Clemson preview: Is this Tiger team more Clemson ’16 or Clemson ’17?
This year, Alabama gets a Clemson team that is somewhere in between the last two versions. The question is how much like Clemson ’17 can Alabama make Clemson ’18 look.
Oklahoma preview: Sooner or later, it all comes down to defense
December 24, 2018 Comments Off on Oklahoma preview: Sooner or later, it all comes down to defense
Whether it’s fair to either player or not, Alabama’s playoff semifinal against Oklahoma is going to serve a second purpose: It will be a referendum on whether Heisman Trophy voters got it right when they picked Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray over Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.
Continue reading …LSU wrap-up: Bama dominates in every way in thrashing of Tigers
November 3, 2018 Comments Off on LSU wrap-up: Bama dominates in every way in thrashing of Tigers
Alabama came into this game with no question marks on offense. It displayed no question marks on defense in this game, either. As long as kickers aren’t involved, this looks like a team without a weakness.
Continue reading …Arkansas preview: Bama is catching Razorbacks in transition
October 4, 2018 Comments Off on Arkansas preview: Bama is catching Razorbacks in transition
Although the Bret Bielema era ended rather unceremoniously in Fayetteville, through at least the first four games of the year, Bielema suddenly looked like Vince Lombardi in the rear-view mirror as far as most Arkansas fans were concerned.
Arkansas lost games to Colorado State and North Texas. As bad as that was, the Mean Green of North Texas blew out the Razorbacks. The combination of factors necessary for North Texas to blow out an SEC team occurs with the frequency of ice ages. Apparently 2018 was the year of the Mean Green Woolly Mammoth.
Continue reading …Louisiana wrap-up: Flat finish belies just how dominant Alabama was
September 29, 2018 Comments Off on Louisiana wrap-up: Flat finish belies just how dominant Alabama was
Alabama broke out to a 49-0 lead at the half over Louisiana, then added another score in the third quarter before the air sort of went out of the ball in the fourth quarter. Nick Saban certainly can’t mind that, because it gives himself something to focus on for the upcoming week.
Continue reading …Louisiana Preview: Ragin’ Cajuns are revamping, but not yet winning
September 27, 2018 Comments Off on Louisiana Preview: Ragin’ Cajuns are revamping, but not yet winning
We’re going to analyze this game as we always do, but we’re not going to spend a terribly large amount of time on doing so, because it’s almost superfluous. The Ragin’ Cajuns are 1-2, with a win over Grambling in its opener, and then two disappointing losses. Mississippi State poleaxed Louisiana in Week 2, and then Coastal Carolina eeked out a 2-point win last week. A bowl bid looks unlikely. Louisiana will not win this game.
Continue reading …Texas A&M Preview: Aggies Are Better Under Fisher, But Not On Bama’s Level Yet
September 20, 2018 Comments Off on Texas A&M Preview: Aggies Are Better Under Fisher, But Not On Bama’s Level Yet
There are a lot of similarities between Texas A&M in 2018 and Alabama in 2007. Both programs were coming out of the pit of despair – which for their respective fan bases, means anything less than 10 wins a season. While the Aggie offense is much improved – which you’d figure would happen, given Fisher’s history as an offensive coordinator – the Aggie defense might not be able to slow down Alabama’s high-powered passing attack enough to pull the upset.
Continue reading …Ole Miss Wrap-up: Tide Rolls, Rebels Fold In Epic Beatdown
September 16, 2018 Comments Off on Ole Miss Wrap-up: Tide Rolls, Rebels Fold In Epic Beatdown
Where do you go in trying to analyze a game that finished up as a 62-7 beatdown? When the defeated opponent insists on changing mascots every couple of years and is currently promoting something called a “landshark?” When a team’s wide receiver corps refers to itself as the “NWO” while its defense is MIA?
Continue reading …Ole Miss Preview: Tide’s Offense Might Find Itself in Shootout of its Own Making
September 13, 2018 Comments Off on Ole Miss Preview: Tide’s Offense Might Find Itself in Shootout of its Own Making
This game isn’t really a trap game for Alabama, as Ole Miss has won two games in the series recently and isn’t about to sneak up on Alabama in any way. It’s still a very dangerous matchup, however, and shows why Nick Saban so badly wanted to add Freeze to his staff over the offseason.
Continue reading …Arkansas State Wrap-up: Bama Wins Big, But Questions Remain
September 9, 2018 Comments Off on Arkansas State Wrap-up: Bama Wins Big, But Questions Remain
One of the challenges of evaluating Alabama wins in Weeks 2 and 3 during Nick Saban’s tenure is the tendency to oversell shortcomings that appear to pop up during those two games. For whatever reason, Alabama frequently looks like a good-but-not-great team in those weeks after beating good non-conference teams in the opener.
Continue reading …