I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and got stuffed full of Turkey! I know I did. I had a great time with my folks, managed to get a bit of work done, and did a "little" shopping. :)

Hopes for a Auburn berth to the SEC championship game is done and over with. As if you haven't heard yet but LSU managed a win over the Razorbacks, barely, mind you. (LSU 19-Arkansas 17) Needless to say, it's going to be Georgia (won over Georgia Tech, also a very close game) and LSU in the championship game. Hate to go with Georgia to win, but I will. Still some residule bad feelings toward LSU, so I hope the Bulldogs take them down!

Seems that the Bowl announcements have been put off until after the SEC championship coming up this weekend. There is much speculation on who is going where at this point, but the "buzz" around here is that the Cotton Bowl wants Alabama with a match up against Texas Tech. Things can change at this point and the whole bowl scenario could change with the outcome of the SEC championship game. I suppose instead of getting our hopes up we should just wait and see what happens. Texas Tech would be rough on the Tide I think, and I'm not even going to predict who will win that match up, if it happens. The SEC has 6 bowl eligible teams this year.

If we had taken out the first quarter of the game there may have been something to talk about, but things were pretty much over at the end of the first quarter.

Talk about a dissapointing loss. I expected to see a much more intense game than what I saw, and quite frankly was so upset and irritated that I had the thought of shutting the game off after the first quarter.

As if the first quarter wasn't bad enough, Brodie Croyle was sacked a total of 11 times. Yes, 11 times. We all know that there have been blocking issues over the last four games, but this was outright embarrassing.

As ugly as it was, I'm still pround of the boys. DeMeco Ryans and a few other players went out there and really tried to make up for the first quarter, but for whatever reason I don't think they were mentally into the game the way they should have been and from the outset you could tell who wanted the win more. It certainly wasn't the Tide.

I'm guessing tomarrow we will find out witch bowl game the Tide will be attending. Irregardless of the ugliness of the Iron Bowl, the have earned it, they have had a tough season, but it's been a fun one. I don't think anyone will ever forget that outstanding catch by Tyrone Prothro, or that glorious win over Florida. They did good. Next year promises to be even better and I'm already looking forward to every second of it. A healthy senior Prothro (so glad to see him out of that wheelchair, means there is progress!) some outstanding recruit possiblities, oh yes. We have not yet begun to give up.

National singing day isn't until Feb. 6th, however I am guessing there will be a few "intent letters" within the next couple of weeks. The tide is recruiting a lot of really great players and if we can manage to rope a couple of them next season will be even more outstanding than this one. I'll get into this a bit more after the thanksgiving holiday and focus on some of the potentials that the tide is trying to recruit as well as some of the boys that will be back for next season.

Still hoping for the LSU loss and a berth hope for the Tigers. My guess that is if anyone has even a glimmer of hope in beating them it's the razorbacks, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Sure would love to see a Auburn vs Georgia rematch.

That's it for me today, folks. I have so much to do in preperation of Thanksgiving. My folks are coming down and there is much to do before they get here!

Yes, it's that time again, boys and girls. It's that game where no matter what has happened all season, this is really the game that counts. Couldn't care less if the Tide lost every game during the season, as long as they beat Auburn. This is how most around these parts feel. It's bigger than the Super Bowl around here, believe it or not. You can't truly understand college football until you attend the Iron Bowl or experience the electrifying sparks flying from one end of the state to the other. Biggest game of the year. Bigger than a bowl game, bigger than the National Championship game, Bigger than the great state of Alabama!

All that being said, the Tigers are favored by 7 according the papers. ah, pish posh. Like I said in my last post, win or loose, as long as LSU gets beat and one of US goes to Atlanta, I don't care. Nah, that's not entirely true. I want the tide to go out there and whip up bad on the Tigers. It's going to be the game where win or loose, both teams have had an outstanding season and have nothing to be ashamed of, but it's bragging rights. Yes, that's it. Bragging rights.

Auburn has ousted us the last three years. Alabama has gone through some rough times with sanctions and coaches, but this year has been our blossoming year, the year we came back out of all the garbage to prove that we are a dominate force in college football. We have done it, but it won't be official until the Tigers go down.

I have been pretty quite this week, just listening to all the trash talk. It's always better not to defend the trash talk, because it's so much better when you have to smile come Sunday morning. I'm hoping for that smile. Roll Tide, right over those Tigers!

