Vol Calls:
Bill: We’ve got Travis from Crossville on Line 1.
Welcome to Vol Calls bro, you still pumped up about that Championship Game:
Travis: [Bleep] yeah, I’m
pumped up. I haven’t been this [bleep] since I [bleep] [bleep] at Bonnaroo!
Doug: Yeah, it was great to see Alabama finally get
what it deserved. Am I right?
Travis: [Bleep] [bleep]
[bleep] you’re [bleep] right. Hey, listen man, I got the best idea of my
[bleep] life. I have invested in a deal making DVD’s of the game. It only cost
me $5 to make each DVD, and I’m going to sell ‘em for $50. I’m talking [bleep]
BANK. You want to be one of my first buyers?
Bill: Uh … Trav ….. you do know that you can watch
the whole game for free on YouTube, right?
Travis: The [bleep] you say?
Doug: Yeah. I mean, I think everyone in Vol
Nation has probably already watched the whole game at least twice since Monday
night. I’m not sure anyone would pay $50 when they can watch it for free.
Travis: Five
Bill: Five?
Five what?
Travis: [bleep] five [bleep] thousand [bleep]
dollars.
Doug: What’s
$5,000?
Travis: What I invested in the DVD deal. [bleep] I
sold my car for the money, man [bleep]
Bill: You sold your car?
Travis: Well, I think I was my car ……
Tide Talk:
John: Ok, well let’s see …. Wade is on a cell
phone….. Roll Tide, Wade …. Bad game, but give Clemson credit?
Wade: Yeah, I guess …. But I got to say, you know
that horrible no-call on the pass interference on that third down pass to Irv
Smith on the opening drive of the second half, that should have been a first
down inside the Clemson 10, instead we have 4th and 6 and…
John: Stop. Wade. Just. Stop.
Wade: But …
John: 44-16, Brother. 44-16.
Wade: Yeah.
OK, then. Roll Tide
WSFA AM
Bert: ….. $4.50 a bushel, and soy beans are .25
cents a gross unit at the Lee County Co-Op. We’ve got a call waiting, all the
way from Eufaula, good morning Jim, you got anything to sell, swap or trade?
Jim: No, I just want all your listeners to
know, that the Costco in Columbus has restocked its inventory of toilet paper.
Me and Bob have rented a truck and are headed there now. We should be in Auburn
by 3:00 pm, so the celebration can pick back up again.
Bert: That’s great news, Jim. And, I’ve got to
say, you, and Bob are great examples of what the Auburn Family is all about.
Keep ‘em rolling big guy …. Keep ‘em rolling ….. Do you get it? Rolling, ‘cause we’re rolling?
Jim: Oh, yeah!
Oh man, that’s really funny! War Eagle!
It is a privilege to be
able to bring so much joy to so many people.
You know the people I mean. The fans of the other SEC schools … and the
ACC …. and Big 10 …. Big XII? Not so much, but they are laughing their faces
off at Georgia’s expense.
Alabama fans have accepted
the fact with stoic resignation: Clemson whipped the Tide in every phase of the
game. The offense: Tua made more poor decisions (5) in the game than he has
made all year; four trips into the Clemson red zone produced only one
touchdown; five of the Tides’ ten meaningful possessions did not end with a
kick [2 Ints., 3 Downs]. The defense: allowed Clemson to convert 10 of 15 third
downs; surrendered 482 total yards; on takeaways, sacks, and QB hurries
recorded 0-0-0. Special teams: a missed PAT; a kickoff out of bounds. Coaching:
6 penalties; fake kick on 4th and 6 with Clemson playing defense; play
selection failed to give the team the best opportunity to stay competitive; for
the first time since 2008, the opponent appeared to be better conditioned. At
game’s end the Tigers were on their way to adding 7 more points to the score,
but Dabo Swinney mercifully took the Paw off Alabama’s neck and let the clock
run to zero.
It was a dreadful
performance.
Some individual
performances deserve recognition. Najee Harris averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
Damien Harris averaged 5.2 yards per run. Josh Jacobs averaged 4.3. It’s
problematic, however, that our three stellar running backs combined for only 31
carries. Jerry Jeudy gained 139 yards on 5 receptions. DeVonta Smith caught 6
passes for 65 yards. Xavier McKinney was credited with 7 tackles [6 solo].
Isaiah Buggs and Mack Wilson each recorded 6 stops.
Each aspect of the team’s
performance grades out an F. So there is an end to 2018.
But Coach Saban is
absolutely right. One game does not define an individual competitor, nor a
team. The Tide’s four touchdown loss to Clemson certainly does not define the
body of work achieved by the 2018 Crimson Tide, and especially the 2018 senior
class. No class of football players in the history of the greatest program the
sport of college football has produced have ever compiled a resume to equal
that of the seniors who have now played their last game in an Alabama jersey:
Wins – Losses: 55-4; SEC West Championships: 4 (one co-championship); SEC
Championships: 3; CFP Championship Game appearances: 4; CFP National Championships:
2.
Only Clemson compiled a comparable
record.
I’ve been asking myself: How
did Clemson do it? What was the secret sauce that produced such a stunning
victory? I have come to a couple of conclusions.
First, and perhaps most
importantly, Clemson won the 2019 CFP Championship Game in January 2018, when
every player on the Tiger defense that could have left early for the NFL draft
decided to return for a senior season. If Alabama is going to have a chance to
beat Clemson for the national title in January 2020, it will require a similar
commitment from the likes of Q. Williams, Josh McMillan, Terrell Lewis, and Isaiah
Buggs. Raekwon Davis and Trevon Diggs have already announced they will be
returning. Let’s hope their example will inspire others.
Second, I believe Clemson’s
defensive coordinator, who has been on Dabo’s staff for a half dozen years,
devoted time every week since the end of spring ball, to working on Alabama. It
showed. Coach Saban will require a similar commitment from his staff, whomever
is left once other schools have finished hiring away his assistants.
The final ingredient will
be a universal dedication by players, coaches, staff, fans, and all who love
the University of Alabama. Tua expressed it in just five words at the post-game
presser: When asked his takeaway from the loss, the young man said: “Good is
not good enough.”
Thanks for sharing this amazing
season with me. The most important game of the season so far is Duke, on Labor
Day weekend.
Roll Tide, Yall
The Commissioner
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