Tide Tidbits – November 29, 2009

Tide refocuses for rematch with Gators
Alabama players took Saturday off and will do very little work today in an effort to recharge their mental batteries for this year’s Southeastern Conference Championship Game. Tide defensive end Brandon Deaderick and other defenders said Auburn runs some of the same schemes employed by Florida and Mississippi State’s offense. Saban recalled last year’s fourth-quarter collapse against the Gators and believes his team was emotionally drained after playing its two biggest games of the season in consecutive weeks. “It was hard to get our players back last year after a very emotional (Auburn) game at the end of the season and then go into the SEC Championship Game for another big, emotional game,” Saban said. “We’ll try to give them some time to recover.” [More, Similar]

Iron Bowl a classic once again
The finish to Alabama’s 26-21 win not only did wonders for pharmaceutical companies that produce blood pressure medicine, it set the Iron Bowl back on its rightful path as the top rivalry in college football after a one-year hiatus. Late arrivals to this party can protest, but having lived here for 18 years – I’ve also lived in Columbus, Ohio, by the way – everybody else is playing for second place. The sense of relief on the faces of the Crimson Tide players contrasted by the anguish on Auburn’s side told a story no words could ever do justice. It was, in today’s language, an instant classic. “To win the state is a big, big thing for us,” said an emotionally drained Alabama coach Nick Saban afterward. [More]

Tide finds another hero just when it needs one
Alabama found a way to scrape together just enough to slip out of Jordan-Hare Stadium with its 12th win in 12 tries this season 26-21. Every time the Tide needs a fourth quarter hero, a new one emerges. This time it was Greg McElroy, following Mark Ingram (South Carolina), Terrence Cody (Tennessee) and Julio Jones (LSU). It was the first time the full offense was entrusted with saving the season and everyone responded on that 15-play march. It was the fifth occasion Alabama either trailed entering the fourth quarter or led by less than a touchdown. The inspired response was the same Saturday even if Saban didn’t see it all night. “We didn’t have a lot of emotion, we didn’t play with a lot of passion, and I can’t really understand that,” Saban said. “I think it was because of the short week. We were tired, a lot of distractions and a very difficult preparation, which says a lot about their team. But I will say that I can’t say enough about how proud I am of the way our guys competed in the game to overcome the adversity. We expected a tough game, we got a tough game and we overcame what we had to, to win the game.” [More]

Alabama’s wins worth celebrating
It got lost in the moment Friday eve­ning, the little details blotting out the big picture, but Nick Saban no­ticed.This Alabama football team has won 12 games. The same as the previous one did. That’s the kind of statement that shouldn’t go without saying, so the head coach said it. “I think this is the first team in the history of Alabama to win 12 games two seasons in a row,” Saban said. “We kind of made history out there today.” Consider the weight of that accom­plishment. In the new millennium, it’s as hard for an Alabama football team to make history. Anything you can do has probably been done before by a member of the family, and your predecessors proba­bly did it just as good or better. This is just the fourth Alabama team to win 12 games, joining the 1979, 1994 and 2008 editions. That’s select company. The 1992 national champions— the last ones in crimson — set the school record with 13 victories. That’s a worthy target. [More]

What’s up with Mark Ingram’s hip injury?
Television commentators are making an issue about a hip injury sustained by Alabama tailback Mark Ingram in the Iron Bowl as it pertained to that game as well as next weekend’s game against Florida. Ingram said he suffered the hip pointer while being tackled on a pass reception early on Alabama’s game-winning drive. The medical staff was looking at Ingram’s left hip as the Crimson Tide drive for its final touchdown. But Nick Saban didn’t make the injury sound too serious. And Ingram himself said he should be fine for the Gators. “I kind of got a helmet right on it and bruised it a little bit,” he said, “but I’ll be all right.” [More]

Fans of Tide, Auburn have reason to cheer
The national championship semifinal — also known as the SEC championship game — is now set. But before turning our attention to Florida vs. Alabama in what could be the most hyped game in SEC history, there’s time to relish the Iron Bowl for one more day. It’s hard to decide which team earned more from Friday’s game. “We never lost our poise and kept playing every play in the game,” Saban said. “We didn’t play our best football, and we need to learn from that, but at the same time the character that we showed and the resilience that we showed to overcome the adversity in the game, on the road, getting behind, I don’t think you can say enough about the character, the competitive character, that this team showed today, and that’s what I am most proud of.” Florida may not be as explosive as last season, but it is still undefeated and only two wins away from a national championship. Thanks to a sensational effort on the road, so is Alabama. [More]

Roll Tide!

~ _____________________________________



Have BamaFootball4Life eMailed to You for Free


_____________________________________


Enter your email address:

Other subscription options.

~

______________________________________


Quick Links

______________________________________


FREE Magazines!

Recruiting
mybama.com
Polls/Rankings
Links and More Links...