The 84th Iron Bowl: Keeping Bama’s Playoff Hopes Alive

My beloved Crimson Tide must beat Auburn to have a snowflake’s chance in Hell of making the College Football Playoffs. Auburn hasn’t won back-to-back home Iron Bowls since 2005 and 2007, but the Tigers would love nothing more than to knock their Bama rivals out of playoff contention.

This year’s Iron Bowl doesn’t have the same deafening buzz as in years past.  Neither team has a path to Atlanta for the SEC Championship.  Only Alabama has an opportunity for a playoff spot if they get help from around college football during Rivalry Week/Championship Saturday. Alabama is the only team to have made the first five college playoffs.  That streak is in jeopardy.

Root for Michigan:  If the Buckeyes lose to the Wolverines and lose next week in Indianapolis, Bama has a chance of getting in.

Root for South Carolina:  The ACC is in the cellar this season.  Any loss for Clemson would destroy the Tigers’ chances for the playoffs.

Root for the Rambling Wreck:  The Jawja Bulldawgs losing a second game against an ACC team would damage their rèsumè with the Selection Committee, but we’ll leave crossing them off the list to Coach Oeaux’s LSU Tigers.

Root for the Badgers:  If the Badgers beat Minnesota, they would face Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.  A one-loss Ohio State alongside a conference champion Minnesota or Wisconsin team would add chaos to the Selection Committee rankings.

Simply stated, for Alabama to make the playoffs the top three teams (Ohio State, LSU and Clemson) would have to remain the same, Alabama beats Auburn today and Georgia loses the SEC title game against LSU next week in Atlanta.

Can the stringbean wearing No. 10 who was thrust into the spotlight to replace Superman lead the Tide to victory in a game that means everything to the players in Crimson and White?

The sports experts and pundits have written off the Tide for weeks now and I think Alabama will show up and prove they are, in fact, one of the top four teams in the country.

The game will be decided in the matchup between Alabama’s offensive line and Auburn’s defense.  If Bama’s O-line can protect Mac Jones, he’ll be able to get rid of the ball and let his receivers torch the Auburn secondary.

The training wheels are definitely off.  Offensive Coordinator Steve Sarkisian will call the game as if Tagovailoa were starting the game.  He’ll be aggressive relying on the run and RPOs.  Mac can handle that kind of game plan.

Blogger friend and SEC sister, Diogenes, has a great post over at her place.  We eat, drink and sleep college football and if she says Bama wins today, then you can take that to the bank.

No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide Vs No. 3 LSU Tigers

The game is simple.  The best ones always are.

It’s been seven long years since the “Game of the Century”. That’s the longest winning streak in the series since Coach Bear Bryant claimed eleven in a row from 1971 to 1981.  The streak lingers like a dark shadow over the Cajun Nation.

The last time LSU beat Alabama was November 6, 2010.  LSU was ranked No. 10 and Bama was ranked No. 6.  The Tigers were trailing the Tide 14-13 in the fourth quarter when Coach Les Miles called for a reverse play to tight end DeAngelo Peterson who rambled for 23 yards to Alabama’s 3-yard line and the go-ahead touchdown. LSU went for the 2-point conversion to make the score 21-14.  LSU was able to add another 3 points on a FG attempt with 5:34 left in the game making the score 24-14.

Bama QB Greg McElroy tossed to Julio Jones for a TD with 3:23 left in the game but it wasn’t enough to pull off a win.  The final score was 24-21.

Under the lights of Death Valley, the Crimson Tide will clash with the Bayou Bengal Tigers of LSU for the 14th time in which both teams have been ranked in the AP Top 20.  Nine times one of them has been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2.

The College Football Playoff Committee released its first rankings on October 30th with LSU in the No. 3 slot. A lot of people expect Alabama to keep rolling.

Here's @stephenasmith's top 5 college football teams ... 😂 pic.twitter.com/qANgLe1jCJ

— First Take (@FirstTake) October 30, 2018

LSU is a legitimate contender in the race for the national championship coming into tonight’s game.  I have the utmost respect for the Tigers.  They’ve got the best QB in Joe Burrows they’ve had in years and he’s made a substantive difference for these tenacious rivals.  This will be a bare-knuckled, slobber-knocker grudge match.  If they beat Bama they will be in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth and the Cajun Nation will be insufferable.

