Crimson Tide 2016 Season

2016 Report: Will the Tide Roll or Fold?

The nation is packed full of SEC fans; after all, the Southeastern Conference is the most powerful in the NCAA, and some even suggest that the SEC is more like a pro football division juxtaposed against the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. While that might be a touch on the hyperbolic side, it’s still proven every year that the SEC has a wide assortment of top-25 teams, like Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Florida, A&M, Ole Miss and, of course, the Alabama Crimson Tide. It seems like every year since Nick Saban has been coaching the Tide, Alabama has at least threatened the top spot in the nation and made a lot of money for those to enjoy Alabama sports betting. Will things change this year, or has Alabama finally lost too much talent on the field? The answer may be bittersweet, depending on where your SEC loyalties stand. If you’re not a fan of Alabama, be prepared to punch the wall. If you’re a Tide faithful, get ready to cheer. At least on paper, the Tide are looking just as strong as ever.

Despite losing Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake, a few key offensive linemen, and about half a dozen defensive starters, the Tide actually scored an A+ this off-season by recruiting the strongest class in the nation. And if you want to get into specifics on why Alabama will have a strong shot at repeating as SEC Champions this year, then look no further than their corp of wide receivers. Although it’s questionable on whether or not the Tide will have a top QB prospect to put the ball out there, what’s not in question is that they may actually have the best WR corp in the entire nation. Let’s start with their returning superstar, Calvin Ridley. Ridley really came on strong near the end of last year, and many predict that he can actually be better than Amari Cooper, which is definitely high praise. Last season, although only coming on after the midway point, and not having a stable quarterback for the first five games, Ridley caught 89 balls for 1,045 yards and 7 touchdowns. He has speed like Randy Moss, can run a route like Tim Brown, and can catch the ball like Odell Beckham, Jr. That’s certainly a deadly combination.

On the other side of the field, you’re going to find ArDarius Stewart, the junior whose 63 catches and 700 yards came in handy last year as the Tide won the National Championship. Stewart was actually a quarterback before joining Alabama, and coupled with his 4.3-40 speed, these intangibles make Stewart a nightmare for defensive backs. Then you have Robert Foster and Cam Sims in the mix. Both freshmen last season who didn’t do much on the field, they’re a year older and a year better, and they’re ready to really get down and dirty with some big-air football. Throw OJ Howard into the mix, and any QB the Tide puts out will have a large security blanket at the tight end position.

Naysayers of the sporting world are shaking their head and are pointing out that the Tide lost defensive coordinator Kirby Smart to Georgia’s head coaching vacancy, along with too much talent to replace. However, the Tide has a relatively new-look defensive front seven this season. Their secondary is much improved, which means their pass defense is shored up. But Saban has done something out of character and has shifted from a run-stopping juggernaut to a pass-rushing squad of commandos. Only two teams the Tide faced last year had a top running back that threatened to do damage, Leonard Fournette in LSU, and Nick Chubb in Georgia. Both were stopped and Alabama won both games. However, in the game they lost against Ole Miss, and in the games they could have easily lost against Tennessee, Auburn and Arkansas, it was the passing attack of those offenses that stung Alabama the most. Even though they had the best pass rush and the most sacks, their secondary was weak. This season, they’re putting out a strong secondary and even more of a pass rush. So while Fournette might go over 100 yards, look for multiple interceptions and sack-fumbles.

Nothing is written in stone here, of course. By the time Alabama puts its product on the field, injuries, miscues and other mishaps might plague the Tide and they could end up losing three games. However, when looking on paper and at their spring training alone, the Tide seem like a team ready to roll yet again in 2016.

Alabama Verses Miss State

Alabama Snubbed By CFP Selection Committee Again

Alabama Verses Miss State

The College Football Playoff selection committee has ignored Alabama once again when projecting the top 4 teams in the country at the end of the season. Announcing their selections on November 11 for the 4 playoff teams to compete for the National Championship at the end of the year, powerful Alabama was snubbed yet again. Without an argument the strongest team in college football since 2007, claiming 3 national titles in that span, the Crimson Tide is coached by self-proclaimed perfectionist Nick Saban. He demands perfection in his own life, from his players, and in each and every football game. So how does the Alabama coach feel about the CFP snubbing? “None of that really matters.”

