Well, how was everyone's Christmas and New Year. Things are good here as I travel back out to California for another job in the bay area. Good thing I have these trips so I can have some time to write these things, huh?

Anyway, Bama's season is now over, winning their last 4 games to end the season at 7-5. Obviously, at one point in the season, we were 3-5, and looking at a losing season and no bowl game. We had just lost to LSU very badly, and had to beat Miss. St., Auburn, and S.Miss in order to go to a bowl. Who'da thunk it? And to beat Auburn so badly was just awesome!! Then we got our revenge over S.Miss after last year's 21-0 debacle. In any case, Bama came back strong to make a bid to the Mainstay Independence Bowl. Not a bad bowl game since I only had to travel 2 1/2 hours to the game. Yeah, Dallas ain't as far out there as you think. Anyway, here's a look at what I saw with me NOT watching the game on TV after I got back...

OFFENSE: The offense was pretty stagnant. With Zow at the healm, we just sputtered and sputtered. Somehow, we managed to get a TD in just before halftime and just before the end of the game. And that was all we would need to win the Independence. Oh yeah - we needed a little luck too. But Zow did ok in his last game as a Crimson Tide QB. I'm sure the coaches were thinking about putting Watts in the game, but he still must have been a little too hurt to go on and play. Galloway and Beard were the workhorses, and both had a decent game. At the WR position, we were shorthanded with our best WR not in attendance - A.C. Carter. Milons and McAddley had to pick up the slack and they did a pretty good job. Collins even contributed as usual.

It wasn't a great day on offense, but it was just enough to win. Zow had a pretty fake toss on the 1st TD option play... then had a good pass to Terry Jones, Jr. to end the game with his 2nd TD. I'm gonna miss Jones. He's been a keeper for the last 4 years. Too bad we didn't use him more than we did. One thing that Zow needs to learn to do (IF he plays at the next level) is throw the ball away when you get outside the pocket and there's no one open. He was the main reason our drives kept ending in punts. Do the coaches not teach that? And if you do it wrong once, don't you think you'd learn to do it the next time. I guess not because he did it 2-3 times, and each time, the result was the same - a sack. He was lucky one of those wasn't intentional grounding - the one time he did throw it away, he threw it at the ground. Sheesh. At least I won't have to talk about anymore "Zow games". They just wear me out, really. Watts may screw up next year, but I've been having to write about Zow for the last 4 years. It's time for it to end. Congrats on a good year anyway, Zow. You broke a few of Alabama's QB records on the way and won our last 4 games for us. We DO owe you that. And you went 3-1 against Auburn in your tenure at the Capstone. Good job there. But I guess most importantly, thanks for the 2 wins against Florida in '99. Of course, Alexander and Samuels had a lot to do with that, but you definitely helped too. As for the bowl game, a slow and uneventful night, really. Wish we could have had a bit more offense as we have had in previous games, but I guess it just wasn't our night to lose pretty, huh? Yeah, we won ugly, but I'll take it. Roll Tide! GRADE: C-

DEFENSE: The defense should actually get the MVP award. They held a very good Iowa State team to only 13 points. One TD and 2 FG's. Really not a bad outting. It looked a lot worse on paper after looking at the stats, but as every game goes, the score is the one that counts. Some guys that looked to have good games were Saleem Rasheed, Kendal Moorehead, Kenny King, Jarrett Johnson, and even the secondary had a few good plays though they still gave up some big yardage. The Big 12's leading rusher still got his yards, but that was all he got - yards. He didn't get them many points. Hats off to the defense for doing what they did - and getting sacks when we needed them most. Again, it was ugly and it could have been a lot worse, but the bottom line is that they gave up a mere TD and 2 FG's. Can't ask for much more than that - though I guess special teams DID help out a lot with that.... Roll Tide! GRADE: B+

SPECIAL TEAMS: Special teams saved the day and gave Bama a final 7-5 record. Of course, the biggest play of the game was the blocked punt at the end of the game. If I'm not mistaken, we only blocked one punt all year (against UTEP), and what a time to have one more all of a sudden. Without that blocked punt, there's a chance Bama doesn't win the game, since we were set up so close to the end zone. But never say never - we'll never know though, huh? Zow might have had one of his comeback games where he drives down the field with no time left on the clock.... but instead we DID score and gave Iowa State a chance to win the game. Better that than not scoring at all, right?

In any case, this was a game like the Vandy game this year - where special teams was the difference in the games. At Vandy, Thomas kicked 4 FG's to win the game. Against Iowa State, it was the defensive side of the special teams that capped a win for the Tide. It was either 2 or 3 missed FG's and one blocked punt that turned the game around. But that's how it has been all year - when one side is down, another side picks it up. When the O was down, the D stepped it up... and on this night, both the D and O were kind of down and out, so special teams picked it up. Without this part of the game, Bama loses. Thank you special teams. You made a difference this time. GRADE: A+

COACHING: Coaching was great. Period. I mean, how do you possibly go 3-5, then win 3 more to go to a bowl... then keep the team's head in the game to win the bowl game? Last year's team definitely would have folded a long time ago. That's the new attitude this year's team has - don't give up, don't ever give up. Just like Jimmy V. said in the early 90's. That might have well been the motto for this year's team, and it paid off. Coach Fran has really done well considering the pressure he was under to get this program turned back around. And just like that, he's over .500 and finished with the same record as Coach Stallings had in his first season at the Capstone.

Coach Fran has got the players thinking on the same page, and now has this team moving in the right direction. We actually play in the 4th quarter now. Imagine that. If we do that the entire season, we're at least 9-2 going into the SEC Championship. 2 games stung us the most - S. Carolina and Ole Miss. 2 games that we won on the field (as did Iowa State), but we didn't put up enough points to win the game. That's why I don't feel very sorry for Iowa State. I've been there, and we've been in that position before - and it's about time the tables turned in favor of the Tide.

But yeah, the coaches did a great job, stuck with the gameplan, stuck it out with Zow to keep Watts from getting more hurt than what he already is... and we still won the game. It just seemed to work out for the best, huh? Guess it'll be time for a pay raise pretty soon.... great job, coaches. 7-5 is a big improvement after finishing 3-8 last year and this year winning a bowl game. Makes next year all that much brighter. Roll Tide! GRADE: A

OVERALL: Overall, a great effort though the scoring wasn't there. We did what it took to win the game so I won't complain anymore. :) Everyone knows I pick on Zow a lot, but hey - the QB will always get a brunt of the criticism, right? Ok, so I bashed the secondary too - but who didn't?

Good season when you consider what this team has been through in the past. 3-8 last year under a lame-as-freakin'-crap coaching staff, and now this year, 7-5 under a coaching staff that has a battle plan and who is organized. Also, the coaches have not let the NCAA investigation get to the players. Everyone has been focused and that's the main thing. Only worry about things that you can control. And since they couldn't control the outcome of the NCAA probe, why worry about it. Just play the best you can and let the other things take care of themselves.

Can't say much more than that about the attitude of the players. They were just great. As for some of the seniors, we'll miss you guys - Milons, Zow, Jones, McAddley, and Neil Thomas are the main ones I recall. One other player we might lose next year, but to grades, is A.C. Carter. He was not allowed to play in the bowl game - and unless his grades improve over the spring and summer, he won't be back next year. That'll be a huge loss if he can't come back. But to the seniors, thanks for everything. You have been through the good times and the bad. You brought us an SEC Championship and beat Florida in the swamp. What more could you ask? Spurrier lost to the Tide the last 2 times he played us... and that's the way it'll end, since Spurrier will leave the gators this year. Thanks for everything and may the Tide roll next Fall...

It's been an honor and a pleasure serving everyone this fall with "Bamadog's Take on the Game". I know a lot of times, it's been late, but hey - I have a life other than this right? On to basketball season and baseball season.... right now, the Tide is looking up and are 13-2 after beating LSU the other night and is now #15 in the country. Keep it up... and keep the faith. It's been real - ROLL TIDE EVERYBODY!!

Your Crimson Tide Host,

The Bamadog

BAMA 28 . . . SOUTHERN MISS 15

Well, the season is finally over and Bama finished strong to end up at 6-5. Who woulda thunk it after being 3-5 with 3 games left? Well, somebody's gotta win those last 3 games right? Why not Bama? And to think we were just THIS freakin' close to actually being the SEC West Champion and on our way to playing UT again... SHEESH!!!!!! Man, that just chaps my hide. I mean, really, S.Carolina & Ole Miss, we gave BOTH of those games away, especially USC. And then you can make claims about UCLA and Tennessee... but regardless, USC and Ole Miss definitely should have been wins - thus would have given Bama a berth in the SEC Championship game against UT. But unfortunately for Bama, games have 4 quarters instead of 3, so here we are... about to play in the Independence Bowl. Oh well.

Funny thing is, is that Ole Miss is 7-4 and beat Alabama (only by the score, mind you, but I guess that IS how you win games, huh?), yet got snubbed out of a bowl game with 6-5 Bama making the bid. 6-5 isn't all that great, but to go from 3-8 to 6-5 is an improvement, and heck, we could end up as good as Coach Gene Stallings' first team... win our bowl game and we'll finish 7-5, only winning our bowl game (instead of losing the bowl game as Stallings did his first year - Fiesta Bowl vs Louisville 35-7).

I'll comment more (preview) on the bowl game later, so for now, I'll give a brief summary of the Bama vs Southern Miss game...

OFFENSE: This game was ugly, especially in the 1st half. It was rainy and a little cold... but the Tide came out with a win. Zow did well though he has still constantly overthrown people. Ahmaad Galloway proved to everyone why he has been the starter for the entire year except for one game - he IS the workhorse for this offense. Why would people think we'd go backwards with Galloway starting? Pulease. He is the man, regardless of how Beard does. Anyway, the offense did about as well as any offense could do in crappy field & weather conditions. The WR's made great catches and did just enough to keep the S. Miss defense off balance. Overall, a decent game and one that the Tide deserved to win. The Tide got their revenge against last year's 21-0 debacle. Thank you offense for putting up points when we had to. Weather caused quite a few fumbles/turnovers, but we still need to do better at protecting the football, even in such conditions. ROLL TIDE. Grade: B+

DEFENSE: Like the offense, the defense did about as good as a team could do in those conditions. S. Miss really didn't threaten in the 2nd half as the Tide D shut 'em down. I'm not even sure if S.Miss got a 1st down in the 2nd half. They were limited to less than 100 yards in the 2nd half though. They forced a few turnovers to even up what our offense had turned over. Rasheed is the man at LB. He has really come alive these last few games. Auburn and now S.Miss. He is going to be a huge force next year (yes, bigger than this year). And last, but not least, the secondary had it's 2nd good game in a row. Again, what more could you ask a bunch of guys that have been bashed all year long? They have come together to form a pretty good unit as of late, getting their hands up, turning their heads, you know - the things that good DB's are supposed to do. Anyway, good outting and we only allowed 15 points this time. Not bad. Grade: A-

SPECIAL TEAMS: Special teams was a nightmare. Of course the weather had a lot to do with this, but how do you still miss all those PATs? We should prep sometimes in the rain so we'll know what it's like playing in those conditions. What if this game had been on the line because of a kick? Heck, towards the end there, when we went for the FG, I was like - What are we doing??? I realized that 3 points is a good move, but if the kicking game hasn't worked for the entire game, and we have a good chance at keeping the chains moving... and also with a good lead, you have nothing to lose if you go for it on 4th down, deep in USM's territory. But we tried to kick the FG and it was no good. You can always look back on it and say "what if"... but I was saying go for it before the kick anyway.... well, that's why I get paid the big bucks to write this stuff instead of coaching; because I don't know what I'm talking about. Duh. Anyway, an overall sloppy game, but considering everything, still not bad, but can we practice in these conditions once in a while? Grade: B-

COACHING: The coaches have done a great job finishing out the season. We were 3-5 at one point, and the mere talk of a bowl was pretty much out of the picture. We had only won 3 games.... we had to win 3 more, one of those being AT Auburn. Turns out, that was the game we did the best at. Go figure. Anyway, the coaches never let this team give up, which was great. Last year, this team folded long ago. This year, it's a different attitude. Now we are going to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA. What a difference a year makes... and the difference a coach makes. Now everyone is on the same page and the coaches have the players thinking they can win again. We have now won 3 in a row with a bowl win in sight. Win the next one, and finish 7-5. Not bad. Lose, and finish 6-6. Still not bad, but at least we're in a bowl this year. Kudos to the coaching staff for getting something together for the USM game that would work to our advantage. Just give the ball to Galloway. heh, heh.... With only 4 starters leaving next year, look for this team to get even better. Grade: A

OVERALL: Overall, a good enough performance to win, and a good enough performance in the 2nd half to put the game away for good. I think that if we had had a dry field, both teams would have played better, but I still think Bama would have won bigger than they did. Lately, they have played with a newfound confidence and it shows on the field. The 2ndary is playing better, the running game is remaining steady, and the DL is getting to the QB a lot more, mostly Jarret Johnson. What a day he had against USM. Dude was all over the place. What did he have - 4 sacks or something... I can't remember, but Kelly never had much of a shot all day long with our DL all over him. That's it for now. Preview for the Bama vs Iowa State game coming soon.... Overall Grade: B+

BAMA 31 . . . COW COLLEGE 7
+ USM Preview

MAN I'M A SLACKER. I have had a week and a half and I STILL haven't written my take on the biggest win in some time for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Ok, I'll try and make it quick, but thorough, ok? It's now 6 hours prior to kickoff for the Southern Miss game... Sorry guys!

