Arenas Leads # 1 Tide Over Mississippi State

Once again it wasn't all that pretty, but it was not close and we won. Kick returner/DB Javier Arenas stole the show last night as he and a stout defense lead # 1 Alabama over Mississippi State, 32-7, to take Alabama to 11-0 on the season and keep their hopes of a national title alive.

Mississippi State (3-8) came out ready to go and took a 7-5 lead in the first quarter after a long Tyson Lee touchdown pass. While Alabama did not have the offensive performance many Tide fans were hoping for, Alabama's third phase of the game, special teams, came to play. It started early in the game when DB Kareem Jackson came in on a punt block untouched, blocked the punt, and it rolled out of the end zone for an Alabama safety. Arenas then stole the show as his first punt return opportunity was returned to the two yard line setting up an easy Tide touchdown. Arenas later returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown, setting off MSU coach Sylvester Croom. Kicker Leigh Tiffin added 3 field goals to complete the special teams sweep for Nick Saban's club.

LB Rolando McClain had 11 tackles on the evening and led an impressive defensive performance as the Tide shut down a pesky Mississippi State team that has beaten Alabama the past two seasons. Alabama finally figured out the Sly Croom riddle and now moves to an open date with arch-rival Auburn coming to Tuscaloosa in two weeks.

Now for some random commentary. It was a another "workmanlike" performance for a workmanlike team. That is just what we are. We win ugly, we are the Tennessee Titans of college football. Watching College Gameday yesterday morning Chris Fowler made the comment that some bookies said Alabama would be a 8 1/2 point underdog if the SEC Title game were played yesterday, which I see as good news. Florida is the beautiful homecoming queen that everybody is in love with. She has it all, no flaws. Alabama on the other hand is the 300 pound girl with warts on her face that nobody wants to dance with. She could probably out bench press everybody else at the party but people are not impressed with that. They want beauty and flash.

I am not saying Alabama will beat Florida Dec. 6 in the Georgia Dome. I have no idea if we can beat them. But I do think we will challenge Florida physically more than anybody else has this year. I think we will protect the ball and make them stop us from running the ball. The best thing that can happen to Alabama is for every talking head out there to pick Florida. To say there is no way Alabama can beat them. This team responds to challenges and plays its best when they are challenged, underdogs, or in a tough environment (i.e. Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee, and LSU). Unless Florida stumbles against The Citadel or Florida State it looks like that is what we will have, and it could not be a better situation for the Crimson Tide.

Saban Fired Up

This video is from Hey Coach last night, Coach Saban's weekly radio show. It is pretty motivational overall but gets really hot around the 2 min. 45 second mark.

I think he wants Tide fans to be ready this Saturday. Enjoy.


Saban Fired Up

Bryant-Denny Expansion One Step Closer to Reality

The University of Alabama Board of Trustees Physical Properties Committee heard a presentation from the University of Alabama today regarding the proposed $80.6 million expansion of the south end zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

After the presentation the Board unanimously approved the project to move into the third of four stages, the fourth being final approval to begin construction and bring the
facility to a capacity of more than 101,000 seats.

As you can see by the picture, this place would be sweet.

Game 11 Preview: Mississippi State Bulldogs

Starkville, MS is a beautiful town. No I am kidding Starkville is horrible, but it is home to our next opponent the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Coming off a Liberty Bowl appearance last year the hype around Bulldog football was a little higher than normal this preseason but these Dogs have failed to live up to the hype.

Sly Croom's team enters this matchup riding a two game winning streak against Alabama but this is a different year. This State team is 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the SEC. The lone SEC victory came against Vanderbilt at home a few weeks back 17-14. That lost started a current four game losing streak for the Dores. The problem for State has not been on the defensive side of the ball but putting points on the board.

