Yearly Archives: 2021

Despite the fact Alabama's 20-14 victory over LSU felt underwhelming, there's a certain wisdom that comes with taking stock of results in games against what Alabama considers its traditional rivals – Auburn, Tennessee and LSU. Specifically, you'd always almost lose than almost win. As expected, Ed Orgeron approached this game like the swan song that it was, throwing caution to the wind and playing the role of the swashbuckling, rip-roaring cartoon character that he is.

The 2021 LSU Tiger football team is pure Coach O. It is, all at the same time, imminently dangerous, and halfway out to lunch. Talent is everywhere, yet on-field intelligence is so lacking as to attract the suspicions of a truancy officer. This isn't a case of a team imitating Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – it's a team that alternately resembles a nuclear bomb and a bed of daisies. Into that situation steps Alabama, which is just trying to get to Atlanta in one piece, thank you very much. Alabama might want to sign up for a nice game of chess, but LSU is more interested in playing Twister in the nude. Whether LSU pulls over to the side and lets Alabama through, no one can say. Despite an injury/callout sheet the length of Santa's naughty list, LSU still has the talent to make Alabama's lives miserable Saturday night. But whether it has the composure, that's a question for a head coach who is already halfway out the door of the plane with his golden parachute already deployed.

Projected Depth Chart for Alabama vs. LSU. This is not an official University of Alabama document. The depth chart is taken from individual practice and game observations, and is color-coded. Seniors are in black, juniors previously on the team are in green, junior college transfers in their junior year are in purple, junior college transfers in their sophomore year are in yellow, sophomores previously on the team are in blue, redshirt freshmen are in cyan, and true freshmen are in red. NOTE: Because Alabama operates from multiple alignments on both offense and defense, 12 positions are listed on both sides of the ball to account for those specific alignments.

Back from Bama's off-week, the Predictions Dept. needs a strong finish to get back over our annual target of 80-plus percent success in picking...

Alabama's off-week brings with it a second consecutive short schedule for the SEC. Picking a second consecutive perfect week, though, will be difficult given the nature of the four games: Of the four, three are tossups, and the fourth could be competitive if Missouri's defense doesn't show up. Last week's record: 5-0 (100.0%)

The biggest question surrounding Alabama heading into its game was whether the Volunteers would face the Crimson Tide team that faced Texas A&M, or the Crimson Tide team that faced Mississippi State. Alabama decided to bring both. This was a “boom/bust” game from the outset. Alabama's offense boomed; its defense went bust on three separate occasions, giving up two long touchdowns and another long gain that set up a short score. Those mistakes kept Tennessee in it, but for some reason, Tennessee never felt to be on the verge of taking the game over.

By now, Alabama fans all over the Southeast have gotten into “the last time Tennessee beat Alabama...” memes, and a string of wins that began with Nick Saban's first Alabama team in 2007 has continued unabated until the present day. Whether that streak continues through the end of his tenure, or even another year or two, ultimately will come down to whether Tennessee – the entire Volunteer program, that is – has improved: not just the offense, not just the defense, but the mindset of what Tennessee football is in the modern day.

Disclaimer: This is not an official University of Alabama document. The depth chart is taken from individual practice and game observations, and is color-coded. Seniors are in black, juniors previously on the team are in green, junior college transfers in their junior year are in purple, junior college transfers in their sophomore year are in yellow, sophomores previously on the team are in blue, redshirt freshmen are in cyan, and true freshmen are in red. NOTE: Because Alabama operates from multiple alignments on both offense and defense, 12 positions are listed on both sides of the ball to account for those specific alignments.

A short week this time out, with only five games on the slate, headed probably by LSU-Ole Miss and the traveling circus that surrounds both programs. Alabama will host Tennessee, but the rest of the conference slate looks to be a snorefest.

Mississippi State QB Will Rogers finished the night with 300 yards passing. Mississippi State finished the night with 299 yards total offense. Mike Leach is no stranger to weird numbers and strange metrics. He's made a career off things like wide splits in the offensive line, running backs who catch more than run, and “playbooks” that can fit front-and-back on a standard index card. So chalk another one up to the Leach era of college football coaching, because Alabama let Rogers throw for 300 empty yards – no touchdowns, 3 interceptions – and then held the Bulldog offense to minus-1 yard of rushing to keep the total offense tally under three bills. This is what Bama looks like when it focuses. And it's why the Texas A&M loss of a week ago might end up being a hidden blessing to this team, if it manages to avoid a loss the rest of the way in.