Alabama 31 Mississippi State 3 !!!

The Bulldog Spread

We'll find out this Saturday if the Alabama Crimson Tide can defend against the spread. First year coach, Dan Mullen, (former Florida Gators' assistant coach) has transferred his offensive scheme to the Mississippi Bulldogs. For some it may be a shock to witness the Bulldogs jump onto the Spread bandwagon, but it shouldn't be a surprise for the Tide to stop this offense. When talking about the differences between Mississippi and Florida's spread offense, Nick Saban said, “I think it’s changed relative to the personnel that he has,” he further commented. “I think the core, the philosophy, the zone dive, zone option, counter plays and quarterback reads are the same.” Hopefully stopping this offense won't be too hard since history favors Alabama. The Crimson Tide have more wins against the Bulldogs than any other opponent.

So many of you have probably heard of the recent arrests of three Tennessee players for armed robbery. We all know that arrests are not indicative of the coach or the other players and in fact, even though this hurts me to say anything nice about the Volunteers, the players are innocent until proven guilty. What makes this situation funny (or absurd) is this article released before the arrests that talks about Janzen Jackson (one of the players arrested) learning from his past mistakes. When talking about his previous suspension, Jackson said, "To know that it was my fault, it felt a little bit worse," he said. "It's in the past now so it's back to work." The reason for the suspension has not been disclosed, but I'm sure he'll hit a few more bumps in the road.

Starkville. . . Here we come

As the media throws around "Is Bama ready for the Bulldogs?", I say "Does Starkville know what is about to hit them in the mouth?". After such a big game against LSU, many doubters preach letdown against a team such as Miss. State., but Nick Saban is smarter. He is running a NFL ready defense and has consistently put the Tide in position to win every game this season. Why would MSU be any different?

One of the most interesting story-lines brewing on the web is how will Bama play against Dan Mullen's offense this year. First of all, Dan Mullen is missing Tim Tebow. Secondly, there is no Tim Tebow. Thirdly, you get the picture. Although the Bulldogs have played many teams close, I still don't see the talent level to beat the Tide straight up. We would have to beat ourselves to let the Bulldogs beat us.
RTR.


Here is the highlight film from last year's 32-7 victory.

Out with the Old and in with the New

As Tiger Nation lingers on the supposed Patrick Peterson interception and the fairytale illusion that they could drive 69 yards to score and win the game, Nick Saban said “If it was an interception, that doesn't mean they win the game. I saw it, it was hard for me to tell on our film. I don’t watch the TV stuff so I can’t tell you or give you an opinion one way or the other.”In a league where criticising the officials for blown calls is what all the cool kids are doing, Coach Saban has opted to take the high road and defend their performances. He later commented “If I was an official, and I was making what I made officiating because I love the game and I love doing it, and I was getting criticized by the media, including our announcers on TV, like these guys are getting criticized, I’d step back and say ‘I think I’ll go to the lake this weekend. You can have this.’ That’s what I’d do,” Saban said. “Can somebody stand up and fight for these guys and what they do for the game?”

Also, this past weekend Keenan Allen, a five star recruit according to Rivals.com, committed to the Crimson Tide .The Crimson Tide's 22nd commitment of the 2010 class is the ninth-ranked prospect in the country overall and the number one ranked prospect in the state of North Carolina. When asked about his decision to choose the Tide, Keenan Allen said "I picked Alabama because that was the program that was going to improve me as a football player and take me to the next level. I have camped at Alabama for two years and got a lot better just by spending a week at their camp. Imagine what being at Alabama full-time will do for me. Coach Saban told me that they want to play me at receiver and line me up on the other side of Julio so teams will be forced to pick someone to double-cover. "

Tide stays #3 in the AP and the Coaches Poll

Well, I don't care if we are #3 or #2, but was Texas beating UCF a bigger win? Maybe our win will have a bigger impact in the BCS poll which will be released later today.

RTR