34 points is the highest point total of the season and that came against football superpower Southeastern Louisiana. State is yet to break the 25 point barrier against a SEC defense. On the flip side their defense is fairly stout as evident by their 3-2 classic against a potent Auburn offense earlier in the year. On offense the Bulldogs are led by QB Tyson Lee who enters the game completing 114 or 183 passes for 1119 yards and 4 touchdowns. 4 touchdowns for your QB through 10 games is not a good sign. Their best returning skill player coming into the year was RB Anthony Dixon but he has had a disappointing year with 647 yards and 6 touchdowns on 155 carries. To compare those stats to Alabama's RB, Glen Coffee enters the game with 1020 yards and freshman Mark Ingram has 539. Both of Bama's RB enter the game with 8 touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball Starkville's finest is often put in terrible spots by the offense. The defense is giving up an average of 21 points per game but the Dogs only average 16 points per game. Ouch.

In his Tuesday press conference, Mississippi State head coach Slyvester Croom (pictured below in a stunning leather jacket) knows the opportunity his team has.

"It's a great opportunity for us as a football team," Croom said. "It's rare that you get a chance to play the No. 1 team in the country during the course of the season. That opportunity has been afforded us and we're going to prepare as best as we possibly can and go over there and play as well as we possibly can in the hopes of winning a game, on the road, in Tuscaloosa, against the No. 1 team in the country."

A win over # 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa would make State's season. It would make their third win in a row over the Crimson Tide and would put Croom (a Tuscaloosa native) back in brighter light in Starkville. Fortunately for us, it shouldn't happen. The last two seasons turnovers have doomed the Tide in this game. If we run the ball and play defense like we have all year and do not give the Bulldogs easy points we will win this game. Alabama is on a mission to make the national title game and will not overlook this team.

Tide Still # 1 in Latest BCS Rankings

Another win. Another week at # 1.

Alabama remained the top ranked team in the country this week in every major poll and held off # 2 Texas Tech in the latest BCS poll that was released last night. The complete rankings are listed below. # 1 Alabama returns to Tuscaloosa this Saturday to take on their SEC West rival, the Mississippi State Bulldogs.




BAMA # 1 Again

Ramma Jamma in Death Valley...It Gets Better Every Time

After Alabama's win at Tennessee a few weeks ago, we gave you a video of Alabama fans signing Ramma Jamma in Neyland Stadium, and it was sweet. Well this one is no different as Tide fans celebrate our victory yesterday in Baton Rogue. Enjoy and Roll Tide!


Oh and in case you were still wondering, Nick Saban is better than Les Miles.


Ramma Jamma in Tiger Stadium

# 1 'Bama Wins SEC West, Face Gators in Title Game

Hello Tim Tebow.

With # 1 Alabama's road win at # 15 LSU yesterday the Crimson Tide locked up the SEC West title and will play in the SEC Championship game December 6th in Atlanta. On the same day Alabama won the SEC West, the 5th ranked Florida Gators took care of business at Vanderbilt and clinched the SEC East title.

That means we will have a sudo-college football playoff. Alabama and Florida will be playing a national semi-final to see who will move on to the national title game. Being ranked # 1 currently, if Alabama wins out against its remaining schedule of Mississippi State, Auburn, and Florida they will be in the title game for sure.

Florida's remaining slate has South Carolina, The Citadel, and Florida State before they meet Alabama. If the Gators win out they should also be sitting pretty to play for it all in January.

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE WIN!!!

After 3 mild heart attacks and a mini stroke I finally was able to sit back and enjoy # 1 Alabama's huge road win at # 15 LSU on Saturday. In their toughest game of the year, Nick Saban's bunch gutted out the overtime win, 27-21, in front of 93,000 plus angry Bayou Bengal fans.

Alabama (10-0, 6-0) did about everything possible to lose the game in the first half. On the opening possession Alabama drove the ball right down the field only to turn the ball over as WR Earl Alexander stretched the ball towards the goal line only to have LSU safety Chad Jones knock it out of his hands.

Alabama would turn the ball over two more times in the first half and luckily with a stout defense and terrible QB play by LSU's Jarrett Lee, the Crimson Tide headed to halftime tied at 14-14. The man responsible for ruining most of Lee's day is Alabama safety Rashad Johnson. Johnson had an All-American day with 3, that is not a misprint, he had 3 interceptions. One of those was in overtime that helped seal the victory for Alabama. Another one of them he returned for a TD to make the game 14-14 and take Alabama into halftime still feeling good about its chances.