OFFENSE: Man, what a game! I don't think I've seen Alabama play a quality (are they REALLY quality???) opponent and dominate so well in a long time. Offensively, we just had our way with the little tiggers of what they call "The Jungle". Puuulease! If that's the jungle, then now I know what it's like to walk thru the park.

Zow was on, the WR's were on, and the RB's were running mad. Beard with 199 yards and Galloway with 127. No team has done that to AU in quite some time, and Alabama did it with ease. Zow couldn't have been much better. He didn't lose the ball even once. But that's always been the key for Zow, if he's on early, then he'll be fine. If he starts out struggling, then the rest of the game follows suit. He was still throwing the ball high most of the day, but at least they were catchable.

Another player that stepped it up was Jason McAddley. For some reason, he always comes through when it's Iron Bowl time. Good to see him make some plays in his last Iron Bowl.

The offensive Line did a terrific job blocking for Zow. Most of the year, we have run the option to play to our strengths... not much blocking needed for play action passing and pocket passing, but in this game, they showed no weakness hardly. The more experienced AU defensive line couldn't handle the 3 redshirt freshmen that manned the line that game. What does that say for our OL in the near future. Looks like another great bunch of guys in the next few years.

Not too much more to say other than we rolled all day. NO 3-and-outs on the offense, perhaps the first game all year we've done that (except maybe for UTEP). Penalties were down, and was the only thing you could really complain about the entire game. But we kept converting 1st down after 1st down. What can you say except we kick that Awbun boootay!!! Grade: A

DEFENSE: The defense was stifling. Period. Little Caddilac Williams gained 39 yards on 5 carries, and they finished the game with 41 yards. 2 more yards were gained on the ground after Williams left the game. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha That just cracks me up. Granted, they did run more than that, but the sacks helped out that stat. What would have been even better is if we had gotten just one more sack for over 2 yards, and they would have finished the game with less yards rushing after he had already gained 'em. You get the picture.

Anyway, the DL was all over the QB's of AU. Johnson, King, and McKay-Loecher were all over 'em. And Saleem was always right there in the mix making some huge stops. And when the DL and LB's weren't making plays, the DBs were. HUH? The DBs were making plays? Yeah, you guessed it. They ACTUALLY looked for the ball, raised their hands, stripped a ball or two after it had been caught to cause incomplete passes. I don't know what got into those guys, but they played their best game of the year by far.

This kinda reminds me of DuBose's first year when we played in AU when we had the infamous 3rd down pass play instead of running the ball and punting with less than one mintue to go and the lead with our defense playing great. We had a crappy defense that year too... our DBs were getting burnt left and right, but come IRON BOWL time, they dig down deep and find a way to win and played great. I'll never forget that game. I still can't believe we lost it. The defense that year deserved a win. This year they did too, and they got it. They even forced the only turnover of the game to give the ball back to Alabama with Awbun threatening to score late in the game. Too bad, sooo sad, huh?

Anyway, great game - I have no complaints really. There were a few bad calls on our defense, but there were some bad calls on AU as well on offense, so it evened out. Like when the play clock "ran out" on AU in one play. Sorry, but even I could see there was still 1 second on the clock when the ball was put in play, yet they still got the penalty. If we play defense like this every game, no one could stop us. Let's hope for the best against USM. Grade: A

SPECIAL TEAMS: Special teams played well, but could have been better. This was actually the only weak point in the game. Thomas missed what is usually a given, but it turned into a block. From what I saw, the ball wasn't really that high, so give some credit to the fault of Thomas on that block too. Kickoff coverage could be a ton better. We're letting guys get way too much yardage. Of course, this varies from game to game - some games we do an outstanding job, and then others, well, you know the story. That's about it. Everything else was fine. But miscues cost this bunch this week. Grade: B-

COACHING: Coaching couldn't have been any better. They had the AU coaching staff fooled the entire week. AU practiced defense as if Tyler would be starting, thus practicing against the option. Well, they saw about 3 of those plays and that was it. The rest was run thru the tackles and go pass happy. AU was totally unprepared for what they were about to see Saturday. Credit that to the closed practices and keeping mum the word to the press. Play calling was great - even had a trick play for Zow to catch a pass at the end zone... too bad he dropped it after that vicious hit. I'm just glad he got up after the play. We don't need our 3rd stringer to come in, that's for sure.

Also, it was good to see the staff pumped up and then Coach Fran celebrating after the win. We haven't seen that in a long time. A coach that gets excited about winning. Hopefully, we're now seeing what this coaching staff is capable of doing. Let's see if we can do it each and every game now..... we'll see. But great job there. They had everybody fooled! Grade: A

OVERALL: Overall, a great game with only a few minor penalties really causing any concern for this game. The only stat AU was better at was yards gained thru the air if I'm not mistaken. It was total DOMINATION. Period. There's just no other word describing what happened Saturday in the Iron Bowl. DOMINATION. Let's do it again next year! Grade: A

BAMA/SOUTHERN MISS PREVIEW: USM won last year 21-0 in Birmingham against a team that started out #3 in the country. Well, we all know how that season ended.... man, what a difference a year makes. This year, we come to the game that is being made up due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in a different light. THIS is the last game of the season this year, and this year, we have a lot better odds at beating S.Miss, now that we have a coaching staff that is all on the same page and a team that is actually playing LIKE A TEAM. S.Miss better watch out. Bama looks for some major revenge after last year's loss.

But don't be fooled Bamafans. USM is NO pushover. They ALWAYS play Bama tough and they'll come out fighting hard. AND they'll pull out a couple of trick plays as usual. These are the guys that (at least some of them) wanted to go to Bama, but weren't offered a scholarship to play at Bama, so they ended up at Southern Miss, so they have a point to make - they we messed up when we didn't pick them. Well, they got their win last year, so it'll be a while till they win another one like that. The odds are Bama by 7, but by history, when was the last time USM beat Bama 2 years in a row? I think never.... so I'll take those odds to the bank.

Look for a Bama shallacking this time, as the Bama offense pounds and pounds the USM line. But with Beard out this week, it all rests on the shoulders of Ahmaad Galloway. He's been there before and he's pretty much been the man all year, but with a resurging Beard out, we'll lack a little at the RB spot this week. His backup could have been Brandon Miree, but nope, he thought it would be smart to leave school and go to Pitt. Ok, now look who's an idiot. Now it's Ray Hudson in the 2nd man spot. He'll be fine. He just needs to use that speed and get into the endzone, knowutimean?

The defense, if they play like they did last weekend at the Iron Bowl, will make this a cakewalk. If they play like they have played all season, then it will be a bit tougher. But I think this group of guys have learned a little more than we think, and the defense will have another good game. Bama wins, but pulls away in the 2nd half. Bama rolls to 6-5 to earn a bid to the Music City Bowl... That's my prediction & I'm stickin' to it. ROLL TIDE!
PREDICTION: BAMA 24 USM 16

BAMA 24 . . . MISSISSIPPI STATE 17
+ IRON BOWL Preview

Well, we finally got one. One win in one month's time. At least it was better to see this win sooner than later. I'm tired of losing as I'm sure you are too. Bama finally put together a game they could be proud of - not because of stats or yards, but because it won a game. At this point, we have won 4 games and lost 5. There's still a lot of work to be done. We still have to win out in order to be bowl-eligible. This team needs that - especially for confidence for next year. Plus it will give the team more practice time which is a huge plus.

You've read the new articles. You know what we need to do. It's just a matter of WILL WE DO IT. Auburn stands in the way, and so does Southern Miss... but before I move on to the Iron Bowl, let's take a look at what worked and what didn't work against State...

OFFENSE: The offense was like an average Bama defense ... of last year, only this year, we didn't crumple up and die. There wasn't much option in the game, though some of the game's biggest plays came in the 4th quarter and were option plays. That was due to Watts hurting a groin muscle and Zow taking over the rest of the way. This was a good move. If there's any chance of Watts being ready for the IRON BOWL, he needed to sit out the rest of that game and not make the injury worse. Besides, Zow has played in plenty of big games right? Yeah, but would we see the Zow of 2000 or the Zow of 1999? Lucky for us, a Zow from 1999 showed up.

Zow did a great job filling in for the injured Watts. We didn't run quite as much option as we might have liked, but we got the job done and got our 4th win of the season. But remember, MSU isn't all that. They have struggled all year, also losing to Troy State University. That's worse than losing to La Tech. So the win last week doesn't mean much, but it will be a confidence builder for the next 2 games. In addition to Zow doing what he had to do to win, Beard also had another good game gaining close to 100 yards. There's the possibility that he could start for the Iron Bowl... but honestly, it's irrelevant since both Galloway and Beard seem to be taking about the same number of snaps. Beard gives them a bigger yards-per-carry with 7+. We're looking good there... and we're not fumbling the football which is good.

The Wideouts are also doing their job. Everyone played well. It's just too bad we can't utilize Milons and A.C. just a little more. A.C. is definitely the go-to guy with his great hands and up-the-field speed. Good job there.

And the Offensive Line did a pretty good job at keeping MSU at bay. Alabama was only sacked once on the day, so that says a lot about the OL. Anyway, an overall good job and no turnovers. Only thing we need to improve on is the penalties. Still a few too many to deal with. We got the win... it was somewhat ugly, but I'll take it. We still need to score more points on lesser opponents though...... Grade: B+

DEFENSE: The defense finally had a decent game. I expected the D (as in past games) to just roll over and die... but once Zow got the offense going in the 4th quarter, the defense say to themselves - they're doing their job, let's do ours. I guess that's something they should have said in other games too... why they didn't, I don't know. But anyway, they got after the MSU offense in the 4th so Bama could score 14 and put the game away. Myles also had a good game and cashed in an on interception. He has been in the doghouse lately with Coach Fran for his poor play, but he made up for it Saturday.

Other aspects of the defense were also good - the DL and LB's put a stop to the MSU run, and pressured the QB's all day... though a lot of times, the WR's for MSU would drop the ball. MSU only gained 179 yards in the air and just over 100 yards on the ground. That looks more like the Bama D I know and love. These past few games where we've given up over 500 and 600 yards total defense is just unacceptable. So way to come back against this SEC cupcake (at least this year they are)... now the true tests await us - Auburn and S.Miss. They, like LSU and UT, will be more of a test to see how our defensive backs respond. Will they do it? Again, let's flip a coin and see. But for MSU, they DID do their job and they held MSU scoreless in the 4th quarter, something not done to any team in a long while. Good job guys! Grade: A

SPECIAL TEAMS: Special Teams did well on the day too... only hiccup came on the fake FG which actually was a good call. We had the 1st down, now if only Neil Thomas hands were as good as his right leg... heh,heh... We had to punt 5 times... usually we're up in the 7-10 range, so 5 wasn't too bad when you compare the numbers. Neil Thomas again came thru for us sliding a 20-yard FG barely between the uprights and hitting all of his PATs. Man, I'm sure gonna miss this guy next year. He has given the Tide a legitimate weapon on special teams. If we get within 55 yards, Coach will put him out there. That shows what kind of confidence Fran has in Thomas. I just hope we can have his consistancy next year in next year's kicker.

In any case, other aspects of the kicking game went pretty well too. Punt coverage was good - and Bearden put 2 punts inside the 10 yard line. Couldn't have done much better than that. Kick returns could be better, but Jason McAddley just doesn't seem to have his old stuff like he used to. He's the prototype WR, but on the season, it seems like he has been phased out by the likes of Milons, Carter, and Collins. Other than the botched fake FG, we did pretty well. I can't complain. Grade: A

COACHING: Coaching was fine on Saturday. We kept on using our offensive gameplan with Zow in the game - only less option... only when MSU saw Zow they didn't think option, then we burned 'em in the 4th WITH the option. Good move. Also, thanks for teaching the DBs to get their hands up in the 2ndary. We finally got our heads turned around a little bit and played like we used to. You can't defend a WR if your hands are by your side or you're not expecting a pass your way. Did we eat our Wheaties???

No complaints here, but one major thing does need to improve and that's the PENALTIES. 9 penalties for 69 yards and it could have been worse since more penalties were declined by State. This type of play will get us beat in the next 2 games. Can we not give harsher penalties to the players that commit these fouls??? They still don't get the picture, obviously. Plus, it just disrupts the flow of the game. Of course, State didn't help out with their 13 penalties, but we sure can help ourselves in that area. Fix that, and get Watts healthy, and we'll be ok. If not, Zow will do fine if he just relaxes back in the pocket... Anywho, a win is a win and the coaches got the players on the right page in staging a come-from-behind victory in the 4th quarter. See???? It IS good to be behind in the 4th quarter if you're Bama. If we had led, we would have sat on the lead only to see State come back and win in Bryant-Denny. Whew. Good game plan, Coach. Grade: A-

OVERALL: Overall, we got the win - a much needed win. That leaves us 2 wins from being bowl-eligible. Losing last weekend would have put the rest of the season in the crapper.... but we did win. A come-from-behind win at that. Need I say more? We finally got the job done late in the game. I guess better late than never, right? Grade: B+

IRON BOWL PREVIEW: It's Alabama vs #17 Auburn. Do you need to say anything else? I'd love to just let that be that, but I won't. This year, we get Auburn in Jerrrrrrdon-Hare stadium in Cow Country, Alabama. If you happen to go to the game, don't let the stinch get to ya. Just take a clothes line clip and put it over your nose. But before you do that, soak it in vinegar for about an hour because the stinch get thru a little and you want something that will dilute the smell, huh? Anyway...

