Tide Tidbits – December 1, 2009

Tide learns lessons from last year’s SEC title game
Alabama was 15 minutes away from playing for a national championship last season. Then Tim Tebow and the Florida offense took it away with an epic fourth quarter in the SEC Championship Game. The second-ranked Crimson Tide remembers. They are eager to take what they’ve learned back to the Georgia Dome against the top-ranked Gators this Saturday. The Tide has had 51 weeks to examine the reasons Florida outscored Alabama 14-0 in the fourth quarter and earned a 31-20 victory. Conditioning. Talent. Ball control. Discipline. Destiny. They all played roles. [More]

Tide win adds to Iron Bowl’s great moments
In a game that will forever be known for ‘The Drive,’ the Alabama Crimson Tide came from two touchdowns behind to defeat the Auburn Tigers 26-21 in the 2009 edition of the Iron Bowl to finish a second consecutive undefeated regular season. The win also sets up another monumental match-up with the top-ranked Florida Gators on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference Championship football game in Atlanta. A win Saturday in the Georgia Dome would propel Alabama, the second-ranked team in the nation, to the national championship game on Jan. 7. Alabama fell behind 14-0 with less than 10 minutes gone in the first quarter and trailed 21-20 going into the final stanza. ‘The Drive’ took more than seven minutes and when the decisive touchdown was scored, it was the first time Alabama had the lead, a lead that was sealed when All-American linebacker Rolando McClain knocked down a last-chance long pass in the end zone. [More]

No gain in pain
Cheerful and upbeat, Sports Illustrated cover boy Mark Ingram bounded through Alabama’s football building Monday without a trace of the beating he took three days before. “Rip off the rear-view mirror,” Ingram said, “We’re getting ready for Florida right now. That’s all that matters.” First off, know that Ingram “most definitely” intends to be ready for Saturday’s SEC title game against top-ranked Florida. As proof, he tried to practice full-speed Monday, having shrugged off the hip pointer he suffered in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 26-21 victory over Auburn as nothing more than a bruise. And as for rumors that something else has been physically bothering him? “My body feels great,” he said. “I feel real good, to be honest with you.” [More]

Alabama players making use of extra day off
With the 2009 Iron Bowl kicking off last Friday and the Thanksgiving holiday falling the day before, the University of Alabama had only about three days to prepare for rival Auburn last week. The benefit of that early start, however, was an extra day of rest for players before they began preparing for Florida in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game. ‘I think at this time of the season, any time you get an extra day it’s beneficial. Long season, lots of games, lots of plays, lots of practices,’ Saban said Sunday. ‘I also think that it helps them mentally, emotionally, just to freshen up a little bit and not have to think about another game plan the next day or right away. I think two days off is good for them physically, but I also think it’s good for them emotionally.’ Saban has said in the past that he believes two consecutive days off rejuvenates players far more effectively than one day off. [More]

McClain keeps Alabama unit clicking
Alabama’s defense had plenty of expectations entering the 2009 season. With eight returning starters from one of the nation’s best units in 2008, defense was supposed to be a strength, especially with one of the nation’s best linebacker tandems in the middle. When Dont’a Hightower went down with a season-ending knee injury in the fourth week of the season, Alabama’s defense lost its most versatile performer and a perfect complement to Rolando McClain. McClain and the Crimson Tide made finished out the year as one of the nation’s top units despite losing an important element. Much of that credit goes to McClain, the junior from Decatur who is a finalist for most of the major awards in college football. “First of all, he’s a very good leader,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban, “and his performance in and of itself contributes significantly to the success of the defense because he’s an outstanding player. But I think he probably affects everybody else on the defensive team as much as anybody that I’ve ever been around. [More]

Tide, Gators seek end zone, not FGs
No. 2 Alabama and No. 1 Florida have bruising runners, with Mark Ingram and Tim Tebow leading powerful ground games. They have surehanded tight ends Colin Peek and Aaron Hernandez, and big wide receivers, too. Muscling the ball into the end zone on trips inside the opponents’ 20, the so-called red zone, should be a breeze, right? Not necessarily. Struggles in that area have had both teams seeing red at times going into Saturday’s Southeastern Conference championship game showdown between unbeatens. Sure, it seems a relatively small problem to have for two teams with few weaknesses, but this game could leave little margin for error. “That’s going to be a critical part of the game, as to who can finish in the red zone,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said Monday. “The multiples add up between seven and three.” [More]

SEC warns fans to beware of fake championship tickets
Fans spending hundreds of dollars on Southeastern Conference championship tickets should be careful they’re buying the real thing. With tickets selling for more than $500 apiece on average, the conference is warning fans to beware of possible counterfeits. The Georgia Dome will provide a ticket validation window at its main box office starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday where the authenticity of a ticket can be confirmed. “It just gives fans an opportunity … to see if it’s valid,” said Charles Bloom, conference spokesman. The game, pitting Florida against Alabama, is essentially a semifinal for the national championship. Ticket prices at major resale sites reflect the high stakes. Costs range from $339 to $5,000 per ticket. The average ticket price is $505, according to the Web site TicketCity. The Austin, Texas-based ticket reseller determined the figure from more than 800 brokers listing tickets on its site. [More]

Roll Tide!

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