Tide Tidbits – November 19, 2009

Tiffin Tide’s all-time top toe
With one more field goal, Leigh Tiffin will grab one of the last remaining career school kicking records he doesn’t have. Such lofty success doesn’t surprise the Alabama senior. He always figured to be in this position. “It’s gratifying,” he said. “It’s neat to do, but it’s something I expected to do this year. It’s what I had in mind, and it’s what I thought I was going to do all along.” As the son of a famous Alabama kicker, Tiffin grew up dreaming about his future as one of the Alabama’s all-time greats. Tiffin had a great career at Muscle Shoals High, walked on at Alabama and promptly earned the starting position, just as his father, Van, had done 23 years earlier. Van had a great freshman year and a little sophomore slump, then went on to become an All-American in 1986. Leigh’s career was nearly derailed in his first road game, a disastrous day at Arkansas in which he missed three field goals and the extra point that led to a one-point loss in overtime. Since that crucial point-after misfire, Tiffin has converted 113 of 116 extra points and has kicked field goals at an amazing 77 percent success rate (69-of-90) since missing three in Fayetteville. [More]

Mocs face tall task in clash with Crimson Tide
In what appears to be a monumental mismatch, the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide welcome the Chattanooga Mocs, a mediocre FCS team, to Tuscaloosa this weekend. Chattanooga closes out its regular season on Saturday and carries a 6-4 record into the tilt. Last time out, the club knocked off The Citadel by a 31-28 final, the second victory in the last three outings. Still, the fact that the club has lost by double figures to the likes of Elon, Georgia Southern, Furman and Appalachian State suggests that this game won’t be close. As for Alabama, it improved to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in SEC play with a 31-3 romp over Mississippi State last weekend. The Crimson Tide has already captured the SEC West Division title and will take on Florida in the SEC Championship Game. [More]

Opponents have an eye on Johnson
Marquis Johnson readily admits that last year’s game against Florida wasn’t exactly his personal best. So when new Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen called for a deep pass over the University of Alabama cornerback’s head on the first play of the game last Saturday, it dawned on Johnson that he might be seeing more than his share of action in UA’s 31-3 win in Starkville. “(Mullen) was at Florida as offensive coordinator (last year),” Johnson said. “That first play, I should have known it was coming.” Johnson allowed Bulldogs wide receiver O’Neal Wilder to get behind him on the play and had to commit interference in order to prevent a long completion and possibly a touchdown. It wasn’t the way for any cornerback to start the game, but Johnson eventually showed he knows how to finish one. The senior from Sarasota, Fla., broke up three passes and intercepted another. [More]

Abdominal injury continues to sideline Tide’s Terry Grant
Alabama reserve tailback and kickoff return man Terry Grant remained out of practice today with an abdominal injury that may threaten his availability for the remainder of the regular season. “We keep saying he’s day-to-day,” Saban said. “He doesn’t seem to be getting any better. It’s very painful, very debilitating in terms of what you can do and how painful it is, especially with exercise. It’s very hard to diagnose, and the treatment has gone slow.” Grant rushed 40 times for 166 yards and three touchdowns during Alabama’s first four games, but he not had a carry — or touched the football on offense — since the Arkansas game in late September. [More]

Ingram won’t ‘tongue-tussle’ over Tate’s claim as best back
If Ben Tate believes he’s a better running back than Mark Ingram, that’s fine with Ingram. Ingram, the University of Alabama’s sophomore running back, responded to statements made by Tate, Auburn’s top rusher, staking a claim as the best back in the state. The comments, made to ESPN, aired during last weekend’s game between Auburn and Georgia. “I know I’m the best back in the state,” Tate told the network. “I bet if you went and broke down film and asked teams in the SEC who is the best back in the state, I feel like it’s me.” Ingram leads the SEC in rushing with 1,297 yards in 10 games, an average of 129.7 yards per game. “Somebody told me about it,” Ingram said. “Everybody is entitled to their opinion and I respect him. He’s a great running back. I just let my words speak for me when I play. I won’t get into any tongue-tussling or anything like that.” [More]

Coach Saban pleased with Tide’s play
Three penalties. Three turnovers forced, none committed. And a commanding 444-213 edge in total yards. No. 2 Alabama’s all-around performance in a 31-3 victory over Mississippi State last week was solid enough to prompt a question for coach Nick Saban: Was this the Crimson Tide’s best game of the season? Saban didn’t give a yes or no answer but said he was “really pleased” with Alabama’s play against a fired-up Bulldog team. “Knowing you’ve got to go out there and sort of get into a street fight right off the bat with all the emotion (the Bulldogs) had in the game. To be able to persevere and just keep playing through it, I think that was the most important thing,” Saban said. [More]

Roll Tide!

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