I do not know whether anyone keeps tabs of this particular fact, but I think it is entirely possible that Alabama is the college football program most frequently written about in the Wall Street Journal.
No, I'm serious. Coach Saban has been specifically featured at least twice on the subject of his managerial skills. His photo was used to illustrate an article about how the highest paid college coaches have returned value to their schools many times over. Bryant-Denny Stadium was written about in an article on home field advantage.
So, it really was not a huge surprise that the morning of the Alabama / Georgia game, the Journal had a lengthy article about how Tide and Bulldog fans were equally anxious about the upcoming game. For Alabama fans, the concerns centered on inconsistent play on offense caused by the departure of experienced players, and how the loss to Ole Miss leaves no room for error in the team's quest for its 16th National Championship.
Georgia fans? According to the Journal, they were unable to shake the uneasy feeling that their team was destined to repeat a chronic pattern of losing a big game and deflating their high hopes. The article puts the Georgia angst this way:
"The worry comes from Georgia's seemingly annual slip-up. It has been 10 years since the Bulldogs made it through the first weekend of October without a loss, and extending that streak against a suddenly vulnerable Alabama on Saturday would be crueler than usual."
With a final score of 38-10, one fan base-that would be Alabama by the way-is justifiably reassured. The other is likely contemplating the futility of existence.
Tide fans saw Jake Coker play his best game to date. In the first half, he threw only one pass that was not caught and finished the game with 11 completions on 16 attempts for 190 yards and a TD [Calvin Ridley]. Most important of all, however, is the fact that for the first time this season, a Tide QB completed a deep pass; a 50 yard strike to a receiver who split the seam between two safeties and was open by at least two yards. It was a play beautiful to behold.
Bama's defense stuffed and bludgeoned the Georgia offense, holding the Dawgs' rushing attack to 110 net yards, if one excludes a single 83 yard TD run by Nick Chubb late in the third quarter with the outcome of the contest already determined.
Special teams also played extraordinarily well. Cyrus Jones gained 53 yards on 5 punt returns and true freshman, Minkah Fitzpatrick blocked a punt, recovered the ball and took it 16 yards into the end zone. Fitzpatrick's score accounted for 7 of the Tide's 21 second quarter points.
Before the game, Coach Saban told the players that they would need to make an extraordinary effort to win. In a torrential downpour Between The Hedges, the players delivered, and here is how I grade the game:
Offense: A Alabama gained 379 total yards [189 rushing], earning 15 first downs, and possessed the ball for 34:03 of the game [11:08 in the 4th quarter]. Jake played all but the final possession engineered drives that accounted for 24 points; more than twice as many points scored by the Bulldogs.
Calvin Ridley caught 5 passes for 120 yards; a career high for the true freshman from Coconut Creek, Florida. Richard Mullaney added 44 yards on three receptions. Ardarius Stewart made two catches for 24 yards and Kenyan Drake caught 1 pass for 2 yards. The interesting thing about the passing attack was how sparingly Alabama went to the air, and how open receivers were on those occasions. Certainly the weather and field conditions account for some of that, but the quality of the play calling cannot be ignored.
Derrick Henry gained 148 net yards rushing on 26 carries and scored a rushing touchdown. Jake ran 6 times for 28 yards. Damien Harris carried the ball 7 times for 8 yards. Bo Scarbrough ran the ball twice for 5 yards.
The offense turned the ball over twice on fumbles. Henry lost the ball at the Tide 42 yard line on Bama's first possession. Jake lost the handle on the exchange from center during a downpour late in the 3d quarter. The defense had intercepted a Georgia pass at the Alabama 5 yard line [its second of three picks on the day]. Jake had moved the team 30 yards when the wet ball got away from him. Less than 3 plays later, Georgia coughed it back up and the Tide recovered.
The offense mounted three drives that gained 40 or more yards [69, 76, 45] producing two TDs and a made field goal.
The offense was unimpressive on third downs, converting only 1 of 12, but was a perfect 2 for 2 in scoring from the red-zone.
Defense: A+ Call me an easy grader if you like, but I cannot down grade the defense for allowing Chubb's 83 yard run [which he needed in order to tie Hershel Walker's school record of 13 consecutive games with 100 or more yards gained rushing]. Georgia had a total of 17 meaningful offensive possessions. Eleven of them ended after only 3 downs. Four were ended with turnovers [3 interceptions, 1 fumble], all in the second half, and one of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown [Eddie Jackson].
Reggie Ragland is credited with 8 tackles [2 solo] as is Jarran Reed [1 solo]. Geno Matias-Smith made 7 tackles. Shaun Dion Hamilton and A'Shawn Robinson each made 5. A total of 7 passes were broken up, and at least half of those were knockdowns by the pass rush.
The defense took the ball away from Georgia four times with 3 interceptions [Jackson, Ronnie Harrison (fr. 6-3, 218 DB, Tallahassee, FL), Marlon Humphrey (rs. fr. 6-1, 192, Hoover)] and a fumble recovery [Ryan Anderson (jr. 6-2, 249 LB, Daphne)].
