dplafoll

'14 tOSU and '16 Clemson tell us that you can lose to an inferior unranked opponent and still be OK. It does matter to which team you lose, but Syracuse is a divisional conference opponent, and it was a road game for Clemson. Compare to last year: the Pitt loss was at home, and that was a stronger Clemson team IMO (QB alone does that). '15 VT finished 7-6 and tOSU still managed a national championship. And they're right about the ACC being a strong conference. If all 5 P5 conferences have a 1-loss champ including Clemson, I'd bet on Clemson being one of the four selected.

On one hand, the officiating isn't great all over the SEC, and a good team shouldn't leave games in their hands to start. But, numbers don't like. Since 2012 when UM and TAM joined the SEC, Alabama is last *nationally* in opponent penalty yards per game. People are saying that "oh noes, poor Bama has all those 5-stars" etc. But that helps prove the point: how is it that A'Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, Jonathan Allen, Tim Williams, Dalvin Tomlinson, Ryan Anderson, Reuben Foster, and all those suberb front-7 players aren't drawing more holds? That alone should give one pause. In the same time period, and including this season so far, Alabama's average in conference in penalties is 5.67, and opponent penalties is 11.16, with the best being 8th in 2015.SEC officiating isn't great, and it hurts all SEC teams. But it's hurt Alabama more, and it's a testament to the teams, coaches, and to their legacy over the years that they've gotten these results while drawing fewer penalties than almost all of their opponents.Here's another statistic to look at: In absolute numbers of penalties, Alabama averaged 8.5th place in the SEC from 2012-2017 including so far this year. But, Alabama played more games than anyone else in the SEC in that span, averaging 14.2 games per season (not including this year, but one could make a fair presumption that Alabama likely plays at least 14 again this year). So even with more games played, Alabama still draws fewer penalties than over half of the SEC, and again is still dead last nationally in the same time frame in opponent pen. yds/game.

“The first game of my true freshman year, we played at Alabama,” Favre said. “They were the previous year’s national champions. They had Derrick Thomas as one outside linebacker. Tremendous player in the National Football League. And a host of other guys.Brett must've been hit in the head too many times. His TF year was 1987, and Alabama was certainly not national champions in 1986 (although they did go 10-3).

Unfortunately, that rule hasn't passed yet, as far as I can tell. I can't find anywhere that it has, and I'm pretty sure that would be big news in CFB. It would be great, but right now if Tua steps on the field his RS is gone.

It's too red, and the guy's shirt is too red as well. Looks like another classless Bama fan making the rest of us look bad...

It sounds like some people watched a different game than I did. I saw Jalen confident in the pocket, stepping up in that pocket, making good throws including to progression reads, committing no turnovers, making good decisions to avoid sacks and pressures (for the most part), and dropping a perfect bomb to Ridley that he probably would've underthrown last year and made Calvin stop to catch and it's a long gain instead of a TD. A LOT of why Jalen was scrambling and running last night is OL-related. The pass protection just isn't there yet. Also, I'd imagine that Saban and Daboll dialed up a fairly conservative game plan for this game.

OK, I can understand Bama as low as maybe #3 behind tOSU, FSU, or both (though I think even that is too low). But behind OKLAHOMA STATE. This guy is on something.

"Fitz is the best DB in the country." Fixed that for you. And honestly, Derwin James is right there with him, though I don't know that James is as versatile. But it's those two guys then everyone else.

I for one include SEC Championships and making it to the playoffs (esp. the CFP CG) as part of a dynasty, right below the national championships. That speaks to the high level of consistency almost as much as the natties do.

*badly like some I went to change that sentence and failed. Neeeed more coffee...

If it was the poll era, I'd agree, because there was no definite NCG. But now, in the BCS and CFP eras, we've had that, and making it to those games means something. And, specifically to this sort of article, it helps to contrast with other programs that are good, and made it to the NCG, but aren't 4 for 5. For example, there are four teams that have at least four appearances in the NCG (BCS or CFP): OU (1 for 4), tOSU (2 for 4), FSU (2 for 4), and Alabama (4 for 5). You can also add LSU with three appearances, going 2 for 3. It matters that Alabama has the most appearances in the NCG because that's consistent excellence at the highest level, then being able to win almost all of those is a sign of excellent coaching (among other things). And that one loss is so close as to still be considered excellence; it's not like Alabama got beat badly the way like some of the BCS losers (46-29, 13-2, 37-14, 55-19 LOL, 41-14, 21-0, 42-14).

If there's a chance that someone is guilty of DUI, then he's done something wrong. But, part of Coach Saban's job is to wait until he has all (or most) of the facts before acting. So yes, you can say "he did wrong" and "we need more facts" at the same time, Paul. Nick Saban does a better job at keeping this children from making bad decisions than a LOT of coaches and programs. And unlike some coaches and armchair commentators, he doesn't subscribe to the draconian idea that harsh punishment every single time is a good idea. Has Da'Shawn ever been in trouble or arrested before? If not and he's a 1st-time offender, then, like with the legal system, Nick has every reason and right to discipline him in a way that's less than what a lot of people would prefer. I'm not downplaying the severity of DUI, but the point here is for Hand to own up, pay his dues, and move on.

