Saturday, September 29, 2007

Alabama vs. Florida State preview

If you want me to post your prediction, drop me a comment by 3:30 CT!
Our predictions:
David: Alabama 35 Florida State 21
Joe: Alabama 14 Florida State 7
Matt: Alabama 25 Florida State 17
Dad: Alabama 20 Florida State 17

Bama's RB rotation a three man show - Sporting News

Bobby, 'Bama and the Bear Paul Newberry Associated Press

Several Bama players grew up rooting for FSU Dothan Eagle

Big wins outside the SEC far between Cecil Hurt Tuscaloosa News

Tuscaloosa News staff picks

ESPNU Notebook:

Mention given to terry Grant as the "top rookie running back":
Grant (5-10, 188) is a pint-sized speedster in the mold of former Florida State star and current Falcons running back Warrick Dunn. New offensive coordinator Major Applewhite likes to spread it out with a lot of three- and four-receiver sets, which result in lots of creases for his rookie back to exploit. The system obviously agrees with Grant, who has burst onto the scene with 120.8 yards per game.

Breaking down Alabama-Florida State
By Bill Curry, ESPN.com
Alabama is a very interesting team. It has the potential to be one of the better teams in the SEC by the last four games of the season -- if not a great team. For Bama to improve, John Parker Wilson has to grow up. He had a number of chances against Georgia but wasn't able to finish the job. On the other hand, he's a really gritty competitor who is willing to put his team on his back. One thing that has mystified me this season is how dominating the Tide's defense looks at times -- sometimes over long stretches -- but at the moment the Tide can least afford it, the D gives up the big play. That's certainly one area concern for Nick Saban's staff. Florida State, on the other hand, certainly is a work in progress. The Noles are breaking in a new staff on offense and they're implementing gradual changes. It might be a full year before we see what the real Florida State looks like.
Alabama has the upper hand in this matchup, especially because of how tournament-tested this team already is. The Tide has had tough, close, physical games against Arkansas and Georgia, which should benefit them later in the season. We're all creatures of habit: If you've been cruising, it's hard to put it in overdrive. If you've been fighting, however, it's second nature. Those are the teams that are the toughest to beat.

Friday, September 28, 2007

ESPN Gameday 9/23/07


Yes I was on ESPN Gameday Saturday morning 9/22/07, barely. Can you find me?


Matt shows off our sign






Coach Saban on the set....the fans went wild...






One of my favorite signs...one of my favorite commercials...




This Paris Hilton sign freaked me out every time I turned around...
It looked too real at first glance...


My favorite Rick and Bubba sign there


Big AL


Lots of back and forth happened between bama and UGA fans

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Georgia 26 Alabama 23, OT

On Saturday September 22, 2007, the Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 26 to 23 with an overtime pass from Georgia QB Matthew Stafford. Alabama twice came back from 10 point deficits but could only manage a field goal in their overtime posession.

Article from UA Media Relations

Box Score

Gameday Experience 9/22/07 UGA

I will be posting some photos here later. Matt and I had a great day despite the loss.

Matt and I left Vinemont at exactly 6 a.m. on Saturday 9/22/07. We arrived in Tuscaloosa at the McFarland Blvd exit around 7:40 or so. As usual we stopped at the Chevron station, used the bathroom, and bought a newspaper. We then stopped at the McDonald’s on 15th Street for breakfast. Matt had a sausage biscuit and I had an Egg McMuffin. We parked west of the stadium near the intersection of University and Queen City Blvd. We walked down the “Strip” towards Bryant Denny around 8 a.m.

We arrived at the set of ESPN College Gameday and initially stood behind the tuba section of the band. Later were able to move up some. Matt and I had made a sign the night before and we held it up. Later I saw where it barely made an appearance on television. After Gameday ended, we sat on the grass and rested, had a cold drink, and called Joe and David. I had also called my Mom earlier and asked her to tell Dad to look for us on ESPN Gameday.

Matt and I walked over to the Bryant Museum and toured it. Admission is very reasonable ($2 for adults and $1 for children). After that we made our way across the quad and went to the Ferguson Center and watched the Florida-Ole Miss game on the big screen in the theater. We both dozed off for a few minutes and that probably gave us a little stamina for the late night that awaited us.

Then we bought some Chic-Fil-A and ate there at Ferguson. At Matt’s request we visited the Sup Store and looked around there but didn’t purchase anything. I did see a former co-worker who is now a judge and her daughter.





We walked over to the Quad and arrived there in plenty of time to get a good view of the band and cheerleaders. American Idol Taylor Hicks also made an appearance. We went straight from the pep rally across the quad to Bryant Denny Stadium. It seemed to take a long time to get across the Quad.





The atmosphere seemed crazier for this game than previous games all day. First, during the morning, an older lady who was for Alabama got in a verbal fight with a nice looking college age Georgia fan. That one almost came to blows and would have been ugly. It seemed like I saw more drunk folks than usual as we crossed the Quad. There was a banner (that was removed later in the day) hanging from the frat house across from BDS that said, “Make like Mike Vick and murder the dawgs.” During the game, several police officers had to attend to some kind of disturbance in the seating area above us. Finally, there was then the much publicized throwing of debris on the Georgia players from the Alabama student section after they scored the winning touchdown.