Baylor Snubbing Just As Much of a Head Scratcher

Alabama and Baylor fans took to Twitter as soon as the latest CFP Top 25 poll and Top 4 projections came out. Baylor is ranked #7, 3 spots behind TCU, even though they beat the Horned Frogs earlier this year and have an identical record. TCU jumped Alabama to land in the #4 spot, ahead of Bama at #5. Under the current College Football Playoff format, the 4 top ranked teams at the end of the season have a playoff for the NCAA Division I College Football Championship. If the Crimson Tide stays at the number 5 spot or lower, they will play in a really big, important and financially profitable bowl game. But they will not have a chance to notch their 4th National Championship in 8 years. Although Bama Nation is in an uproar over the ranking, head coach Saban couldn’t care less.

Why The #5 Alabama Ranking Doesn’t Matter

That is because Alabama is 8 – 1 and plays in the most difficult conference and subdivision in all college football. There is no argument that the SEC West is the premier conference and division in NCAA Division I ball. And Alabama hosts #1 ranked Mississippi State on Saturday, November 15. A victory easily slides the Tide into the number 4 spot at least, and possibly as high as number 2 or 3. Alabama also must play intrastate rival and #9 ranked Auburn the last game of the season. A win there followed by a victory over the Bulldogs this Saturday and they would lock up probably either the number 1 or number 2 spot in the playoffs, easily guaranteed at least inclusion in the top 4. In the weekly SEC teleconference on Wednesday, Nick Saban surprised reporters and calmed the fears of Alabama fans when he stated that, “I didn’t even really know what we were in the poll, and it really doesn’t matter at all to me or our team or our players.”

Alabama – Win Out and You’re In

And when you think about it, that is exactly how you want your coach and players to face each week. It is not as if Alabama would play harder to move up the rankings. Does that mean that they would take it easy if they were the #1 ranked team? Of course not. As Saban said, “If you don’t have success in the games that you play, the poll’s not going to matter.” Exactly. He understands that Alabama consistently, year in and year out, has to “play really, really good teams in our league” and escape the season with no more than one loss to have a shot at the national title under the current playoff format. With Mississippi State up next, you had better believe that perfectionist Saban will have the Tide positioned for a victory. Mississippi State has been ranked #1 in all 3 of the midseason CFP rankings so far.

Beat #1 to Be #1 … or at Least #4

Beating the Bulldogs on Saturday would knock the #1 ranked team off of its pedestal, leaving that spot for some team to move up. And obviously, it would make Alabama’s playoff resume that much more impressive. But just like Baylor fans are complaining, Crimson Tide backers are upset that the CFP Selection Committee is obviously weighing margin of victory greater than strength of schedule. With Baylor’s defeat of TCU, an identical 8 – 1 record and TCU being named the 4th playoff team, there is definitely some appearance of lack of integrity on the choices made by the selection committee. But Saban is right about one thing. Beat the #1 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs Saturday, then defeat #9 ranked Auburn 2 weeks later, and the Tide forces the CFP committee to give the Tide a shot at their 4th national title in the last 8 years.

Betting Line On This Game

Even though Alabama has 1 loss this season and Miss State is undefeated, the experts in Vegas still  have Alabama winning by 8 points. Link For Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Lines

Two Gators Stay After Game For Alma Mater

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This is the scene last night in the Swamp after the Gators were humiliated by Missouri, 42-13 on homecoming night. Punter Kyle Christy and OL Trip Thurman were the only two Gators left singing the schools Alma Mater, along with the rest of the fans who stayed.

Win or lose it doesn’t matter. You should always want to participate in your schools Alma Mater, especially your homecoming game that I’m sure has tons of alumni in attendance.

Being a big Gator fan myself, I am very disappointed in these young men who chose not to represent their university. That shows lack of discipline and makes the school look bad because they can’t take a loss. I’m sorry, but if Muschamp can’t even get his guys to stand out there for something so simple, he can pack his sh** up tonight and leave Gainesville.

 

SEC Heisman Watch List For Week 7

Due to the problems surrounding Georgia running back, Todd Gurley, the Heisman watch list has a new SEC player up top for the Heisman, and maybe for the entire nation as well.

With Gurley being suspended due to violating NCAA rules, that leaves Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott out on top for the Heisman. Even though Gurley leads the SEC in rushing yards, touchdowns and yards per carry, its still unclear whether or not he will return this year or not. Gurley has returned to practice this past Monday but we don’t have any further information. But at least its good for Prescott in this situation, hell I wouldn’t be complaining if it were me.

Prescott has led the SEC the entire season thus far, totaling for 2,089 yards on offense and 23 touchdowns. Other than leading the SEC in numbers, the last three wins against top 10 teams may have a little to do with it. During those three wins, Prescott has averaged 361.7 yards of offense and 11 touchdowns. Not to mention he has thrown for 200 yards and rushed for 100 yards in his last four of five games. This guy is legit.