I think if it were a same-conference rematch, maybe. Or if it were a rematch from rivalry weekend, or the middle of the season, maybe. But this is different, because it's the very first game. So if both teams run the rest of their table, you'd have 13-0 Bama (yeah, I'm going there, but you can switch the records either way) and 12-1 FSU sitting at probably #1 and #2, and it would probably take two more undefeated P5 champs to knock FSU to #4. So I don't think you could legit put them together, unless there is one other undef. team (tOSU? USC?) that they vault to #1 and Bama/FSU is 2/3. By the end of the season, you'd know exactly who these teams are, and if they're the best two then they'll almost certainly end up in a rematch. Good playoff bracket: #1 Bama vs. #4 tOSU, @ Sugar Bowl: Yep, I would not mind this happening. Bama redeeming itself at the SB vs. tOSU? That or OU is fine with me. #2 FSU vs. #3 USC, @ Rose Bowl: FSU really has to earn this win by traveling 3 time zones to USC's home city. But it's a great East vs West matchup. Another one: #1 Bama (13-0) vs. #4 FSU (12-1), @ Sugar Bowl: Holy crap what crowd that would be. Both fanbases would go nuts for a rematch, in the South's premier bowl game, with a shot at the NCG on the line. #2 USC (13-0) vs. #3 tOSU (13-0), @ Rose Bowl: Fitting to have these two blue bloods in a real-deal B1G vs PAC Rose Bowl. I list records on this because this is how FSU ends up at #4, by having 3 undefeated teams ahead of them (even though they may be as good or better than USC or tOSU).

I'm not debating the law, but Fresno State is part of the California State University system, and therefore all school-funded travel is state-funded. It's the same kind of thing that makes the best-paid college coach in many states technically the highest-paid public official.

Yes and no. It probably depends on the kid, if he's able to afford school otherwise. I'm fairly certain that he uses scholarships on kickers, punters, and even long snappers to guarantee that he's able to pick from the best over schools that won't do that.

To be fair, Bama under CNS has had a 1A and 1B tandem most years, both of whom you could and should consider starters, and usually the 1B becomes the 1A the next year. But in 2015, we lost our 1A (Henry) and our 1B (Drake). And, because Henry carried the ball 6549815218 times that year, we didn't have a lot of experience behind those guys. So yeah, coming into the '16 season, we didn't have any starting experience, and we really didn't know what we had with Damien or Bo, and we really didn't know what to expect out of the true freshmen. The weakness wasn't talent, it was experience, and now we have 3/6 of our RBs with significant carries from last year plus Emmons with some carries and apparently better after his rehab. Then there's Najee Harris, and an overlooked and underrated Brian Robinson. It's a good time for the Bama run game.

I always felt so bad for Harris last year in that he just doesn't have that sheer top-end speed and kept getting caught juuuuuust before getting the TD, and then we'd use someone else to get the points.

Honestly, if Jalen Hurts has 1k+ yards, we're in some serious trouble. I expect maybe around 500 yards, and a lot more passing yardage. We need to be stretching the field and being much more of a threat in the passing game. If they remain healthy, I could see Damien and Bo getting north of 1k each. More interesting will be the totals for Josh, BJ, and Najee. If we spread it around enough, we may have a large group of 500-800 yard backs. Honestly that's the way I'd do it if I were Daboll. Imagine never not having a fresh running back that's as good as any of the others...

I'm hoping this year between Daboll, Hurts, and our RB and WR groups, we can basically run whatever offense we want when we want it. Score in 45 seconds with tempo? Sure. Score in 8 minutes? Sure. Mix some tempo in with pro-style clock chewing and really screw up the opposing defense? Sure.

That was a team loss. If the offense gets more 1st downs (maybe not even any more points; just use up more clock), Clemson has fewer chances to come back, and the defense is less tired to slow/end Clemson drives. If the defense gets off the field on 3rd down more, and/or gets more TOs, the offense has a better field with which to work, and less pressure to score points. If Adam Griffith kicks more touchbacks (0/6 on the night), maybe the defense has a better time with the Clemson offense. JK Scott averaged 45.8Yds/kick, so I won't knock him here; he did all he could. But Adam completely failed this time in utter contrast to the last NCG. And yes, maybe the refs call the illegal pick play(s).There are a lot of reasons why Alabama lost. I'm just glad we lost at the wire, after a hard-fought game, against a good opponent. Even as a loss that was a better game than the UT and ND NCGs (not LSU though, because 21-0 will always be special). I'd rather have that than losing by a bunch and never really being in the game. THAT would be a lot more troubling than this last loss. Plus, this game will be some serious motivation fuel for the team for the '17 season. If I were playing Alabama this year, I'd be afraid. Now you've got Alabama which is bad enough, but now they're hungry, angry, and have a prove-themselves mentality. Good luck.... Roll Tide.

There may be teams with one, maybe two, RBs as good as Alabama's. UGA's Chubb/Michel, LSU's Guice, AU's Pettway all come to mind in the SEC(as would Arkansas's RW3 before retirement), as well as PSU's Barkley and others nationally. But nobody in the country comes close to having the combination of depth and talent that Bama has at RB, before you even consider Jalen Hurts.