The game itself was rather intense from the stands. The fans were cheering loudly throughout the game and were especially supportive of the defense. It seemed, though, that Georgia QB Matthew Stafford handled the noise very well. He seemed to perform at his best in pressure situation when the crowd noise was at its peak. It was great fun cheering Alabama’s comeback from being 10 points down during the final few minutes. It was a rather disappointing loss, though, after it appeared we had gained the momentum and expectations were raised.

The game ended at 10:20 and Matt and I got out of there right away, walked quickly to the car, and beat almost all of the traffic on the way home. He actually stayed awake with me most of the way home. I think the nap he had in the afternoon worked wonders. We listened to some of his CD’s and some of the Alabama post-game show. We also called my Mom as well as his mom and brothers. The post game show went off the air as I pulled into my driveway at 12:30 a.m. One of the last things they said was that the police estimated that at least 125,000 people were in the area of the stadium and that traffic was still backed up on the interstate. I was glad to be home but Matt and I had an awesome day. It was a very special and memorable one-on-one time.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

What if?

Another view on Bowden's story about Alabama Dothan Eagle
In the Dec. 16 column published in this space, I explored the possible conversations various coaches may have had with Rich Rodriguez, the former candidate for the vacant University of Alabama coach position. I cited an occasion I had with Florida State’s Bobby Bowden several years ago in which
Bowden incorrectly assumed he was about to be offered the post when Bill Curry was eventually hired back in 1986.

Bowden might have changed the Tide of history Orlando Sentinel
Sentinel Staff Writer
September 25, 2007

What might have been Tommy Deas, Tuscaloosa News

Imagine if Paul W. “Bear” Bryant wasn’t the only all-time winningest coach to ever walk the sidelines at the University of Alabama.Imagine if Bill Curry never wore crimson, if Gene Stallings wasn’t around to coach Alabama to the 1992 national championship, if the Crimson Tide had never endured the Mike DuBose and Mike Price scandals, if Dennis Franchione had never bolted for Texas A&M, if crippling NCAA sanctions had never been levied.Imagine no Mike Shula and, yes, even no Nick Saban.Imagine if Alabama had hired Bobby Bowden.It almost happened.

Bama Baptism

Bama Notebook Mobile Press Register

CLEAN COFFEE: Alabama tailback Glen Coffee came back from a few days off without the usual dreadlocks atop his newly shaven head. Why? He's about to get baptized.

"I did it for my mom. I figured I could do something nice for a big event," Coffee said. "I'm just trying to change. I hit that turning point in my life and I just figured I'd take that step and continue on from there."

Great news. Praise the Lord!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Gameday is here...

I'm reading a few articles and fixin' to get Matt up to head to T-town. You just might see us on ESPN Gameday! Look for the sign that says "Eventually Saban Produces National championships"

Go Bama!

Fans expect Saban to ward off gameday jinx Tuscaloosa News

Alabama's transforming defense a challenge
Tuscaloosa News


Thursday, September 20, 2007

Go teach the Bulldogs to behave...

Bama leads the series 35-23-3

Georgia rule - Richt weary of Alabama spies, closes practice access SI.com

GameDay to broadcast from Walk of Champions Tuscaloosa News

No game -- and no fishing -- for Munson AJC

5 keys to Georgia's win over Alabama Redandblack.com

Breaking down RB's Grant v Moreno ESPN
Running back is typically a leading position when it comes to freshmen participation in college football. This season is no exception. Through three weeks, four of the nation's top 52 rushers (quarterbacks excluded) hail from the freshman class. Two of those rookie standouts -- Georgia's Knowshon Moreno and Alabama's Terry Grant -- will square off in the key SEC interdivisional battle in Tuscaloosa this Saturday night. Neither Mark Richt nor Nick Saban has been hesitant to lean on their young premier backs to this point. So there's good reason to believe Moreno and Grant will play a critical role in the outcome of this weekend's game. In order to get a true feel for what to expect from these youngsters in such a pressure cooker of an environment, I broke down the tape of each back's biggest collegiate game to date. Not exactly a difficult decision considering there were only six games from which to choose. For Moreno it was the 16-14 loss versus South Carolina two weeks ago. For Grant it was this past Saturday night's 41-38 win versus Arkansas.