This is LSU Hate Week.  This is a good hate; this is a respectful hate; this is a rivalry that has become far more meaningful over the past 25 years than most rivalries the media crow about.

Hawaiian phenom Tua Tagovailoa remains at the controls of the most intimidating offense in the FBS and has yet to take a fourth-quarter snap in 2018. LSU is the team with the greatest chance of ruining the Tide’s dreams of an unprecedented 18th National Championship.  As such, this may well be the game in which Tagovailoa will finally play in the fourth quarter.

"Alabama has always been the benchmark and Coach Saban has done a fantastic job," Head Coach Ed Orgeron said. "He's going to go down as the greatest college football coach in the history of the game, so give him the credit for what they've done at Alabama.

"We've got to beat them to get to where we want to go and that's a fact."

During this Thursday’s “Hey Coach” press conference, Saban had this to say: 

Nick Saban was just asked what he will choose during the coin toss at LSU -- kick or receive?

Saban: "To be honest with you, I hope we elect to kick ass, is what I hope we do."

— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) November 2, 2018

Oz Music, a Tuscaloosa music store, immortalized the quote by turning it into a good old-fashioned election button: 

Oz Music in Tuscaloosa made some buttons for Saturday.... pic.twitter.com/kSyWilHc5L

— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) November 2, 2018

So, to the Cajun Nation I say, ”Tell ‘em Alabama’s coming and hell is coming with ‘em.”

Alabama vs Washington: CFB Playoff Semifinal

Saturday’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl promises to be epic.  Huskies fans have taunted “We want Bama” and they’re about to get their wish.

These two schools have met exactly four times in their history:  New Years Day in the 1926 Rose Bowl, in 1975 U-Dub came to Tuscaloosa, three years later the Tide traveled to Seattle and their last meeting was on Christmas Day 1986 in the Sun Bowl.  Each meeting resulted in a glorious victory for the Crimson Tide.

That was then.  This is now.

Alabama faithful know only too well the nation sees Alabama as villains.  The Tide is the defending National Champion with the nation’s longest winning streak.  Washington has had a miraculous one-loss season but they are a 14-point underdog.  The last time the Huskies were National Champions was 25 years ago.

Alabama enters the Playoffs undefeated and looking to keep that record intact to become the first repeat Playoff era champion.  Legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant won six national championships.  Nick Saban has won five.  Winning against Washington moves Saban closer to tying “The Bear”.

I believe with all my heart my beloved Crimson Tide will defeat the Huskies.  It’s their destiny.  The players want the win for school pride and they want it for Coach Saban.

So...get your hate on.  The Huskies will leave the Georgia Dome like yelping pups with their tails tucked between their legs having faced college football’s most powerful dynasty.

ROLL TIDE!

Alabama Crimson Tide Vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

Earlier this week the oddsmakers were giving Bama a 6-point advantage over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.  By Thursday they had them as an 8-point favorite.

Last Sunday the AP Top 25 Poll had the Crimson Tide moving up four slots from No. 7 to No. 3 and then on Tuesday the College Football Playoff Selection Committee came out with their Week 10 rankings moving the Tide up from No. 4 to No. 2 ahead of Ohio State and Baylor.  The Bama faithful are ecstatic.

When LSU came to Tuscaloosa last week I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.  I was sure the LSU Tigers would give my Bama boys a fit.  I cannot describe the euphoria I felt over the impressive way in which they dominated the boys from Baton Rouge.

Saturday at 3:30 PM ET, CBS will carry the game from Davis Wade Stadium, the home of the eternally annoying cowbell-clanging crowd.

The Bulldogs have lost 7 straight games to Alabama.  Alabama owns the series history between the two schools:  79-17-3.  The Tide is just three games away from returning to the College Football Playoffs.

I’m not foolish enough to believe the game against “Hail State” will be a walk in the park.  A victory over Mississippi State is anything but a given. Those boys and their rabid fans are going to fight like a house afire.  It’s a matter of pride and intense yearning to knock Bama out of the CFB.

