Alabama won its first Southeastern Conference championship in a decade during the first week of December, and is the odds-on favorite to beat Texas (for the first time) and win the program’s 13th national championship. Like we did for the outset of the season, each week leading up to the game we’ll recap the best of the Crimson Tide, captured so ably by the University of Alabama athletics department’s creative media department.
An eye to the past, looking toward the future
Virginia Tech
Florida International
Arkansas
There are 34 bowl games this year, and we’re picking every damn one of them (probably with 60-70 percent success). You can follow the progress or join up and do battle with us through ESPN College Bowl Mania. We’re in “The League” and “The War Against Tebow.” TWAT (jokes!) is the brainchild of decamped S.C. blogger and good time Johnny, Micah Snead, so go there. But beware — Snead’s dad is a total ringer and will probably take the title by 20 points.
Dec. 19, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Fresno State v. Wyoming
Dec. 19, 8 p.m., ESPN
Central Florida v. Rutgers
Dec. 20, 8:30 a.m., ESPN
Southern Miss v. Middle Tennessee State
Dec. 22, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 18 Oregon State v. No. 14 BYU
Dec. 23, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 23 Utah v. California
Dec. 24, 8 p.m., ESPN
Nevada v. Southern Methodist
Dec. 26, 1 p.m., ESPN
Marshall v. Ohio
Dec. 26, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 17 Pitt v. North Carolina
Dec. 26, 8 p.m., ESPN
Boston College v. No. 24 Southern Cal
Dec. 27, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Kentucky v. Clemson
Dec. 28, 5 p.m., ESPN2
Texas A&M v. Georgia
Dec. 29, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
UCLA v. Temple
Dec. 29, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 15 Miami v. No. 25 Wisconsin
Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m., ESPN
Bowling Green v. Idaho
Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 20 Arizona v. No. 22 Nebraska
Dec. 31, Noon, ESPN
Houston v. Air Force
Dec. 31, 2 p.m., CBS
Oklahoma v. No. 21 Stanford
Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Navy v. Missouri
Dec. 31, 6 p.m., NFL Network
Minnesota v. Iowa State
Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 11 Virginia Tech v. Tennessee
Jan. 1, 11 a.m., ESPN
Northwestern v. Auburn
Jan. 1, 1 p.m., CBS
No. 16 West Virginia v. Florida State
Jan. 1, 1 p.m., ESPN
No. 13 Penn State v. No. 12 LSU
Jan. 1, 4:30 p.m., ABC
No. 8 Ohio State v. No. 7 Oregon
Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m., Fox
No. 5 Florida v. No. 3 Cincinnati
Jan. 2, Noon, ESPN2
South Florida v. Northern Illinois
Jan. 2, 2 p.m., ESPN
South Carolina v. Connecticut
Jan. 2, 2 p.m., Fox
No. 19 Oklahoma State v. Ole Miss
Jan. 2, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Arkansas v. East Carolina
Jan. 2, 9 p.m., ESPN
Michigan State v. Texas Tech
Jan. 4, 8 p.m., Fox
No. 6 Boise State v. No. 4 TCU
Jan. 5, 8 p.m., Fox
No. 10 Iowa v. No. 9 Georgia Tech
Jan. 6, 7 p.m., Fox
No. 25 Central Michigan v. Troy
Jan. 7, 8 p.m., ABC
No. 2 Texas v. No. 1 Alabama
Here we go. With the conference championship games over, and only Army-Navy left on Dec. 12, bowl bids are going out hot and heavy. There are some things that were expected, some surprises and — oh man — Clemson totally got jobbed.
BCS National Championship Game
No. 1 Alabama v. No. 2 Texas
Sugar Bowl
No. 5 Florida v. No. 3 Cincinnati
Capital One Bowl
No. 12 LSU v. No. 13 Penn State
Cotton Bowl
Ole Miss v. No. 19 Oklahoma State
Outback Bowl
Auburn v. Northwestern
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Tennessee v. No. 11 Virginia Tech
Music City Bowl
Kentucky v. Clemson
Liberty Bowl
Arkansas v. East Carolina
Independence Bowl
Georgia v. Texas A&M
Papajohns.com Bowl
South Carolina v. Connecticut
Definitely some interesting matchups — Georgia and Texas A&M are a couple big name teams for a small bowl, so that should be good. In other bowls, the Gator Bowl gave a big, wet, sloppy kiss to Bobby Bowden by inviting Florida State and West Virginia. Travesty. Though it was technically OK, Miami and Boston College were higher up in the selection order in the ACC. Southern Cal, the over-hyped 8-4 team, is going to play the Eagles in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.
