Ok, back to the headline. I've been running this site since Oct. 1st of '06. I've bitched about EVERYTHING. I've made fun of ALL of our rivals. But I hadn't gotten any mail from opposing fans telling me I'm stupid.
Until now.
Our buddy, AuboSox@aol.com, has chimed in on a post I made back in January about next year's schedule. I chalked up the Auburn game as a win for us and compared this year's Auburn team to Georgia's team last year - young, but still dangerous. He lets us know that "the only way you are winning this game is if our bus crashes on the way to the stadium......funny read though." Feel free to crash this guy's inbox with hate mail. Haha.
Aside from that - the CRIMSON & WHITE ROUNDTABLE is up over at Tide Druid's page. This week's question has to do with which team do you think Alabama could upset this year, which team could upset Alabama, and how important is it that Coach Saban win a bowl game in his first season? Check out my response, along with all the other big Bama bloggers, at the link above.
LSU's Chris Wells isn't upset that Coach Saban took the Alabama job. He says "Some folks in Louisiana are unhappy he's now at Alabama, but not me. We're pleased with Les Miles. I know there will be a lot of eyes on that game. I can't wait." His early prediction on the game - LSU 24 Alabama 16.
Alabama has self-reported 3 secondary violations to the NCAA since Oct. 16th, 2006. Read about them here.
TigerRag.com has Nick Saban's leaving / arriving from LSU to the Dolphins to Alabama as the most important historical event in LSU history.
We'll knock out 3 games on the Mike Shula countdown today. All 3 were losses, so I guess it's better to get those out of the way all at once.
THE MIKE SHULA ERA
#23: Northern Illinois 19 Alabama 16Sept. 20, 2003 in Tuscaloosa, AL
There weren't many big plays in this one that I can remember, other than the difference in the game being the blocked PAT returned for 2 points in the first quarter. Take away 2 points from No. Ill. and give us one point and we're going to overtime. That's the difference that good special teams will make in a game.
Their bruising running back, Michael Turner, ran for 156 yards on 27 carries. He bruised out linebackers and our defensive line, taking out anyone that got in his path. Their offensive line was ridiculous as well. They were beasts.
It was easily Norther Illinois's biggest win in school history, and it propelled them to a 10-2 record that year.
#24: Arkansas 34 Alabama 31 2OTSept. 27, 2003 in Tuscaloosa, AL
Talk about heartbreak. Midway through the 3rd quarter we were up 31-10 and were on the way to a blowout victory over 3-0 Arkansas.
Then Shula got stuck in the headlights of a big-time win. Houston Nutt knew he could run on our defense, so they stuck to their gameplan and pounded out 289 yards on the ground, including 198 from Cedric Cobbs.
They scored once in the 3rd to make it 31-17, then again midway through the 4th to make it 31-24. Then, after our offense stalled again, they drove the ball down the field and Matt Jones threw a 3 yard touchdown pass to tie it with 27 seconds left.
In the first overtime their kicker missed a field goal. Brian Bostick had a chance to win it for us, but he sent his 38-yarder wide. On the next series Brodie was picked off by an Arkansas linebacker. Their kicker, a backup, hit a 23-yard chipshot to win it. Sending us into another weak of heartache, since this was the week after the Northern Illinois loss.
#25: South Carolina 20 Alabama 3Oct. 2nd, 2004 in Tuscaloosa, AL
I remember leaving this game midway through the 3rd quarter. It was the earliest my father had ever made us leave a game. The entire day was awful. Guillon and Pennington made up possibly the worst quarterback tandem in the SEC that day, going a combined 10 of 24 for 67 yards and 4 interceptions. South Carolina only passed for 53 yards, but we kept giving them the football in short-field situations.
I remember a glimmer of hope at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. South Carolina was driving, but Newton made an awful pass that Anthony Madison picked off at our own 22 yard line. The crowd was fired up - we had just stopped them and momentum had begun to swing back our direction.
Then Guillon threw an interception on the very next play, and Newton ran the ball three straight times, capping the drive off with a 8 yard touchdown run that made it 13-3.
My dad was ready to go and we told him to just wait for a little bit. There was still plenty of time left, and we were switching quarterbacks. Spencer Pennington was running out to the huddle.
Then Pennington's first play was an interception that was returned to the 9. That's when we left. We heard South Carolina score just as we were leaving BDS. That ended up being the final score - 20-3.
¶ 9:20 AM