Georgia v Alabama
ESPNU
Georgia's offense has a lot of promising talent. But until it does some damage versus a legitimate opponent, how can anyone truly take this unit seriously? Sure, QB Matt Stafford and company have looked crisp in scoring 80 combined points against a bad Oklahoma State defense and a Division I-AA opponent in Western Carolina. However, in their only outing versus an SEC opponent, South Carolina held the Bulldogs without a touchdown, while Stafford connected on just 19 of 44 pass attempts with an interception. That's why we think Alabama, despite some personnel flaws on the defensive side of the ball, should be able to keep the Bulldog offense in check. The key is to follow the Gamecock's blueprint, which essentially is a bend-but-don't break approach. Like Alabama, South Carolina was overmatched on the perimeter versus Georgia WR's Sean Bailey, Mohamed Massaquoi and Mikey Henderson. So, instead of loading up the box versus the run and taking chances with lots of blitz-packages backed by man-coverage, South Carolina spent more time backed off in cover-2 zone looks. It led to a lot of underneath completions and decent rushing yards on the ground, but Stafford only average 4.8 yards per completion and Georgia converted only three of 18 third-down attempts. Because they are still comparatively inexperienced on offense, the mindset for Alabama's defense should be to force the Bulldogs to sustain long drives without making a mistake.

BamaNation Exclusive: scouting report on Georgia
The Georgia Bulldog’s season thus far has been one of happiness, then shock. They come into the game with a record of 2-1, starting with an impressive 35-14 over Oklahoma State, before losing a 16-12 heartbreaker to South Carolina, then dispatched Western Carolina 45-16. The Interesting note here is that this is the same Western Carolina team that we beat in our opening game, 52-6. Could the difference between the two games against the Catamounts being 10 points better on defense and 7 points on offense be a telling omen for Saturday’s game?

Alabama prepares for another tough challenge
Commercial Dispatch
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Coming off a thrilling, comeback win over Arkansas, Alabama coach Nick Saban and his team know there is little time to celebrate. “We are real excited.” said halfback Terry Grant, who was selected the leagues freshman of the week for the third straight time. “Most of the guys are excited. We have the confidence that we need. We have mature guys that know how to keep it 24 hours like Coach Saban told us to do. We have to come back in here and focus on Georgia instead of Arkansas.”Grant says the Tide coaching staff has sage advice after each win. “They tell us to go celebrate hard, and get it over with, because we're coming back in here (Mondays) to get ready for the next game,” Grant said.

There's more to talk about than Nick Saban Decatur Daily

Georgia: Getting prepped for Bama Bleacher Report

Tide trying to keep it rolling against Georgia Sporting News

The popularity of college football grows in the South Western Carolinian
The University of Alabama has won 21 SEC titles and a total of 12 national titles; they also have one of the richest football traditions in the entire country. In Tuscaloosa, just about every person you see is a die-hard Alabama Crimson Tide football fan. Everywhere you go, flyers and posters support the Crimson Tide.

UGA v Alabama College Football: Bama or Bust Athens Exchange
The No. 22-ranked Georgia Bulldogs are ready for the border rivalry against the No. 16- ranked Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Al. on Saturday night. "I liked how practice went today, I talk a lot about how important it is to have energy out there, and we had it today," head coach Mark Richt said after practice on Wednesday. Coach Richt knows what he is talking about. Georgia is 22-3 under his leadership in road games and 1-0 in Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium. The history between these SEC titans began in 1894 as Georgia took the first contest 30-6 in Columbus, Ga. Since then, Alabama has led the series overall with a record of 35-24-4. "I think there will be an awful lot of excitement there in that stadium knowing it will be a night game, knowing that the Alabama fan's are excited about the start of their season and knowing that Game Day is there," Richt added.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Great article

Tired and bruised, the UA defense is inspired Tuscaloosa News - Christopher Walsh
TUSCALOOSA | There were still more than eight minutes remaining in Saturday’s game, but University of Alabama coach Nick Saban had seen enough. As his defensiveplayers walked off the field after allowing the go-ahead touchdown by Arkansas, he stopped them short of the sideline and verbally let them have it. “He was doing some screaming, and some cussing,” senior cornerback Simeon Castille said. “The gist of it was for everyone to do their jobs.” But that wasn’t the catalyst for Alabama’s crucial defensive stand that gave the offense a chance to win the 41-38 game. It came a few minutes later when Saban went back to ask the defense, “Can you do it?”

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Alabama 41 Arkansas 38






Coach Saban's post game press conference from Tidesports.com

Gameday experience 9/15/07


Matt before kickoff


Joe before kickoff


David before kickoff


Players entering BDS


Players enter BDS two hours before kickoff


Coach saban arrives


Matt waiting on the "Walk of Champions"


The crowd begins to gather


Inflatable Big Al


Tailgating with the Word of God


Lots of tailgaters looking East on University Blvd.


Good parking is much harder to find this year


Another inflatable Big Al


A unique tent on the Quad


Alabama flags


Yet another cool tailgating setup


No shortage of dishes here, and I don't mean food


Another bama flag flies with pride, Tide Pride, that is


TYDFNS are everywhere


The boys played a little football outside BDS


Walking around the Quad


Near the Bryant Museum


More from the Quad


Parking money at Baptist Student Union goes for a good cause


Our spot for the Arkansas game


Matt at our spot early in the morning


David


Joe


The boys played catch at our tailgating spot