The Crimson Tide has reasserted itself as a national factor in the last couple of weeks. Their resiliency and fortitude will be tested this Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station as they square off with the Aggies of Texas A&M. Should be an epic. More upcoming below.

The Auburn Tigers proved that they’re building a formidable program for the future under Coach Freeze. The 27-17 loss to Georgia was a hard fought, classic SEC contest at the incredible home field advantage of Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers are 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the SEC, are off this week, then head down to Baaton Rouge next Saturday Night for a contest versus the Bengal Tigers.

There are terrific matchups in the conference and with future conference members, next year as a matter of fact, as those two rivals face off in the Cotton Bowl this Saturday in the Red River Showdown. Major national implications on the line in that contest.

Here’s a look at this Saturday’s riveting schedule of games.

Last Week, 12-0; Overall, 107-18, 86%.

ATS, 7-5, 64-58, 52%

All games Saturday, and all times Central, as usual.

No. 11 Alabama (4-1, 2-0 SEC) @ Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0)

Kyle Field, College Station, TX.

2:30 PM

CBS

Brad, Gary, Jenny

Tide by 1

Wow, this point spread has come down from 3 1/2 at the beginning of the week. There are so many key matchups and factors in this classic. One of the major matchups is the Bama O line versus the A&M dline. A&M has piled up the sacks this season and are tied for second in the country in that category with 20. The Crimson Tide is 7th with 17. So right tackle JC Latham and company will be severely tested by this Aggies dominating front. The quarterback duel between Jalen Milroe and Max Johnson will be pivotal, as always. Jalen can make the explosive runs and hit the long balls. Explosives will be critical. Johnson is an excellent passer and a pretty decent runner. Jalen will need to connect on some of the mid range throws and let guys like Isaiah Bond and Jermaine Burton take it from there. Tight end Amari Niblack has been a weapon for the Tide as well. S and Tommy Reas should try to incorporated him in the game. Jalen will try to stay away from the ints as will Johnson. And Jalen running the ball will be a tremendously important part of the offense as will RBs Jase McCellan and Roydell Williams. The A&M offense is explosive with wide outs Ainias Smith, Evan Stewart and Noah Thomas major take it to the house threats on the perimeter. Le’Veon Moss is a force running the ball, both for power and home run ability. Dallas Turner, Chris Braswell, Terrion Arnold and the Crimson Tide defense will be tasked with slowing down Jimbo Fisher’s explosive offense. This is a classic. Jimbo defeated S two years ago in College Station, so can he do it again? It’s tough to do that to S. Miss Terry got on him last week about being tougher on his players and he got the message and they responded accordingly. He’s back to his old ways and that’s a good thing. I like a more defensive battle in this one with some explosives, a key interception or a punt return, and, finally, a Will Reichard field goal to win it for the Crimson Tide. Wow, that young kicker is reliable. He’ll deliver once again for the Crimson Tide in a stellar SEC Football game with major conference and national implications at stake.

Alabama 17, A&M 14

No. 12 Oklahoma @ No. 3 Texas

Cotton Bowl, Dallas

11 AM

ABC

Chris, Kirk, Holly

Hook’em Horns by 6

Don’t let the home team moniker confuse you. This is a neutral site with half Texas and half OU fans in attendance. It’s a spectacle. Awesome matchup as these two teams are both definitely back. I like Sark and the Horns to survive and advance, but it ain’t going to be easy.

Texas 38, OU 35

No. 20 Kentucky @ No.1 Georgia

Sanford Stadium, Athens

6 PM

ESPN

Sean, Gregory, Molly

Dawgs by 14 1/2

I see a pretty good tussle here between the Hedges. Kentucky running back Ray Davis ran for 280 yards last Saturday, 280. That’s phenomenal. Georgia is getting by, being led by their all world tight end Brock Bowers, who should be front and center in the Heisman conversation if he keeps this up. He’s the best player in the country in my opinion. Georgia has to battle to survive Davis and the Cats Georgia does look to be getting better and better. The fourth quarter against the Tigers last Saturday was impressive.

Georgia 28, Kentucky 21

No. 23 LSU @ No. 21 Missouri

Memorial Stadium/ Faurot Field, Columbia

11 AM

ESPN

Bob, RGIII, Kris

Bengal Tigers by 5

Expecting a war in a raucous Memorial Stadium. Should be a lot of offensive fireworks with LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook and Mizzou Tigers phenomenal receiver Luther Burden III making explosive play after explosive play. Some Heisman watch guys in this game as well in Danels and Burden III. Should be electric.