On offense RB Glen Coffee had 126 yards and a TD and Les Miles' crew simply had no answer for freshman WR Julio Jones. Every time Alabama needed a big play in the passing game they went to Jones. We knew it was coming, Miles knew it was coming, everybody in Tiger Stadium knew it was coming, and they simply could not stop him.

I felt good about this game all week because I thought we simply had better players. As the day went on and the game started I began to realize that LSU had everything in its favor. Playing at home (advantage), College GameDay in town (advantage), playing the # 1 team in America (motivation), and playing their ex-coach who they hate (motivation). Alabama was also just a better matchup for LSU then Georgia or Florida were. Those two teams run a spread type offense and LSU is just not built for that. They are a tough, physical strong team that wants to run you over. Sound familiar? That is us as well.

Given everything that pointed in LSU's way, including the three turnovers, Alabama still won the game. We went to Baton Rogue and beat the defending national champions with everything in the world going against us and that says something about this team. We played poorly and still figured out a way to win in one of college football's toughest road enviornments.

Attention now turns to our last two remaining home games against struggling SEC West rivals, Mississippi State and Auburn. State has beat us two years in a row and Auburn six. That will be motivation for this team but they have a larger goal...a shot at the national title. With the SEC West title already wrapped up and a date set with the SEC East champ Florida Gators, our brutal schedule continues. I am not sure if this team can win all three of those games, but I love our chances as this team just keeps finding a way to win.

Great Article About 'Bama Football

I do not always agree with what CBSsportsline.com's Dennis Dodd has to say. That said, today's article about the Alabama football program and its head coach, Nick Saban, is a good one. Take a look at the link below.



'Bama football does not stay down

Cody Looks Good to Go vs. LSU

# 1 Alabama should get a BIIIG boost when it travels to 15th ranked LSU this Saturday. Junior noseguard Terrance Cody has practiced all week and looks set to go against the Bayou Bengals. The timing could not be better as LSU depends on its run game to move the ball efficiently.

On Wednesday, Nick Saban was asked about Cody during his weekly press conference. "He has worked in practice and he has done a good job. He does not seem to have any increased soreness from the work he has done. We are working on his conditioning, trying to get him back in the swing of things, get him in shape and get his confidence back. He has done everything we have asked him to do in practice and has not had an issue."

Earlier in the day, Cody was named a semifinalist for the 14th Chuck Bednarik Award. The award is given to the national defensive player of the year. Mount Cody has 15 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss and anchors the middle of the Tide's defensive line that has allowed just 65.6 rushing yards per game.

LSU Coach Les Miles....Truly Insane?

I have watched LSU head coach Les Miles since he arrived in the SEC and believe with all my heart that the man is absolutely crazy. I mean clinically insane. We will profile more about Miles' wackiness as the week continues. Here are a few videos that help me back up my claim.


LET 'ER RIP


Have a great day

The Top Team in the Land

For the first team in a long time the Alabama Crimson Tide football team has a # 1 in front of it. In the latest polls released a few hours ago Alabama was ranked #1 in both the Coaches and AP polls.

The Tide moved up with their 35-0 win over Arkansas St. yesterday coupled with previous # 1 Texas losing at # 7 Texas Tech. The BCS standings will be released later today with Alabama expected be # 1 in those standings as well.

The new # 1 will get a tough test this week as they travel to # 15 LSU this upcoming Saturday.

Bama ranked # 1

Plenty of Room on Bama Bandwagon for Hollywood Celebs

It seems everybody is jumping on the Crimson Tide bandwagon these days, including some Hollywood celebs. At yesterday's homecoming victory over Arkansas St. some interesting faces were seen in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Former Tide QB and national champion Jay Barker and his new wife country music star Sara Evans were attended along with movie and TV star Eva Longoria-Parker.

I wish I could tell you why the Desperate Housewives star and wife of San Antonio Spurs PG Tony Parker was in Tuscaloosa with Barker and Evans, but I cannot. Maybe she has a crush on nose guard Terrance Cody? Maybe she wanted to show off her 1992 Jay Barker replica jersey in front of 93,000?