On paper, this game goes to Alabama. The only aspect of the game which AU beats Bama is Passing Defense, but that's a given, right? We score more points, we have the best rushing offense in the league, we have a better passing offense than AU, etc etc etc. The only thing that AU has is more wins. Why? They have played the ENTIRE GAME, and to that I give them credit. Bama has only played 3 quarters for most of the games played this year. Why? I don't know. Auburn has had 5 games in which they have won by 7 points or less, 3 of those coming off of Duval's leg in the waning minutes of the game. Last week, they held UGA on the 1-yd line to hold on for a 24-17 win. The other close win came against La-freakin'-Tech. They took Auburn to OT and AU got a pass to Green from Cobbs to secure the win. They have been closing out games well this season, so it's up to the Tide to make sure that doesn't happen in the Iron Bowl. Auburn won't give up till the final whistle sounds, that's a fact. And in close games, you have to think AU would win, I mean, it's a home game too, and you don't EVER give up in the Iron Bowl, especially at home.

Look for Bama to jump on Auburn often and early. Don't know about the points, but we need to jump on them quickly. AU plans on doing the same thing with Williams, Auburn's talented Freshman RB. But don't forget, Bama has it's own 3-headed monster in Watts-Beard-Galloway. Assuming Watts is 100%, AU will have plenty of trouble come gametime. AU suffered a huge defeat in Arkansas earlier in the year when the Hogs put in the option in the 2nd half of that game and AU couldn't stop it if their life depended on it. But that was then - this is now. AU KNOWS what we're gonna do. They know we're not going to drop back and throw the bomb and run straight at us. It will be the option game. Even Zow will run a bit of the option if he plays - so he'll definitely get the reps he needs in practice this week.

The main thing that will determine who gets the upper hand is time of possession. From the stats, you can see that neither team lights up the scoreboard. Bama scores 27/game and AU 24/game. Cobb is the new QB and he's doing what he's supposed to - just don't screw up and win one here or there when you have to. He has been solid, but definitely no Rex Grossman. Time of possession will be crucial. Whether or not we get our ground game going or they get theirs, that will be the key.

Also, Bama can't get in a game of catch-up. If we get way behind, the AU secondary will eat us alive. They have some good athletes back there, so don't look to throw into tight coverage or we'll be looking at 6 the other way.

Is all this making sense? I'm just throwing everything into the pot, huh? I need some organizational skills on this stuff...

Anyway, for the prediction of the game, well, Vegas says AU by 3 which is legit. They are 7-2 and we are 4-5 and they are playing in Auburn. Some of our scores just haven't gone our way, losing 3 of our games by a total of 7 points. If somehow we create a defensive secondary in those 3 games, we are EASILY 7-2 as well. Now, again, on paper, the Tide rolls. So if you give us those 3 wins, you have identical records basically playing for the West Championship in Auburn. The home crowd evens out the fact that we're slightly better on paper. So that would take us to OT, right? Well, there has to be a winner. So now you check out special teams. Crap - both teams are solid there too - Thomas and Duval are in the top 3 in FG kickers (yeah, UF's Chandler is the other one), though their exact rank is irrelevant. Let's see, noise won't help the Tide, so they still get the home crowd in OT, but our running game is better, and we have better WR's and QB play. Man, this is a hard one. Heck, if we're so good, why are we playing in OT???? I just answered my own question. Bama won't lose.

Our record doesn't show it, but our play does show it. We ARE better than Auburn. Question is : will Bama play the entire game - and that seems to be the key at this point. It's the IRON BOWL, so you'd have to assume both teams will play hard-nosed smash-mouth football for 60 minutes. No way Bama lets off and neither does Auburn. It's a close one, but Bama edges out the Tigers in a revenge game from last year's 0-9 loss in T-town. Besides, last time we were there, we won 28-17. Let's make it 2-in-a-row, ok? I feel it. Bama will win. The crowd will be electric. But Bama silences the crowd in a stunning minor upset of #17 Auburn. If Watts is 100%, I feel this confident. If Zow plays, well, that's a different story. I need Watts to play for my prediction to come true, even though Zow is 2-1 against AU. It just changes the gameplan - one that feeds into the Auburn defense. GO BAMA & ROLL TIDE!!
IRON BOWL PREDICTION: BAMA 26 AUBURN 23

BAMA 21 . . . LSU 35
+ Miss St. Preview

Well, news has it that if we win 3 more games, we'll be eligible for a bowl game. 3 more? Please. We have to win one more game in order, then another game before we can win 3 games. Obviously, the SEC West title is out of the picture, so now we're fighting just to have a winning record. Yeah, if we win our last 3 games, we'll most likely go to a bowl since Bama will draw crowds and they would have finished strong. Lose one, and no chance. That's the long and short if it. Let's take a look at the Bama/LSU game, er, uh, massacre.

OFFENSE: Well, in my opinion, our offense didn't do too badly until the 4th quarter when we mustered up an impressive 48 whole yards. Zow isn't the answer either. Our problem lies within the fact that we run out of gas. Plain and simple. It's like we allow the other team to figure out exactly what we're going to do on offense and we can't do anything. Are we that predictable or just that bad? It's hard to say... maybe it's a little of both.

Tyler Watts had a decent game both passing and running the ball. Definitely nothing spectacular, but solid numbers that should normally be good enough to win games. Ahmaad and Santonio had average games at best and the passing game was average. Still too many missed throws by the QBs. On the other hand, the trick plays seemed to work pretty well, especially the pass by A.C. Carter to Freddie Milons. We kept on fighting and fighting, even coming back from behind to tie the score at 21-21, converting a 2-pt conversion in the process. At that point, I actually thought we had a chance to win - the team believes in themselves. Well, as it ended up, they were just teasin' us again. The 4th quarter rang in - and there were some hands up holding up 4 fingers, but not as many as in the past. It's an embarassment to hold up 4 fingers anymore.

In any case, we played hard as usual up to the 4th quarter when we fell apart. No offense and absolutely NO defense whatsoever. We just rolled over and died. What our problem is, I don't know. It's a combination of many things and maybe conditioning may be the #1 thing. We just look sluggish at the end of the game. Maybe we're just predictable too. Zow comes in and you know we're abandoning the option so load up the box and rush him hard to make Zow make a play - which we all know, he doesn't usually do. Most of his passes end up in the stands. So what can you do? My suggestion, run up the score - yes, run up the score in the 1st 3 quarters - oh, we'll say about 4 TDs and that way, we don't have to worry as much about a comeback in the waning minutes of a game. Did I say run up the score? No, that would be impossible. We are unable to do such a thing unless we're playing UTEP high school.

Well, I guess you can tell I'm just frustrated, as most of you are. The answer to this team losing isn't totally the offense's fault, in fact, it's probably about 25-50% the fault of the offense. We have to be able to move the ball in the 4th quarter to keep games close and to just put the game away, but we don't seem to do that. It also gives the defense a MUCH needed rest to close the game strong. We just don't seem to do that. 3 and out... 4 and out, and punt. Major improvement must be made here. Anyway, offensively, we played ok, but still nowhere what we should have done against any team that comes into our house. How we don't play with the big boys is beyond me. Here's to hoping we show up next week against MSU. Good comeback in the 1st half and 3rd quarter, but squandered to end the game... GRADE: C-

DEFENSE: Defense? What defense? Ok we did get 2 turnovers but that was it. Other than that, a day I or any other Bamafans EVER wants to see again. 619 yards of offense with 500 and something yards thru the air. Everyone knows our 2ndary is struggling and Saturday was no different, only this time it was worse. The most yards EVER given up by an Bama defense in our long history of football. Now I know how UTEP felt when we reemed them.

The DL was pretty ineffective on the day in getting to Davey - he was only sacked once or twice if I'm not mistaken. The LB's played ok, but we still had too many missed tackles on the defense as a whole... too many first misses and yards after the catch. And what's with Josh Reed catching all of those passes??? How does a team, ESPECIALLY ALABAMA, allow one receiver to catch 19 passes for almost 300 yards???? That just ain't supposed to happen, I'm sorry. We play 7-10 yards off of the guy at the line and don't cover worth a crap. If something isn't working, why don't we try something else? Double coverage - double-teams - bump-and-run, triple coverage, maybe even putting Jason McAddley back there. I mean, honestly, it's not a bad idea. I mean, Jason isn't a major part of the offensive attack - he's just one of the guys. We desparately need somebody of his size and speed back there. What's the worst thing that could happen? TD? Well, we're already giving up those for Free, so we lose nothing. He's got the ideal size and speed for a DB, plus he can catch, something our DBs and other defenders don't know how to do if a ball is thrown straight at them. Just a thought.

Anyway, the defense was an embarassment on the entire day. We couldn't stop them but a few times - 1 or 2 punts and a couple of turnovers was all we could muster up. 3rd down (again) was a down that was worth gold. 3rd and 1 or 3rd and 2 and we play 7 yards off the WRs... easy lateral to the WR, step forward and get your 1st down. Plain and simple. This group of DB's have no confidence and that something every DB who plays the game should have. If you don't plan on going out there and being physical, then you don't need to go out on the field. Watch ex-49er Ronnie Lott play the game. He played hard and hit hard. I wanna see a lot of that type of play.

For this set of DB's, we don't lose anything if we try something new. The other team is gonna score anyway, so why not experiment? Are we THAT scared that something else might actually work? Who knows. I wanna believe the coaching staff knows best, and they probably do, but I just have yet to see where we're doing something about it. I DO agree with the fact that it's too late to bring someone out of redshirt retirement for only 3-4 games left, especially when the NCAA sanctions upcoming. Our main problem with being without talent is the fact that our guys are 5'8" and they are covering guys who are 6'0" or taller - heck, even Josh Reed wasn't that tall and he was toasting our D all day. I guess our D just can't cover period. Yep, that's it.

Well, I could vent for hours, but I won't. You all saw the game. We all saw how sucky we played on defense and LSU offense had its way with us almost at will. We did get a couple of turnovers that kept us in the game, but still the worst outting I've EVER seen by a Bama defense. Time of possession was no factor as there was only less than a minute difference in the game in that stat. We just plain got outplayed once again... and a huge outplayed that was. Can it get any worse? Possibly, but let's hope we do something about it sooner than later. Please??? A failing grade is a failing grade, but with 2 turnovers, I'll give them a little credit.... GRADE: F+

SPECIAL TEAMS: We got to punt the ball a lot, right? Joy. Nothing really killed us here. Our problem with losing this game didn't come down to special teams. It came down to defense. Special teams did their job, but it didn't help us win or lose... GRADE: B

COACHING: What do we do? What do we do? What do we do? That's the question the coaching staff will ask themselves starting after the game and going into next week. What do we do about our lame defense? Heck, at this point, they have to believe that if we don't have the ball on offense, that the other team will score 7 more points. It's pretty bad when you know what's gonna happen if the other team doesn't do something stupid. Teams can move the ball against us almost at will. How frustrating (yeah, that's an understatement). I mean, my idea about putting McAddley back at DB doesn't sound so bad, but the coaching staff probably wouldn't do that this late in the season - but heck - what do you have to lose??? Maybe he'll actually MAKE A PLAY on the ball, something our DB's don't do. We just go our for a fast jog and watch the WR catch the ball. I have yet to understand why we don't even get our hands up... you know, they call it DEFENSE for a reason. Do "DEFENSE" the other team from getting the ball or to "DEFEND" the end zone. Well, when you just run with the WR and just plain run with him, that does nothing for the "Defense". Why can't we teach the DBs this important concept/fundamental???

And then on offense, it seems like we're getting predictable again. The option has worked pretty well for us, but at the end of a football game, the other team knows what we're gonna do and they stuff it. That would cause the coaches to pass the ball, which we try to do - but we don't seem to connect when we have to... or we get a dreaded penalty - usually holding - that stops the drive and allows our awesome defense to take the field once more. I do know that Zow isn't the answer to the 2-minute offense. We gain nothing if the QB continuously overthrows the WRs and is not mobile. I don't really know what else to tell the coaches. Surely they know what the problem is, it's just the talent isn't there (or it's being redshirted for later). Something tells me we'll be back in the upcoming years, but it'll be when we have all of our scholarships back too.... so don't count on anything anytime soon.

Oh, and I had a question - why in the heck do we (and all other schools who have the $$$) pay so much for head coach if he is unproven at OUR school? Sure Fran was a good coach at TCU and NMS, and he turned those programs around and took them to bowl games after staying home for years... but at Alabama, he's being paid $1.1 million to bring us a 3-5 (so far) record. Hardly worth $1.1 million if you ask me. Honestly, we should offer $500,000 (give or take a couple of 100,000) and when you prove yourself, get your huge bonus then. But I know that $$$ also talks in getting the coach here in the first place. But it hardly seems worth the money if he's not winning games. And I know they're not his players and the talent isn't there, but it just seems a little outlandish to pay so much for getting so little in return in W's and L's. The coaches are now looking at winning our last 3 games to be bowl eligible. Well, I have news for 'em. I'd LOVE to be optimistic, but with our Defense rolling over and making every offense we play look great, don't count on a winning season. Man, this sucks. I want a Bama defense of old. We've gotten to the point where we don't even expect win - we just hope to win - we just hope we MIGHT can win. With that attitude, it's no wonder we haven't won more games than we have. It's time for this staff to get the message across that we can win games and that we WILL win games and get this team thinking it can win every game they play instead of vice-versa. It's just like we've lost all hope.

