Tide Tidbits – October 18, 2009

Crimson Tide making its case
It may not have looked that great, perhaps didn’t even feel that great, to the Bama Nation. But there’s a lot to be said for Alabama’s 20-6 victory over South Carolina Saturday night. That includes the notion that Alabama is No. 1. No, it wasn’t a pretty win, but it was an important win. The luxury of Alabama’s offense is the insurance its defense provides. Together, they produce a team that’s pretty darn good. And right now, it may be the best team in the country. Winning makes the only case that matters and if Alabama keeps winning — even at No. 2 with SEC roommate Florida remaining at No. 1 — the two teams will meet in the national semifinal known as the SEC championship game, with the winner getting a shot at the national championship.

Ingram runs into UA lore
Mark Ingram, the Tide’s sophomore sensation running back, was a one-man wrecking crew Saturday in the Tide’s win, where the offense struggled to gain a foot hold against the Gamecocks. While the offense sputtered around him, Ingram put up the third-best rushing performance in UA history, running for a career-high 246 yards on 24 carries for a staggering 10.2 yard per carry average. Nothing else in the Crimson Tide’s offensive arsenal seemed to work on a consistent basis, so Alabama coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Jim McElwain dialed Ingram’s number again and again, especially on the game-clinching drive when the Flint, Mich., native ran the ball six straight times, including the 4-yard, toss-sweep touchdown run.

Alabama’s not perfect, but that 7-0 record is
Will the real No. 1 team in college football please stand up? And when you do, would you please stop stumbling and bumbling around and stand firm? The first BCS standings will be released today. The way Alabama, Florida and Texas played Saturday, it might be fitting if the top spot stayed vacant. Alabama 20, South Carolina 6 was less than pretty and far from perfect. What it was, most of all, was a win, and a win, even with warts, is a beautiful thing. Alabama doesn’t have to be the best team in the country every week. It just has to be the best team on the field every time it takes the field. As long as Ingram and the defense show up, it will be.

Defense comes up big amid four turnovers
Four times, the University of Alabama offense put the weight of a close game on the shoulders of the UA defense with turnovers Saturday in a 20-6 win over South Carolina. Four times, the defense turned the Gamecocks away not only without a touchdown, but without a point. That, as much as anything, carried the Crimson Tide to a 7-0 mark on a night when the UA offense found a way to sputter for points despite Mark Ingram’s career-high 246 rushing yards. “There was a tremendous amount of heart and character and competitive spirit, whatever you want to call it, in terms of how our defense played out there to keep them off the board on several occassions,” said UA coach Nick Saban.

Rolling Flint-Stone
Alabama coach Nick Saban was an assistant at Michigan State when Mark Ingram Sr. was a star receiver for the Spartans. Little did he know at the time, but that was the start of what could be one of the best recruiting jobs of Saban’s career. Over 20 years later, the son of the 1987 first round pick of the New York Giants and Super Bowl XXV champion signed with Saban’s Crimson Tide. Indeed, Mark Ingram Jr. is off to an even better start than his old man, rushing for 728 yards and 12 touchdowns as a freshman and breaking records for an undefeated national title contender halfway into his sophomore season. “Mark did as fine a job today as anybody I’ve ever been around, and that includes (Dolphins running backs) Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown and some really good ones. … I can’t tell you, if we had guys that could play like that, the sky would be the limit, in terms of the heart and character that he plays with.”

Roll Tide!

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