LSU 45, Missouri 42

Arkansas @ Ole Miss

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxvegas

6:30 PM

SEC Network

Tom, Cole, Alyssa

Rebs by 11 1/2

I was seriously thinking about taking Sam and the upset here. But I’ll go with Lane and an outright offensive juggernaut on the Grove.

Ole Miss 48, Arkansas 45

Vanderbilt @ Florida

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville

3 PM

SEC Network

Dave, Stinch, Tori Petry

Gators by 18 1/2

Maybe somehow, some way, some day my Commodores can figure it out. I ask for Divine Intervention a lot during games. It’ll take a miracle at the Swamp.

Gators 41, Dores 20

Western Michigan @ Mississippi State

Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville

11 AM

SEC Network

State by 20 1/2

MS. State 38, Western Mich 14

Other key scores

No. 10 Notre Dame 34, No. 25 Lousville 27

Cardinal Stadium, Louisville

6:30 PM

ABC

Fighting Irish by 6 1/2

Fighting Irish are a tough defensive lapse from defeating Ohio State and being undefeated and squarely in the playoff hunt. They’re still not out of it with the schedule they play. They’ll need to run the table.

No.4 Ohio State 37, Maryland 30

Ohio Stadium, Columbus

11 AM

FOX

Gus, Joel, Jenny

Buckeyes by 20

Unlike many others, I didn’t mind Ryan Day going off on Lou Holtz in his interview after the Notre Dame victory. It was out of control, no doubt, but Holtz was questioning Day’s team’s toughness, and as a coach, I would find that unacceptable. Holtz basically guaranteed that the Irish would out-tough the Buckeyes. Don’t blame Day at all. He can be a jerk at times, but I like him taking up for his team. Holtz is doubling down on his comments and won’t let it go. If I was Day, I’d tell him to put that loss in his pipe and smoke it. Ohio State is for real in my opinion, but Taula Tagivailoa, Tua’s younger brother, ain’t no joke either and is lighting it up for Maryland passing for 1,464 yards, 13 TDs, against 3 ints. Mike Locksley’s team puts up a fight and makes Ohio State earn it.

No.2 Michigan 28 Minnesota 14

Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis

6:30 PM

NBC

Wolverines by 19

I like “Row the Boat” and the fighting Flecks to give Harbaugh and his Michigan bunch a game at Minneapolis.

No.5 Florida State 38, Virginia Tech 17

Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee

2:30 PM

ABC

FSU by 24

Mike Norvell and his talented team keep on cookin. Jordan Travis is tremendous under center. VA Tech defeated Pitt last Saturday, 38-21 at home, so they’re getting better.

No.9 USC 52, Arizona 30

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

9:30 PM

ESPN

SC by 21 1/2

Caleb Williams and his Trojans keep crankin’ out the points, but Lincoln Riley’s defense is still giving up way too many. That could cost’em down the line. T’eo will be pulling a late nighter. Some of the Due Rights will be just rolling in by the end of the game.

No. 14 North Carolina 42, Syracuse 27

Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill

2:30 PM

ESPN

Heels by 8 1/2

The Heels and quarterback Drake Maye are on a roll. Mack Brown has a really fine team in Chapel Hill. Miami comes to town next Saturday, though the ‘Cuse won’t be a total pushover.

No. 17 Miami 45, Georgia Tech 17

Hard Rock, South Beach

7 PM

ACC Network

Miami by 20

The Canes gear up for their invasion into Chapel Hill next Saturday. Will be a blockbuster.

No. 24 Fresno State 38, Wyoming 35

Jonah (Brothers?) Field at War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, WY.

7 PM

FOX

Fresno by 5

The Bulldogs survive a giant killer in Wyoming on the road in highly hostile stadium. Fresno State is a force with a lot of outstanding athletes on their depth chart, but the Cowboys are going to make them work for it.

Upset Central

Washington State 28, UCLA 27

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA.

PAC-12 Network

Bruins by 3 1/2

Give me quarterback Cam Ward, who has completed 106-of-142 passes, 75%, for 1,390 yards, 13 TDs, 0 ints, to lead his undefeated Cougars squad to victory. This team is a darkhorse to win the PAC-12 and make the playoff or a New Year’s Six Bowl game .