One day, Bama will be back - maybe next year - maybe the year after next. I don't know. I just know that the coaching staff needs to recruit about 4-6 DBs from high school that are 6'0" or taller with 4.4 speed. It shouldn't be hard - heck, just tell them they will likely start and they'd come to Bama in a heartbeat... it's the truth. Ok, enough.... I've vented enough and there's more where that came from, but I don't have the time to write it all down. Can we get this team turned around and have a winning season please???? I'm tired of waiting for positive results. We are the same team as last year at 3-5. Only difference is that we look good losing this year.... well, we're actually losing that trait - now we're losing ugly again..... sheesh. 4th quarter woes yet again, and too many penalties... again. GRADE: D

OVERALL: Overall, a game of quarters (again). 1st 3 quarters, we played good enough to win, the last quarter, we played worse than Vanderbilt. Fill up our tanks with some 93 octane Super Unleaded cuz we need something to finish the game with. We are just physically drained at the 4th quarter. Can't we dig deep deep deep down and give it that little extra and leave everything on the field? Who knows. I just know that now's the time we Have to win. No choice. Lose, and stay home for the Christmas holidays - and lose out on VALUABLE extra practice time, something this team desparately needs going into next season. I just don't know if we can do it. Miss St is possible... S. Miss is possible... AU is possible. It just depends on what team shows up... or if the other team decides to have a terrible game that day. All I want for Christmas this season is to have a winning season - yeah, 3 more wins in 3 games. Can Santa pull one out of the hat for us? Puuulease. Not even Santa can help us now. We still have the same DBs. GRADE: D

BAMA/ PREVIEW: Gee - this is the loser bowl. This game would normally be on TV, say national TV - instead, we're on JP, and not even that is deserved. We honestly need to be on PPV this week. MSU is hurting.... losing to Troy State along the way, and Bama having a 3-5 record - are you telling me there isn't 1 other game in the SEC that has a better matchup than this??? CBS and ESPN get 1st dibbs then JP. You've got to be kidding me. Get ready to lose some money, JP. Who would watch this loser duo? Yes, I'm calling us losers because unless we win, WE ARE losers.

Anyway, MSU has struggled all year, and Bama has almost yet to finish a game strong against SEC opponents. We might actually win this one, but again, it's MSU and it's a Bama defense. If MSU's passing game sucks, well, this game you'll actually get to improve your stats. Just pass the ball - that's all you have to do. Run the ball - you won't. The DL and LBs will stuff the run all day - they won't get over 100 yards on the day which will force the dogs to go to the air (which they should be doing anyway). We'll get burned by a team that sucks and they will score plenty. Remember what I said before when I said we can make ANY offense look good - that includes MSU. Coach, can I play? I can raise my hands on defense. Honest - I can - I play flag football and I know fundamentals. Put me in, Coach!!

The offense for Bama, I want to believe will have a great day. Traditionally, MSU has a good run defense, and I think they will step up to the mic and do well. They will force Tyler to go to the air early and shut down the Bama offense. Don't think we'll see Zow this week, even in the 2-minute offense. Neil Thomas might be our only way to win - well, lemme change that, you don't go for FGs when you're down 3-4 TDs. Ok, hopefully it won't be THAT bad off, but Thomas could be the difference in the game. No one team will dominate I don't think, so it could very well come down to the kicking game where we have the advantage.

Something tells me that this Bama team will KNOW the urgency of this game and will put up some decent numbers to get the Tide going back in the right direction. MSU will be tough, but will NOT roll over and die, especially Joe Lee Dunn's defense. They'll play hard till the final gun. Look for a low scoring game with Bama (yes, BAMA) having the overall advantage. Yeah, we're bad, but I honestly believe MSU is worse if you can believe that. The shootout stops with a nail-biting ending. Since Bama doesn't believe in scoring the 4th quarter, we'll score all we need by the 3rd quarter with the dawgs scoring in the 4th and trying an onsides kick and failing to retrieve the ball. Tyler downs the ball in the waning seconds of the game with a VERY close and hard fought win. Whew - close one..... and this was against another losing team. Sheesh, what's gonna happen the week after this when we go to Awbun? Anywho, a Bama win in super ugly fashion...
PREDICTION: BAMA 24 MSU 20

BAMA 24 . . . #11 Tennessee 35
+ LSU Preview

Well, the 3rd Saturday in October has come to an end, and this Bama team has yet to pull out any sort of 4th quarter dominance. I just don't know what it is, but we somehow just don't have what it takes to win 4th quarters this year. We seem to dominate the 1st 3 quarters of almost every game, but then the 4th quarter comes around and we choke. Let's take a look at WHY we seem to choke - or at least how The Bamadog sees, it, eh?

OFFENSE: The offense was rather erratic on Saturday. The option only worked a part of the time, Tyler wasn't really allowed anything on the ground all day, Galloway sputtered, Beard had a hayday on the ground, Tyler over threw receiver after receiver, Collins caught 2 passes, both for TD's, Freddie has a good kickoff return, Bearden lacked what it took to kick it deep on kickoffs, yet had a good day punting, and the defense was too tired in the 4th quarter to make any real stop of the UT offense. That pretty much sums up the whole day. But on O, Tyler seemed to be off most of the time. He actually showed signs of the old Zow that we all knew and didn't love - overthrowing receivers. If Tyler can get his throws down, we've actually got a good shot at winning the game. But too many drives ended with him either overthrowing the WR's or underthrowing them. An off-day to say the least. I'm sure he'll see the film and make things better the next game. He's that much of a competitor to NOT to.

The RBs had a great game considering who they were matched up against. Galloway wasn't much of a factor, but Santonio Beard had a coming out party running the ball like a madman. His big run of the game was more yards than the UT defense usually allows in a full game. I think we had something like 160 or so yards and UT was only giving up about 45 per game. But the main problem wasn't really our ground game - heck, it wasn't really our air-raid game either. It was more of a combination of both of those, but mainly in the 4th quarter. We actually played a heckuva game, leading into the 4th quarter. We had the lead going into the 4th quarter, but couldn't sustain ANY sort of drive to try and keep the Vols from striking back. I don't know if that's totally on the players or the coaches. I mean, the coaches seem to be calling the plays that they think should work, I mean, who I am to say which plays are going to work against that stingy Vol defense? They shut down the option most of the game, but you can't ever count on the ground game all the time, so what did they do? They went to the air which was a good call I think. We just didn't execute for some reason. High passes, too quick a defensive pass rush for Tyler to do anything... lots of things played in UT's favor unfortunately. We have the talent to put the game away - we just don't. But remember, this is a first year head coach at a new University. We don't accept losing at Alabama - it's like a funeral when we lose. But this offense will be back, that's for sure. And Tyler is still the man that will get it done. Even though we lost, we KNOW we have what it takes to win. We show it every 1-3 quarters. Once we realize that we have to play for 4 quarters, this team will be deadly. But for now, we are average at best, and that stings, considering all of the yards we're piling up this year. Points are the determining factor and we still aren't scoring enough and controlling the football game. Instead other teams are doing to us what we normally do to them. Offense - yes, it's offensive at times, but we'll come around. Better sooner than later of course. But for this game, a good effort, but we need to play to the end so our defense can have a rest and so we can actually get more points and put games like this away, especially at home against UT. GRADE: C-

DEFENSE: The defense did ALMOST all it could do against the #11 team in the country. But what can you do when you allow 8 of 9 (or so) 3rd down conversions in the 4th quarter of a game? Not too much. You make the stop on 1st and 2nd down, and then give up the biggie to allow a drive to keep on going. Not a good feeling. But being as tired as our defense was, it's not a surprise that the UT offense had their way with us in the 4th quarter. They got that 1st TD to take the lead, but when the offense goes 3-and-out, that doesn't help our chances of stopping the next drive. The only thing I can say is that we just have to dig a little deeper and reach way down to find whatever it is we can use to stop teams in the 4th quarter. I don't think we even gave up - I think we just ran outta gas. That last TD that UT got was just us running out of gas. We were in the position to stop the 4th down play, but we didn't. All I can say is that we just have to get better. Our secondary is obviously the weak point on the team. Of course, if the DL can get to the QB a little faster and be more aggressive, then that won't happen nearly as much, but still - it's like we need either more discipline and/or speed in the secondary. Also, it would help if we had some guys back there that were 6 foot tall. Can we really expect our little dwarves to cover a guy that's 6'2"??

Anyway, there's not much else to say here except Torbush will get these guys on the same page eventually, yes, sooner than later. Our defense isn't always pretty I know, but we'll find a way to get the job done, especially in these last 4 games. You talk about urgency - the time to play hard-nosed D is upon us. Will our guys put up or shut up? If they are tired, it will be tough, so let's just see how the offense does in the 4th quarter. How the offense does is usually how the defense does, ya know? Offense? Let's get it goin' guys!!

So anyway, this week - we did what we could, but still too many missed tackles and too many 2ndary missed assignments. Again, we're average at best. What can we say? GRADE: C-

SPECIAL TEAMS: We actually did ok on special teams, and we didn't do anything that would normally cost us the game like we did in the DuBose era. Thomas was on as usual, kicking 1 FG and nailing 3 PATs. The only thing we really need to get better on is kicking deep on kickoffs. We have WAY too many kickoffs that land on the 5 to 10 yard line. What happened to the Lane Bearden we all know and love that kicks balls into the end zone? We need that guy back. On the other hand, Lane DID have a good day punting the football, averaging over 40 yards per kick.

Again this game, we used A.C. as the punt returner and so far, it hasn't been any different than having Freddie back there. We get a few yards, and then start on offense. Nothing spectacular, but again, kickoffs and a few tackles could be a little better on the returns. GRADE: B-

COACHING: Hmmmm..... is it the coaches or the players that are coming up short week after week in the 4th quarter? First it was UCLA, then S. Carolina, then Ole Miss, now Tennessee. These are all big games we can't seem to win... We can only beat the inferior teams. When will we finally beat a team that is ranked, or heck, even any good? We have beaten Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and UTEP. All of these have losing records, and we BARELY got past Vandy. UCLA was just a good game, a game we could have easlily won, but 2 other games - USC and O.Miss - you just DO NOT lose these game. UT was the other killer, obviously. They outmanned us in the 4th quarter as we went into the last quarter with the lead once again. Maybe the coaches are making the right calls - maybe they're not. Whatever it is, I don't understand why we're not getting the job done. We DO NOT have a rookie coaching staff. Franchione is not a rookie - he is a perfectionist with a "master plan" for the team. Torbush has been a head coach, but flourished as a defensive coordinator at UNC. Most of the rest of the coaching staff came with Coach Fran from TCU who had an incredible team in their last year there.... though having Ladanian Tomlinson probably helped out a lot with that.

I think this coaching staff is a good one, but for some reason, they, along with the players, seem to fall asleep in the waning 15 minutes of the game. It's almost as though we are playing not to lose instead of playing to win. Do we NOW realize that we must win 3 of our last 4 games to be bowl-eligible? That will be quite a task since these last 4 games ALL contain 4 "4th quarters" of play. I see us winning at least 2 of those - USM and Miss St - though anything is possible. LSU and Auburn, we must at least win one of those. We're capable of winning either one obviously. Ole Miss beat LSU this past weekend, and we honestly dominated Ole Miss up to (you guessed it) the 4th quarter. Now if we can play all 4 quarters, we're an almost unstoppable team. And then take a look at Auburn - a team that beat the #1 team in the country in Florida, but loses to lame and crippled Arkansas the very next week. Maybe they got caught looking ahead or maybe they were still living in the previous weekend. I don't know. I know Arkansas has improved since we played them - they have now beaten Auburn and S. Carolina. The whole SEC West is outta whack - so the coaches know anything is possible at this point of the game. Heck, there's still an outside shot that Bama could win the West, but don't make ANY kind of plans yet for Atlanta, because we have about a micron of a chance of getting in.

Back to the coaches - it's up to these guys to have our guys ready to play every quarter of the game. For some reason, we're just not doing that. What happened to all of that strength and conditioning program everyone talked about - and how we're much bigger and stronger than we've been in a while - and how we're breaking records on A-Day weekend benching this and squatting that? Well, maybe in ADDITION to all that, we should work on ENDURANCE. Keeping that drive to win for the whole game. We just seem to run outta gas. Anything the coaches can do to help that? I'm sure there is. Other teams do it every week, especially Ole Miss, and S. Carolina. They were definitely beat, but yet came back at the end of the game to beat us. Their program must work. Let's try it guys.

Not much else I can say or do that will make this team better. I'm sure the coaches are working as hard as they can to get this team ready. Something just isn't clicking at the end of the games. They have to find a fix for this. Can we win 3 of our last 4 games? Sure. Will we? Answer - YES. The coaches and players will come together and win 3 of the last 4. It's optimistic yes, but look at our offense (with exception of the 4th quarter) - we dominate, especially lesser opponents. Only one ranked team remains on the schedule and only one team I honestly think has a chance at beating us - yep you guessed it - Auburn. LSU is struggling yet another year and their QB/RB play is not clicking. Our offense has enough weapons to win at least 3 more. We WILL get it done.