I read an interesting take on the game from Rodger Sherman over at SB Nation.  He picks game winners based on their mascots.  Sherman wrote:

“Look, I've already established many times that most animals would be helpless against the Tide, especially a more-or-less hopeless animal like a bulldog. Bulldogs have no chance against—wait, what’s that?”  Then he presents an embedded video of Tillman the Surfing Dog.  “Hell yeah!” he writes.  “It’s a surfing bulldog.  WOOO.  The Bulldogs have conquered the Tide.  They’re unstoppable.”

What ‘ol Rodger fails to mention is Tillman’s owner says he likes to “wipeout” in the surf.  That sounds prophetic to me.

Sophie The Wonderdog doesn’t care what the sportswriters say and she sure as hell doesn’t care what Rodger Sherman has to say.  She’s not the least bit worried about a “Dak Attack.”  She knows Bama is going to put another W in the books and she will get a “cookie” when our powerful pachyderms do.  That’s how she rolls. 

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Alabama Crimson Tide Vs LSU Tigers

The weather guys in Alabama are forecasting 100% precipitation, 86% humidity and winds up to 11 MPH for the battle at Bryant-Denny Stadium.  Big hairy deal.  Remember the Rain Bowl against the Dawgs of Jawja?  A little rain and mud ain’t nothin’.

Kickoff is 8:00 PM ET.  The game will air on CBS.

No. 7 Alabama is going to put eleven warriors on the field against the No. 4 boys from Baton Rouge and no matter what the stats or series history says about the game, it’s the heart and courage, sweat and blood of the players that will determine the final outcome.  Both teams will leave everything they have on the field.

Ordinarily, I would be trash-talkin’ the opponent.  This is no ordinary game.  You see, my blogging sister Diogenes, is a dyed-in-wool LSU fan and a dear friend.  We made a deal, a wager if you will, a couple of years back that the loser would contribute to Wounded Warrior Project.  Somehow doing something wonderful for our brave service members reduces the sting of a loss.

Saturday night one war horse will bask in the glory of the victory; the other will languish in disappointment.

Diogenes, I love ya gurl, but I gotta say:

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

If you’d like to join us in supporting our wounded warriors, click here to give a one-time donation or here if you’d like to participate in the WWP Advanced Guard monthly giving program.

Is It Saturday Yet?

“An atheist is a man who watches a Notre Dame—Southern Methodist University game and doesn't care who wins.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

On Saturday two of the strongest teams in college football are set to collide.  LSU is undefeated.  Alabama has lost one game.  The game between these two powerhouses will determine who’s in for the College Football Playoffs.  November is wild, cruel and exhilarating.  November is about everything.

The Playoff Selection Committee unveiled its first rankings last night.  The top six teams in order of their rankings are:  Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame and Baylor.

I don’t give a hoot about the "quality wins" controversy that surrounds the rankings. LSU or Alabama has represented the West Division in the SEC Championship Game in nine of the last 15 seasons.

Blogger sister Diogenes and I have waited a whole year for Saturday’s game.  To my mind you’d have a hard time finding two more ardent fans of college football or more devoted followers of the rivalry between our two schools.  She bleeds purple and gold and I crimson and white.

This post is not about a “chick fight”.  Instead it’s about the mutual respect we have for one another.  No matter how the game ends we have decided once again to make a charitable contribution to Wounded Warrior Project to honor our military service members.

On June 6, 1984 President Ronald Reagan stood on the spot where Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy to throw off the yoke of Nazi tyranny at Pointe du Hoc.

“Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.”

I, like you, have seen the public service announcements that have aired for Wounded Warrior Project.  Each story is compelling.  There is one; however, that evokes the greatest degree of compassion.  It is the story of Dennis.  Army National Guard Sgt. Dennis Cabanting spends his days fighting battle-related Multiple Sclerosis, PTSD and traumatic brain injury.  This returning hero’s palsy-like tremors almost turned him into a tragic figure.  Through the assistance of Wounded Warrior Project’s Independence Program Dennis is learning to live life on his own terms.

