Tennessee

Tide Fans –

A beautiful day in Tuscaloosa…the trees starting to turn colors, the air was crisp and cool, and The Tide once again unleashed the pain on a hated rival! That’s five wins in a row against Tennessee, as the Volunteers felt the wrath of Saban once again. It always feels good to beat Tennessee…even when they are terrible! Bama plays with its food in the first half, and then makes a meal out of the Vols in the second. Not even Derrick Dooley’s obnoxiously bright pants could help his team…they were doomed. Undefeated and less than two weeks away from November 5th…let the pandemonium begin!

Sitting in the stadium watching a very lackluster performance from both teams in the first half, I never got concerned about the outcome of the game. It surprisingly did not bother me that we were tied at half…I just knew we were going to come out fired up, and crush them in the second. Two quick scores from The Tide in the 3rd quarter were reassuring to all fans…and it justified my earlier air of confidence. Just before the scoring frenzy, my friend Paul who sits in front of me leaned back and said, “Here come the Buzz Saw”…and it certainly did! This team is fast, they are strong, and they will not be denied.

Let’s take a look at The Tide.

Offense:

After only producing two field goals in the first half, the offense comes roaming out of the tunnel in the second to make some big plays, and rack up points fast. Power running and precision passes led the way to victory. AJ McCarron had a spectacular night, throwing some huge passes with dead on accuracy. I like this guy more and more every week. He takes what he can get, and runs the offense with confidence. People compare him to Greg McElroy in that aspect, but AJ McCarron does it better in my opinion. On many of the plays when it looks as though AJ will have to tuck and run, he never gives up on the play, always looking downfield. Many times we have seen him run all the way to the line of scrimmage only to dump it off to Trent or Smelly at the last second, gaining more yards. I will admit at the start of the season I was nervous about AJ being cocky and forcing throws that should never be attempted. He has shown me every week that he is not what I thought. I am more and more impressed as I see him lead the offense, and make smart calls. AJ is only going to get better, and I think we have a real special talent in him.

Trent had several Heisman highlight runs again. My favorite is when he scored in the 3rd on the 10 yard run straight up the gut. He broke 5 tackles to reach the end zone…it would have been 6, but the last defender saw him coming and just stepped aside. No kidding, it’s like the dude was about to try and make the tackle and he just says… “You know what…I ain’t gonna stop you, so why even try”.

Hanks made some great grabs that were a little overthrown, and Maze continues to do his thing. Great catch by Kenny Bell for the TD…we have receivers out the wazoo!
Our offense will need to have the game of their life on Nov. 5th, and I have full confidence in them. I am pretty sure we have some special stuff saved up for LSU!

Defense:

I am beginning to run out of things to talk about with this ridiculously awesome defense! I should just say… “See last week’s post,” because they are consistently dominating. Keeping Tennessee out of the end zone, and allowing just 2 field goals against a hated rival…I love it! Shout outs go to Donta Hightower, and CJ Mosley, both playing excellent games. I thought Hightower was going to get into the end zone on his interception. I had no idea that he played running back in high school.

Defense not really being tested much with the pathetic offense they were facing. At times I almost felt sorry for Tennessee…but then I remembered how much I enjoy crushing them. It was good to get to see some of our 2nd and 3rd string guys get some playing time(again). I love that Sunseri recovered a fumble…that kid is fun to watch! I don’t think these guys will get much time next game. We will need to be firing on all cylinders against the Bayou Bengals, and like the offense, will have to have their best game to date.

Well, we are 8-0 and heading into what is being called the “Game of the Century”. We have been waiting for this for several weeks now, and it is almost here! The best two teams in the country slugging it out on the gridiron in Tuscaloosa. Believe it or not, there has never been a 1 vs 2 matchup at Bryant-Denny. That all changes in about 12 days. I thought they hype before the 2009 SEC Championship was big, but this is going to be ridiculous!! Moving the game to 7:00 will only intensify everything…the crowd will be fired up, loud, and the anticipation of waiting all day for the game will come to an all out explosion when Saban leads the Tide down the tunnel. I cannot wait…this is HUGE! This game is so big, that I may have to write a pre-game post just to calm myself down.

Get ready Tide Fans…use this week off to rest up, clear your head, and think about how loud you are going to yell on Nov. 5th! I may take a vow of silence the week before just to save up my vocal chords…I suggest everyone going to the game do the same. If for some reason you have tickets and decided not to go…sell them to a Bama fan. So help me God, if I find out any of you sold your tickets to LSU fans I will come after you…I am not kidding! Our crowd is going to play a huge role in this game…every voice counts! As coach Cochran would say… “Get out yo seat…we gonna be the loudest stadium in the country…yeah yeah yeah YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Until next time…Roll Tide!

Jason