Class

That is the word that comes to mind when I reflect on this past weekend against Penn State. Great article below from a fellow Tipsy Tider, Jon Fravel.

Alabama the Beautiful: Crimson Tide Rolls to 2-0

Champions

So...it's been a while since anyone has posted and probably even read here.

We won the national championship. It still hasn't sunk in yet. We are only the third team in history to go 14-0. The first was Ohio State and the other was Boise State...but they don't really count since almost all of those were against flag football teams.

Mark Ingram won the Heisman...first ever at Alabama. Hopefully now all of the "Heisman Haters" at Bama will shut up and recognize the honor that comes with winning the award.

We had 6 first team All-Americans...which is pretty much unheard of. That brings our total to 97 first team All-Americans (T.Cody was first team last year).

I can see/hear it now:
It's 97 first team All-Americans...
It's a college football record 57 bowl appearances...
It's a college football record 32 bowl victories...
It's 22 Southeastern Conference Championships...
It's 13 National Championships!

A-Day should be a blast and the lead-up to this season will be a great one with hopefully another top 5 recruiting class coming in.

What else can I say? We pretty much did everything we could in 2009. I am hoping we can continue to have success and work every day to be a champion because that is what it takes to get to the top and stay there.

Roll Tide!

Back off McElroy

Now you all know my distain for JP, and usually I wouldn’t be writing this but I think McElroy is on of the best all around QB we have had at Alabama in a long time.

Ok I am going to say that Florida would not be a good team with out Tim Tebow. You can argue all you want with me on that but it is true. There defense is good, but would it be as good with out Coach Tebow. I do want to take a look at the numbers, because that is all we have, right?
...........................CMP ...Att .....Yds .....Cmp% ...TD... Int...Sack
Tim Tebow .......149... 230 ......1323 ....64.7 ......10.... 4 .....17
Greg McElroy ...121 ...202 ......1445 ....59.9 .......9..... 3 ......8


So you tell me how bad Greg McElroy has done this year as a new Junior QB. I mean come on, this is Lord Tebow’s stats. I am not trying to make a case for anyone for Heisman, I am just pointing out numbers. And yes Greg has had “3” bad games, but I am betting if you look back at those games you will see play calling wasn’t the best. It appeared when Greg started to struggle, we took the ball completely out of his hands. That’s a shame. I think that a week of rest after an 8 game in a row streak will help. I am on the verge of saying that this will be a blow out for Alabama, but I won’t. We do best in big games, and I know you are going to say Tennessee was a big game, but were we looking forward to the week off then LSU. I think we were. See you all on Saturday and RTR.

Daniel Moore Wins

Daniel Moore, the artist beloved by University of Alabama football fans for preserving some of the Crimson Tide's most memorable exploits, won the right to keep painting without having to be licensed by UA.

A federal judge today said in a memorandum opinion that Moore's art does not violate any UA trademark.

Read more here...

So...go and buy the new painting that is currently being worked on, Maximum Block, before the special pricing expires.

Smoke 'Em

So I am a little late posting about the Tennessee game...sorry about that. What a game though! There are two things we can take from that game. The first one is that Tennessee is going to be good from here on. They have the talent and coaching to be competitive again in the SEC. They are probably a year or two away from being back in the top 15. The second thing is that our team needed an off weekend like I have never seen before. We looked tired and unfocused. We have had some tough games and thankfully came out on top of those. I don't like the fact that we looked so tired though. We have been the kind of team that wore other teams out...and we just didn't look like that against Tennessee.

Hats off to Terrence Cody though. He vaulted himself back to the top of the NFL draft as a DT. Everyone knows how dominant he is by drawing double teams and busting up the middle...but now that he has two blocked FGs...he is more of a complete DT. Having strength combined with speed and timing is key to being a top notch NFL DT. Daniel Moore has announced his next painting "Maximum Block" so go ahead and get your order in before they are sold out. I still have the two paintings from last year that haven't been framed yet...so getting another one will just add to that list.

Now we look ahead to the Tigers of LSU. They are arguably one of the most talented teams in the nation and their offense has had two great games in a row now. Their defense has been incredible as well. They have had a perfect record in Tuscaloosa this decade and are looking to close it out with another win. The last time the Tide beat the Tigers in Bryant-Denny was November 7, 1999...exactly 10 years prior to this coming Saturday. If you don't remember that one...check this out: 1999 Bama vs LSU Goal Line Stand.

The line as of right now is somewhere between 9 and 10 points in favor of the good guys. Looks like Vegas is trying to get a lot of money for LSU and we should see that number end up around 6 by kickoff. Speaking of kickoff...it will be at 2:30 PM on CBS. Tailgating should be the best of the entire season...and it will be up to us, the Tipsy Tiders, to bring our "A" game. I hope all of you can make it out there. We are going to try to have a nice spread of food that includes some Cajun cuisine as well.

If we want to win a National Title this year...this is the game we must win. You take it one week at a time...and this one is as big as any. We have the talent, coaches, and determination to win...we just have to execute. Big defense on 1st and 2nd down will be key. We'll need to create some turnovers and stop getting penalties on kick returns. As far as our offense...if Ingram can get back to true form...we should be fine. I think McElroy will settle down and get back to his former self we saw in the first 5 games. This is it though...time to man up and dominate.

Roll Tide!