As for this UT game, our offense did move the ball on the ground against a VERY stingy UT defense, and we did score the 1st rushing TD on the year against that same defense - but our defense is still struggling late in the game along with the offense. Get that part of the game working and we'll be one hard team to handle. GRADE: C+

OVERALL: I've pretty much said a TON in the previous paragraphs. We play in the 4th quarter, and we'll be unstoppable. Offense is piling up a lot of yardage and our defense is playing good enough to win for 3 quarters. Penalties have gone down somewhat, but need to be lower for us to have a chance. Still having some problems in that area. As this whole section has been about - we are no better than average, so I'll give us the average norm....GRADE: C

BAMA/LSU PREVIEW: LSU comes to T-town ON HOMECOMING this year. A lot of people wonder why we did that. Well, it's common sense really. We have 3 non-conference games, 2 of which are in B'ham this year. UCLA was the 1st game of the season, and that was our only non-conference game chance to have homecoming, but it's too early, so it has to be an SEC game. Ole Miss was away, and UT, well, you don't play UT for homecoming. That left LSU on about the best weekend to have homecoming. So there you have it.

Anyway, that was crazy, but some people have asked about it. LSU will play tough, but Bama will win at home. LSU is no Tennessee or Florida or Oklahoma. They are a subpar team just like us. We get the home-field advantage, plus the fact that we have outplayed everyone we have played except for UT (total yards). There will be no exception to this game either. Bama will dominate the running game with Santonio Beard and Ahmaad Galloway both fighting for that starting RB spot. Beard made his case, but Galloway will likely be the starter. LSU does not have the rushing defense that UT has. Watts will reek havock on the LSU D probably rushing for over 100 yards for yet another game. The game will start out slow as most do, but Bama finds a way to win this week to keep the bowl-search alive, and to possibly finish the season at 7-4. Watts will get is passes down and stop taking lessons from Zow in practice this week... things look good. The D will get its usual burns from long passes and a couple of TD's, but in the end, the offense FINALLY has a good complete game winning Coach Frans's 4th game of the year bring Bama back up to .500 - yep - that average winning percentage. See - everything points to being average - I even have the numbers to prove it, huh? Anyway, my prediction as Bama scoring on its opening drive for the 4th of 5th straight game... stagnating for a while, letting LSU get back in it as usual, then special teams actually does something that will win the game for us this time - Neil Thomas gets the 4th quarter going and then we get one more.... Don't know how it totals up, but the final score will be........
PREDICTION: BAMA 27 LSU 23

BAMA 24 . . . OLE MISS 27
+ Tennessee Preview

There just wasn't much to this game. Pure disappointment. We got beat by an unranked team... though we are unranked too, it's still an embarrassment since we OWNED Ole Miss for most of the game. Again, we squander off a 10 point lead and play almost like we did against South Carolina. On to the lame comments for the week....

OFFENSE: The offense did what it wanted for 3 quarters, then decided to sit on the lead for some reason. We managed 17 total yards for the whole 4th quarter. You can't expect to win games in the 4th quarter playing like that. Why do we even hold up 4 fingers entering into the 4th quarter? Is that because we're about to give it away. I'm almost embarrassed to do that now.

QB play was good again... Watts also had some dropped passes, including a couple by Sam Collins and one down the middle by Terry Jones Jr. We have to come up with those. RB's did well... Beard seems to be catching up with Galloway, but has a way to go before dethroning our main workhorse at RB. WR's need to get more passes obviously, but with the running game going so well, no need to pass as much. But I do think we need to learn to catch the ball a little better. We had some good catches and some not-so-good catches. We need to get better in that area.

OL is still doing a great job, especially since they are redshirt freshmen. We should have some good years ahead on offensee if these guys can stay healthy. Fran has a great bunch of guys to deal with here.

Overall, a good day, but didn't come thru when it really mattered. When it came down to making a 3rd and 1 a few times, we just couldn't get it done - whether it be play-calling or what, the offense just didn't get the job done when it mattered the most. A loss really brings the grade down this week, but keep up the 1st 3 quarters of work and we'll be alright.... GRADE: C-

DEFENSE: The Bama Defense played pretty well at times and not so well at times. We got burned on the outside on a rushing TD where we got all caught up inside. Coaches will surely work on that. Passing Defense continues to hurt the Tide, ESPECIALLY late in the game when it's time to really step it up. Why we play a prevent defense is beyond me. Keep doing what we've been doing the whole game. Why let up at that point? We MUST want the other team to win when we go to the prevent defense. And as everyone knows, all a prevent defense does is prevent you from winning.

Tackling could have been a little better, but considering the field conditions and weather, we actually did a pretty good job, especially on that last punt by Bama... I just wish on the drive down the field, we could have done a lot better keeping them away from the endzone. Can we not stop a passing offense? If not, we're doomed the rest of the year. UT, AU, & LSU won't let up... and heck, don't forget Southern Miss. We seem to shut down the running game, but leave the passing game wide open. Let's get with it, Defense! It's time to put up or shut up. We MUST get better. GRADE: C+

SPECIAL TEAMS: Special teams could have been better this game as well. Field conditions might have helped out the Ole Miss cause though. Thomas missed a 40 yarder, one that could have been good perhaps, if the FG posts were taller. No wonder the foul poles in MLB are so high - that way, THERE IS NO QUESTION ON WHETHER OR NOT THE BALL WAS FAIR OR FOUL. Maybe college and NFL should think about raising the uprights. I'm tired of leaving this kind of thing up to incompetent refs. Maybe it really wasn't good, but no one will ever know for sure since we don't have an overhead camera or higher posts. Just something to think about.

The punt return and kick return teams did ok... not much to talk about there. We played as expected. We could have gotten better punts though, from Lane Bearden. He's still kicking under 40 yards WITH the wind, if I'm not mistaken. But hey, as long as they don't block the punt or him kick it 20 yards, I'm not too terribly upset. I just don't want ST to cause us to lose like they have in the past. Overall, not a bad game, but the missed FG DID hurt us in the end. GRADE: C+

COACHING: Coaching - what can you say. It's S.Carolina all over again. You'd think we'd learn our lesson from past games. I guess not. Option was working, so what do we do? Run it up the middle... or QB sneak it. Why in the crap can an offense averaging over 400 yards per game only get 17 yards in the 4th quarter when we're up by 10 points? Why do we have soooo much trouble converting a simple 3rd down and 1 yard to go? I can understand 3rd and long, but 3rd and 1???? How do you NOT convert that as often as we do??? Heck, we're almost better off being 3rd and long. Also, we're moving the football well during the other parts of the game. Don't wanna leave out the good stuff too.

Can't think of too much more other than we better be ready to play the rest of the season with some high intensity. We're just being too lax in my opinion, especially on D late in the games. It's not just one game, it's all games.

Oh, I will give the team and coaches credit - we only had 4-5 penalties the whole game. I thik it was 4. Big improvement from week's past. Let's hope they don't creep up on us next week vs. UT, or we're toast. Overall, a decent outing (for 3 quarters), but these guys aren't rookie coaches. They are "experienced" right? They need to get this team moving in the 4th quarter. 2 losses that never should have happened and there's no reason for it. GRADE: C

OVERALL: Obviously, we're an average team that caves in at the end of the game. Bama's not a team that allows teams to overcome deficits like that and win... Bama is usually THAT TEAM that comes from behind to win the big games. Where did that Crimson Tide go? Where did the "put this team away" attitude go? It's time to put the game away in all our games, not just UTEP High School. Let's make a difference and play like we're supposed to. No more 4th quarter crap... play the entire game... 60 minutes, not 45... not 55... not 59... but 60 minutes. Please? We need ya bama. Still need 3 more wins and we won't get 'em like this. OVERALL: C

BAMA/TENNESSEE PREVIEW: Ok, this is what it has come down to - the 3rd Saturday in October, 2001. We COULD be 6-0 very easily... we could be 5-1 very easily... we could be 2-4 very easily... but we're 3-3. An average .500 team. We have fallen from the ranks surely to not be there again until the pre-season polls come out next year. We might go to a bowl this year... but it all starts here... and now. Lose to UT, and it could be ugly. Beat UT, and this season has a chance to turn around for the better. But it all starts here and now... the 3rd Saturday in October.

UT brings in the top rushing D in the SEC... while Bama brings in the top rushing Offense in the SEC. Something has to give, if you haven't already read that in other articles. We also score lots of points and UT's scoring D allows very little. UT's defensive front is one of the best in the country, but don't overlook Bama's DL either. We have very experienced guys out there too, and I think a lot of people forget that. Tyler looks to control the offense pretty well and will get his yards here and there... but come Saturday, they will be hard-fought yards. I don't know if he'll get 100 yards in this game because UT will prepare for the option game religiously. They know that our passing game isn't all that... and if they can shut down the running game, we'll have a hard time scoring since honestly, Watts best game is the ground game. He has made big plays though... but he'll definitely be tested Saturday.

The running backs better get ready to be bruised. Galloway will again be the workhorse, but don't count on any big runs unless Beard steps in and gets 10-15 on a surprise run/option play. He usually gets one big play per game where he gets big yardage.

Bama's D will have their hands full as well trying to stop Clausen and all 3 dangerous WR's. Stallworth figures to be back in time to play against Bama... one more threat we didn't need. We'll need fresh legs at every position or Clausen will disect us like he did last year.

It will start like most Bama/UT games - slow and conservative, with Phil Fulmer punting on 4th and 1 inch to go. He hardly EVER takes any chances with Bama because he knows how big these games are. If our D shows up, we have a chance. If not, it will be another long day for the Tide. I think both offenses will struggle early and the UT D will shut down the Tide in the 1st half, hold us to a FG or 2. Yards will be tough to buy... but UT wins in T-town for the 2nd straight time unfortuntely. Well, that is, unless the option game works for us. Will it? We'll find out soon enough. UT's Defensive line will just be too much for the inexperienced Bama OL. We're gaining experience and getting better, but honestly, UT's DL will be the difference in the game. Watts better watch out; it could be a long day. Zow might even get some playing time if it gets too ugly late in the game. Here's hoping I'm wrong once again..... ROLL TIDE!

PREDICTION: BAMA 16 UT 27

BAMA 56 . . . U.T.E.P. 7
+ Ole Miss Preview

What a difference a week makes... A dominant performance by both sides of the Crimson Tide team this weekend. The offense was on, and the defense was on... special teams didn't do much, but Thomas DID kick all of his PAT's, chipping in 8 points from the 8 TDs. The ONLY really bad point of the day was the penalties, something the Tide actually overcame somehow. Let's get to it....

OFFENSE: The offense was virtually unstoppable on Saturday against the UTEP Miners. The Tide scored on their 1st 4 possessions. I don't know if I've ever seen such a thing from Alabama. They looked like the St. Louis Rams or something. What's up with that? I'm not complaining - that's for sure! Watts had another awesome day at QB, thus making Franchione look like a genius by making him the starting QB since day 1 in the Fall. The naming of Watts has produced huge dividends, not only for our current team, but future games AND next year when Watts becomes a Senior... a senior who will know this offense backwards and forwards and should be able to lead this team to at least ONE SEC Championship (knock on wood). Let's keep our fingers crossed that Watts stays healthy because in my book, he has overtaken Neil Thomas's MVP status, not that Thomas has done anything wrong either. Watts has finally given Bama the chance to be a really great team offensively.

The offense as a whole I think totalled 588 yards... close to the 600 mark of course. When was the last time we rolled up that many yards? I think the last time we scored that many points was when we played Tulane in '91 and scored 62-0. That's 2 games where we have scored a total of 92 points, and over 1000 yards. Of course, this was definitely no Florida team, UT, or even a Southern Miss team that we beat. This was a team that just was outmanned and Bama should have won anyway. Our OL outweighed UTEP's by about 80 lbs and our DL by about 30 lbs from what I read earlier. I mean, how do you possibly stop someone that much bigger than you? You don't. And it showed.

Lee Mays also had a bad game, getting hurt on the 2nd play of the game. He ended the game with 2 catches for a total of 10 yards. He was a non-factor and frankly, UTEP had no other weapons to use. UTEP's one mere TD came on a busted play and the QB ran for a 74-yard score on Bama's 2nd/3rd teamers. I'll give it to that QB though - he looked like Vinny Sutherland (SF 49er, ex Purdue return man) running that ball down the field. No one was gonna catch him. But that's ok. The 1st team did what they had to do and made a statement going into next week's game with Ole Miss. Other guys that also scored their 1st career TDs were Triandos Luke (2-receiving), Donnie Lowe (2-rushing), Marvin Brown (1-rush), and Ray Hudson (1-rush). Watts ran the other 2 TDs for a total of 2 rushing and 2 passing TDs on the day.

The OL also saw some new faces after getting the big lead. This should help us in the future when guys eventually leave... they'll get a little game experience under their belt.

Freddie Milons also broke an Alabama record with the most receptions by a Bama player. Congrats to Freddie for this accomplishment. He's earned it. Lots of things happened, so I know I'll miss some stuff here and there, but overall a good game... good offensive output in yards AND points. Points are the main thing... and we took care of that this week. Red Zone offense if finally coming around too. Let's hope this continues.

And as EVERYONE saw, the ONLY thing we really needed to improve on was the penalties. We had 14 penalties for 121 yards. Just when we thought we were getting better, BOOM! We start to hurt ourselves again. Oddly, we didn't let those penalties hurt us this week... converting a couple of 3rd and longs. I think there will be plenty of pushups and situps due this week. We have got to be a more diciplined team. Also, most of the penalties were against the offense... lots of holding calls and false starts. Got to do better.