Whatever the reason for her attendance, I like it. There is plenty of room for everybody on the Bama bandwagon.

# 2 Bama Pitches Shut Out win Over Arky St.

It turned out to be a pretty good day for the 2nd ranked Alabama Crimson Tide football team. After dominating Arkansas St. 35-0 to move to 9-0 on the season, the Tide later saw # 1 Texas lose on a last second play to # 7 Texas Tech, thus a possible # 1 ranking for Nick Saban's club.

This homecoming game provided Alabama another mental test playing a potentially dangerous Arkansas St. team after a big win against rival Tennessee last week and a huge match up set up next week at # 15 LSU. Alabama opened the game with a touchdown on their first offensive drive with a 89 yard march, in which turned out to be the game winning points.

The Alabama defense was awesome all day long making trips across the 50 yard line a rarity for the Red Wolves. It was the first shut out for Alabama since a 17-0 win in 2005 over Mississippi State. Alabama took a 14-0 lead in halftime mainly because of missed opportunities, and a FG, on offense. The second half was a different story, however, as the Tide was in control the entire afternoon and put another 21 points up, including a defense touchdown on a interception return from All-SEC safety Rashaad Johnson.

Freshman running back Mark Ingram led the offensive charge with 113 yards on 12 carries and added two touchdowns. I need those kind of numbers today from my fantasy team. While QB John Parker Wilson did throw his first interception of the season in the red zone, he had a productive day otherwise and led the always methodical Tide offense to another good day.

The probable new # 1 Alabama Crimson Tide now turns its attention to the LSU Tigers in what will be called the Nick Saban Bowl 2. While that is a good story, its certainly not the biggest. Alabama has far more to play for than just making their coach happy to beat his old team. They can clinch the SEC West title with a win in Death Valley, and also put a tighter grip on their national championship hopes with a win of that magnitude. You can beat the Tide will be ready for that one.

PIG'S PICKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wont lie to you, last week was tough on Pig's Picks in the SEC. I missed some games but I have regrouped and you are still up in money for the year if you have gone with me every week. I apologize for last week and lets make back your money.

Game 1: Ole Miss vs. Awwwwburn (Ole Miss by 6 1/2)




Who would have predicted this line at the beginning of the year? Ole Miss favored by almost a touchdown over the awwwwburn Lambs? Ole Miss comes into this one after a big SEC West win over improving Arkansas last week and the Lambs come in after an embarrassing blowout loss last Thursday night at West Virginia. Ole Miss has lost four games but could have won all of them, including the Alabama game. That is the good and bad news. The good news is they are good enough to be in every game and have a shot at the end. The bad news is they usually find a way to lose. I have diagnosed this Mike Shula disease as he made this strategy famous (see about every game against the upper tier SEC teams in his tenure). Anyway the game is in Oxford and Houston Nutt has owned Tommy Tuberville in the past. Auburn is reeling and looks like they may have thrown in the towel for the 2008 season. Plus Tuberville hosed Ole Miss with the way he left them years ago. Sure it was a long time ago but the Rebels have not forgot the way he left or his terrible choice in clothing. Lets go with the Rebels.

PIG'S PICK: Hoddy Toddy


Game 2: South Carolina vs. Tennessee (South Carolina by 5 1/2)

Steve Spurrier returning to his home state next year to save the Vols from despair? I just completely made up that rumor but feel free to run with it if you want. I think a more likely scenario is the 'Ol Ball Coach wanting to stick another L on his old nemesis Fat Phil Fulmer. Everybody is taking their shots at Tennessee this year, as they are just plain bad. The Vols need to go 3-1 in their next four to become bowl eligible. The good news is the tough part of their schedule is over with as they have already taken their licks from Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, all of whom are in the top 10 nationally. You will hear how Tennessee is desperate for a win and will come out and play hard but once again, it wont really matter. The Vols just do not have the playmakers to move the ball consistently on the Gamecock defense. While I do not think South Carolina is the greatest thing since sliced bread I think they are good enough to beat this Tennessee team by at least 5 1/2 at home.