I should have gotten to this earlier

Super Bowl 58 Prediction

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Allegiant Stadium, Vegas

5:30 PM CT

CBS

Jim, Tony, Trace

Eagles 34, Ravens 31

MVP, Jalen Hurts

World Series

Rangers over Braves in 7; all games on FOX

MVP, Corey Seager

The great theme song/video from one of the best movies of all time

We have all had our “Rocky” moments at one time or another. Brombey running for 297 yards in a high school football game. WT, Bama Golf, Walter, Brombey, Brownie, or T’eo shooting a low 70’s, high 60’s round. Derrick winning a big tennis match or dominating in pickelball. My brother in law, Jack Reed, catching a TD pass in high school or beating the pro at Mountain Brook Club in tennis. My cousin, Camper O’Neal, catching a TD pass in a Mountain Brook High School playoff game or playing stellar golf like he does many times. My friend Bert Pitts tearing up the pavement at 4;30 AM these days. My great friend Kirby Sevier excelling at basketball and baseball in college. My sister, Penny Page, dominating at Pickeleball or setting the Mountain Brook Country Club record for minutes in a plank at 6. My wife, Beth, tearing up a marathon and running like a gazelle 3 days a week and riding her Peloton Bike the other four. Due to an injury, she’s walking right now and riding her Peloton Bike, but asking her if she is going to run again is like asking a general, rhetorically, if Fort Knox has gold. That would be a guaranteed yes. My daughter, Isabelle, running in a half marathon 2 weeks ago after getting over COVID the week before. My daughter Fairbanks excelling at tennis and pickle ball.

I’ve been working out at a boxing gym since 2019 called Battle Republic. It has locations in Homewood, the Summit and they’re opening one up in Tuscaloosa. I get that same athletic high and feeling of accomplishment that the aforementioned special people got from their great athletic feats. It’s a 45 minute HIIT cardio boxing workout with 10, 3 minute rounds of hitting the bag and doing burpees, push-ups, plank jacks, high knees and jumping jacks. It’s hard, intense, but extremely exhilarating. The punches are the jab, the cross, front hook, back hook, front uppercut and back uppercut, labeled respectively, 1 (jab), 2 (cross), 3, (front hook) 4, (back hook), 5 (front upper) and 6 (back upper). The coach will call out 1-2-6-duck, 5, 4, and you hit the bag accordingly. It gets exhausting, but it’s a thrill to get through a workout.

I had a Rocky moment in high school sports when I was running track my senior year. I was a football, basketball and baseball player up until my senior year when I went out for the track team in the winter after football to get ready for baseball. We had a really outstanding basketball team and I was a better pickup player than an organized team player. So I ran track. I was trying everything from the 60, to the long jump, to the 220, to the 500. Nothing was really working out. My coach looked at me and gave me a Belichick quote, “This is not what we’re looking for.” After that frustrating discussion with my coach, our team has a dual meet with a school from Virginia, T.C. Williams, better known for its football team portrayed in the movie “Remember the Titans.” There were a lot of great athletes at that school. I was of course at high school in Virginia myself. We were all even with Williams in the meet when the 2 mile relay came up. We were getting our tail kicked, and the third leg was about to commence. Each runner ran a half mile, four laps around our 220 yard indoor track. I went up to my coach and said, “Coach let me take that baton.” He said, “What do you think you can run.” I said a 2:15. “All right, get in there,” he said. We were a half lap behind when I got the baton. I started sprinting. I was on my third lap and catching the guy. I could see my teammates out of the corner of my eye saying, “Come on David White!” It was a spectacular feeling. I caught the guy and handed off to our fourth leg, a stud athlete who had already won 6 events that day. Any other time he would have waxed the dude, but he just ran out of gas and was beaten. I had run a 2:10 and was pumped. From then on, I was the first leg of the race, and we would be so far out in front after my half, that we’d cruise to victory. There was a lot of adversity leading up to that Rocky moment, but once it came to fruition, it was a spectacular feeling.

All the people I’ve mentioned above have experienced those moments in their athletic careers. That leads in to this amazing video of this phenomenal movie. I’m going to “Take You Back,” to 1972. “Take You Back” was the first song in this classic movie. Derrick, Roy Morton, Deano Matthews, Mabry Smith and I performed it at Cash’s Bar in Destin in their Gong Show Night back in the day. We practiced kind of hard on it. “Take it Back, Doo, Doo, Doo. Take it Back.” We got gonged in about 20 seconds. I thought it was robbery. I thought we were a pretty good act. Nobody else believed in us. Oh well, we didn’t become the Beatles. Life at a bar can be tough at times.

But here’s this stellar vid to amp you up for this Saturday’s classics, especially the Crimson Tide @ the Aggies. Enjoy the game!

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