Tide Tidbits – October 21, 2009

McElroy looks to regain results of early wins
There’s been no finger pointing, no pan­ic, no cause for alarm just yet. But it’s clear things are not quite the way they were when Greg McElroy took the field a month ago. If there is concern in the mind of head coach Nick Saban, there is no panic in his voice. “I think that, number one, you’ve got to go back to what got you there,” Saban said, “and you’ve got to have simple goals. You’ve got to remember the fun­damental things that are most important to you in terms of be­ing able to execute and playing winning football at your posi­tion. Maybe we’re trying to do too much, maybe we’re putting too much pressure on ourself.”

Tide’s Ingram jumps to the head of the line
The stiff-arm, Mark Ingram already has. The bronzed one, however, would make a nice complement. A groundswell of support for the University of Alabama’s starting running back as a Heisman Trophy candidate has followed his 246-yard performance against South Carolina last Saturday. The highest rushing total in Bryant-Denny Stadium history vaulted Ingram from fourth to first in the Southeastern Conference in rushing at 129.3 yards per game. It also placed him within one game’s reach of 1,000 yards for the season. The Heisman, awarded to the nation’s top college player, is well beyond one game’s reach for any of its candidates, however. And it’s always been out of reach at Alabama. For all its legendary alumni, the Crimson Tide has never had a player take the Heisman home.

Spurrier questions legality of Alabama’s kick methods
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier told reporters today in Columbia that he plans to contact the SEC office after saying he observed Alabama holder P.J. Fitzgerald use a piece of tape to mark the spot on extra points and field goals by place-kicker Leigh Tiffin. Spurrier said he noticed it when watching tape from Saturday’s 20-6 Crimson Tide victory in Bryant Denny-Stadium. “Their holder on extra points and field goals had a little piece of white tape. … And he put (the tape) down and that was their spot,” Spurrier is quoted as saying by The State newspaper. “And the guy kicked it, and occasionally he’d go way over there and grab it (after the kick). I’d never seen that before. So I think we’ve gotta call the head of officials to see if that’s legal.” The NCAA rulebook states that: “Any device or material used to mark the spot of a scrimmage place kick or elevate the ball makes the kick illegal.”

Kiffin says Alabama deserving of top rank
Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin says the AP Top 25 has it right — Alabama, not Florida, is the No. 1 team in the nation. He’s practically an expert. By vaulting over the Gators into the top spot in The Associated Press poll, the Crimson Tide set up the Vols’ second game against the No. 1 team in the nation this season. “I think one poll got it right,” Kiffin said. “If you watch football and pay attention, I don’t think there’s any doubt who the No. 1 team is. Alabama has a great team — very well-coached, extremely talented, great special teams, great on offense, great on defense.”

Is Florida going out of style?
In its last two SEC games at home in The Swamp, Florida was favored by 30 but beat Tennessee by 10 and was favored by 25 but beat Arkansas by three. In its biggest win of the season, Florida scored one touchdown in a 13-3 at then-No. 4 LSU on Oct. 10. In all three games, the defense wasn’t the problem. So what is? Maybe quarterback Tim Tebow is less Superman and more Batman. And Batman always needed Robin. And somewhere Robin is under a captor’s thumb, thinking, “Holy Expectations, Batman! What are we going to do?”

Alabama’s Mark Ingram surges to Heisman poll lead
“Mark Ingram has emerged as the leader in my opinion because he has played so well, especially in the last three games. The Heisman goes to the most outstanding player and at this point I don’t see anyone who’s more outstanding. Great performances against good opponents impress me most, and he has had big games against Virginia Tech, Mississippi and South Carolina.” – Olin Buchanan, Rivals.com.

Roll Tide!

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