Well, lots of points, lots of yards, a great gameplan and just lots of excitement, but the penalties help keep this offense from being one of the best in the conference. Clean it up, and we'll be able to play against anyone in the country... but again, this WAS UTEP, so the next couple of weeks should be a bit better measuring stick on how our offense is REALLY playing... we'll see. A couple of penalties are not bad, but 10 or so by just the offense better stop.... GRADE: A-

DEFENSE: The defense had a great game, bouncing back from last week's "last-9-minute debacle". UTEP was stymied the whole game and only the 2nd/3rd teamers allowed the lone score for the Miners. I won't gripe about that. 56-7 is nothing to gripe at, even if you DID want the shutout. It's definitely a step in the right direction. Now comes the meat of the schedule. Let's see if we have really rebounded or not in the next couple of weeks where the secondary will really be tested.

As for big plays, we had about 3 turnovers I believe with Kindal Moorehead getting an interception after dropping back into coverage. Great play there. The defense didn't score any TDs on the day, but they did hold the Miners to just 130 or so yards minus the big run play close to the end of the game. What more can you say? The 'D' did their job Saturday, and they only allowed 2 big plays of over 20 yards. Lee Mays was neutralized though he was hurt most of the game. There was no real threat to score, so the D was able to get in a lot of new guys for some playing time. Great job to the 'O' for allowing this to happen. Good thing about resting guys and getting some new guys in there for playing time - you don't risk getting your 1st-teamers hurt. Big plus, especially going into Oxford then playing UT the following week. Great game D. Let's keep up the good work! Reserves allow a TD, so I won't count that one... 3 turnovers recovered and no real big plays vs the 1st team of UTEP. Look forward to more of these type defensive games... GRADE: A+

SPECIAL TEAMS: Special teams was a non-factor on the offensive side of the ball. Downfield coverage was good for most of the day. We had a couple of runbacks go a little further than we would like, but for the most part, we were getting down the field quickly and making the quick tackle. Also credit Lane Bearden for the high hanging kickoffs that allowed our team to get down the field quickly. He also had a couple of good punts on the day with Neil Thomas hitting all of his extra points. Neil didn't have to be the hero on Saturday, and he didn't mind it a bit. No one I know wants the game to be on the line and have a FG determine the outcome. Just put the stake in the heart and relax the rest of the game.

Not much more to say here. Great job guys. Don't let Ole Miss sneak up on ya though! GRADE: A+

COACHING: The coaches did a great job this week getting our team 'up' for the game. They wanted to be sure there wasn't a letdown after last week's VERY disappointing loss to South Carolina. You have to look at USC's game as another step in this team learning from their mistakes, and this week, they came around on a weak UTEP team.

The coaches know UTEP wasn't much of a threat once we were moved the ball up the field 4 times in a row without a hint of UTEP scoring... and they informed the players to put the game away. Don't allow UTEP to hang around. Well, they did just that, scoring 42 points by halftime with the defense not allowing the UTEP offense to score a point. The coaches were wise in getting Zow in at QB and also giving Jonathon Richey a shot at getting some playing time. Zow is now less than 200 yards from breaking Jay Barker's school passing record. I hope we have another game like this, because I DO want Zow to have the opportunity to break the record. I mean, records were meant to be broken, and Zow, despite his terrible performance last year, still deserves to break it. He did great the year before, while playing with Alexander and Samuels. Maybe he'll get that chance.... I just hope it's not at the expense of Watts getting hurt. Watts is our man, and I wish him the best.

Back to the coaches - one other change was that Torbush was on the sidelines for this game instead of the press box. This might also happen in future games, especially if the defense plays this well in the future. I think it's good for him to be on the sideline - now he can get in their faces when the defense screws up. You can't really do much in the press box, huh?

Oh, and for those who had the opportunity to watch it on PPV-TV, did you see Coach Fran all up in his players' business when they were screwing up? I LOVED THAT! That is exactly what some of those players need - especially when they are having penalty after penalty after penalty. Fran knows when-to and when-not to yell at the players, and I'm glad we're seeing that from the coaching staff. I don't want guys to get yelled at, which means our players would do no wrong, but when they do mess up, they need to know it, because there's nothing worse than getting humiliated in front of everybody. THAT in itself will make them do better... cuz who wants THAT again? I know I wouldn't. I think I'd shape up if I got yelled at. I love that strategy, and I'm certain it will continue.

Lastly, kudos to the coaching staff for just having this team mentally prepared to play what we thought might be a tough UTEP team. We didn't back down, even when we were 28 points ahead. We just kept pressing onward. Making play after play after play. That was good to see. Don't allow them to even think about coming back. End it right then and there, period. Let's keep it up, and let's keep the morale high. Of course wins will do that for a team. Of course, the coaches will have to find out what is causing SO MANY PENALTIES. Hopefully they will sort that out this week, because having 14 penalties against Ole Miss won't cut it.... GRADE: A

OVERALL: I think I've covered about every aspect of the game. The main problem was penalties, no question. Everybody saw them, coaches, players, and fans alike. It's something that's been plaguing our team since day 1 this year. It's about time we saw the stupid penalties stop. Can we fix that? If so, we have a good chance of being a championship calibur team... well, we'll see how the secondary plays in the next couple of weeks too. They weren't tested too much this last game. But overall, great game minus the penalties! I mean, how do you possibly complain about 56-7 ??? GRADE: A

BAMA/OLE MISS PREVIEW: Well, the meat of the schedule is upon us and Ole Miss comes a-calling. I don't think Ole Miss has beaten the Tide since maybe the early-to-mid-80's?? It's been a while. They definitely haven't won since '89 when Hollingsworth lit up the scoreboard after being down 21-0... Bama won that game something like 63-28 I believe.

But this is 2001 and Eli Manning, brother of past UT great, and Colt QB Peyton Manning. Eli will test the young Bama secondary next week, that's for sure. That's about the only part of Bama's defense that has a weakness. The DL is very solid with King, Moorehead, and Johnson manning (no pun intended) the line, and at LB, Rasheed and Co. are doing a great job there helping stop the run. Bama's rushing defense is one of the tops in the SEC, not to mention the country... so if Ole Miss is going to beat Bama, it will be from the hands of Manning on Bama's secondary. They'll score probably a couple or even a few times whether it be FGs or TDs, I don't know. BUT, don't forget - Bama's offense is really coming around as of late, getting over 400 yards vs the Hogs and over 500 yards in the last 2 games.

Ole Miss is no UTEP, so Bama better be ready. Though Ole Miss is always a threat, they usually find a way to lose, even against last year's 3-8 squad... that reminds me - how did we lost to USC this year and beat them last year???? Freaky!!! Does that mean last year's team is better than this year's team? Hardly. heh, heh... that's nuts

But anyway, Ole Miss will fight hard, but Bama will fight back harder, knowing this is the game that will separate us from the rest of the SEC West, minus Auburn. Ole Miss and Bama both have 1 SEC loss, AU with no SEC losses. It's time to make it happen. If Bama loses, it'll be hard to come back and win the west, though AU still has to play UF so there's always a chance since Ole Miss is "Ole Miss". They should lose another one regardless. Anywho, look for Bama to open it up again, mixing in the option with drop-back passes, and lots of smash-mouth football. Ahmaad Galloway and Santonio Beard seem to have locked in the RB slots (too bad you left for Pitt, Brandon Miree - you coulda been playing now!) and pack a 1-2 punch that we are utilizing very well. We are also protecting the football MUCH MUCH better. I think I saw EVERYONE Saturday holding on to the ball with 2 hands, especially Brown... but everyone - Galloway, Beard, Lowe, Brown - the whole bunch did really well hanging on to the football. If we keep that up, and don't commit any turnovers, we'll be in great shape. Our offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders, and the Ole Miss D isn't having any kind of spectacular year. They will try to break the streak, but Bama comes up big on the road with a very close win against the Rebels. It won't be easy, and Eli will keep his team in it... beware Bama - don't slack up and don't be looking ahead to UT or you WILL get stunk by the pesky Rebels of Ole Miss.

The offense has about the same production as Arkansas, and the 'D' will give up some big plays, but the Tide prevails as Tyler Watts is the difference in the game this week, not Neil Thomas.... Thomas thanks you, Tyler. We do have a couple of red zone stops though, but score more late in the game. The D will stop the run, so it's up to Eli to get the ball into the end zone, a 50-50 chance against our D.
PREDICTION: BAMA 34 OLE MISS 24

BAMA 36 . . . #15 SOUTH CAROLINA 37
+ UTEP Preview

Man, what a game. The Bama offense finally explodes and what happens?? We lose. This time, the defense didn't show up. Main problems for this game were 2 things - no defense in the secondary, and too many fumbles, mainly on the part of Tyler Watts. Other than these two things, not much was wrong, though there were a few things to talk about. Here goes my best after seeing the game only once at the sports bar here in Dallas.... oh, and you guys are lucky this week since I'm on a plane bound for L.A. right now, I have time to give ya my thoughts.... enjoy.

OFFENSE: The offense was BLAZING for the first 3 quarters of the game Saturday. I didn't know we had a team that could actually move up and down the field like that, almost with such ease. Watts was unstoppable, Beard was great, Galloway was great, Milons was great - I mean, everything was clicking on all cylinders, and I think everyone will agree with me there. The main problem with this game was the fumbles on offense, mostly by Tyler Watts. I don't remember the exact number of fumbles since I haven't taken a look at the statbook, but I would say there were about 8-9 fumbles in the whole game by the offense. We were lucky to only have 2 of those (I believe) lost to USC. The outcome of the game could have been much worse... also it could have been a lot better. Where do I start?

Number 1 - What's the deal with the fumbles? Do we need to put some stick-um on these guys hands or what? PROTECT THE FOOTBALL! Put both hands on the ball. If you already have a first down, and you have someone wrapped around you, just go down. You've already done the job in getting the 1st. 2 more yards are practically irrelevant at that point, when you consider the alternative of fumbling. Are we holding on to a greased pig or something?

Number 2 - What's the deal with clock management at the end of the 1st half? TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE. I like Watts as the starter, and he's definitely the more complete package of the 2 QB's we have, but he is still not the complete package. He has got to pay more attention to the fine details - something I thought Coach Fran would have covered at practice. It's like the whole offense had no clue that the half was about to end... no one, not even the WR's, had a clue as to how much time was left. They were about to audible at the line before they finally took a timeout with about 5 seconds left. We could have taken 3 more shots into the end zone or something if we just call timeout with 30-40 seconds left. Just terrible clock management that we may or may not have gotten 4 more points to end the half instead of settling for a FG.

Number 3 - What's the deal with going for 2 SO early in the game?? Remember last year when we went for 2 and didn't make it, and we lost by ONE POINT??? Well, it's last year revisited all over again. You DO NOT go for 2 in the 3rd freakin' quarter, unless you're only up by one point after the TD. You go for points that early in the game.... and it bit us since we didn't. Granted, USC could have gone for 2 instead of the tie, but at least they don't win it with a simple PAT. Hey, even if we go for 2 and make it, I still don't like the call because you go for the highest percentage points. Neil Thomas PAT is much more accurate and a 2-pt conversion try. Did we learn our lesson here? Actually, I don't think we did, since we obviously pulled the same thing in the UCLA game - going for the TD when we could have gotten 3 points, and thus a tie to send the game into overtime.... duh.

Number 4 - What's the deal with the red zone offense still? We drive all the way down the field and twice, we can't put the ball in the end zone... settle for 2 FG's. Instead of 14-0, we are 6-0 with the USC Gamecocks only one score within going ahead in the score. Do we need different plays? How about a TE play in the end zone. Those work GREAT with other teams - why not us?

In other aspects of the game, Ahmaad did well again, and so did Santonio Beard, but definitely Tyler Watts, despite all of his fumblitis, was the player of the game with 250 some-odd yards of passing, and about 150 yards rushing. I don't remember the exact stats, but he was on for most of the game. Freddie Mions and A.C. also had good games, and so did Sam Collins and Jason McAddeley. Sam and Jason caught their first passes of the season on Saturday which was good to see since we seemed to be spreading the wealth around a good bit. Thats what made us so hard to defend in my opinion. OL did ok until the end when everything seemed to break down. Why, I don't know.... but overall the offense played well, and put 36 points up on the board, which is something we haven't seen in some time. Keep it up, only let's hang on to the football and pay more attention to clock management. Good game, lots of points, but still WAY too many mental mistakes and fumbles... GRADE: C+

DEFENSE: Where was our defense on Saturday? Did they even want to play? They did very well against the run, shutting down the gamecocks to less than 50 yards rushing on the day, I believe. But passing yardage? Pulease - HELP ME RHONDA!! What were we doing out there? It was just pitch and catch all day long with the exact same play to get them downfield ready to score - just a simple post pattern in the middle of the field. Looks like we know what position to recruit for next season, huh? Why can't we play good in the secondary? I know we're young, but when you get burnt once... then twice... then thrice.... on the EXACT same route/play, what can you do? Are the coaches coaching? Are the players not understanding how to cover the post pattern? Have we forgotten how to knock down passes? Are we that slow?? These are questions Coach will have to address all week long... to the press and to the players. Sure, we got more pressure on the ball in the backfield, and that's good, but when the QB still finds a way to get the ball downfield 50 yards for 3 different completions to the same part of the field, something is wrong with our side of the ball. If you told me that we would score 36 points and lose, I would have told you that you were crazy. But then again, I stated the same thing last year when UCF beat us by 1 point, 39-40. Remember that one? The game we went for 2 instead of one... to early in that one too.

