Alabama football: 10 bold predictions for the Crimson Tide in 2019
Has anyone ever tried to taste chalk? Like, actually put tongue to a bit of calcium carbonate?
It is bland. It is anything but delicious. And it is boring.
Chalk says that the Alabama Crimson Tide will wend their way through the 2019 season and back to a 4th instant classic College Football Playoff Championship Game against Clemson. Chalk says Nick Saban will eventually welcome a Balfour ring salesman into his office to see if his size has changed from 2 seasons ago.
Chalk is boring.
That’s why we are here with 10 Bold Predictions. And without giving away the ending, 2019 will be anything but chalk for the Crimson Tide. Here we go …
1. Tua Tagovailoa will not win the Heisman Trophy
Told ya! Alabama’s sweet Hawaiian prince is many things, but his Crimson Tide career will end after this season without Mr. Stiff Arm in the trophy case. Just as there are often travesties of justice in who actually wins the thing (See Toretta, Gino …), that Tagovailoa will leave Tuscaloosa without a bronze trophy will happen. Last year was Tagovailoa’s year to win the Heisman, and if he didn’t win it then despite throwing for 43 TDs and almost 4,000 yards, well …
2. Tua Tagovailoa will miss at least one start due to injury
It isn’t like said sweet Hawaiian prince is made of iron. Or granite. Or bronze like the Heisman. He is human, and has a tendency to get banged up now and then. Again, we saw that last season. At some point, a hungry SEC defensive lineman will get a wild hair and somehow twist Tagovailoa’s knee or ankle enough for him to miss a game like Western Carolina on Nov. 23.
3. Alabama will rise to No. 1 during the regular season
The Crimson Tide has been ranked atop the Associated Press poll at some point each season in each of the past 11 years. This will be a year of tremendous upheaval in the rankings, we predict. Which means Alabama going back to the top will happen again, as Clemson — even with all its greatness — will inevitably stumble.
4. Alabama will lose in the regular season
Someone just spit out a mouthful of Golden Flake and is feverishly reaching for their Co-Cola right now. Yes, Alabama will lose in 2019. The trick, of course, is losing early enough to rebound. Watch Texas A&M win some sort of fluke double-OT oddball game at home on Oct. 12 — knocking the Tide down to No. 4 or so.
5. An NFL team will make a run at Nick Saban
This isn’t so much as a prediction as it is a near-certainty — as it happens almost every year. Overtures at college football’s greatest living coach (we see you, Bobby Bowden …) come floating across uber-agent Jimmy Sexton’s desk almost every year. Some are pure fantasy. Some probably come closer to reality than anyone other than Saban and Ms. Terry will ever know. But a billionaire will offer to hand Saban the reins yet again.
6. No 100-yard rushers for Alabama opponents
Entering 2018, only 13 running backs had rushed for 100 yards against Saban’s defense at Alabama. Inexplicably, The Citadel’s Dante Smith ripped off 130 rushing yards against a wildly disinterested Tide defense. That won’t happen again, as Alabama’s Anfernee Jennings and Dylan Moses will be the ones to ensure it.
7. Some QB will make Alabama’s defense look very ordinary
Just as Dante Smith carved up (well, relatively …) the Alabama defense last season, there will be a quarterback somewhere who simply has a career day. Sure interceptions will deflect off normally sticky hands. One-handed grabs and tip-toed sidelines will wow color commentators. And some Joe Varsity will rack up a 300-yard, 4-TD afternoon.
8. Alabama’s kicker won’t miss a field goal under 50 yards
Nothing grinds the gears quite like having one of the most dominant offenses in college football history, only to endure a kicker doinking attempts off uprights and crossbars (sometimes all in one misguided attempt!) Just as the law of large numbers factors into No. 10 below, this will be the season that freshman (gasp!) kicker Will Reichard becomes Mr. Automatic.
9. Nick Saban will drop an F-bomb on national television
Saban has come close before. Saban roasted Maria Taylor in an instant meme-worthy rant about the Tagovailoa-vs.-Jalen Hurts debate. Perhaps truly random or perhaps meticulously planned, this will be the year Saban tees up one of George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words to the nation in an effort to get the message across that he is actually pissed off about something completely different.
10. Alabama will not win its 18th national championship
Here we go with the Golden Flake and Co-Cola again. Although national championships seem like fait accompli under Nick Saban, invariably there has to be some sort of course correction in all this. If for no other reason than the law of large numbers simply dictate that someone other than Clemson or Alabama can win it all. Yes, that’s right … Clemson won’t win either. But 2019 won’t require an 18th NC flag for Bryant-Denny Stadium.
I hope the part about losing a regular season game is true, that tends to be a needed wake up call that leads to winning it all.
The rest of this was really bad even for SDS standards.
Turned out true
Alabama is still Alabama but I’m not sure they’re still at the same level as the previous versions. But, they have about as light a schedule as any SEC team could possibly draw up. They get LSU at home (possibly their only real challenger).
