Now the march to the play in game is 3 weeks away. There are 2 teams that can beat Alabama right now- LSU and Alabama. Same can be said about LSU. The Ole Miss game was good for them in some aspects, and in others continued to leave "coachable moments".
OFFENSE
The Good.....
Trent being Trent.
I can't begin to describe how he busted the pants off this guy, but the video does all the speaking for me...
The O Line gets involved and breaks Ole Miss early and often
Bama made the decision early on that they were going to be a running team. With 7 rushes in the 1st, and 12 in the 2nd, they were well ahead of where they were a week ago. As a result, they got the OL into the game and got them going. It also resulted in the best performance by Trent, Eddie, and Jalston.
Keeping it short and keeping it safe
There were also was a focus to keep things short and simple for McCarron this week too. Hanks caught the only long pass of the day (36 yards), but for the most part everything was inside and intermediate. Both of which are more to his strengths right now. Getting Williams and Smelley early and often also helped settle McCarron down and get him in a good flow. They were able to keep him out of long pass situations thanks to the run, and really only had 2 3rd and longs to deal with most of the night.
White returning to form
If you just look at his stat line, you would think that DeAndrew White was doing ok, but nothing special. That is where stats lie. White did a lot of things that didn't end up on the stat sheet, but the more he plays the more he displays that he's the 3rd option for the future on offense. He blocks well down field, he runs pretty descent routes and he hustles. Add those intangibles to his size and speed, there isn't much downside to him if he doesn't want there to be.
Fowler redeems
I thought against Vandy, Fowler looked a little soft and sluggish. This week he looked sharper, like he was ready to play, and his cuts and burst were much more in line with a guy who wanted to be playing. Fowler is over hyped by Internet Message Boards, but as a 3rd option behind Lacy and Richardson, he's a great weapon late in the game.
Staying on the field
One of the little things that is getting overlooked is that the offense is not just going 3 and out much. Bama went 8-12 on 3rd and 4th down and had 27 first downs on the night. The 67 plays took over 33 minutes and really wore down Ole Miss and if it wasn't for 2 big runs by Richardson and Fowler, it probably would have been more like 40 minutes and 75 plays.
The Bad...
None
The Ugly...
None
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good...
Upshaw sits
If I had a spot for excellent, this would be it. While the lockjaw, paranoid, they're outtagitus crowd boos this, I applaud it. The 1 quarter sit down was a bigger message to the others as it was to Upshaw. Upshaw's actions weren't vile or overly egregious, but it was a play that is not allowed in a program that has so many rules and procedures in the process. He lost his composure and did something punishable, and was. Hopefully, that is the last time any player has to be disciplined this year.
Once they get going....the going is good
Bama started slow again, more on that soon, but once the defense got going, they absolutely owned the rest of the game. They choked Ole Miss to 7 first downs after the first series, and less than 100 total yards. Ole Miss wasn't real good when it got down to it, but they were good enough that if you let them believe, they could be dangerous. Bama killed belief and Ole Miss's Santa Claus by the half.
Linebacker play
I thought the LB play was really good and part of that came from Mosley returning to play. The other part was that Nico and Hightower really were on top of their game and were in position all night. After 7 games, it is clear that you cannot go sideline to sideline on Alabama. The linebackers are why you cannot. Heck, if the secondary could quit having the mental farts, you could say you can't go vertical either.
1 punt
The best way to keep your weakness from being exposed is to not have to use it. Bama didn't have to punt but just once and heck it was one of Mandell's best of the year.
The Bad....
First Series Fapping
Google search it. Long story short, Bama continues to over read and under react to what they see early on. For the 2nd time in 3 weeks, the first drive was a scoring drive. And in the same time period it is the result of a poorly executed play. Before the lockjaw sets in, Bama wasn't in anything complicated, they were in a base zone (as best I can tell, everyone else was zone) and just blew it. While it was good that Millner pursued and tackled Brassell, the lack of pressure on Mackey and the breakdown in coverage was more or less Bama giving Ole Miss a freebie.
The Ugly....
Kicking a 53 yard Field Goal and busting up your kicker in one swift move
There are so many things wrong with this decision. First is that Ole Miss even knew Foster didn't have the game leg for it. They had a guy on the goal line waiting for the kick. Second, even though it was a 7 point game, why not punt and position? Even if Mandell kicks his traditional 35 yarder, that was better than what they ended up with. The play ended up with a net of 2 yards. The kick was from the 36 and Ole Miss returned it to the 34. Third, Ole Miss had called a timeout, that was plenty of time to get a better play up than that. With Richardson running as well as he did, and Ole Miss sucking like they did, if you are going to go for something that risky, why not put it in the star's hands???? The end result of the head scratcher was 2 yards net, and 1 broken kicker. Foster kicked one more time and lost about 10 or more yards on his kickoff, the worse news is that he didn't have 10 to spare......
RANDOM THOUGHTS
If there was one team I would so love to see in Atlanta, it would be UGA
Why? Well there are really 3 reasons. First, they aren't real good but think they have it all fixed. [insert evil laugh here] Second, Grantham needs an ass whoopin. I don't care who did what, when you embarrass yourself like that on TV, you need one. Richt needs one just to see if he has a pulse. Third, there is nothing sweeter than seeing a team in its backyard get its masculinity ripped from it.
The BCS is gonna have a mess on its hands....
They are spared in part because the SEC and Big 12 have a play in game thanks to the LSU/Bama and OSU/OU games. What they don't have is a way to get those two plus more than likely an undefeated Boise, undefeated Wisconsin, and possibly an undefeated Stanford or Clemson. The system that has Forrest Gump'd its way through the last few years without major issues, will probably have one this year and the chant for a plus 1 format will return. I personally like the plus one.
Take this into consideration. Let's say LSU beats Bama on a last second field goal or something. Bama wins out. LSU wins out. Then let's say Wisconsin goes undefeated as does OU. Stanford and Clemson both lose a game but win conference. Now, can anyone say that a one loss Bama team is less worthy than Wisconsin or OU? Especially when neither has a resume worth spit. To me, that is where the system has failed is that great teams have been denied a chance. Bama in this scenario would get Wisconsin and if they won in the Rose Bowl or Sugar Bowl, then they would take the winner of LSU/OU. I think that is the only way to avoid the what ifs that seem to be creeping into things this year. Wanna get real confusing? Say that scenario happens except LSU falls to Arkansas who by the way will only have 1 loss going into LSU more than likely.
Don't Score First. It Only Pisses Bama Off
Best quote by a Dooley male ever.
Next weekend is the 3rd Saturday renewal and it also is the 5th anniversary of when supposedly Saban expressed interest in Bama. It also has been that long since Bama lost to the Vols. UT has not broken 20 points since the 4th and 22 debacle. There isn't a snowball's chance they do this coming week either. UT is on their way to mid-tier with Dooley, unfortunately, because there just isn't a lot of heart on that team. Watching them against LSU, you could see them just break and take their beating over the course of the game. It is pretty clear that UT's guys haven't bought in and won't go all out week in and out for Dooley. With that said, my favorite UT videos....
Don't play this one loud in the office but enjoy....
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