PIG'S PICK: Go Cocks

Game 3: Mississippi State vs. Kentucky (Miss. St. by 2 1/2)



I did some research and yes, both of these teams are still in the Southeastern conference playing football in 2008. I will keep this one short and sweet as I know you do not care about this game or its outcome. The game is in Starkville, MS so all 57 people at the game will give the Bulldogs a decisive home field advantage. Kentucky comes into this one with 5 wins and just needs one more to become bowl eligible. Mis-Stake enters this game with 3 wins and is probably close to giving up on coach Sly Croom and the 08 season. Kentucky got CRRRRUSHED last weekend by Florida and has guys like me starting due to the 493248903284320 injuries they have suffered. With that said I still like Grumpy Ol Rich Brooks and think he can rally the troops and get that elusive sixth win this weekend.

PIG'S PICK: Big Blue

Game 4: LSU vs. Tulane (LSU by 25)





The battle of Louisiana. Well not really because Tulane has turned out to be bad. LSU is coming off its second loss of the season (neither one of them being close games) and has a huge game next week against #2 Alabama and Nick Saban. LSU should roll in this one with the only exception being if they completely overlook the Green Wave. This is a huge line but I think it happens, barrrrrrrrrely.

PIG'S PICK: BAYOU BENGALS


Game 5: Tulsa at Arkansas (Tulsa by 7)






The Hogs a touchdown dog at home against the Golden Hurricane???? Wow, what a crazy season. I have to admit I have not seen Tulsa play this season so I have no idea if their record and top 25 record is legit or not. I am picking with my guy here and saying Coach Bobby Petrino and his Hawgs step up and at least cover in this one.

PIG'S PICK: PIG SOOIE


Game 6: Georgia vs. Florida ( In Jacksonville) (Florida by 6)






The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. A huge game in its own right, and even bigger this year as both teams are playing for the SEC Title and a chance to keep their national title hopes alive. Urban Cryer and Mark Richt both seem like arrogant jerks but are also great coaches. The Dawgs snapped the Gators streak over them last year with a big whipping and a famous personal foul call as the entire team stormed the field to celebrate the game's first touchdown. That is big news right now but won't be when the game starts. Georgia looked good against LSU last week but they are playing a better Gator team tomorrow with a lot to play for. I like future anger management patient Tim Tebow and the boys from Gainesville in this one BUT only by a FG...thus I like the Dawgs to cover.

PIG'S PICK: Georgia to cover, Florida to win


Game 7: # 2 Alabama vs. Arkansas St. (Alabama by 22 1/2)

Homecoming in Tuscaloosa. The 2nd ranked Crimson Tide step out of SEC play to take on the Arkansas St. Red Wolves in this one. I will keep this preview short and sweet. Alabama is better and should win by multiple touchdowns. Arkansas St. is not completely terrible however and has shown they can score (83 points in their second game) and has the top ranked defense in the Sun Belt Conference. They have lost three games this year but have not been blown out of any of them. They have also not played a team like Alabama yet. Alabama will win, but the question is will they let an inferior team hang around and let the game be closer than it should be? I hope not, but am going with history on this one, but I hope I am wrong.

PIG PICK'S: Arkansas St. to cover, Alabama to win.

Ramma Jamma in Neyland Stadium...What a Sweet Sound

I realize we have moved on from the 29-9 win over Tennessee last week but I think you need to see this video. The Million Dollar Band playing "Ramma Jamma" at the end of Alabama's blow out win at Neyland Stadium. So make sure your volume is turned up, check out all the crimson, and enjoy Tide fans....


Ramma Jamma in Knoxville

Famous Arky State Alums

We are introducing a new feature today on Inside the Tide...famous alumni from the schools we play. Many of you might not know a lot about Arkansas State University so here is an introduction to a few celebs who have spent time on the beautiful (or it could be awful, I have no idea) ASU campus in Jonesboro, AR.

1. Mike Beebe- Current Arkansas Governor. Maybe he can follow in the footsteps of other former famous Arky govs Bill Clinton (President/womanizer) or Mike Huckabee (Presidential candidate/TV talk show host) I am not kidding I saw a commercial for Huckabee's show the other day.



