Tag: Alabama Crimson Tide (Page 11 of 20)

      Gators back at No. 1 in AP Poll

      October 25, 2009 /

      After a one-week hiatus, Florida is back in the top spot in the AP Poll, while Alabama was dropped to No. 2 again.
      No. 3 Texas got seven first-place votes after its 41-7 victory at Missouri.

      The last time two teams flip-flopped in the top two spots of the AP Top 25 from one week to the next was 1992, when Miami and Washington did it.

      Like Texas, No. 4 Southern California, No. 5 Cincinnati, No. 6 Boise State and No. 7 Iowa held their places in the latest media rankings.

      TCU jumped two spots to No. 8 after a 38-7 victory at Mountain West Conference rival BYU. LSU stayed at No. 9 and Oregon moved up two spots to No. 10.

      The Ducks host USC on Saturday in a game with huge Pac-10 championship implications.

      Florida began the season as an overwhelming No. 1 in the AP poll. Alabama started five and steadily gained on the Gators before finally jumping past them last week, when Florida needed a field goal in the waning seconds to beat Arkansas at home.

      This is hardly surprising. The AP was looking for a reason to get the Gators back into the top spot and when ‘Bama almost lost yesterday at home to Tennessee, they got one. Florida didn’t earn many style points in Mississippi State, but the game wasn’t really in doubt like the Tide’s win against the Vols was at the end.

      Either way, I think most objective college football fans would agree that neither Florida nor Alabama was very impressive yesterday.

      College Football

      2009 College Football Picks & Predictions: Week 4

      September 23, 2009 /

      Here are my picks for Week 4 in college football.

      Last week I went 3-1 straight up and just 1-3 against the spread, so gamblers – fade at will. (By the way, those are also my season totals because I didn’t make picks for the first two weeks, although I probably would have gone 8-0 so feel free to give me the undeserved credit.)

      Arkansas at No. 3 Alabama, Saturday, 3:30PM ET
      Arkansas certainly has an offense capable of hanging with most opponents given the vertical weapons they have in Greg Childs, Jarius Wright and Joe Adams in the passing game. But ‘Bama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart should throw a variety of looks at Razorback signal caller Ryan Mallett and use blitzes to help generate a rush. The Tide lack a pass-rushing presence on their defensive line, but their secondary is experienced and should handle whatever Bobby Petrino throws at them on Saturday. I expect ‘Bama to take away Michael Smith, Broderick Green, Ronnie Wingo and the Arkansas’ running game and force the Razorbacks to become one-dimensional. With Julio Jones expected back this week after missing last Saturday with a knee injury, the Razorback defense could be in trouble. ‘Bama will look to take control of this game in the second half with a balanced offensive approach and pull away in the fourth quarter.
      Odds: Alabama –17.5.
      Prediction: Alabama 41, Arkansas 20.

      No. 9 Miami at No. 11 Virginia Tech, Saturday, 3:30PM ET
      The Canes are quickly becoming one of the more talked about programs in the nation this year courtesy of quarterback Jacory Harris. Thanks to an improved pass protection and his ability to see the entire field, Harris played exceptionally well in Miami’s wins over ranked opponents Florida State and Georgia Tech, respectively. But the key to a Canes’ victory will be running the ball to set up Harris and the passing game. Frank Beamer’s squad has not done a good job of stopping the run so far this season and if Miami can get versatile running backs Javarris James and Graig Cooper some running room early on, they might set up Harris to make big plays in the passing game. Defensively, Miami could be burned by Tyrod Taylor’s running ability if it doesn’t stay disciplined when shooting gaps. Taylor, who has been more patient as a passer this season, needs to use his legs if he sees that the Canes are too aggressive up front. Miami must also contain running back Ryan Williams, who has been excellent filling in for the injured Darren Evans. While Blacksburg is one of the toughest places to play in college football, Randy Shannon has his team playing with a swagger and they won’t be intimated on the road. This is going to be a thrilling game and one that might come down to the wire. I’m going with the hot team, however, and predict a win for Miami.
      Odds: Miami –2.5.
      Prediction: Miami 24, Virginia Tech 20.

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      College Football

      2009 CFB Preview: Alabama Crimson Tide

      August 29, 2009 /

      Check out our other 2009 college football previews.

      Preseason Ranking: No. 5 in AP Top 25; No. 5 in USA Today Poll.

      Key Returning Players: Greg McElroy (QB); Mark Ingram (RB); Julio Jones (WR); Rolando McClain (LB); Don’t’a Hightower (LB); Cory Reamer (LB); Brandon Deaderick (DE); Terrence Cody (DT); Brandon Fanney (DT); Justin Woodall (S); Javier Arenas (CB); Kareem Jackson (CB); Leigh Tiffin (K).

