Tough one for the Crimson Tide; AU looks like there back to 2013 form, though that was a pretty bad LSU team–the worst I’ve seen in quite a while. They lost too many players to the draft and their freshman quarterback just wasn’t ready for the big stage yet.
I know Alabama fans don’t want to think about the game too much. Ole Miss played a really good game, particularly in the second half. Bo Wallace looked outstanding in the second stanza. They’ve got a good team. On Blake’s last throw that was intercepted, he made an error that some quarterbacks do at times. They get a little anxious and try to get it in the end zone when they can make a 10 yard throw and keep the game winning drive alive. That holding call on O.J. Howard before that last pass was critical to the Tide’s ability to score. It was a somewhat questionable call too. It put Bama in a bad position on down and distance. Blake did have a receiver open to his right; I believe it was Chris Black, but I will have to look at the tape again. If it was Black or whomever, he was wide open about 10 to 12 yards away on the right side of Blake and he had a lot of green grass in front of him. It’s too bad Blake couldn’t find him. Blake played a decent game. The secondary had their issues, but Ole Miss just played the better game on Saturday this time out. Bama still has a lot to play for with the West being a wide open division this season with some very good teams. Auburn, Ole Miss, Ms. State, Alabama and Aa&M, though they have to beat Ole Miss this weekend to stay relevant in the west, all still have a shot at winning the division. Georgia looks like the best team in the East though they have to go to Mizzou this weekend, which will be a major test. If the Dawgs can get by Mizzou, they should be in pretty good shape going forward. If Mizzou wins, they’re in drivers seat. If Georgia wins, they still have to play Florida in Jacksonville, so it’s not a done deal for them. Florida pulled out an ugly one in Knoxville on Saturday, but they got the job done and remain alive in the East. Georgia also have Auburn between the hedges and they have to play a resurgent Kentucky team under Mark Stoops, who is doing an excellent job.Kentucky is a team that is a factor in the East. So both of the divisions are wide open.
The Auburn Tigers will be majorly tested in Starkville on Saturday. State is for real, and so are the Tigers. Will be a wild scene at Davis Wade Stadium. The cowbells will be piercingly loud throughout the game. This will tell us where Auburn is this season. Sammie Coates is back and played a heckuva game on Saturday. Sammie and Duke Williams are the best one-two punch in the nation at wide receiver, and that’s in no particular order; both are stellar. Quan Bray is an explosive player too, and the running game with Nick going for 119 Saturday and Cameron Artis-Payne going for 126, looks pretty formidable. Artis-Payne may not be Tre Mason just yet, but he’s getting closer and closer. He doesn’t have the breakaway speed that Tre had, but he gets tough yards and Nick can take it to the house. Corey Grant and freshman Roc Thomas could add to that explosiveness going forward.
And the AU defense is playing really well. They’re not a dominating group yet, but they’re aggressive and they have playmakers in the secondary. LSU was pretty bad on offense, but the Auburn defense had a lot to do with it. Their freshman quarterback, Brandon Harris, looked pretty clueless out there, but Dak Prescott will not be. This will be an epic matchup on Saturday afternoon @ 2:30 PM CT in Starkville. CBS will telecast it.
For Alabama, it’s regroup and get ready for a pretty good Arkansas team. Arkansas should have beaten A&M in Arlington two Saturdays ago. The Hogs scored two touchdowns that were called back. A&M was pretty lucky to win that game, and showed vulnerability on defense, which State took advantage of Saturday. The Tide face the Razorbacks at 5 PM CT on ESPN. Arkansas has that stellar running game with Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins, two hosses in the backfield. Their quarterback, Brandon Allen, can be good at times. He’s kind of like Bo Wallace. You get plenty of good, but some bad too. Alabama still has a lot to play for. There are areas where Alabama needs to improve in, the entire defense, particularly the secondary, the running game needs to be more explosive and the kicking game is still a problem for S. And with center Ryan Kelly hurt, that could pose a bit of a problem for the entire offensive line. Kelly is the leader on the line and redshirt freshman Bradley Bozeman is going to have to pick things up quickly if Kelly can’t make it back this week. The line has played well this season, so maybe they’ll adjust to the new center or maybe Kelly can make it back.