2. Jeremy Biggs- Professional Racquetball champion. There is pro racquetball?

3. Ray Brown- Former NFL Lineman that still holds the NFL record for playing 3498290348032 years in a row and started a game at age 104.

4. Rodger Bumpass- Voice of Squidward on SpongeBob Squarepants (Goat's favorite show). A true celebrity here.


5. Cleo Lemon- Greatest name and QB to ever play in the NFL. Cleo almost pulled off the impossible in trying to lead the 2007 Miami Dolphins to a winless season. Unfortunately, they ended up winning a game or two. Lemon currently holds 16 records for Arkansas State.

6. Debbye Turner- Former Miss America and current news broadcaster. You know we can't leave a Miss America off the list!

Game 9: Arkansas St. Preview

The # 2 Alabama Crimson Tide football team continues its quest for a perfect season this week as they step out of SEC play to take on the Arkansas State Red Wolves of the Sun Belt conference. If you are reading this a little confused about the name Red Wolves you should be. Arkansas St. was formerly the Indians, but was forced to change their name when the NCAA apparently got bored, needed something to do, and made colleges with Native American type nicknames change them, unless they could get support from a particular tribe in the area. Apparently, the Native Americans around Jonesboro, AR did not go to bat for Arky St.

My knowledge of the state of Arkansas or wolves is not vast, so I have no idea if their are Red Wolves running around the state or they just put some names in a hat and Red Wolves won out. Enough about their name, lets take a look at their team.

Arky St. enters the game with a 4-3 record overall and is 2-1 in the Sun Belt conference. Arky St. is coming off a bye week and in their last appearance the Red Wolves dropped a tight game to the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragun Cajuns 28-23. Arkansas St. does come to Tuscaloosa with a fairly impressive resume this season, including a season opening win at Texas A&M.

After the Texas A&M win, Arkansas St. hung 83 on Texas Southern, in a 83-10 win. That was not a misprint....they scored 83 points. While I realize Texas Southern is not full of All-Americans, anytime you score 83 points on somebody you have an offense. In their three losses (Southern Miss, Memphis, and La-Lafayette) Arkansas St. is yet to really be blown out. Their largest margin of defeat was against Memphis 29-17, and that was a two point game with 3 minutes left.

Statistically the Red Wolves rank at the top of the Sun Belt Conference in most categories. On offense they are averaging 436 yards per game which is good for 3rd in the league and average 33 points per game, which is also good for 3rd in the Sun Belt and 22nd in the country. Junior QB Corey Leonard leads the Red Wolves offense with 1474 yards on the season and has thrown 11 touchdowns. He brings a very impressive 137.98 quarterback rating into Tuscaloosa. On the other side of the ball, they are ranked first in the Sun Belt in overall defense and give up the fewest points in the league giving up 335 yards per game and surrendering 21.6 PPG.

Alabama enters this game relatively healthy with nose guard Terrance Cody the only real notable starter not able to go in this game. While Arkansas State comes in with a big win over a power conference team, the Crimson Tide should be able to handle the Red Wolves on Saturday if we come to play. The challenge for Alabama is to keep focus against an inferior team coming off a big road win at Tennessee last week and a chance to wrap up the SEC West title next week at LSU. Hopefully Coach Saban can get through to his team that there is a lot to play for Saturday and can point back to the La-Monroe game last year as a point of reference as to what can happen when we just show up and don't come to play.

# 3 Penn St. is off this week and either # 1 Texas or # 6 Texas Tech will remain unbeaten after Saturday night, so Alabama can not afford to slip up to this team if they plan to play for it all in January. With only four regular season games remaining, I think the Tide realizes the importance of every game at this point in the year.

Titanic Victory

I know this website caters to Alabama athletics and hardly ever leaves life in the SEC, but today is going to be different for two reasons. One, we are playing Arkansas St. this week, we should win the game going away, and there is not that much exciting information out there on the Red Wolves.

Second, Goat and I are big Tennessee Titans fans and they won a HUUUUGE game last night on Monday Night Football against the superpower that is the Indianapolis Colts 31-21.