I just don't understand it. The rushing D was there, and we had the pressure on all day in the backfield. All things point to the secondary. Time to get these guys on the same page and start learning how to cover man to man, and how to also watch your zone and not let guys behind you. Simple methods that were just simply not executed. Stop them just once, and it's a Bama win. We couldn't do it.

We did get 2-3 turnovers which was good, so that was also a bright spot, but when you allow 37 points, that's not good for ANY team. South Carolina is good, but they're not that good. We just made them look good. No reason for this kind of a meltdown... GRADE: D

SPECIAL TEAMS: Special teams did mostly ok with the exception of one runback by USC. We had good runbacks, average at best though, Neil Thomas hit everything (Mr. Dependable), and punts were good. Solid game by the special teams, especially getting that first fumble on our first kickoff to S.Carolina. Only our offense could only get 3 more points out of it.... sheesh. Good job guys. No super returns, but got a fumble recovery, no missed FG's, no blocked punts... I can live with that performance anyday. GRADE: A+

COACHING: I don't know if it's coaching or not, but my main problems are with the points I made in the offense section - mostly the clock management prior to the 1st half ending, and the red zone offense? Surely we have plays that can get us in the end zone, right Coach? Terry Jones is just sitting over there saying - THROW ME THE BALL! 9 more points (4 for 2 TD's we settled for FG's, and 1 almost definite PAT we gave up) is what we should have scored. Could have been at least 45-37. Doesn't that score look a little better? Of course. Now I know we went for 3 and that's fine. I would have too, since we didn't punch it in TWICE... but I'm telling you now - go for the PAT in the 3rd quarter UNLESS you're down by say 12 or something, and 2 points would get you within 10. But when you're up by a good margin, you never go for 2. Get the sure points... that one point cost us a big one - an SEC Game, and getting back in the Top 25. Also, we're no longer on top of the SEC West. Not good...

I know I've beaten a dead horse, but that's all I can do. But I'll try and move on. I will give the coaches credit where credit is due. It try to look at the good AND the bad. We moved the ball like mad in the 1st half and in the 3rd quarter. What happened at the end of the game? We couldn't find 1 yard if it was right in front of our face. It was like we were - how does the old saying go?? - "playing not to lose instead of playing to win". There was too much time on the clock to sit on the ball and do nothing. Get another first down, and we're good to go. Instead, two 3-and-outs ruined us. Do we always change the gameplan in the 4th quarter? Why do we sit on leads only to allow the opposition to come back at the last second of games? No matter who is coaching, that's our philosophy and it sucks. Check out most of the other dominant schools. Yeah, I know they will lose one every now and then, but look at the majority if the games they play - they are winning games like 52-0, 47-6, 31-3, 38-15, games that aren't even close because they put them away early and don't LET them back in it. I know those coaches are in established programs for the most part, and that's what I can't wait for for Alabama.... like the old days when we blew people out, and didn't give them that chance. I long for those days again.... and I'm sure it'll happen under Coach Fran. I have to give him time... only there's some simple things that need to be addressed these days like basic fundamentals - cutting back on before-the-snap penalties, clock management, play calling, etc.

What are we doing wrong? Well, I've named a few things that would help tremendously. Let's get to it, coaches! GRADE: C

OVERALL: I know I've been harping on the coaches, but I believe those are the guys that keep our guys from making stupid mental mistakes. The players don't seem to learn on their own. Again, clock management & penalties are the biggest thing we can improve on. DO WE EVEN HAVE A 2-MINUTE DRILL??? Why are we always just lolly-gaggin' around with only 40 seconds left in the quarter or a half? Do we give a crap? The pros are lame, but at least they hurry and lineup when time is scarce. They don't walk... waste 10 more seconds after everyone IS lined up... no, they line up, have a play and go. Remember the days of Homer Smith? Our offense was always prepared for that 2-minute offense? Note - it comes in handy, ya know??? Why we fart around and don't use our clock wisely is beyond me. Can we fix that, please?

Ok, I've griped enough, but that's what happens when you lose by one point against South Carolina and we happen to score freakin' 36 points in the process of losing, and then knowing we could have done much better in SO many areas just to get ourselves one or 2 more points to preserve the win. Defense, Turnovers, & Penalties is what killed our chances Saturday. Three things we can and must fix. The time is now. It doesn't get any easier. UTEP is next week, then Ole Miss, UT, and LSU... The time is now I say. I don't want to hear how young we are. We have experience, enough to stop making the stupid mistakes. Let's fix these problems. To me, we're just average. Let's roll the dice and see what happens... will the offense show up? Will the 'D' show up? Will we score enough points? Neil Thomas is the man... that's our only good point. He's my MVP so far on this happy-go-lucky team. Defense - time to get down to business...... OVERALL GRADE: C

BAMA/UTEP PREVIEW: I really don't know jack-squat about UTEP. I just know they are in El Paso, TX, and they went to a bowl game last year. They are a non-conference foe that would LOVE to come to Alabama and sneak a win on the road. They might even try to tear down our goalposts... well, maybe not, since we'll be in Birmingham. Those cops don't take crap from nobody. So all I can say is that I think our team will show up a bit more than we did against South Carolina. The defense will definitely get a chewing up in practice this week, try and correct problems of coverage breakdowns, and that sort of thing. The offense needs to keep doing what they are doingk - driving up the field... and then actually scoring TD's in the red zone. The coaches can make that happen. Oh, and give Watts some stick-um for his hands. Fumbles are the last thing this team needs. We got so freakin' lucky in that last game. We should have lost more balls that we did... UGH. That loss still makes me sick... so back to UTEP. I'll go with my gut instinct. It's a non-conference game with still a lot on the line. Win, and we're 3-2. Lose and we're 2-3... that's something not one wants to be right now, plus all of the ESPN hype that would go around if we lose to freakin' UTEP. Bama pulls it out, but who knows how we'll do it. UTEP is a mystery to me... and the 'D' is spiratic again...
PREDICTION: BAMA 31 UTEP 24

BAMA 31 . . . ARKANSAS 10

Ok, so it's Thursday and I'm finally getting around to writing my take on the game. I can't help it - I'm busy, ok? Roll Tide anyway. Well, here's my take on the Bama/Hogs game.....

OFFENSE: There wasn't much of it. Don't know why, but there just wasn't. Too many times we don't convert 3rd downs and it's killing us... lots of times, it's 3rd and short and we still can't convert. We've got to do something about that. Milons finally had a good game catching his 1st TD of the season, and even that catch was a bobble. He was lucky to hang on to it. A.C. also had a good game turning in his usual performance. Again, I stress we need to go to Terry Jones Jr at LEAST 4-5 times a game. When will coaches finally realize this? We go to him once a game and it's for a nice gain of 15 yards or so. It'd be nice to do that more often.

The OL is getting a little better, but as everyone is seeing, Ellington is just not doing his job right these days. Too many times he is jumping offsides costing the offense 5 yards here and 5 yards there, costing us field position and too many 3 and outs. Time to make him do some pushups or something. Tyler Watts seems to be doing well at the healm still. That's a good sign because that's something we need - good constant play at the QB position. Granted, he's not putting up super numbers, but he's not costing us the game either. Sure he'll make a bad pass here or there, but who doesn't? Overall, he's doing exactly what the coaches have asked him to do. Don't put the team in a bad position by making poor decisions and having the ball intercepted, fumbling, etc... the things that Zow did last year that killed us. So far, he's making things happen and I'm proud to have him as our starting QB.

Not too much else to talk about. We put up 31 points, but 14 of those were from defense. We'll need more than that in the future if we expect to beat the big boys. It's a shame I don't think WE are the big boys anymore. Maybe all that will change by the end of the season...

Oh, I almost forgot the main focus point in the game - Marvin Brown! Dude!! What are you doing out there? You don't fumble twice and drop a wide open TD pass! Don't be surprised to see Marvin getting a little less action next week. Those mistakes KILLED our drives, and we CANNOT allow that to happen. Put both hands on the ball and don't worry about hurting your shoulder when you fall after you're tackled. Hang on to the ball and take the beating you're supposed to take as YOU are the FULLBACK. If you can't handle the job, then step aside, buddy. Put some glue on them hands. Ok, that's it.... with all of that said and done, the offense needs more points, less stupid penalties, and no turnovers... GRADE: C-

DEFENSE: The defense played about as well as one could want except for just one instance (for the most part), and that was allowing the Hogs to just march up the field just prior to halftime. It's like we just started thinking, it's almost halftime and the clock will run out soon... no big deal. Well it was a big deal. It looked like we were just waiting for Arkansas to make a mistake, and they didn't. Weak coverage, poor tackling... everything. Surely we can do better than that, don'tcha think?

The rest of the game was pretty, if not very good. We had 2 fumble recoveries and one more that should have been another TD by Reggie Myles. Everyone knows I try not to be bias, and from the instant replay, that guy's knee wasn't down. But the refs don't have that luxury and with everything happening so fast, it was about as good a call as you could expect. But yeah, we did play a good rest of the game keeping the offense off balance the whole game. They would convert a bit here or there, but the score is what matters... that's where they allowed only 10 points, and then the D actually scored 2 more times, so they outscored the Hogs by themselves. That deserves a lot of credit in itself.

Oh, and you can't mention the defense without mentioning all of the sacks we got in the game. 6 or 7 of them if I'm not mistaken. Of course, Arkansas' OL was pretty weak, but it doesn't hurt those sack stats, huh? Cobbs was a non-factor as well. Don't know why he didn't play as much as he did, but I'm not complaining. I guess that's about it. I'll have to give my gameball to Saleem Rasheed though. He lead the team in tackles with 11, and was just all over the place. He also has had to deal with all of the stuff dealing with religion, and I think he has handled it well. Great job guys - now it's time to put in this kind of performance EVERY week. Still not a shutout performance, but good enough for me... GRADE: A

SPECIAL TEAMS: Special teams didn't have to save us this week with Neal Thomas's leg, though we thought he might have to early on before we broke it wide open in the 2nd half. He was only about a foot shy of kicking a 57-yard field goal. The Hogs AND CBS both thought we would just pooch kick it. Well, I didn't think we would, and I was right. Thomas can kick a 57 yard field goal. He just didn't on that day. But that's cool... he's still MVP of the year so far, so I'm not gonna complain.

Next is punt and kick coverage. We did an outstanding job on kick returns Saturday. The best I've seen in some time I'm sure. There weren't too many times that they made it past the 20 if at all. Bearden was kicking well (deep), and the speed of the team getting downfield was just awesome. Good to see NO 50-yard returns this game.

On punt returns and kick returns, not much happened since the Hogs didn't score much, but we did ok - average you might say. Lately, there have been a LOT of good punts to Freddie Milons - too high to make anything happen or really too deep for him to get the moves he wants on the ball after catching it. One of these days, he's gonna break one for a TD - one of those line drives. And when he does, let's just say there'll be a lot of cheering from Dallas, TX, too.

Overall, a solid game and no real mistakes that we can pinpoint except for Freddie fumbling one of the punts, but he got it back. Hang onto that ball Freddie! You're doin' fine. Roll Tide! GRADE: A-

COACHING: Coaching was good - only I'm not so sure we want to have a penalty-free game this season. Ok, so it's almost impossible to have NO penalties, but we have TOO many before-the-snap penalties. Defense offsides and Offense False Starts. We need more dicipline here. Franchione will be all over them again, so don't look for this type of output the rest of the year. We'll still have a few here and there, but I think over the course of the season, the penalties will start diminishing. That's wishful thinking of course.

Secondly, something has to be done about our offense. Granted, a lot of penalties helped kill our offensive drives, not to mention 2 fumbles by Marvin Brown, but it still kinda looks like we're plateauing off instead of getting better. We're still not putting more points on the board. Don't let 31 points fool ya - the offense only scored 17 points, 7 points better than the Hogs. Take away those interceptions, and it's a SUPER close game down to the wire like it has been in the past few meetings. Ok, Brown dropped a TD pass too.... but we need more sustained drives and that includes getting the ball a LOT more to Terry Jones Jr. He is just not getting the ball enough in this offense. He's such a weapon - it's a shame we don't recognize that. And still need to get the ball to our playmakers a little more. They need to have BIG games. See playmakers like Peter Warrick at FSU, Randy Moss at Marshall, all the Florida WR's in years past... they always had big games. Not just 1-2 catches, but 5 catches for over 100 yards total. That just shows you we don't have many big plays in the game. I guess that's good too since we're having long sustained drives that wear out the defense, but the only time that really helps is when we put points on the board. Putting 17 points on the board isn't really something to shout about.

Anyway, I think I'm beating a dead horse, so I'll let it go. Everyone knows we need more offense, and less penalties, so no need to harp on it. Good game, but we still have a lack of dicipline and need more points on the board. We're getting there, but we still have work to do... GRADE: B-

OVERALL: Overall, it was an ok game, but mostly dominated by the Bama Defense. They allowed 10 points and scored 14, net a +4 points. Heck, the D almost scored as much as the offense. We know what needs to be fixed, so let's do it. We won the game, but had turnovers, penalties, and good defense. I mixed emotions, but we did win the game and that's what matters.... GRADE: B

BAMA/SOUTH CAROLINA PREVIEW: The Gamecocks come into the game after beating Georgia and Miss. St on the road. What more do you have to say about this team. Though UGA and MSU are really unknown as to how good they really are, the fact remains that USC won. They are back at home now ready to play the Tide, who they have never beaten before. Even last year when the gamecocks were ranked and coming to Bryant-Denny Stadium, our 3-8 team pulled out the win somehow. One of our only 3 wins. I guess it was just meant to be - kinda like how we dominate LSU in Baton Rouge (though don't get me started on us losing that streak last year!).