You're right about everything you just said, but we still need to lock down the final starting group and get them in-sync. I really don't know where I'd put Minkah, but it really depends on who steps up at CB, SS, and Star. If Tony Brown grabs the Star spot and Diggs gets it together at CB, then Minkah will be fine at SS. It's also possible someone shows up as better at SS than Diggs is at CB, and that would put Minkah at CB instead (maybe Hootie Jones, or one of the young guys like Knott, Carter, Mayden, McKinney). I would be super shocked to see Tony Brown not start, probably at Star, but I could see where he plays CB and Knott or someone plays Star instead. The secondary is like a revolver: lots of good bullets, but only a couple are in their correct chambers (AA, Ronnie).

Disney is fine: Star Wars (and the rest of Lucasfilm) Pixar Marvel

"On Monday afternoon, Alabama’s Twitter account showed off the Tide’s new SEC Championship and College Football Playoff rings."They didn't get a ring specifically for making the championship (I assume you're referring to the national championship). They got a ring for the SEC championship, and another ring for winning the Peach Bowl, which got them to the championship but that's not the specific reason for the ring.

Holy s*** I've never even realized that little nugget. Wow.

Define "season", because that usually means the first 12 games (hence the term "post-season" for conf. CG and playoffs). So Saban has actually had 3 undefeated seasons at Alabama: 2008, 2009, and 2016. IIRC the 2008 season was the first time a team had gone 12-0 in a regular season (instead of 11-0 + bowl game), then Bama and Florida did it in '09.

That's why I want Tua to redshirt (2017). That way, he'll have a year to back up Jalen next year (2018) then he could choose 1 (2019), 2 (2020), or 3 (2021) years as the starter, assuming Jalen leaves after his 3rd year. Even if he doesn't, Tua still has 1-2 years starting after that. All of which assumes that Daboll's offense and Mac Jones don't totally sync up and Mac Jones steals the show from one or both of them (not this year though).

I can see a lot of these being very improved passing offenses. But I think you should consider Alabama here, for several reasons. 1) Brian Daboll. The new OC's offense is likely to be more balanced, but feature a powerful run game. Daboll is also likely to use a more pro-style offense, especially with TEs and the QB under-center. I think that Alabama will be passing more from a schematic perspective, and will be able to switch from RPOs and spread/tempo to under-center/play action at a flip of a switch. 2) Jalen Hurts. Jalen has shown a lot of improvement in the spring per multiple reports. If that continues, and he gets to a new level of passing ability, he's going to be pretty dangerous for opposing defenses when combined with that running ability. I also think that to keep him healthy the offense will feature fewer designed runs from Jalen, but defenses will still have to respect it. At any time, he can decide something isn't there and go get a 1st down all on his own. 3) WRs/TEs. Alabama may not have ever had a more elite group of pass catchers. Jalen will have a bevy of very, very talented targets, from true freshmen Jerry Jeudy and Tyrell Shavers to older WRs Calvin Ridley, Robert Foster, and Cam Sims, as well as excellent TEs like Miller Forristall and Irv Smith (not to mention the RBs, some of whom could just about play WR in their own right). 4) OL. Bama returns starters at Center and LG, as well as moving the best RT in SEC last year to LT. And with the talent present on the roster, the right side should be solid (probably Lester Cotton at RG and Matt Womack at RT). So the blocking should be better, which will give Jalen more time to make those throws that he has learned now how to make. 5) RBs. We have 6 RBs with an average star rating of 4.5, which is brought down by an under-recruited 3-star Josh Jacobs who had a 6.67 YPC season last year as a true freshman. Combined with an elite running QB, it will be difficult for opposing defenses to provide adequate coverage against those pass catchers AND stop the run game steamroller. All of these RBs are very good at catching passes out of the backfield as well; you really don't want Bo Scarbrough or Najee Harris (or any of them) to be catching passes out on the edges in space. This is a year where Bama goes back to "the run game opens up the passing game".

1) We have a LOT of experience in the secondary, but they still need to learn to work together, as a group, in this configuration and with this leadership. They'll be fine, and probably one of the best secondary units in the SEC in the fall. 2) Watching the highlight video from Saturday's scrimmage, I noticed that there were several really nice throws and catches in there, so some of the DBs' issues were caused by good QB/WR/TE play. See especially that sideline throw to Calvin Ridley near the end. I'm not sure Levi Wallace could've been in a much better position on it; it was just thrown right where it needed to be for Calvin to get it.

Your schedules are near-equivalent, but I think the difference comes down to the QB position, and possibly the defense. Stidham looks, right now, to be a more-proven quality QB than TAM's options, and Sean White is a better backup. So that then defines the whole season, but especially your respective marquee OOC matchups. Clemson just lost a massive chunk of their offense, especially the QB, but UCLA has a 3rd-year starter coming back. So then you look at the defense, and I think most people feel TAM lost more on defense than AU. So combine that with a near-identical schedule, but also with the differences in the OOC opponents, and AU has an easier time with their schedule compared to TAM.