Ingram for Heisman

Check out the new blog dedicated to Ingram's bid for the Heisman. I am hoping we can triple dip this year...SEC Champs...National Champs...and Heisman for Ingram.

www.ingramforheisman.com/

Great Cause

Looks like South Carolina and Maryland will be donning camouflage versions of their uniforms for their games on November 14th. This will be done to raise money and support for Wounded Warriors which is a group that aids wounded soldiers and their families. Sounds like an awesome cause to me and I hope they are very successful. By the way...South Carolina will be playing Florida that weekend...so they will need all the help they can get. Below are some pictures and the official press release. Pictures courtesy of the Associated Press.




"The University of South Carolina football team will wear uniforms with a camouflage design for their November 14 game against the University of Florida, three days after Veterans Day.

An announcement was scheduled Tuesday by USC and the University of Maryland, the other school participating in the display. The effort will honor those who have served in the military and promote the Wounded Warrior Project.

The black with tan camouflage uniforms, designed by Under Armour, will have a Wounded Warrior logo on them. Instead of players' names, the backs of the jerseys will have words such as courage, loyalty, integrity and service."

Feels Like Football

Finally...it feels like football here in God's country. After weeks of hot, humid, and rainy weather we have that cool crisp in the air. It made for some great tailgating this past weekend and I am hoping for the same this coming weekend.

First, a recap from Homecoming. The Tide defense continues to impress by keeping another SEC opponent from putting the ball in the end zone. South Carolina was only able to put 6 points on the board by making 2 out of 3 field goals. As bad as our offense looked...we were able to still win by 14 points, thanks to a defensive touchdown care of Mark Barron. As of right now...no other team in the SEC can say they have won every game this year by double digits...and that includes the Gators down in Florida.

Mark Ingram is a legit Heisman candidate in my opinion. He proved that this pas weekend. South Carolina has a darn good defense, but they just couldn't bring 'ol number 22 down. I just hate that he only scored one TD the whole game. Running for almost 250 yards against an SEC defense is practically unheard of. And he did it on a continuous basis...not just a few long runs like Ben Tate did against Arkansas. Ingram is the truth...and I hope he continues to stay healthy and improve.

Which brings us to this Saturday...the Third (err Fourth) Saturday in October. Many consider Tennessee to be Alabama's number one rival. I am not going to get into that...but I will admit that beating Tennessee just gives a certain level of satisfaction that no other team can. This will be Lane Kiffin's first time in Bryant-Denny...and we ought to give him a hearty welcome. If he thinks Florida was going to give him a tough game...he ain't seen nothin' yet. Ask Arkansas, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and South Carolina.

If we can keep Crompton uncomfortable, it could get ugly for the Vols. Sure they have a great RB, but a few hits from our front seven and he won't be hitting those holes as quickly as before. The Vols have a good defense, but I think this is the turning point for the Tide offense. GMac will have a banner day and Ingram continues to wear other teams down. The score might be a tad close at halftime...but the Tide pours it on in the second half.

Don't forget to bring your cigars on Saturday.

Bama: 31
Tenn: 13

6 Down...6 To Go

We are half way through the 2009 season and I think the one word that comes to mind is...

Defense

In the past three games, our defense has been nothing short of spectacular. Our problem of giving up 1-2 big plays was corrected against the Rebels, and I hope corrected for good. Not only is our defense talented and well coached, but they seem to almost always be in position to make big plays. Just take a look at the Kentucky and Ole Miss games to see examples of this.

Rolando McClain is preparing himself to be a top 10 pick, and that spot could climb higher in the weeks to come. The only way I could see him returning is to win a National Championship. But still, I think we have so much talent that he will make the leap and let the younger guys play next year. Who would have thought that our front seven would be even more amazing with Hightower out? I honestly think it is superior coaching and preparation combined with McClain making sure everyone is in position.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the great play by Mark Ingram during all of this. Even when it seemed like Ole Miss had our number, Ingram found a way to score before the half. That was most likely the nail in the coffin for the Rebels. Ingram is playing as well as any other RB in the nation right now and I think he will continue to get better and better each week. Don't worry...Julio will get his catches and TDs...

Which brings me to this weekend. It's Homecoming in Tuscaloosa and we play the Gamecocks of South Carolina. They have a good defense and a QB who seems to be playing better each week. I think we will win because we are just simply better. The spread right now is around 17 points in favor of the good guys and I don't think that will be very tough to reach. We should be able to rattle Garcia and I am hoping that our offense will find more success than they had against Ole Miss. Should be a good one...night games in Bryant-Denny are always fun. Kickoff is at 6:45 PM Central on ESPN. Hope to see you all on the Quad this Saturday!

Check out UAGameday.com for details on the Homecoming events.

Bama: 38
USCe: 10

RTR!

End the Streak

I am hoping that a streak will end this weekend in Oxford. No...I don't want the Rebels to finally beat the Tide after losing 5 straight. I think it's time to beat Ole Miss and beat them soundly. We have only outscored the Rebels by a combined total of 13 points over the past 4 years in those games. Alabama looks to be about as solid of team as any in the nation, but we looked like that last year and only won by 4 points...in Bryant-Denny.

Right now I am counting on Ole Miss playing as well as they can. The difference will be whether or not the Tide plays up to their ability. If we can put together a great game plan and execute it, I think we win by a minimum of 17 points. Yes...17 points. As of right now...our average margin of victory is 25+ points...and in the SEC that number is 23 points.

If we can get pressure on Snead (as everyone has already said) and run the ball effectively (again nothing new here) I think we win this in a rout. We'll see though. Houston Nutt has a knack for getting his teams up for a few games each year...and you have to believe our game is one of them.

Yowski's pick...
Alabama: 34
Ole Miss: 14