Plenty to Play For
written by Christopher Walsh
Tidesports.com

TUSCALOOSA On the evening of Oct. 22, University of Alabama senior quarterback Brodie Croyle couldn’t have been happier.

The Crimson Tide had just won a brutal game against rival Tennessee, 6-3, and Alabama fans everywhere were basking in the victory.

But Croyle had one somewhat disappointing moment that night, when he looked up at a television screen and saw that LSU held on to defeat Auburn 20-17 in overtime.

Croyle wasn’t rooting against LSU, per se. He just wanted to face Auburn with the Western Division title on the line and both teams playing for a spot in the SEC Championship.

He wanted it to be potentially the biggest Iron Bowl ever.

“You can’t be where you totally want to be at Alabama without beating Auburn,” Croyle said. “You can’t say that you had a great season if you don’t beat Auburn. You can go 10-1 and not beat Auburn and everyone can still wonder why you didn’t have a good season.”

Although Sports Illustrated proclaimed “Bama is Back,” more than a month ago following the impressive 31-3 victory against then-No. 5 Florida, the players don’t see it that way — especially the seniors.

“It’s not done yet,” senior linebacker DeMeco Ryans said. “We have to beat Auburn to make it, to put Alabama back where it needs to be.”

At many schools across the country, players will say similar things because that’s what you do when talking about your rival.

The difference is that here they really mean it, and feel it, each and every year.“It’s hard to describe,” coach Mike Shula said. “When I made that statement when I first got here, people were like, ‘You can’t say it like that. You should say it’s like the Super Bowl.’ But it’s not like the Super Bowl because to me it’s more intense than a Super Bowl because it’s a different type of crowd. The closest thing you can get in my experience is the AFC or NFC Championships, when you’re playing at home or you’re playing on the road and everything’s on the line, there’s no tomorrow, those type of things.

“When my high school buddies came up here for the first time, and they’re big college football fans, they had all been to some pretty big universities and they had no clue what this game was all about. My brother coming up here, my dad coming up here, it’s an electrifying atmosphere. Anybody who plays or coaches in it will remember it for the rest of their lives.”

Even though Alabama’s national championship aspirations were dashed by last week’s 16-13 overtime loss to LSU, and Saturday’s winning team will need help to order to play the Eastern Division champion in Atlanta, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot on the line.

For example, bowl invitations are at stake. Alabama (9-1 overall, 5-1, SEC) has an excellent chance to be one of eight teams involved in the Bowl Championship Series, and with a victory might head to the Fiesta Bowl to play Notre Dame.

A loss and the Crimson Tide appears slated for the Cotton Bowl.

Should it win, Auburn (8-2, 5-1) might get an invitation to the Capital One Bowl, where it would face a Big Ten team like Wisconsin, in arguably the biggest non-BCS game.

A loss might make Auburn bound for the Peach Bowl or Outback Bowl, depending on how other things play out.

Additionally, a win guarantees either team no worse than being co-division champions.

For Auburn, it would be the fifth division title in six years. Alabama’s hasn’t been atop the standings since 1999, the longest stretch since the SEC introduced divisions in 1992, and in Tuscaloosa the equivalent to an eternity.

But in many respects those tangible results are about as important to the players and fans as the Foy Trophy, the symbol of sportsmanship that is awarded to the winning team.

What’s really at stake in the Iron Bowl can’t be put down on paper, or understood by those who have never, in one form or another, lived it.

“The whole state shuts down,” Croyle said. “This is for bragging rights for the rest of the year. This is THE game. This is what everyone looks forward to all year. “At either school, if you go 1-10 and beat Auburn, you’re all right with everyone. Forget the other 10 losses, you beat Auburn and that’s all that matters.”

Specific to this year’s game, though, are the legacies of those who stuck things out through probation, coaching changes and other turmoil.

Even though Croyle is already Alabama’s all-time leading passer, he’s 0-1 against Auburn as a starter. Should he end up on the losing end again, one has to wonder how he’ll be perceived years from now — as merely beloved by Tide fans or considered one of the all-time greats like Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler.

Same goes for the rest of the senior class. Can Ryans be mentioned in the same breath as Derrick Thomas if he doesn’t get a win against Auburn?

“They want more than being known as seniors who laid the foundation from here on out,” Shula said. “They want to go out on a winning note. It’s tough when you lose and you don’t play as well as you want to, especially when you lay everything on the line, and that’s what these guys have done more so than any other time I’ve been here. These guys have fought all year.”