Ooh! There are other BCS games?
Fiesta Bowl
No. 6 Boise State v. No. 4 TCU
Rose Bowl
No. 7 Oregon v. No. 8 Ohio State
Orange Bowl
No. 9 Georgia Tech v. No. 10 Iowa
Nike’s bizarre, “tradition ain’t shit” uniform policy will befoul a number of teams for the rest of the month. Alabama, thank God, has been limited to the swoosh, the NCAA-mandated conference pennant and the script A, through there was that houndstooth collar mess for the 2006 Ole Miss game.
It appears the garish ensemble will come out for the Florida State game (but there hasn’t been a definitive statement). The Seminoles will also be wearing the misfit creation, with a black helmet. Don’t drink too much, as you might not recognize who’s on the field. We haven’t found a picture of the side of the Florida helmet, but unless it’s got the old-school F on that white melon case, it’s going to be even more strange. Throw a blue helmet on there, and you’d swear it’s Kentucky.
The other ones are even weirder. LSU’s look like a direct rip from Washington. The helmets are gold. TCU’s entry has pants that look like scales and red stripes on the helmet. Horned frogs, you see, shoot blood out of their eyes. Miami has two-tone numbers, but the only tradition there is thuggery and fairweather fans, so that’s no big deal.
It’s been roughly 36 hours since Alabama beat Virginia Tech in Atlanta, and our minds have finally become sane enough to filter what happened and look at it like the good sportswriter we used to be. But, yea and verily, that’s still not possible. We’re Tide fans. And, fall means pure fucking insanity. Loss of control. It’s an addiction worse than any drug. It’s imprinted into the DNA. You can’t stop it, you can only hope to contain it.
And that’s not going to happen, my good sir.
So, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ROLL TIDE! HEY HOKIES! WE JUST BEAT THE HELL OUTTA YOU! RAMMER JAMMER YELLOW HAMMER GIVE ‘EM HELL ALABAMA! WOOOOOO!
With that out of the way, Bama’s win over another Top 10 team in another opener in another game in Atlanta can be spun any number of ways. The Crimson Tide defense put a lock-down on Nouveau Vick, and stopped the Virginia Tech running attack for the most part. Alabama’s offense racked up an amazing amount of yards on what’s supposed to be a pretty good defense. Quarterback Greg McElroy didn’t have to depend on premier receiver Julio Jones, who was shut down by the Hokie secondary. Running back Mark Ingram had a career day. Baby Tiffin went 4-for-5 on field goal attempts.
But, there’s a reason Tech was up by one going into the fourth quarter. Special teams. Turnovers. Dumb mistakes. For three quarters, it looked like Alabama desperately wanted to give the game to the Hokies. Long drives were ending in field goals, or no points at all, which was a hallmark of the disasterous Mike Shula era. McElroy looked lost for much of the game. Thank God that Tide legend Shaun Alexander was on the sideline to coach him up and get his head right.
But, the fact that Alabama could screw up that bad and still win by 10 points against a very good team should scare the hell out of every team in the SEC that doesn’t have a Tebow on its roster. It still doesn’t make us happy. Well, happy for the win, but still anxious about the rest of the season. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Tide gets Florida International and North Texas before the SEC opener against Arkansas.
UAB 44, Rice 24
How about them Blazers, eh? UAB quarterback Joe Webb racked up crazy amounts of fantasy points, and real ones, taking out the Owls at Legion Field. Several days ago, we wondered, “Where is the Gene Bartow of UAB football?” Bartow came from UCLA to start the UAB basketball program in the late ’70s, taking the team to the Elite Eight in a few short years. Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy played for Bartow — and we’re proud to say he started in the first sporting event we ever attended.
For a long time, the powers that be in Alabama didn’t want to see UAB get a football program. The state’s loyalties are split between Alabama and Auburn, and a team at a big public university in the state’s biggest city set up to be an issue in recruiting. However, in the early ’90s everything worked out and the program began. But, with the exception of a stunning win at LSU in 2000, the Blazers haven’t done much.
Maybe current coach Neil Callaway, in his third season, could be the guy to make UAB a mid-major success. Beating a conference opponent by 20 is a nice way to start the year. If he can keep the team playing at this level, maybe a few more people might roll out to the aging monument to football in which the team plays.
Carolina 7, N.C. State 3
Dear USC, please stop doing this. We’ve watched your team play in ugly opening games since 2005, and we’ve had enough. Have the guts to tell ESPN to put something interesting in this slot at the First Thursday game next year. Also, it appears Georgia sucks, so, hey, 2-0?
