College Football News is predicting a Georgia win - 23-16. That's cool, but I don't really understand how they came up with it. And I quote: "Alabama is the real deal, but Georgia, in the black jerseys, will be a bit more consistent. Alabama might have the offensive line and a frothing-at-the-mouth defense waiting to pounce, but it doesn’t have Stafford or Moreno." If the defense is that good...wouldn't Moreno and Stafford basically be non-factors? Ehh...it is what it is.
More coach talk found here. Alabama's rushing attack vs Georgia's run defense. Honestly, I'm curious to see how they stack up after having so many injuries in the offseason. Surely they can't be THAT dominant with backups in, right?
You know what we've always had whenever we have great seasons? Senior leadership. We've got guys that have bought into Saban's process, and they're keeping everyone else in line. We're lucky to have Caldwell, Wilson, Johnson, and others that are great examples both on and off the field. Read more about this here.
One BIG thing to pay attention to Saturday is the fact that Georgia is tied with Texas Tech for tops in the country for MOST PENALTIES. Will that sneak up and bite them?
The tide enjoys the opportunity to play in such a big game...but if you ask the players, it's just the next game. "If we weren’t ranked and they weren’t ranked, it would still be a dogfight,” receiver Mike McCoy said. Damn right.
Well, it is now time for the picks. I'm 10-7 on the year now, so that's cool. Much better than 6-6. Hopefully this week will give me some more to work with.
USC at Oregon St (+25.5) Tonight - 8:05pm ESPN --- I've learned my lesson. Never EVER pick against a home team on a Thursday night on ESPN. No, Oregon State won't win this game, but they give USC fits every year, and I think USC could be just going through the motions after killing their first few opponents. Mike Riley just seems to know how to prepare for a Pete Carroll coached team, and I think that Oregon St could keep this one close. And even if they don't, 35-10 or 42-17 still keeps me in the point spread. Cheers to the Beavers!
Mississippi St at LSU (-24) Saturday - 6:35 ESPN2 --- Mississippi St looks like they're just beaten down, both physically and mentally. They've, for the most part, been awful on the road under Croom (and awful pretty much everywhere else). I don't forsee them scoring many points against LSU's defense, especially if they couldn't score on Auburn or Georgia Tech, so I think Les Miles gets to name his score here. Could get ugly early, but backdoor points won't matter because State can't score anyway. I'd look for about 4 turnovers by the Dawgs and a blowout in Death Valley.
Houston (+10.5) at East Carolina Saturday - 2:30pm CSTV --- East Carolina's defense lost it's starting middle linebacker, and the glue of the team, the week before NC State, and then gave up 30 points to a team that couldn't even score on South Carolina. I've got a feeling that ECU, after losing their shot at a BCS bowl, will be a little bit down. And you don't want to be down against an offense like Houston's. That team will hang half-a-hundy on you quick like if you're not careful. I think Houston wins this game outright.
South Florida (-8.5) at NC State Saturday - 6:30pm ESPNU --- I love the fact that we're getting points here because NC State all of a sudden came to life against a mediocre East Carolina team. NC State lost some key parts of their team for the season, and while it was fun to see them upset ECU last week, they're still not very good. I think Matt Grothe will have a field day against these guys. South Florida by 17.
Western Kentucky at Kentucky (-20.5) Saturday - 6:00pm ESPN Gameplan --- Ok, let's see here. Western Kentucky has looked out of their league when you put them up against good competition. And for some reason, the line, after opening at 22, has dropped to 20.5. Somebody please explain that to me. I'm getting Kentucky for less than 3 tds against Western Kentucky? Yeah, I'll take it. If Bama can beat them 41-7, giving us a BS td, and leaving points on the field, I would imagine Kentucky could at least beat them 35-14, right?
Other games I feel good about, but won't count on my part for the year...
Ole Miss at Florida (-22) ... There's just something about this line. It opened at 24 and then dropped. Seemed like a lot of points, but Vegas isn't usually wrong on these.
Virginia Tech (+7) at Nebraska ... How are the Cornhuskers giving up points against Va Tech? No, the Hokies haven't looked great, but Nebraska hasn't proven ANYTHING yet.
Central Florida (-4.5) at UTEP ... UTEP is horrible. They're just a bad football team. Bama fans, this is what we would look like right now if Mike Price was still our coach. This guy can't even stay competitive in Conference USA? Yikes.
San Jose St at Hawaii (-3) ... I don't know why, but I always like Hawaii at home. Not to mention the fact that San Jose St couldn't beat a bad Stanford team last week. I think Hawaii wins by at least a touchdown here.
Finally, we haven't had it for a while, but it's time for the Pelican State SportsBONEHEAD CALL OF THE WEEK. If you'd like to ready my Bonehead call, head on over to his blog and check it out...
"Tommy Tuberville. I know the very sound of the name on a Tide blog is like yelling Voldemort to a group of Harry Potter groupies, but I come not to praise, but to bury him.
And believe it or not, Tiders, LSU fans hate Tuberville far worse than they hate your coach...what was his name again?
Tommy Tuberville, a man known as one of the most underrated coaches in the conference, a man who for years has been called the "Riverboat Gambler" is my bonehead call of the week.
Some have argued that his bonehead call was hiring the overmatched Tony Franklin, but I won't go with that. I think it could eventually work out. But what the hell happened on Auburn's second to last drive of the game? But how in the name of Bo did Kodi Burns not see the playing field during that drive? Kodi would have been much more valuable than the statuesque Chris Todd on the drive in which Auburn took the ball with 5:45 to go in the game, nursing a one point lead. Instead, two Ben Tate rushes and one Chris Todd pass later, LSU got the ball with 4:45 to go in the game. Auburn used all of 55 seconds. Not even a full minute! I am more outraged than most Auburn fans I know.
The drive was a failure, from the top of the Pressbox to the bottom of Chris Todd's cleats. That's why it, in it's entirety, is my bonehead call of the week."
¶ 9:20 AM
Comments:
I am a senior at Bama and I have to go to Memphis this weekend. What is the best bar to go to with the most Tide fans? -Thanks # posted by Ewstout : 11:00 AM
Bama on the Bluff, the Alumni Chapter here in town, rents out the big room at the Fox & Hound in Cordova. That'd be your best bet. :-) # posted by Memphis Tider : 3:58 PM
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