Here are a few other SEC players who you should watch out for.

  • Mississippi State running back, Josh Robinson, isn’t slowing down for the Bulldogs and neither is the rest of his team. The junior back has averaged 133.7 yards on the ground and five touchdowns during the past three wins among top 10 teams. Robinson leads right behind Gurley in the SEC with 689 rushing yards and is tied for first with eight touchdowns.
  • Ole Miss quarterback, Bo Wallace is my next choice. You can’t overlook what this kid has done this season, especially what he did to Alabama. With three SEC games down in the books, Wallace has averaged 310 yards of offense with seven touchdowns and no turnovers. In SEC play, he is in second with 1,700 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. No doubt in my mind that Wallace will be up for the Heisman running for the remainder of the year.
  • The last one is Alabama wide receiver, Amari Cooper. Cooper leads the SEC with 58 receptions and 768 receiving yards but has seemed to fall down the ladder after being held to just two catches for 22 yards during the win against Arkansas last Saturday.

Florida Fans Desperate To Have Dan Mullen Back

Who remembers when the Florida fans created the web page, fireronzook.com, when they were eager for a new coach? Well it looks like their back again but with a different page called “HireDanMullen.com.”

That site and as well as another, “WeWantDan.com” recently appeared on the web as the Florida Gators struggle to a 3-2 record (2-2 in SEC). The two web pages that seem to be created alike, are not owned by the same person.

Now, there is a lot of talk around the nation that the Gators need to fire Will Muschamp. Do I agree? Yes, I do. Will the Gators have the nerve to fire Muschamp after this season? Absolutely. The way things are looking right now, Muschamp will be unemployed after this brutal season. Its been 3 1/2 years and Muschamp hasn’t had any success what so ever. But most of the Gator fans think Dan Mullen is the right guy to replace Muschamp. What do you think? I mean, its hard to say because of the success that Dan Mullen is having at Mississippi State. Hell, their ranked No. 1, hes getting good pay, his family loves Starkville, what more could he want? Hes one helluva recruiter, just look back at his Florida days when he helped bring in Tim Tebow and Cam Newton. Even if Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott leaves after his junior year, I promise you that Mullen will bring in another big, strong, athletic quarterback who will be a Heisman contender.

Now if I were UF’s AD, Jeremy Foley, I would take a shot at bringing Mullen back to Gainesville. Mullen has paid his dues. He has proven that he can build a program and win big games, he lead the Gators to a pair of championships in 2006 and 2008, and has beat three top 10 teams in a row. Foley knows him. The Gator fans know him. Everyone clearly knows Muschamp is the Achilles heel in the Florida program and it needs fixed asap. But hey, what do we know right? We’re just avid fans who love to talk college football.

But hey, you never know what could happen. It might be a little too early for such talk but maybe the Gators will get a late Christmas present after the season.

Who do you think should be the next head coach for the Florida Gators? Let us know.

Gators’ To Play Both, Driskel and Harris

Well Gator fans, its time to let Treon Harris out his cage! One week after being accused of sexual battery, true freshman quarterback Treon Harris will get to share snaps with teammate Jeff Driskel, as the Gators plan to use both quarterbacks against this weeks homecoming game against the Missouri Tigers.

“They both will play this week and we’ll see how things go,” Muschamp said. “Right now Jeff will probably start, but they’re both going to play.”

Driskel has struggled bad so far this season, turning the ball over eight times in the last 11 quarters. After throwing an interception during the Tennessee game, Harris replaced Driskel and led the Gators to a 10-9 win in Knoxville.

Just hours later when the Gators returned to Gainesville, the team went out downtown and Harris was accused of sexual battery and was suspended by the University. The girl who filed the complaint dropped the charges last Friday but Harris did not participate in the heartbreaking 30-27 loss against LSU.

Driskel said to the media that he was told about the decision late Monday.

“Treon and I are both going to work hard this week,” he said. “We’re both going to work for each other, and we’re both going to hope that other person does well when they’re in.

“Obviously that’s something that we think that can help the team, so if it’s going to help the team, I’m all for it.”

In 5 games, Florida totaled for 1,043 passing yards and just eight touchdowns, which ranks almost the worst in SEC play. Driskel’s low numbers, 175 passing yards per game and 55 percent completed passes, makes him one of the lowest rated starters in the league.

“I want to play better,” he said. “Whatever comes after that, whatever happens, happens. That’s not my call to make. I want to play better and give our team the best chance to win.”