      Key Losses: Glen Coffee (RB); John Parker Wilson (QB); Rashad Johnson (S); Andre Smith (OT); Antoine Caldwell (C); Marlon Davis (G); Bobby Greenwood (DE); Travis McCall (TE); Nick Walker (TE).

      Player to Watch: Terrence Cody, DT.
      At 365 pounds, Cody is without a doubt the key cog in Bama’s defensive line. “Mount Cody” tallied 24 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss last season, which made him a consensus First-Team All-American. He was also named a First-Team All-SEC selection by the conference coaches, as well as the AP. As long as he can stay healthy (he missed some time last season with a sprained MCL), Cody will once again be a force in the interior of Bama’s defensive line.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      Sixteen Alabama teams penalized for textbook scandal

      June 11, 2009 /

      The University of Alabama is having a bad day.

      Sixteen athletics teams at Alabama have been penalized for their involvement in improperly obtaining free textbooks for other students, with the football team ordered to vacate an unspecified number of victories between the 2005 and 2007 seasons, the NCAA Committee on Infractions announced Thursday.

      Alabama could be forced to vacate as many as 21 football wins that came under the watch of former coach Mike Shula and current coach Nick Saban, sources at the university told ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach. Citing a source, the Birmingham News reported the number of victories to be at least 10.

      The football program, which will not lose future scholarships, and the other 15 teams have been put on three years’ probation — the third probation penalty for university athletics in the last decade. Alabama also was ordered to pay a $43,900 fine.

      In addition to football, the programs receiving penalties are men’s and women’s basketball, softball, baseball, women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.

      In men’s tennis and men’s and women’s track, the individual records of 15 athletes identified as “intentional wrongdoers” will be vacated and team point totals from regular season, postseason and NCAA championship contests will be reconfigured, the NCAA said.

      Alabama went 10-2 in 2005, 6-7 in 2006 and 7-6 in 2007. So in the grand scheme of things, if they do have to give back those victories, it wouldn’t have much of an affect on the outcome of those seasons for other teams. But could you imagine if the Tide would have won one of those mythical titles that the BCS tries to pass off as a national championship in 2005, 2006 or 2007? Boy, Alabama’s face would have been red!

      On a side note, textbooks in college should be free anyway. That’s one of the biggest scams universities run on students every year. First, you’re going to pay us $12,000 a year just to attend our school. Then we’re going to charge you another $500 to $1,000 for textbooks and when you sell them back to us, we’re only going to give you $21.84 for your trade in.

      Have a nice day.

      College Basketball, College Football

      Tennessee’s Kiffin pissing off fellow SEC coaches

      January 28, 2009 /

      Lane Kiffin hasn’t even held the Tennessee head-coaching job for three months and already he’s managed to tick off fellow SEC coaches Urban Meyer (Florida), Nick Saban (Alabama), Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) and Mark Richt (Georgia).

      That kind of preaching-to-the-choir comment fit perfectly into the rhetoric of his first press conference. I doubt it got much of a rise in Gainesville, since the Gators have owned the Vols in recent seasons.

      What really irked Florida Coach Urban Meyer was that Kiffin continued to attempt to hire — unsuccessfully, as it turned out — receivers coach Billy Gonzales while the Gators were preparing for the national championship game.

      More recently, Kiffin has gotten on the nerves of Alabama Coach Nick Saban to the extent that Saban is asking players who already have committed to the Crimson Tide not to take official visits to UT.
      This is in response to Kiffin’s hiring of Lance Thompson off Saban’s staff. Thompson, considered Alabama’s best recruiter, got a big raise to jump to the Vols just two weeks before signing day.
      Considering that UT is a combined 1-6 since Meyer and Saban arrived at Florida and Alabama, you have to take your victories wherever you can find them.

      And don’t forget that Kiffin also has tugged on Steve Spurrier’s visor. First Kiffin hired his brother-in-law, David Reaves, off the South Carolina staff. Then Kiffin and Spurrier exchanged comments in the press about recruiting.

      While we’re at it, Kiffin also threw a $400,000 offer at super recruiter Rodney Garner in an attempt to lure him off Mark Richt’s staff at Georgia. Garner chose to stay at Georgia.

      For those keeping score, Kiffin has kicked sand at Meyer, Saban, Spurrier and Richt. It’s no coincidence that those are the coaches of the four most important opponents on UT’s schedule every year. Those are also four programs that the Vols must match in recruiting if they are to regain relevance in the SEC.

      Obviously this is all part of Kiffin’s plan to breathe a little life into a Tennessee program that could use a shot in the arm. Is he going about it the right way? Probably not, although that won’t matter if he wins.

      If pissing off your fellow conference coaches motivates the program and players, then go for it. But if nothing changes and the Vols get flattened by all of these teams next year, then Kiffin is just going to look like a pompous ass who got what was coming to him.

      College Football

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