The game will be tough, especially in their running game. They plan on pounding the ball like they did against earlier opponents. If we tackle like we have in the past, it could be a long game, but if we play defense like we did against Arkansas, the game could be quite close. Our offense will have to show up and score a lot of points, because South Carolina will score a bit on us for sure.

Penalties and turnovers will be key if the Tide expects to win. USC didn't have any turnovers in the MSU game last week. The D will have to work hard at forcing some TO's this week. That's the way Bama will have to stay in the game... Not much more to say really. We know what we have to do - WIN. A win here, and Bama will be thrust back into the Top 25, making it's chances better at winning the SEC West. That would be 3-0 start in the West, something that would REALLY help this team and their confidence. I predict a CLOSE GAME.... to close to call as a matter of fact, and the score could easily be reversed. We own the cocks, but it's their home field with a ranked team that seems to be winning in every aspect of the game lately. Can the Tide turn it around and keep the gamecocks winless against the Tide? My guess is that we will, but don't even think it'll be easy...
PREDICTION: BAMA 23 S.CAROLINA 20

BAMA vs Arkansas PREDICTION

Well, the events of last week have thrown everything out of whack, including the format of this page. No score as of yet for S.Miss/Bama since this game will likely be made up later in the season. Honestly, it might not be a bad move since we need to play someone of the caliber of Arkansas right now to make sure our team gets better in more phases of the game without having to worry as much about losing. Arkansas is probably THE worst team in the conference right now. They have only scored 1 TD in their 2 games, 1 TD less than the Tide has scored, and their offensive output is almost rock bottom of the NCAA statistics. This is the one team we SHOULD beat this week. Heck, Bama ranks #28 in the country in total offense at just over 400 yards per game. On paper, this should be a win for the Tide... BUT...

Remember what has happened the last couple of times Arkansas came to T-town. They somehow come-from-behind like they did against UNLV, and beat us on our own turf. This year, it won't be that way. Bama has the athletes to beat Arkansas like a red-headed stepchild - only, will we actually do it? Will we take them out to the woodshed? I don't think so. Why? Cuz Bama ALWAYS plays down to the level of the competition, which means we'll let the Hogs hang around like we always do, and then who knows what'll happen?

I'm calling for a Tide win mainly because Arkansas is THAT bad, not because we're that good. We have rolled up the offense, but it's points that win the game. It's a conference game and Arkansas WON'T roll over that easily. It will be a battle to the end, but I honestly see Bama winning this week in the 1st half, with Zow and other players getting the chance to play a bit in the 2nd half. Well, I take that back, unless we have a 3-4 TD lead, you won't see Zow. I still think Watts should play just to get our offense going and to get everything "clicking" within the group. It'd be an interesting call, but don't count on a blowout. It'll be close with special teams again making the difference. Milons finally returns a kickoff or punt all the way...
ALABAMA 27 HOGS 10

BAMA 12 . . . VANDY 9

First of all, this is being written after the terrorist attack, so this will be short due to the happenings of the September 11, 2001. 2nd, the Tide will be back.

The offense stagnated... the defense played well, even though giving up a lot of yards and big plays... but only 9 points. Against a REAL team, the score would have been much worse. We must get better. Special teams was the only thing keeping us in the game, and it ended up winning the game for us. Coach Fran has his work cut out for him as USM comes to town this weekend, if the game is still on, which it should be. Last year, it was a 21-0 shallacking of Bama by USM. That won't happen this year, but don't expect the Tide to roll up the numbers. We just don't seem to have much offensive firepower, and until I see it, I'll expect not to. Prove me wrong Tide!!!
PREDICTION: USM 20 BAMA 16

Again, let's keep everything in perspective - we have lots to be thankful for, even a football game loss. We could be one of the many that lost their lives this week. God Bless.

#25 BAMA 17 . . . #17 U.C.L.A. 20

Well, I guess here goes my chance to tell you all how I feel about the game and my thoughts on the season as I go along, huh? A lot of you have asked about whether or not I would be adding my take on the Game, so here it goes, even though I'm as busy at work as I've ever been. :)

As last year, there was a lot of hype about this game. It was the best match-up of the day by far. Miami/PSU? Please. Not even a fair contest. Miami could very well possibly be the best team in the country. Time will determine that. But back to our game (as I get off the subject as usual)...

Lots of hype, College Gameday was on campus, Lee Corso picked us to win (that was an omen, I tell ya!), and Dennis Franchione had his team ready to play... or did he? Well, from the looks of things, he did. Penalties are something he said he didn't forsee. I mean, if you don't make those mistakes in practice, how is he supposed to know they would make these mistakes in the game? Fact is, is that other teams don't have this problem, why do we? I don't know that either. In any case, he is finally doing what I've said all along in years past.... if it's your fault that the team gets a penalty, then you're running laps or something. He said some players will have to do situps and pushups. I say run around the football field the number of times that your number is on your jersey. And you know there ain't NO linemen that wear #1 or #2. ha ha ha

Anyway, it's a good thing he's doing. He must start somewhere. I guess I can give a semi-breakdown of how I saw each aspect of the game. It will be short and sweet....

OFFENSE: The offense was pretty good at times. I think more than anything, Coach Fran surpised everyone with the option offense. Everyone knows that Watts runs the option 100 times better than Zow since Zow is mainly a pocket-passer. Watts also has a little bit better speed. It was a good plan. We just need to protect the ball as we did in that game... all season. Yeah, we gave it up twice, once with Watt's pass that was tipped twice by his own guys, and 2nd on a trick play not envolving Watts. The WR's need to get their handoffs in order before we try that again. Overall Watts did a nice job. He ran the ball well and threw the ball well, including turning around a bad play into a long TD pass to A.C. RB's did well, but the OL needs to do a bit better in blocking for passing situations. It seemed like a few too many times they kept letting guys get through too soon, and Watts was unable to get the pass off. I'm sure this will get better as the season goes along. All of these guys are new, except for Ellington, so they will learn.

WR's did an excellent job. Freddie and A.C. did a wonderful job keeping their eyes on the ball, especially Freddie with the long ball from Zow. Both receivers ended up with over 100 yards each on the day. You just don't see that too often with Bama football teams. We do need to get the ball to Terry Jones Jr a LOT more. We kill people when we throw to the TE. Why do we only do this once a game? Of course, I'm basing this on last year's numbers and the only game this year. We need to go to the TE a lot more. See Jay Novacek for the Dallas Cowboys a few years back. He was their leading receiver in # of catches per game if I'm not mistaken. He was everywhere. Look at Shockey, the TE for the Miami Hurricanes. The TE is such a deadly weapon - we need to use it as often as we're able.

That's aobut it for offense. Oh, I don't think I need to say anything about the offensive penalties, do I???? It's obvious. Clean up your act before the ball is snapped or find another football team. There is NO reason to have upperclassmen jumping offsides and having illegal motion and what not. NO EXCUSES. This will be fixed if I think I know Coach Fran. ~450 yards of offense with 2 passing TD's, but a couple of turnovers... Good stats, but not a lot of points, which is what wins games... can be better... and will be better in the future. GRADE: C+

DEFENSE: The Defense played about as good of a game as one could play on the first game of the season against a nationally ranked team. Only 291 yards of total offense. They got the int for a TD, and a FG from another turnover. That's 10 points. 10 points that put them over the top to win. The D pretty much did their job, but didn't cause any turnovers. But they did make some outstanding plays. Only one long run by Foster, and then one ball knocked down by a diving cornerback... I forgot the guy's name. That saved the game at that point and gave us hope - else they would have had a 98 yard TD pass.

Guys tackled better than last year, but need to get to the QB more. Only one sack, though they did stop Foster quite a few times. But good RB's make you miss - See Shaun Alexander - so to hold them to that many yards says a lot about our D. We also gave up one long pass for TD... that'll happen, but our D put us in the position to win the game. They only realistically gave up 10 points. The other 10 points were from turnovers. My main 2 points are that we need (1) more QB sacks and (2) more turnovers. The times that UCLA DID fumble the ball, we were unable to cover up the ball. We should do better at that. Loscher let one through his hands if I recall correctly. Wrap it up baby!!

All in all, a good game by the D. We started strong and ended the game making that last stop we needed in order to get the ball back one last time. We still need more... but overall a good game. GRADE: B+

SPECIAL TEAMS: About the only thing the special teams need to do is tackle better on kickoffs. We kick well, we punt good enough, we return punts/kicks well... FG kicking is some of the best in the country with Neil Thomas. Just need that little bit of extra *Umfph* to make those big hits on special teams like the 1992 Bama team did...

On another note, we do have another kicker that Coach Fran recruited last year. Let's hope maybe he can get a little action this year if we can get a big enough lead... well, never mind. Don't want to waste that year of eligibility, huh? duh. Anyway, a pretty good overall day on special teams. They didn't cause us to lose the game like they have in the past. Only, I wish that borderline punt fumble on UCLA's part would have gone the other way. With such a VERY CLOSE call playing at home, you'da thought we woulda gotten that call... but we didn't. Good job. 2 XP's good and 1 good FG right down the pipe. Neil Thomas could yet again be our player of the year which would mean 3 years in a row, we could have 3 straight special teams guys getting my MVP award. Daniel Pope in '99, Neil Thomas in '00, and ???? for '01? We'll see. No more long kickoffs and punt returns. Oh, but a great job in punting down to the 1 yard line. I do remember that too. GRADE: A-

COACHING: Well, it was a secret all the way down to the first snap of the game. No one knew (but we all had that hunch) that it was going to be Tyler Watts. Even the announcer at pre-game said it would be EITHER Tyler Watts or Andrew Zow. Franchione has his i's dotted and his t's crossed when you get to coach the announcer on what to say. That cracked me up. Good for Coach!

I think he came up with a good gameplan to beat the Bruins, only we didn't beat the Bruins. He just didn't count on (and neither did we) all of the penalties. 15 to be exact, and UCLA didn't get one penalty called on them. They did get 2 flags, but they were both declined for our benefit. He has already started getting the guys on the exercise train... you get a penalty, and you do some exercises - pushups and situps. Some of the lineman could probably use to lose a few more pounds and get a little quicker. Eliminate some of those penalties, and you've got yourself a lot better ballgame. You even might have a different outcome... but that's something we'll never know.

As for THE CALL on the goal line, honestly, we weren't exactly knocking on the door most of the day, so if we were to put the ball in the end zone, then was the time to do it. We're only a yard out from a 1st down and 2 yards from a score. We need 2 scores, and 3 points is almost definite with Thomas as PK. Obviously, anyone can look back and say what you should have done. duh. But what if we actually get that TD. Then he looks like a genius. So at the time, it wasn't too late in the game, so it was a good call... though IF IT WERE ME, I still think I would have gone for points. I was even saying that before the play was called..... but again, I'm not the coach, and heck, everyone will learn as we go along. My main problem is that we ran from sideline to sideline AND to the right. Option for Watts works better to the right since he's right-handed, but for me, I think we shoulda just pounded it right up the middle. You know the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line. Well, we went the long way, and that gave UCLA time to make up the distance. They knew what was coming. And they stopped us. What can you do?

Well, everyone saw the game, so you can 2nd-guess anything. Bottom line is that we HAD to get points whether it was a TD or a FG. We got neither, and it cost us the game. We just need to make sure points get on the board next time so everyone will be happy. Getting no points makes no one happy, and all that work getting down the field for nothing.

All in all a decent game, but still have a long way to go to get points on the board. Offense and Defense looked good, but points win the games. GRADE: B-

OVERALL: Overall we did good, except for the penalties and not scoring more. The team has put this game behind them and look to Vandy next week. We're 0-1 and we're gonna get better. Coach Fran didn't take this job for this team to lose games, so look for Bama to win quite a few more in the near future. We still need to win the game, else we're just average..... GRADE: C

BAMA VS VANDY PREVIEW: Well, this is the one game each year (along with Ole Miss) that we usually win. It will be Coach Fran's First win as Alabama Head Coach. From the looks of things, Vandy should roll over and we should blow them out.... BUT! Remember, this is Vandy, a team that ALWAYS plays Bama tougher than any other team on the schedule for some reason. Their defense will show up ready to play, despite losing to Middle Tennessee State last weekend. Their offense will have a few surprises as usual too. Look for the "4th down punt, er, run up the middle for a touchdown" play. They might use that one on us again too. Woody always has something up his sleeve for the Tide. Since Vandy and Bama now will pay home and home this year and next, we'll no longer get this cupcake each year as before. So let's get these wins while we can. If we happen to lose to Vandy, Coach Fran will have a lot of explaining to do. Not even the Dumbose coach of the last 3 years lost to Vandy, so there's no excuse this year. Bama WILL win because our team is better - a LOT better. Look for fewer penalties on our part, and look for more than ZERO penalties on Vandy. You'll see some passing interference calls against Vandy because Freddie and A.C. are going to have great games back-to-back. Galloway will be player of the game as he romps for over 150 yards and 2 touchdowns. You can't stop the Crimson Football Machine! ROLL TIDE!

PREDICTION: BAMA 34 . . . Vandy 13