Special Teams:
Punting: A+ JK Scott averaged 41 yards on 7 punts. His longest was 54 yards. He dropped 1 inside the Dawg 20 and was thiiiiiiis close to nailing the Canines at their own 1 inch line. The return game came alive with Cy Jones gaining 53 yards on 5 returns. The max grade, however, was earned by the punt rush that blocked and scored.
Kickoffs: A Griff achieved a very good gross average of 64.7 yards per kick with 3 touchbacks while the coverage team kept the Bulldog return game in check, making Griff's net average a respectable 43.9 yards. The kick return game produced 61 yards on 3 returns, all by Damien Harris (fr. 5-11, 205; Berea, KY).
Place Kicking: A Griff made his only FG attempt [29 yds] and was perfect on 5 PAT attempts.
Coaching: A+ The Tide was penalized 7 times for 39 yards. The play by the defensive secondary was noticeably improved. The play calling was excellent. The participation report lists 57 different players who saw action. Three freshmen started the game.
Jake appeared comfortable in his position, and clearly gained confidence as the game unfolded. Here's hoping this means he has arrived as the leader of this offense.
Now let us revisit the Wall Street Journal's point about Georgia:
Once again, a Georgia team riding the crest of a wave of high expectations, has crashed upon the rocks of an October loss. Several factors make the 2015 edition of this annual choke even harder to tolerate. First, this was a conference loss, and the Dawgs' margin of error now hovers near zero if they want to play in the SEC Championship Game. Second, preseason punditry had identified this game as the major stumbling block for Alabama. Third, by losing as it did to Ole Miss two weeks ago, the Tide was suddenly vulnerable; national polls had dropped Bama out of the top 10, and Finebaum declared the Georgia game to be the most important game of Saban's tenure. Even the staff writers at the Tuscaloosa News were split in their predictions. And, finally, this was no squeaker. Nor was it decided by a fluke. This was grown-man football as played in the SEC. Alabama dominated Georgia physically, and by mid-way the third quarter, mentally and emotionally. The Georgia faithful started for the exits after Jake's two yard bootleg scored Bama's final points.....and there were still more than 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter!
Before the game, a pack of Georgia players, like feral Dawgs, left their own team's warmups and trespassed into the half of the field reserved for Alabama's pre-game stretching and prep. They intruded into the personal space of about 25 or so Alabama players and began hopping up and down, bumping themselves against the chests of the visitors from Tuscaloosa. What they were saying to Alabama's players I do not know. I doubt very much, however, that they were exchanging words of welcome or anecdotes about the recruiting process.
You have all seen badly behaved dogs. They bark and snarl. They jump on guests who come to visit. The owner is constantly having to snatch the rude mutt by the collar to avoid further embarrassment. When you are on the receiving end of such canine tom-foolery you just want to whack the cur on the snout with a rolled up copy of Southern Living. But badly behaved dogs are nothing if not a reflection of bad or negligent owners. Which brings me to thoughts about Georgia head coach, Mark Richt.
I for one am sick and tired of all the talk about what a fine human being Coach Richt is. Understand me, please. This is not a comment on his personal life, which by all accounts is exemplary. This is an observation about the behavior of his players, which is a combination of boorish, chippy, and low-class. There is a reason why year-in and year-out Georgia is one of the most penalized teams in the SEC. There is also a reason why, when confronted with adversity in a ball game, Richt-coached players resort to conduct that Gary Danielson charitably described during yesterday's contest as "frustration." There is a reason why his players repeatedly act the fool before kickoff, and seem to do so more in the games with the most on the line.
In terms of tenure, Mark Richt is the dean of SEC coaches. In terms of success, he is a chronic under achiever. As The Commissioner's Son And Heir emailed before kickoff yesterday: "Alabama has gone three years without a national championship......that's like 37 in Dawg years."
Alabama delivered a much-deserved whack (actually about 38 of them) to the snout of Richt's pack of unruly and undisciplined Dawgs. From what I have seen from the SEC East, there is at least one other team.....led by a coach with a Nick Saban pedigree...that is more than capable of doing the same.
One final comment about yesterday's game that I must share: The very talented young journalist, Marc Torrence, is now working in New York City. Following yesterday's game he tweeted:
@marctorrence "I hate Georgia. I hate democrats. I hate Al Qaeda." - bro in the alumni bar bathroom. I have missed you so, so much Alabama.
Not to out-Finebaum, Finebaum, but the most important game on Alabama's schedule do date, is coming this Saturday night in Tuscaloosa as the Tide hosts the Piggies from Arkansas. The Commissioner will be unable to author The Grades, but the Tire Store Report is always better reading anyway.
Get your grills ready, my friends, it's time to smoke the whole hog!
Roll Tide y'all...
The Commissioner
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