I think a regular season loss is unlikely. Unless it’s against LSU, Auburn or TA&M and Tua is injured for the game.
Tua is truly a great player but if a team can hit him just a few times and get a little more pressure he gets rattled and off his game. Can any team on the schedule get to him? That is the key to beating Alabama in 2019.
It’s going to be an interesting year. After the Clemson event any good team Bama faces will come in smelling a little blood in the water, and feeling a little better about their chances.
Tua got sacked in his first National Championship game and threw a bullet the next play to win. Tua will be fine as long as he stays relatively healthy. Bama has to get back to pounding the ball and playing lock down D.
it was less of a bullet and more of a streaming arched rainbow that’s been burned in my corneas for a year and a half.
Threw it on a line. Although the rainbow thing kind of works since he is from Hawaii.
Did you copy and paste that 1st paragraph from last year?
Same ole garbage from Tim… He figures if he wishes hard enough and says it over and over maybe one day it will come true..
People have also been saying for the past 10 years that Tom Brady will be on the decline any day now.
4. Alabama will lose in the regular season – If that were to happen, and that’s a big if, my money would be on Auburn to do it.
5. An NFL team will make a run at Nick Saban – If that were to happen, Saban will decline. He didn’t seem happy at Miami and football at the college level seems to be his “cup of tea.”
10. Alabama will not win its 18th national championship – One thing about Alabama: Seems like whenever they lose in the playoffs or in the NCG, they come back roaring the next season and take it all.
4. I’m not 100% sold on Auburn this year yet. I want to wait until after the Oregon game to see how good they’ll be. For right now, I’d say either A&M or LSU would have the best chance. My stance could change if Auburn impresses against Oregon.
10. History would dictate that odds are we win the NC. Under Saban, we’ve only gone back-to-back years without a NC twice: his first two years and 13-14.
Just thinking that Auburn has that vaunted D-Line, Gus is calling the plays, it’s on The Plains, and it’s a real rivalry.
The Tide have LSU at home so I think they’ll be okay there.
That game against TAMU on the road will definitely be gut checker.
The TAMU game will be the one to watch IMO..
Saban needs the best talent to win games. He is not a great game planner. He won’t get it done in the NFL.
Pretty much the case for every game at every level.
Lmao!!!!…You just described every great coach in history…recruiting (the best talen) is a big part of being a successful coach
The Dawgs are going to kick that butt!
I thought it was a Florida article at first when I seen all the posts from UGA fans…
Then I remembered the season is about to start so they needed to get their last comments In before UGA goes another year without a Natty…
Would you prefer that UGA fans only comment on UGA articles? Can I then expect you to stick to Bama articles? C’mon lets all just be one happy SEC family and stop letting who is commenting where get under your skin.
I would prefer being able to comment and talk football on any of the articles without some UGA fan trolling….. You think that’s possible?
I don’t think it is…
This forum is open and inclusive. What have you to fear from comment?
I see the Red A everywhere here.
Sorry but I don’t really listen much to someone who leaves a gem like I pasted below….
Hey, Belichick
I found some selfies your daddy posted online of himself porking the hogs. I couldn’t tell which one is your mom — they all look alike. They say she is the one who likes to root under the outhouse for a snack.
I guess that accounts for your low-70s IQ. But, don’t be discouraged. I’m sure you can find a lifetime career down at the sheltered workshop.”
You just made 2 posts. Neither were about football. All the posts from the UGA fans above have been polite, reasonable or funny. Every school has their 10% and 90% of them are sites trolling. Not all UGA poster are like the racist coach or king. RTR!
Yet I’m a Bama fan on a Bama article..
The post right before mine was from UGA troll #1. While not all UGA fans are bad the ones that are fills up the comments sections..
Buddy I get it that the trolls are annoying but I’ve been having to read comments from VolTrain/Trudawg for over a year now. I used to get red in the face when I would read it but now I just chuckle and skip past it.
So you deal with one troll and it bothered you? Add four or five more to go with him and imagine trying to ignore that…..
darthA, you made some good points, but unfortunately they will absolutely be lost on the person they were directed towards.
Best to not even waste your time with that one. It’s a hopeless endeavor.
Like blaming the refs over and over?… That doesn’t seem to shut you up…
Would you like to borrow a few of my meds…I recommend an oblong white one with a cold beer and a Colorado gummy…very relaxing…
“Watch Texas A&M win some sort of fluke double-OT oddball game at home on Oct. 12 — knocking the Tide down to No. 4 or so.”
I don’t use hallucinogenic substances, so I can’t watch that game.
Good thing the regular season is starting so this moron will have something to write about
I really hope everyone in the Bama Nation reads these ridiculous predictions! This is the kind of stuff that fuels their greatness! So, with that said, thanks for this!