Alabama 12-17

I am more upset that depressed about this game. While MSU’s defense played well, Alabama is just as responsible for this loss as MSU is for winning. Most of my rage will be focused on JPW and the Textbook 5. I don’t care what people may say, we had this game for the taking and refused to do so. John Parker has given up 28 easy points these last two games because of him trying to do too much with the ball. That 100 yard INT? Yeah, Wilson never even looked to where he was throwing. LEARN TO TAKE A SACK JP!!!!! It doesn’t help that we refuse to block for him. WE BLEW THIS GAME!!!

Should we blame Saban? Well, yes and no. I don’t know what the heck he and Applewhite were doing with that play calling on the MSU 2 yard line. Still, there isn’t much you can do on something like a 100 yard INT as a coach. He’s been very vocal about JP making smart decisions all year long, and has yet to see it happen consistently. I will always attribute this game to JPW losing it over any other storyline that comes out of here.

I will say this: I doubt MSU will be beating us very often for the next few years. They’ve been winning games on respectable defense and bad QB play. Saban and staff have been doing a great job on the recruiting front, and I expect this to continue. Besides, Croom’s offense will never work. They only had 211 yards against a pretty thin defense that is still playing above their heads.

-Update-

I’ve calmed down enough to give more credit to Titus Brown and their defense. He’s a game breaking player and they covered our recievers very well. Yes, we never blocked him. But give credit where it is due. I hope to see him playing in the NFL soon. They took advantage of our mistakes, as you should if you are going to win. Hats off to a solid performance.

I also calmed down enough to realize that while JPW still made too many mistakes, this is a team sport. If Capps or Smith can’t block for him, there is not much else you can do. Give props to Tiffin though, who hit two 50 yard field goals.

The Gut and I: Mississippi State

I don’t mean to steal the messae from Saban, but this is our biggest test to date. No, MSU is not LSU. But, it would really help this program out a TON if we are able to rebound from a physical, emotional loss on the road in the SEC.

State plays a physical, run right into you type of offense. They do this to limit the amount of responsibility true Freshman QB Wesley Carroll. It appears to have worked, since he hasn’t thrown any INTs. Of course, it always helps to have a guy like Anthony Dixon smashing faces in exchange for TDs.

Reasons for my gut to say Alabama wins

• John Parker Wilson has something to prove after his last performance. He usually wakes up enough in these situations to get a decent amount of the hate off of his back.
• D.J. Hall. The best receiver America might not know about.
• Our other receivers are starting to make some impressive catches. I hope to see Keith Brown have a few more come his way.
• Saban seems to have been high energy all week long in order to keep this team going emotionally. I hope it works.
• We’re undefeated on LF Sports (3-0).
• The Defense has been able to cause a few turnovers. Let’s hope for this to continue.

Reasons for my gut to say Alabama losses

• State has 2 SEC wins against teams coming off of emotional and/or physical losses. I’m not feeling good about this situation.
• Anthony Dixon is a stud. He probably gave us the best performance against the only defense in the SEC truly successful in stopping the run (Auburn).
• Carroll doesn’t make too many mistakes.
• Croom always has a special place in his being for pulling out stuff against Alabama ever since the Shula over Croom issue.
• Our running game has disappeared recently since our big man (Glenn Coffee) has to sit out due to textbooks. We’ve got a small, finesse run game going (Lowe and Grant).
• Titus Brown. I grew up with this guy all the way through high school. He’s always been a great athlete, and should probably give us fits all day long. He’s a great guy though. During last year’s game, he took time off of smashing Alabama in the face to say hello to me, and asked how I was doing. I cheer for him every game but this one.

In the end, I think Alabama should probably win. It could swing either way, so we have to get out to a fast start if we are to win this game. It’s a big no-no to allow the underdog home team looking for an upset a quick score or two. If they get off to a good start, it will be a looooong day for the Tide.

Embarrassing admission time? Sure, why not. This one is probably funnier than the other ones if you try to imagine how I actually talked as a little kid. I was not the best at articulating in the early years of my life, so I had to take speech lessons until my problem was fixed. AKA, I had a bit of a childhood lisp. So, the special teacher would take my and the others in her group to another room where we practiced with flash cards.

Something along the lines of this came up during my turn:

Obviously, I was suppose to say “Ears”, but I was too smart for that. So, I looked the teacher straight in the eyes and said “Rwossss Pewot” (Ross Perot). She got a kick out of that, and so did my family. And yes, this was in 1992…. a good year for Bama football.

I didn’t realize that there was a national magazine for educators that had a section for discussing “funny” teaching moments like this one. The teacher wrote an article for it, which was mailed to the entire nation (well, teachers) to read. Yes, my lisp made thousands of people laugh at me (or with me, depends on your point of view). I wish I still had a copy of that article.