From Iraq and Afghanistan our brave warriors are coming home wounded.  Some with wounds you can see, some with wounds you can’t see. Wounded Warrior Project was created to support our brave men and women coming off the battlefield.

Next Wednesday is Veterans Day.  What better way to honor their service than by giving whatever you can afford to Wounded Warrior Project?  Click here if you can give a one-time donation or here if you’d like to participate in the WWP Advanced Guard monthly giving program  On behalf of Diogenes, we thank you.  Please help carry these warriors the rest of the way home.

College Football Semi-Final: Alabama Crimson Tide Vs Ohio State Buckeyes

For only the fourth time in their history, my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide will meet the Ohio State Buckeyes on the gridiron.  Bama defeated the Buckeyes 35-6 in the 1978 Sugar Bowl, 16-10 in the 1986 Kickoff Classic and 24-17 in the 1995 Florida Citrus Bowl.

Tonight, from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, college football history will be made in the very first College Football Playoff.

Following the defeat of Ole Miss by the TCU Horned Frogs, the controversy of Ohio State’s playing in the semi-finals was resurrected.  The Horned Frogs Coach Patterson said after the game, “I don’t think I have to say anything.”  Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze said, “They rightfully deserved to be in it with the others. They could compete with any of those, no question in my mind.” 

Of course, the flap is over whether Ohio State deserved to be ranked fourth ahead of TCU in the College Football Playoffs.  College football fans railed for years against the BCS Championship system and now that it’s been replaced, they’re still unhappy.

Alabama is making its 62nd bowl appearance.  That’s more than any other university.  Ohio State is making its 44th bowl appearance. The Buckeyes are 19-24 in bowl games.

I make no secret of my unwavering loyalty to The Tide.  I’ve been rooting for Bama since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.  Every game is steeped in revered tradition and the ghost of the legendary Coach Bear Bryant.  God how I loved that man.

One sportswriter said it best, “For these two teams, the precious moment will come when the ball is first held aloft in the heavy Louisiana air of the Superdome, the hallowed ground of past conquests for both teams.” He continues, “When Alabama and Ohio State take the field, both will be embarking on a brave new world of college football, one where each team's traditional clout will carry little weight.  The flesh of history will be cleft away from each team, leaving only the bare bones of that which makes the Crimson Tide and the Buckeyes elite.”

Some irrational Neanderthal chewing gum like a cow chews its cud uploaded a profanity-laced tirade in which he referred to Alabama as “Slopabama” and promised that Coach Urban Meyer would bully The Tide’s head coach Nick Saban.  Of course, what he’s referring to is Meyer’s two resignations, once in 2009 after Bama trounced the Gators 32-13, and again in 2010 when Florida was defeated 31-6.

Whether or not Nick Saban makes Urban Meyer cry again, the Crimson Tide is going for its fourth national championship in six seasons, a stunning run of dominance in what is supposed to be an era of increased parity.  Parity…that’s what everybody wanted, right?

ROLL TIDE ROLL

And because no football post would be complete without some pom-poms, take a gander at these lovelies from the Alabama cheer squad.

Sophie’s Slacker Saturday

Today is Saturday and there’s no Bama game.  My beloved Crimson Tide has a bye this week.

I will be relegated to watching the SEC games involving teams Bama will face after they whip the LSU Tigers on Saturday, November 8th.

No. 2 Florida State managed to survive a half-time 21-0 deficit against Louisville to win 42-31 on Thursday.  I’ll have to set up the TV’s picture-in-picture to watch No. 3 Auburn take on No. 4 Ole Miss at 7:00 PM, Arkansas playing No. 1 Mississippi State at 7:15 PM and peek in once in a while on Stanford vs. No. 5 Oregon at 7:30 PM.

I don’t have to tell you I’m rooting for the Rebels, Hogs and Cardinal to pull the win against the Tide’s competition for the College Football Playoffs that will lead to crowning a national champion.

One can safely say that the current rankings will surely change after today.  What will matter is the decision the Selection Committee makes on December 7th.

Meanwhile, my furkid Sophie will do what she does best—look adorable while snoozing on the couch beside me as I enjoy some honest-to-God smashmouth football.