Week 10 - Mississippi State

Tide Fans –

The boys are back! The Tide shakes off last week’s loss, and puts together a solid game. Gone was the lackluster effort , and the team we all know and love came back to whip up on a fairly decent Mississippi State squad. We ran, we threw, and we even played some pretty good defense…Bama was firing on all cylinders. No more stuffed up the middle runs, and terrible triple coverage throws…I think I even saw at least 3 toss sweeps in this game!! It started off a little slow, but got turned around quickly in the 2nd quarter. This type of game came at the perfect time, so let’s enjoy it, and get prepared to destroy Auburn’s dream! You may be in the SEC Championship game Auburn, but the National Championship comes through Tuscaloosa…and we will be ready to take on $cam Newton!

Another beautiful day in Tuscaloosa, and perfect weather for the game! I will admit I was nervous about this game, and was not going to be shocked if we even lost. Mississippi State is not a great team, but they are much improved and have had a good season. Factor that in with an extra week to prepare for us and playing hard for a fallen teammate, I felt as if we might be in for a rough night. Thankfully, we found our offense and made some big plays to put this one out of reach by the 3rd quarter. It was good to see our offense open up and move the ball more consistently. Defense played solid as well, keeping the Dan Mullen style offense in check. No, we were not perfect and there are still areas we need work on, but we did play much improved. I still believe our best game is ahead of us…and I don’t mean Georgia State!

Big plays in this game are what made the difference. These are the type plays we had go against us last week. It only takes a few to put a game out of reach, and we made the most out of them Saturday night. It was great to see Maze get the ball with some open field to work with, and also nice to see Ingram bust some big ones. These type plays were almost non-existent against LSU. I believe we have an explosive offense…we just need to get the ball in the hands of our playmakers in the right situations. Easier said than done, I know…but I believe we will need these type plays the day after Thanksgiving to win. It was great to get the win, and I think our team is getting back on track…just in time!

I know we have a game this week, but all I can think about right now is the Iron Bowl. I think this is going to be an incredible game, with an awesome atmosphere! We will be ready to play Auburn, and somehow I think Saban and company will figure out a way to slow down Cam. I don’t think you can completely take him out, but as long as we can slow him down, and screw up their rhythm – we stand a great chance! I think our defense rises to the occasion and with some help from the Bryant-Denny crowd, get more pressure on Newton than he has seen all year. If there are any Bama fans not planning on going to the game, and you are selling your tickets – all I ask is that you DO NOT sell your tickets to Auburn fans!! There will be Aubs looking for tickets left and right, and willing to pay…do not give in…DO NOT give in and sell to them!

More on the Iron Bowl in next week’s post…just had to get that off my chest! It should be an interesting week seeing as we play again on Thursday night! I typically think Thursday night games are gay, but I think this was an ingenious move by Saban and our athletic department to make this happen so we can get the extra rest and practice for the Auburn game. I know our opponent is less than desirable, but I hope we have a good showing crowd wise. I am usually fully concentrating on The Tide by Thursday night anyway, so I might as well be at the game! Plus we get to welcome back two Alabama favorites…Bill Curry and Star Jackson! ;) Aaahhh…it should be a great return to Tuscaloosa for both of them…just don’t throw any bricks at Curry.

Short week, so I will be posting again soon…until then…Roll Tide!

Jason