made 7 tackles. 

Tide defenders made 6 tackles for 20 yards of lost yardage, and interception [Eddie Jackson], broke up 3 tackles and hurried the LSU QB twice.

Special Teams:

Punting: A JK Scott averaged 48.6 yards per kick, had 3 punts that traveled in excess of 50 yards, and nailed 2 inside the LSU 20 yard line. The Tide did not return any of LSU's punts, but neither did Alabama suffer a muff or turnover. 

Kicking: B+ Griff averaged 58 yards gross per kick and the coverage unit allowed LSU an average of only 22.5 yards on 2 returns. For the fourth game this season, Reuben Foster made a highlight-reel tackle on a kick return. It came at just the right time with 0:00 to play in the game and serve as an exclamation point going into the OT period.

Place Kicking: C Griff missed from 27, was good from 39 and 27 and made both of his PAT attempts.   

Coaching:    B Alabama gained 416 all purpose yards while yielding 316 and was penalized 3 times for 29 yards.  The participation report lists 51 players who saw action against LSU. The defense had a hard time getting off the field on third down, and the offense had a hard time staying on the field by converting 3rd downs. Coach Saban told reporters that from the moment the Defense held LSU to a field goal following Yeldon's fumble, the energy level among the players went up. "I had  been going up and down the sidelines during the game trying to get the energy up. The other coaches had been trying to get the energy up. But that stand by the Defense is what got the energy up. And it stayed up for the rest of the game." He could also have been talking about his two coordinators, who were jumping into each other's arms at the end of the game. 

Unlike "Cinderella Man" Jimmy Braddock, the Red Birds of Liverpool, and Paul Lawrie, Alabama's improbable comeback in Baton Rouge did not win a championship of any sort, but it did keep alive the possibilities of championships in the SEC West Division, the Conference title, and the inaugural College Football Playoff. Whether the Tide will complete its journey down the Road To 16 this season remains to be seen. Immediately ahead lies a rendezvous with its oldest conference rival, Mississippi State, which is reveling in unprecedented late season success. Following a homecoming game, the toughest November schedule in the county concludes with a visit from Auburn on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Will the Tiger Stadium comeback be the prelude to a championship run? Who knows? What I do know is this: Alabama's football team successfully mounted a comeback, on the road  against an excellent LSU. Remember this moment......and expect more to come.

See you in Tuscaloosa next weekend. Roll Tide, Y'all.

The Commissioner