As an Alabama quarterback, Shula won against Auburn his junior year, thanks to Van Tiffin’s 52-yard field goal, but lost as a senior. He has yet to beat Auburn as a coach.

“It’s about finishing strong and we want to finish the season strong,” he said. “We want to finish games in a winning-type manner, which we thought we had done except for last week. The seniors want to finish their careers strong, and obviously this would be a great way to do that, to win this week. We know what kind of challenge it’s going to be.”

Auburn fans claim the 1989 victory against No. 2, the first on the Plains, as one of the program’s biggest wins. They relish in 1972’s “Punt, Bama, Punt,” and are still upset about Stabler’s 1967 run in the mud.

Of course, it works both ways. While Alabama is 3-4 all-time against teams with Heisman Trophy winners, two of those wins came against the Tigers.

Quarterback Pat Sullivan lost to Alabama 31-7 in 1971, and while running back Bo Jackson is revered for, among other things, his fourth-and-1 lunge over the top to secure a 23-22 victory in 1982, he was on the losing side in 1985, 25-23.

“It’s the Iron Bowl,” sophomore defensive end Wallace Gilberry said. “We don’t want that bad taste in our mouths like last season.”

A year ago, Alabama was down to its third-string quarterback, running back, fullback and tight end, yet still went out and dominated the first half.

“It wasn’t anything other than players playing hard,” defensive coordinator Joe Kines said. “It was the Alabama-Auburn game.”

It wasn’t until into the second half that Auburn, which was tied with Oklahoma for second in the Associated Press poll, reached the end zone and pulled out a 21-13 victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

However, the Tigers subsequently dropped to No. 3 in the polls and any chance they had of playing for the national championship was gone.

“Every one that I have been in, you all think that is the game of the year,” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. “Everyone has big games like that. This is a big game this year for us and there is a lot on the line.”

The last time the two teams combined for 19 victories coming in was 1994, when they were 19-0-1. They were 19-0 in 1971, and both ranked in the top six of the Associated Press poll.

But no one will be mentioning records or rankings before this game.

“We don’t have to do anything,” offensive coordinator Dave Rader said. “All we have to say is, ‘Look who we’re playing.’”

So what’s at stake? Nothing, everything, and all the things in between. That’s what an Iron Bowl is all about.