For what seems like a lifetime the Titans along with the Jaguars and Texans have looked up at the Colts as they have dominated the AFC South year after year. 2008 appears to be different however as the Titans quest for perfection continued as they improved to 7-0 and now have a four game lead over the rest of the division as the Colts, Jaguars, and Texans are all 3-4.

Anyway, I wont ramble on but congratulations to the Titans on a huge win both in the standings and for the mental state of the team and their fans. Everybody now knows the Titans ARE better than the vaunted Colts. Plus, its always nice to beat ex-Vol Peyton Manning. Below is a real article about the game from a real writer.


Titans Beat Up Colts

# 2 Tide Holds off JoePa, Penn St. in Latest BCS Rankings

All week long the talking heads of college football debated that if # 3 Penn St. went to # 9 Ohio St. and came out with a win and Alabama did not look impressive in Knoxville the Nittany Lions could jump Alabama in this week's BCS poll.

Luckily for us, Alabama did look impressive in a 29-9 win at Tennessee and held off Joe Paterno's team in the second BCS poll released earlier tonight. While Penn St. did close the gap behind Alabama this week their remaining strength of schedule will make it tough for Penn St. to catch Alabama unless we lose. The Nittany Lions have three games remaining against Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan St, none of which will be big enough to vault the Nittany Lions over either Alabama or Texas. Also, the Big 10 does not have a conference championship game unlike both the BIG IX and SEC.

The entire BCS poll is linked below:

Latest BCS poll

# 2 Alabama Blows Out Vols in Knoxville 29-9

Before the game, I had many conversations with fellow Tide fans and the consensus in each one of those was that if we did not turn the ball over and give points to Tennessee, we would win the game. That said, you can imagine how excited I was from my top row seat (literally, I was sitting on the top row) when Javier Arenas fumbled a punt and gave Tennessee the ball on the 5 in the first quarter.

# 2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0) held the the Big Orange to a FG on that possession and dominated the game from that point in route to a 29-9 victory over Tennessee (3-5, 1-4) in Neyland Stadium Saturday night. It marks the second straight victory for the Tide over Phil Fulmer's bunch as the Tide routed the Vols 41-14 last year in Tuscaloosa.

QB John Parker Wilson did a great job of finding open receivers all night finishing 17-24 for 188 yards and added a rushing TD. He was efficient and did not put Alabama in a bad position at any point during the game. Wilson's favorite target was freshman phenomenon Julio Jones who finished the game with 6 receptions for 103 yards, which equated to a 17.3 average per catch.

If you read Inside the Tide earlier in the week you learned that Tennessee safety Eric Berry was the only Vol who would probably start for Alabama and that theory rang true Saturday night. As the game progressed it was evident that Alabama just simply had better, stronger, faster players. The only dark spot on the evening was special teams play which produced the above mentioned Arenas fumble and a partially blocked punt that put Tennessee in another good spot to score before half, but a combination of good defense and Vol penalties led to a missed FG attempt as the first half ended.

For the first time in the last few outings, the Crimson Tide dominated the second half outscoring Tennessee 16-6 and the six the Vols scored were garbage points with Alabama leading 29-3 at the end of the game against our second team defense. Alabama opened the second half with a FG and then drove down the field later in the 3rd quarter and scored on a QB sneak from Wilson. The game went downhill from there for the Vols as Alabama cruised to an easy win.

Alabama now turns its attention to next week's non-conference homecoming game against the Arkansas State Indians. With LSU's loss at home to Georgia yesterday, Alabama now just has to go 2-1 in its remaining three SEC games against LSU, Mississippi St., and Auburn to move on to the SEC Championship Game as the SEC West Champion.

PIG'S PICKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is again that time for your favorite part of the week....PIG'S PICKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you took my advice last week and put down some doll-hairs then I made you rich (or at last got you 3 gallons of gas). Anyway another good slate of games to pick from this week including my favorite game in college football....The Third Saturday in October.