Alabama defensive end Brandon Deaderick didn’t have a good time Monday night, when he was shot twice — once in the arm, once in the leg, in a botched robbery attempt. Per The Press-Register’s Gentry Estes, the shots inflicted “little more than a flesh wound.” How much of a badass do you have to be to get plugged twice and have it not be that big of a deal?
Head coach Nick Saban is playing the cautious had, though, saying that Deaderick will probably miss the opener against Virginia Tech on Saturday. It was up in the air, as Deaderick was released in less than 24 hours from DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa.
It is a significant loss for the Bama defensive line, as the senior started all 27 games the past two seasons, racking up 36 tackles and four sacks in 2008. He’ll be replaced by sophomore Marcell Dareus, who was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 5 defensive tackle in the nation coming out of Huffman High School. He won the Alabama spring game’s lineman of the game award, so the talent is there, if the experience is not.
Noted dog fighter and former Atlanta Falcons and Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick has just inked a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. The report was confirmed by Vick’s agent, Joel Segal.
This should be interesting. Eagles fans are among the worst in the National Football League. They even threw snow balls at Santa Claus. This is just before the interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” in which the quarterback was interviewed by James Brown as a part of his attempt to rehabilitate his image after a jail term for the dog fighting charge.
JAMES BROWN: And the operation, Michael, that you pleaded guilty to bankrolling, to being a part of, engaged in barbarous treatment of the animals– beating them, shooting them, electrocuting them, drowning them — horrific things, Michael — what about the dogs? What about the dogs?
MICHAEL VICK: It’s wrong, man…I feel, you know, some tremendous hurt behind what happened. And, you know, I should have took the initiative to stop it all…I didn’t– I didn’t step up. I wasn’t a leader.
JAMES BROWN: So for the cynics who will say, “You know what? I don’t know. Michael Vick might be more concerned about the fact that his career was hurt than dogs were hurt.”
MICHAEL VICK: I mean, football don’t even matter.
Philadelphia native Dawn Staley, the coach of the Carolina women’s basketball team, is sticking up for her hometown squad by tweeting, “We landed Michael Vick! Go eagles! Andy Reid has a tremendous heart. And eagle fans pls leave the man alone!”
With all due respect to the coach, we’re not all that thrilled with Vick being back in the NFL. While people should be given a second chance, it’s simply hard to extend that to somebody who oversaw an operation of such mind-boggling cruelty.
One of the common defenses of the quarterback’s actions is that dog fighting some sort of part of Southern culture. We’ve lived in six Southern states comprising the entirety of our life, and never were around two people who thought dog fighting was OK, much less engaged in the practice.
Regardless, here we go. Vick’s the Eagles’ problem now. It will be quite a show to see how the franchise handles this issue.
It’s been a while since we could predict that Alabama would be good season-in and season-out (like, say, 1989-1996), so we’re getting ready for the 2009 season by getting hyped with the best highlight videos from last season’s 12-0 regular season campaign.
For those of you who don’t understand what it’s like to expect excellence from your favorite football team every year, we feel bad for you, son. Actually, no, not really. Expecting mediocrity would be much easier than having to deal with the the letdowns of the past decade of Crimson Tide football (you have it easy, South Carolina). But, we’re pretty excited and can’t wait to see Bama wipe out another ACC team in the Georgia Dome.
The Sept. 9 opener between Alabama and Virginia Tech at the Georgia Dome has become an official sellout, with with the schools distributing their combined 62,000+ allotted tickets a full two months before what’s known as the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The Crimson Tide won last year’s inaugural affair with a 31-10 total goddamn ass-kicking of Clemson (a Carolina fan was buying shots of Firefly vodka for me and his lady friend all night — it was a good time).
The Chick-fil-A Bowl, which runs the event, is now calling it the “Daytona 500 of college football.” They could call it the “biggest hootenanny in three states,” as long as Bama shows up and beats a Top 10 team. This year’s contest is shaping up to be one of the biggest games of September, with Alabama and Virginia Tech assumed to be Top 10 squads.
“This is a true testament to the passionate fans at both of these schools that the game would sell out so far in advance,” Chick-fil-A Bowl president Gary Stokan said. “The weekend will be a celebration of the sport and all the pageantry that accompanies it, and we’re excited to continually grow the opening weekend of college football.”
Alabama athletics director Mal Moore was also pleased, saying, “There is no doubt that our fans are excited about this game and the opportunity to get the 2009 season started with such a high-profile event. Alabama fans eagerly await the start of each new season and I think the chance to open in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game for the second year in a row is a definite plus for our team and all those that follow the Crimson Tide.”
And, wait, we got YouTube vids already:
