Looking back at the Class of 2012
Over the last seven years, TideFans.com has taken a look back at old recruiting rankings, partially as a self-check, but also to see how players had progressed since arriving on campus.
Clemson preview: Quick start a must as Bama tries to tame emotional Tigers
January 8, 2016 Comments Off on Clemson preview: Quick start a must as Bama tries to tame emotional Tigers
The Alabama Crimson Tide is set to play for a national title for the fourth time in the last seven years.
Although that has little to do with the current matchup, such a feat demands to be paid attention. It has been 30 years almost since the Miami Hurricanes appeared ready to run off a similar streak of domination. Nebraska had a brief spike of similar play in the 1990s. But surely, all thought, the days of a handful of teams laying waste to the rest of the competition had come and gone.
Instead, Nick Saban returned to college football after a brief stint in the NFL, and everything old is new again – namely, an Alabama program that once dominated college football in the 1960s and 1970s is again making everyone else hate the program passionately – out of envy.
Continue reading …MSU wrap-up: Spartans sell out to stop Henry, forget about rest of UA’s team
January 1, 2016 Comments Off on MSU wrap-up: Spartans sell out to stop Henry, forget about rest of UA’s team
Faced with the task of stopping Alabama’s balanced, efficient offense, Michigan State made the understandable call to sell out to stop Heisman Trophy-winning running back Derrick Henry and force Alabama to put the game in QB Jake Coker’s hands.
Three hours later, Michigan State coaches were asking for a mulligan.
Continue reading …Auburn preview: Tide tries to avoid trap at Jordan-Hare
November 25, 2015 Comments Off on Auburn preview: Tide tries to avoid trap at Jordan-Hare
Alabama’s path to college football’s Final Four is clear. But even the clearest of paths can encounter an obstruction during a trip to Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.
For all the talk about throwing out record books, the better team usually wins this game. Notable exceptions have been in 2013 (Kick Six) and 1984 (Wrong Way Bo). That’s the thing about this rivalry: Games are named after their defining plays, and are replayed for decades to come as if they just happened last week.
Continue reading …CSU wrap-up: Hard to find any flaws in complete domination
November 22, 2015 Comments Off on CSU wrap-up: Hard to find any flaws in complete domination
By the time Cyrus Jones strolled into the end zone on a punt return with 0:00 showing in the first quarter – a score that made it 28-0 Alabama – it was already abundantly clear to everyone in Bryant-Denny Stadium that they were witnessing a contest between two teams that had nothing in common beyond the fact both were wearing helmets and pads.
Alabama so thoroughly dominated Charleston Southern that the biggest topic of conversation within the Bryant-Denny community was how this opponent ever went 9-1 in the regular season and made the playoffs in its division.
Continue reading …CSU preview: Tide needs to get fast start, then sit starters
November 18, 2015 Comments Off on CSU preview: Tide needs to get fast start, then sit starters
It’s no mystery why Alabama scheduled Charleston Southern here. The Buccaneers’ offense makes a good analog for the Auburn offense Alabama will see a week from now. The Bucs are a quality opponent without being a real threat. If Alabama does mope around too much in this game, it could be a repeat of 2011, when the Crimson Tide let then-FCS Georgia Southern hang around almost too long, in a game that could have cost Bama a repeat shot at LSU had voters been turned off by the Tide’s performance. Ultimately, the goal is to get to the Auburn game with no further injuries, and with a convincing win in Alabama’s back pocket.
Continue reading …MSU wrap-up: Bama defense may be in ‘best-ever’ territory
November 14, 2015 Comments Off on MSU wrap-up: Bama defense may be in ‘best-ever’ territory
If you want to start a spirited discussion on any Alabama fan board, trot out the modifier “best-ever” and ask people for opinions.
Alabama’s long, storied football history has produced many “best-evers,” from wide receiver Don Hutson in the 1930s to linebacker Lee Roy Jordan in the the 1960s (and later Derrick Thomas in the 1980s) to Dwight Stephenson to John Hannah to Mark Ingram and on and on and on.
Beyond individuals, Alabama can lay serious claim to having the best-ever college defense at several points in its history.
Continue reading …LSU wrap-up: Bama not challenged in romp over Tigers
November 8, 2015 Comments Off on LSU wrap-up: Bama not challenged in romp over Tigers
That Alabama defeated LSU in Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday night to retake the reins of its own playoff destiny wasn’t really a surprise to those who are familiar with Alabama’s recent seasons.
What’s surprising is that the Crimson Tide wasn’t really challenged at all by an LSU team that came into the game ranked second in the nation behind the running of RB Leonard Fournette and a quarterback who had yet to throw an interception.
Alabama didn’t just beat LSU Saturday night. Alabama made it look … easy.
Continue reading …LSU Preview: Battle of the beasts could decide Bama’s playoff fate
November 3, 2015 Comments Off on LSU Preview: Battle of the beasts could decide Bama’s playoff fateBy Jess Nicholas TideFans.com Editor-In-Chief Nov. 3, 2015 There are two steps to the strategy to get Alabama back into the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Step one: Ole Miss must lose. Step two: Alabama must stop Leonard Fournette. The first is out of Alabama’s hands altogether. Arkansas gets a chance to save Alabama’s bacon […]
Continue reading …