“You don’t want to have any regrets when it comes to this game,” Shula said.

~~~~~~~~~

Win or loose, I have no regrets, and the Tide shouldn't either. Roll Tide!

Yeah, it sucks. A winning season pounced on by a stupid 3 point margin. There are many emotions you can use to describe the upset of Alabama fans, as well as the UA team members. Anger, Sadness, disappointment...I'm sure I could go on for an hour. The Tide did great the first half, while LSU didn't do so hot, course that didn't hurt my feelings so much. Second half was a entirely different story. Bama couldn't manage to even accomplish completed passes much less anything else. To be truthful, neither could LSU. It was pretty much back and forth most of the second half after the game was tied 10-10. There looked to be hope in the final few minuets of a game that were shattered with an incomplete pass taking the Tide into overtime.

Unfortunately, had the luck of the coin been different, (I think the only time we have won a coin toss was when Conde tossed it) the outcome of the game would have been different. Both Teams fought hard throughout the game, but seriously speaking, had Alabama won the coin toss, I seriously think we would have been looking at a win. I never understood why college football decides a game on the basis that they do. Highschool football (last I knew anyhow, however things may have changed since the last time I watched a highschool game) played a another quarter in the instance of overtime. Seems only fair to me. Oh well. What's done is done and there isn't much anyone can do about it now, except look ahead to next week's Iron Bown and Auburn.

Word is that Alabama's hopes of even making it to the SEC championship game in Atlanta are if LSU loses one of it's next two games against Mississippi, or Arkansas (doubtful they will loose, although we are hoping). If I'm looking at the standings correctly, of course this assuming that Alabama beats Auburn next week, LSU and Alabama would be tied in the SEC standings even if they (LSU) won the next two games. I'm guessing because LSU beat both Auburn and Bama they would get the nod, although In my opinion I would like to see a tie breaker game weather it be Auburn or Alabama because quite frankly I don't think LSU would be that lucky with a rematch against either team. I have said it before, as much as I dislike Auburn, I would rather see them in Atlanta if it can't be my beloved Alabama.

The season isn't over yet, and it has been quite memorable up to this past week. I'm darn proud of the Tide and I can't wait for next season to get started because after taking a peek at some of the recruits Alabama is going after, we will have another winning season, and I predict we will take it all the way! I will get a bit more into the Recruiting situation after the season is over, because really, until there is commitment, there is no need to get too excited right now.

Brodie Croyle has been named a semi-finalist for the Davey O'Brian Award. Brodie is one of 15 finalists that will be narrowed down to 3 on Nov. 22nd.

The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback.

It's reported that Brodie missed the bus back to Tuscaloosa from Starkville after Saturday's game against Mississippi. Instead of riding on the bus Brodie decided to ride home with his best friend and injured center J. B. Closner in the ambulance.

Brodie manfully faced the press despite being frustrated by his sub-par day and concern for his friend, took the responsibility on himself.

“If you want to blame somebody, blame me,” Croyle said. “I’m the quarterback. It’s my job to get us in the end zone. If we don’t get there, it’s my fault.”

Coach Shula downplayed Brodie's reaction saying that if he had been happy with the outcome of Saturday's game everyone would have wondered what was wrong with him.

The tide managed two touchdowns and one field goal against Mississippi, however none of the goals were offensive related.

When Coach Shula was asked what the bigger picture for the offensive struggles other than losing one guy in Tyrone Prothro he stated:

“Well I think we’ve got to play more consistently. If we do that, then the points will come and the production will come. It’s offensive football and we’ve got to have 11 guys doing their job. We lost a great player and now we lost our center who was a three year starter. You can’t deny the fact that we might not be as effective without them, but you’ve got guys like a healthy Brodie Croyle and Ken Darby, receivers that are more experienced than they were this time last year, and the other guys on the offensive line are more experienced than they were earlier in the year. "

Roman Harper
Crimson Tide senior free safety Roman Harper has been announced as a semi-finalist for the 2005 Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s best college defensive back.

Harper is one of 12 semi-finalists for the award which will be announced on ESPN's College Football Awards Show, telecast live from Disney World in Orlando, Florida on December 8, 2005.

Harper is 7th all-time at Alabama with 285 career tackles. He moved past Robbie Jones (1979-82) on the all-time list with two stops last week at Miss. State. Harper is third among active SEC defenders with 285 career tackles.


Crimson Tide sophomore cornerback Simeon Castille has been named this week’s SEC Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the league office in Birmingham this morning.

Castille had quite a day blocking a punt and recording his fourth career interception. His acrobatic interception came in the third quarter of Alabama’s 17-0 victory over Mississippi State while his blocked punt came on Mississippi State’s very next possession. He also recorded a pass break-up and two tackles.

The honor is the first for Castille and the 10th this season for the Crimson Tide. Alabama has received some sort of SEC Player of the Week honor after all six conference games this season and has been recognized after seven of the team’s nine games overall.

Tyrone Prothro was named the league’s Special Teams Player of the Week on September 12 and running back Kenneth Darby was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 19. DeMeco Ryans (Defensive Player of the Week) and Jeremy Schatz (Special Teams) were honored on Sept. 26 by the conference. Brodie Croyle (SEC Offensive Player) and Mark Anderson (SEC Defensive Lineman) both received the honors on October 3 following Alabama’s victory over Florida. Christensen received the Special Teams Player of the Week honor on September 17. Christensen (special teams) and Ryans (Defensive) received the honors on September 24 following Alabama’s victory over Tennessee.

UA faces battle of philosophies
taken from TideSports.com
written by Cecil Hurt

There are plenty of reasons for the college football world to have its attention focused on this weekend’s game between Alabama and LSU -- and that attention will be here.

ESPN GameDay will be in town. There will be scouts representing seven bowls, including three BCS bowls. The Orange will have three representatives, and the Sugar and Fiesta will also be on hand. (The Rose Bowl will not send representatives because there is no “selection process" for the national championship game other than the BCS poll.)

Also watching will be the Capital One, Cotton, Outback and Peach bowls, the other SEC-affiliated bowls that still have a shot at Alabama or LSU.

They’ll probably see a great football game, but they might also see something more -- a battle of philosophies.

Alabama, not for the first time in its history, has been cast as this year’s paradigm for “winning ugly," which means winning tough, low-scoring defensive struggles by dominating unflashy stats like time of possession (Alabama leads the SEC) and turnover margin (Alabama is third in the SEC).

On the other hand, LSU is probably the closest thing the SEC has to the sort of “free-wheeling offense" that the national media seems to have endorsed as the mark of a “real" championship contender. After all, Urban Meyer has dismantled the last vestiges of the Steve Spurrier offense at Florida (those that survived the Ron Zook years) and the real Steve Spurrier doesn’t quite have a full complement of athletes at South Carolina yet. Georgia and Auburn both have good offenses, but don’t seem to have the big-play pizzazz of LSU.

The Tigers are second in the SEC in passing, trailing only one-dimensional Vanderbilt. They’ve even won an actual Pac 10-style shootout over a Pac-10 type team (Arizona State). And while it would be stretching the point to compare LSU’s offensive firepower to Southern Cal, the Tigers are probably the only SEC team that has a big-time playmaker at virtually every skill position.

“This is the best way to explain it," Alabama coach Mike Shula said at his Tuesday press conference. “You watch a tape of this offense and there are times you sit there and go 'wow.’ You’ll say to one of the other coaches 'watch this pass’ or 'watch this run.’ Then the special teams coach will come in and say 'watch this return.’

“We’ve played teams this season with good receivers, or good backs, but I don’t think we’ve played a team that had all that, plus a good offensive line to go with it."

LSU doesn’t just have playmakers. The Tigers are two-deep in playmakers: Joseph Addai and Justin Vincent at tailback, for instance, or Skyler Green, Early Doucet, Craig Davis and Dwayne Bowe, all gifted wide receivers (and, in Green’s case, the best punt returner in the SEC as well.) That’s a credit to the talent stockpile that Nick Saban built up during his tenure in Baton Rouge.

The key, as with any offense, is quarterback Jemarcus Russell. The Tiger junior is naturally blessed with a massive frame and a mighty arm, but now, according to Shula, he’s a mature field general as well. His statistics back that up: He’s second in the SEC in passing efficiency, and has thrown just one more interception (five) than Brodie Croyle (four.)

“I think it’s just something that comes with age," Shula said of Russell. “His confidence level is better. He does a great job of managing their offense."

No team has held LSU to less than 20 points this season, although that does come with a small asterisk, since the Auburn game was 17-17 at the end of regulation. No team has scored 20 points in a game on the Alabama defense. (Again, a small asterisk, but Southern Miss’ 21 came thanks to an interception return for a score.) Both teams have won in their own way, but something has to give on Saturday night -- and the college football world will be watching to see what it is.

More BCS BS

As if anyone hasn't heard by now, Miami moved up in the BCS polls to number 4 even though they have one loss on thier record. Alabama moved up in the poll to number 3. I think I have made my feelings on the way the BCS is determined pretty clear. It should be trashed. It's garbage and I don't think a teams "performance" during a game should have anything to do with thier ranking. If that was the case, back the week of the Florida game, Alabama should have been ranked number 1 rather than 5.

The LSU at Alabama game will be televised by CBS at 2:30pm CST.

It's going to be a tough game. LSU has many advantages over the Tide especially a healthy roster with strong abilities.

Don't count Alabama out though. As it has been stated before, the Tide is tough and has the ability to overcome the odds.

Just when you don't expect it, EXPECT it. I'll be watching along with many others and hoping for a big win. :)

It wasn't pretty. Not at all. Whole first half, crap. Between the penalties and the mishaps, I'm surprised anyone managed to score.

At the half it was 3-0, Alabama on top with a field goal by Jamie Christensen. Bama's defense, as always on top of the game and didn't allow the two turnovers that Alabama allowed to turn into touchdowns for Mississippi.

Second half, well, it was a little better than the first for sure. Within two minuets of the second half Alabama managed to score two touchdowns, thanks to the quick wit of the special teams unit, and the defensive unit. Unfortunately the Tide's offense was hit hard with a injury to center J.B. Clossner and the second stringer wasn't as in to the game as he could have been. Not that I can blame him, being thrown into a game like that with little preperation. Needless to say, after J.B. was taken out with a broken tibula, the rest of the offensive game was a little shaky. I sure hope they can get thier act together before the game next weekend against LSU, because they aren't going to let the Tide get away with much, I am sure. Although.....

I don't think anyone expected the upset against Florida, so who knows, maybe the Tide will surprise us all against LSU and Auburn.

As for the BCS BS...WHATEVER!

I'm out!