****Note: Kelly has a sprained knee-out two to three weeks; Drake a broken leg-season ending. Denzel Deval has a high ankle sprain-could be three weeks to a month.
That was a tough deal for Kenyan Drake. He was having a good season and brought that explosiveness to the backfield. Hated to see that. Hopefully, Kenyan can come back next year and get back to his form from this season. He’s quite a player. S and Lane should start considering playing Altee Tenpenny at running back some this Saturday. They’re probably going to have to now with Kenyan gone for the year, and Tyren Jones having a broken bone in his finger. Tenpenny was a high four-star and can be a really good player, so that’s a guy they may want to employ this weekend. The defense needs to improve this week. They’ll be tested by that massive line that Arkansas will put out there and their electric running backs. So the d line and linebackers need to be at their best. Tony Brown had his struggles at corner on Saturday, but it was his first start, and he’s loaded with talent, so I think he’ll start figuring it out. He’s a heckuva talent. Should be a pretty good battle in Fayetteville as well Saturday night. Five PM CT on ESPN.
It was just a super wild Saturday though all over the country with all the teams that went down. Saturday was only the second time ever that four of the top six teams in the AP were knocked off. The other time was in 1990. The AP poll has been around since 1934. Saturday, No.3 Alabama, No.4 Oklahoma, and No.6 A&M all went down. On Thursday night, No.2 Oregon lost to Arizona. Then there was the incredible play in the Arizona State-USC game in which the Zona State quarterback threw up a Hail Mary as time expired and a receiver caught it and ran in the end zone to clinch the upset of the Trojans. It was unbelievable. Just an incredible weekend. The Kentucky victory over South Carolina was incredible. Running back Jo Jo Kemp was a machine, running for 131 yards on 17 carries and three TDs. Very impressive win for Kentucky. Ball Coach has to be extremely frustrated with his team.
This Saturday’s line up is very impressive, too. Auburn @ State @ 2:30 PM CT on CBS, Georgia @ Missouri @ noon on CBS, Bama @ Arkansas @ 5 PM CT on ESPN, and Ole Miss @ A&M @ 8 PM CT on ESPN are the headliners. LSU plays @ Florida at 6:30 PM CT on the SEC Network, and a couple of important national games include No.9 TCU @ No.5 Baylor @ 2:30 PM CT on ABC or ESPN2 and No. 12 Oregon @ No. 18 UCLA @ 2:30 PM CT on Fox, though that game has lost some of its relevance as both team lost this past weekend. USC is @ No.10 Arizona too. That Zona team was impressive Thursday night at Oregon.
Auburn is anywhere from a 2 1/2 to 3 point favorite over State, Alabama is a 9 1/2 point favorite over Arkansas, A&M is favored by three over Ole Miss and Georgia is a three point favorite over Missouri. LSU is a 1 /12 to 2 1/2 favorite over Florida. UAB with a big 42-39 victory over Western Kentucky on the road. Good stuff for the Blazers as they continue their improvement under Bill Clark. Blazers host North Texas this Saturday @ 2:30 PM CT on Legion Field.
Will have more as the week progresses leading up to another stellar Saturday.
2 Responses
Great job, David!! I thought your analysis of Ole Miss/Bama was spot on. Bama didn’t give the game away, Ole Miss wanted it a lot more and out-HEARTed Bama. Even considering the loss of Drake, I think Saban under-estimated Ole Miss and over-estimated our ability to run or pass on the Rebs…as well as stop their offense. It’s a blessing and a curse to live in the SEC West, and hellaciously difficult to get the team prepared and up every week. You were right once again, Bama still has a lot to play for, but…this was their one Mulligan, they need to win out from here. A failure to dominate both the Hogs and Aggies will not bode well for the Tide.
Agree 100% BP. Thanks for your comments! Really appreciate them.