Tide Tidbits – July 8, 2009

Alabama, Virginia Tech fans make season-opener a sellout
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta is officially a sellout about nine weeks before the start of the college football season, according to game officials. Alabama and Virginia Tech were allotted – and sold – 31,200 tickets by the sponsor of the game at the Georgia Dome, so there will be no public sale of tickets for the game on Sept. 5.

SI profiles the 1979 Sugar Bowl goal-line stand
Sports Illustrated’s 10th annual “Where Are They Now?” edition includes a profile of the famous 1979 Sugar Bowl goal-line stand against Penn State to win the national championship.The July 13-20 double issue will hit newsstands Wednesday. “Immovable Force” by Lars Anderson, focusses on University of Alabama defensive lineman Barry Krauss, Murray Legg, Marty Lyons and Rich Wingo, for their famous stop of Penn State tailback Mike Guman on fourth-and-goal. “At the precise moment that Krauss and Guman collided, SI photographer Walter Iooss Jr. snapped an iconic shot that would make the cover of that week’s issue, a picture whose spirit and upward thrust of angles faintly echo the famous photo of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima,” Anderson wrote.

Some Teams Turn To Defense To Lead The Way
“[Alabama coach] Nick Saban is going to have a blueprint to win,” Davie said. “His team is going to be built on solid defense every year. They can also generate points from the kicking game. The offense is going to totally complement those two elements. “You’re not going to have an egotistical offensive coordinator that will worry about yards per game. They will play with one thing in mind – to win the game. At some places the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator may not be on the same page.” Alabama can glean encouragement from its season-opening opponent, Virginia Tech. Last season, the Hokies won the ACC title despite ranking 90th in the nation in scoring offense. Coach Frank Beamer’s Hokies compensated by holding 10 opponents to fewer than 20 points.

Sudden Impact: Alabama’s New Faces To Watch
The Alabama Crimson Tide started the season ranked No. 24 in the country, with the talk of whether or not their highly touted ’08 signing class could make an impact. The question was answered emphatically during the Clemson game, with players Terrence Cody, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Don’ta Hightower, Mark Barron, Courtney Upshaw, and others making significant contributions during the Tide’s 34-10 win. These are the 10 new faces (true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and transfers) that Alabama fans need to look for this year.

College football season nearly upon us
You may be surprised to learn that two weeks from today the SEC’s annual Kickoff ’09 will be getting underway in Hoover. It will be the first of a three-day press conference with SEC coaches and key players. On Thursday there will be four veterans — Nick Saban, Alabama; Mark Richt, Georgia; Houston Nutt, Ole Miss; and Urban Meyer, Florida. Representing Alabama will be lineman Mike Johnson and linebacker Rolando McClain. They were selected by Saban and no doubt will represent the Crimson Tide well. However, there are bound to be a lot of questions about the new quarterback, Greg McElroy, and wide receiver Marquis Maze, who were standouts in the spring game.

Roll Tide!

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