Game 1: Ole Miss @ Arkansas ( Ole Miss by 6 1/2)

Our first game is a tough one to call. Ole Miss has been up and down all season and Bobby Petrino's Hogs started the season looking horrible, but two those losses were against the # 1 and # 2 teams in the country right now in Texas and Alabama. They let one slip away last week blowing a big lead at Kentucky. While I think Ole Miss is the better team in this one I hate the game being in Fayetteville. However, I do like the fact that Goat's boy Houston Nutt is returning to Arkansas for the first time and you know he wants this one against his former employer. Nutt and his Rebels will pull out all the stops in this one and barely cover.

PIG'S PICK: Ole Miss

Game 2: # 5 Florida vs. Kentucky (Florida by 26)


26 point line in the SEC? Ouch, no love for the Cats. I realize the Gators are the better team. I realize the game is in Gainesville. But I believe in the Cats defense (kinda). The problem in this one is I am not sure if Kentucky's offense can score enough on Florida's D to keep this one close. Florida head man Urban Cryer also needs an impressive blowout win to impress the pollsters and up his chance of getting back into the national title game conversation. While I think he leaves his stars in to run the score up, I think the Kentucky coach Rich "Always Grumpy" Brooks and his Wildcat D will help their poor offense cover the spread.

PIGS PICK: Kentucky to cover, Florida to win

Game 3: Vandy vs. Duke ( Vandy by 10 1/2)


Put down the books and get out of the library you geeks, because a Vandy-Duke football game actually has some importance! Both teams are straining trying to get to that magical 6 wins and become bowl eligible for the first time since Jesus was a boy. Vandy has dropped two in a row after a 5-0 start but both of those were on the road in the SEC, so I will give them a little lee-way. Duke comes into the game sitting at 3-3 and has also lost two in a row. This is Vandy's best shot at getting that 6th win and they will take advantage. I like the 'Dores to bounce back at home and beat the Blue Devils with the ugly stick...the same one that was used on Coach K.

PIG'S PICK: Vandy


Game 4: # 9 Georgia @ # 11 LSU ( LSU by 1 1/2)

As an Alabama fan, I will be screaming my guts out for the Dawgs in this one to get LSU that second SEC loss. Unfortunately, I do not see it happening. While I like Georgia's playmakers (Stafford, Moreno, Green) I hate their O-Line. They are young, their best players are hurt and they are just not that good. Bad news considering the strength of LSU's team is their D-line. While I think Georgia is a solid team overall they have played a brutal schedule and been beat up a little bit. It is a long flight to Baton Rogue from Athens and Death Valley is a tough environment for a visiting team, especially in a game this important. LSU's offense is also showing signs of life. It pains me to say this but go with the Tigers.

PIG'S PICKS: LSU

Game 5: Mississippi State vs. Middle Tennessee St. (Miss St. by 10)


Do you care about this game? Absolutely not. But it involves a SEC team and you want to win some money. MTSU is about 25 minutes from my house so I am fairly familiar with their football team and have learned this...they step up against teams they should get crushed by (see Maryland). The opposite can be said for Mississippi State, they seem to lay a lot of eggs. Not sure if the Blue Raiders can win on the road but they will keep it within 10.

PIG'S PICK: MTSU (to cover)


Game 6: # 2 Alabama at Tennessee (Alabama by 4 1/2)



My favorite game of the entire college football season. I know, I know, the Iron Bowl is sweet, but I am old school and enjoy a good state school vs. state school battle. There is no way I can go to work Monday if we lose this game, and luckily for me I do not see that happening. The line for this one started around 7 and has come down a a good bit to 4 1/2. As gambling goes that is a big jump, so a lot of betters out there like the Vols to pull the upset at home. While I think Fat Phil will have his boys ready to go, I think Saint Nick will counter and have the Tide focused in Knoxville.

For whatever reason we have played much better on the road and when we feel threatened by a good team. Plus, I just do not think Tennessee has the playmakers to win. If you go position by position I would not trade any of our guys (with the exception of Vol safety Eric Berry). If Alabama does not turn the ball over, they will win. We need to beat them up on both sides of the ball and build an early lead and COME OUT AND FINISH IN THE SECOND HALF!!!! I think this is the week Alabama does that and I will enjoy that from my great seats in the nose-bleeds of Neyland Stadium. Hopefully I am sitting beside these two...
PIG'S PICK: ALABAMA