Tag: Alabama Crimson Tide (Page 8 of 20)

      Harris vs. Pryor, Saban vs. Paterno, Kelly vs. RichRod; it’s going to be a good day

      September 11, 2010 /

      There’s a reason that ESPN is calling today “Monster Saturday”: It has completely run out of creative ideas. It’s a huge freaking day for college football.

      If you’re a college football fan, today is one of those days where you put off all household chores, and curse your friends for even thinking of having a significant event. Or, if you’re a sports writer/part-time blogger, you curse the people who decided to hold your 10-year high school reunion during the Alabama/Penn State game. I mean, c’mon.

      Miami is at Ohio State, Penn State is at Alabama, Florida State is at Oklahoma, and Michigan and Notre Dame might actually mean something. That’s a lot of tradition and meaning all packed into one day.

      So how’s it all going to go?

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Mark Ingram unlikely to play against Penn State

      September 8, 2010 /
      PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 07: Running back Mark Ingram #22 of the Alabama Crimson Tide runs with the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the Citi BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl on January 7, 2010 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

      Alabama head coach Nick Saban said his Heisman Trophy running back Mark Ingram probably won’t play this Saturday against Penn State.

      From MSNBC:

      “We’ll continue to progress him day-to-day,” Saban said. “He hasn’t had any swelling or problems. If he can continue to progress — I would say he’s probably not going to be ready to play this week. He might be ready by the game, but he won’t be able to practice enough.

      “After that, maybe we have a chance to get him back if he continues to progress.”

      When the news surfaced last week that Ingram was having surgery, I questioned whether or not he could recovery in less then 14 days and play against Penn State (which it doesn’t look like he will).

      And there’s no reason to rush him back. Penn State might be a top 25-team, but they have plenty of issues offensively and had to replace all three starting linebackers on defense. Why risk further injury with Ingram when Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy can carry the load until he’s healthy enough to play again?

      I’m thinking we’ll see Ingram return next week against Duke, although again, if he’s not 100% then there’s no reason Saban should rush him back onto the field. The Tide needs Ingram down the stretch – not now.

      College Football, External Sports

      Alabama’s Mark Ingram out for opener – will he miss Penn State game, too?

      August 31, 2010 /
      PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 07: Running back Mark Ingram #22 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates with the BCS Championship trophy after winning the Citi BCS National Championship game over the Texas Longhorns at the Rose Bowl on January 7, 2010 in Pasadena, California. The Crimson Tide defeated the Longhorns 37-21. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

      Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced today that Heisman running back Mark Ingram will miss the team’s opener this Saturday after having arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday morning.

      The story here, however, isn’t that Ingram will miss the San Jose State game. If ‘Bama can’t beat San Jose State then they don’t deserve to be mentioned as BCS title contenders, even though Ingram wouldn’t have suited up for the contest.

      The bigger story is whether or not Ingram will play against Penn State, which is the Tide’s second game of the season and obviously their first real test in 2010.

      The Penn State game is in 11 days. I’m no doctor, but I’ve never heard of a player coming back from knee surgery to play a football game in 11 days. Ingram may very well be able to do it, but that seems like an awfully ambitious recovery time for that type of injury.

      Granted, Saban has made it clear that the operation isn’t serious and Ingram is expected to be back soon. But 11 days? This seems like a two-week injury at least and a four-week injury at most, but again, I’m not a doctor.

      But let’s assume for a moment that the Tide will be without Ingram. They should get past San Jose State on Saturday, but can the trio of Trent Richardson Eddie Lacy and Demetrius Goode carry ‘Bama against the Nittany Lions in Week 2?

      Keep in mind that this shouldn’t be as strong a PSU team as we’ve seen the past couple of years and ‘Bama does have the luxury of playing this game at home. The Lions also had to replace all three starters at linebacker from last year and they have issues at the quarterback position.

      But it’s still Penn State, who will no doubt be looking to use the Alabama game to make a statement for the rest of the year. And if Ingram can’t go, then the Lions certainly have a shot to pull off the upset, even with the number of weapons the Tide have on offense this year.

      College Football, External Sports

      2010 College Football Predictions

      August 30, 2010 /
      Jan 1, 2010; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes players huddle before the 2010 Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks. Photo via Newscom

      Conference winners, sleepers, power rankings and one big, fat national championship prediction.

      Enjoy.

      Big Ten

      Champion: Ohio State
      Yes, it’s true – the Buckeyes need Terrelle Pryor to be more consistent in the passing game this year if they expect to win a national championship. But stop acting like that’s the difference between OSU winning the Big Ten and them turning into Vanderbilt. Choke on this for a second: The Buckeyes return all three leading rushers from 2009 in Pryor, Brandon Saine and Dan Herron, the secondary features three senior NFL prospects, and they own the best defensive end in the nation in Cameron Heyward. Pryor is also coming off a dominating performance against Oregon in the Rose Bowl and reports state that he has committed himself this offseason to being a better teammate. Sorry Buckeye-haters, but the gap between them and Alabama is closer than you think.

      Conference Champion Sleeper: Michigan Slate
      My biggest concern with the Spartans is that despite pulling off an upset nearly every year, they also manage to lose a game they shouldn’t. But they have a slew of playmakers and plenty of depth on both sides of the ball, plus feature a ton of offensive firepower in Larry Caper, Edwin Baker, Keith Nicol and Mark Dell. Oh, and linebacker Greg Jones is the best defender in the nation. If this team can avoid being tripped up by an inferior opponent, they could easily surprise this season.

      Conference Power Ranking: #1 Ohio State, #2 Iowa, #3 Wisconsin, # 4 Penn State, #5 Michigan State, #6 Northwestern, #7 Michigan, #8 Purdue, #9 Illinois, #10 Indiana, #11 Minnesota.

      I admit that I had Michigan rated too high when I did my Big Ten preview last week. Having any sort of trust in Rich Rodriguez right now is a dangerous proposition for obvious reasons. Just when you think he’s going to figure things out in Ann Arbor, he makes a decision to muck everything up. Penn State might be ranked a little high given their quarterback concerns. Wisconsin is going to give teams trouble this year and Northwestern is going to be a tough opponent every week as well.

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      College Football, External Sports

      Preseason Coaches Poll out: Alabama No. 1

      August 6, 2010 /
      TUSCALOOSA, AL - APRIL 17: Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram #22 warms up prior to the start of the Alabama spring game at Bryant Denny Stadium on April 17, 2010 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Dave Martin/Getty Images)

      No surprise here: Defending champs Alabama has the No. 1 ranking in the preseason Coaches Poll.

      From FOX Sports.com:

      Boise State will begin the season ranked No. 5. The Broncos, like Alabama, finished last season 14-0. They beat TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.

      The Crimson Tide got 55 of 59 possible first-place votes. The other four went to Ohio State, which is No. 2 in the newspaper’s ranking.

      Florida is third, followed by Texas, which lost to Alabama in the BCS title game in January.

      Virginia Tech is sixth, followed by TCU, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa to round out the top 10.

      Nos. 11 through 15 are Oregon, Wisconsin, Miami, Penn State and Pittsburgh. They are followed by LSU, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Arkansas and Florida State, which will be without Bobby Bowden as coach for the first time in 35 years.

      With all that has happened in college football over the past couple of months, it’s hard to fathom that actual games will be starting in a few weeks. Football is almost upon us!

      Couple things that I’m interested in seeing:

      – How TCU bounces back from its dud in the Fiesta Bowl.

      – How Texas QB Garrett Gilbert fairs in his first full season after getting thrown to the wolves in the BCS title game.

      – What the Tim Tebow-less Gators will look like (it’s felt like an eternity since Tebow wasn’t the one taking snaps from under center).

      – What Mark Ingram has in store for an encore performance.

      – What Nebraska’s defense looks like without Ndamukong Suh, who was perhaps the most dominant defensive player in college football last year.

      What has your attention heading into the new college season?

      College Football, External Sports

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