 

UGA’s Gurley Returns To Practice

Georgia running back Todd Gurley made his return to practice on Monday but hasn’t been released to play as of yet.

Gurley remains suspended after being investigated for possible violations of NCAA rules. Gurley was suspended last Saturday during the 34-0 blowout win against Missouri but hes now back in action and I’m sure his teammates are glad too.

“It looked good to see him out there,” Georgia linebacker Ramik Wilson said. “He was running hard, practicing hard and still supporting his teammates. We’re ready for him to be cleared and get back out there.”

Its still unknown whether Gurley will be available to play this Saturday against Arkansas. The UGA Twitter team tweeted the following statement; “We don’t have a Gurley update at this time, nor a timetable. Bear with us.”

Stay up to date here at SEC Beat for the latest news on Todd Gurley.

Gators’ fall to LSU with late game turnover

Well, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit was right on point with his picks once again. During the college gameday show they were talking about the LSU vs Florida game, and Herbstreit said it was going to come down to a late game turnover. And that’s exactly what happened.

The game wasn’t as sloppy as I projected, especially how the Gators have been performing lately. Florida came out the gates strong, going on top 7-0 after a 62 yard punt return by Andre Debose, but too many missed opportunities came back to haunt Florida in the end.

With the final minutes ticking down in the 4th, Florida had a chance to get back on top. But Driskel’s third down pass to Tevin Westbrook in the end zone that was WIDE OPEN, left the Gators to kick a 18 yard field goal to tie the game up, 27-27. We all fault Westbrook for dropping such an open pass, but being wide open like that can be troubling sometimes.

The Gators had one more opportunity after the defense came up big, forcing LSU to punt with just about a minute to go. But sad to say, Jeff Driskel’s pass to Latroy Pittman was intercepted, which lead to the Tigers game winning 50 yard field goal with only 3 seconds left.

“Had our opportunities — countless,” Muschamp said.

It was a tough game to watch. Especially 8 rows up from the field. I know Florida has some serious struggles and areas to improve, but the way we played throughout this entire game I honestly thought they were capable of turning things around from here on out. The Gators shot themselves in the foot and had plenty of chances to win this ball game. But this is where the young team has to get together, watch film and just move on to the next one.

Hopefully by the Missouri game true freshman quarterback Treon Harris will be set and ready to play. Driskel is a good kid and all but by god we’re trying to win football games. Driskel, who was the top quarterback recruit coming out of high school, hasn’t proved that. Lets just take the rest of the season and experiment a little bit. Yes, we want to win ball games but we also need to play around with the roster and work on some kinks.

Looking at stats from the game, Driskel completed 14 of 25 throws for 183 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Driskel also carried the ball 21 times for 71 yards. Demarcus Robinson caught the ball 5 times for 104 yards and one touchdown while Brandon Powell added 66 yards on 6 receptions.

On the other side of the ball, LSU ran the ball down Florida’s throat the entire game. Leonard Fournette was all over the field and couldn’t be stopped. Fournette carried the ball 27 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Anthony Jennings completed 10 of 21 passes for 110 yards for the Tigers.

The Gators host the (4-2,2-1) Missouri Tigers next Saturday on homecoming. Kick off is set at 7pm est.

(Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)

Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)

Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)

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Treon Harris Police Report Released By University of Florida

Florida released the official police report for the sexual battery incident involving freshman quarterback Treon Harris.

But with the report being 18 pages worth, there was nothing listed. Not a description of what happened, no continued investigation, nothing. All you can see that’s readable is the time, location and the incident type. As well as the officers name at the bottom. But no additional information within the 18 pages on the incident. Really?

According to the police report, the police were called to the Springs Residential Complex on campus around 12:45am Sunday morning. Around the time all of the players go out downtown Gainesville and party after a win, even after away games.

Harris was accused of sexual battery Sunday morning after the teams victory over Tennessee. Harris was put in late in the game for Jeff Drisekl and lead the Gators to a 10-9 victory. Harris was also suppose to take over this Saturday against LSU at home.

Now the odd thing about this police report is that most of the time only certain information is redacted from the reports. But literally the whole 18 pages were removed so that sounds pretty fishy to me.

Muschamp spoke to the public about the Harris situation;

“The statement that the university released Monday I think was pretty self-explanatory,” Muschamp said. “It’s a very serious charge and there’s been no change in his status. So that’s kind of where we are. I don’t have anything additional to add.”

The University of Florida announced earlier this week that Harris will be suspended from all team activities until further investigations have been made.

Muschamp and the athletic department decided to cancel the media availability on Monday.

“With the situation Monday and the seriousness of it, I felt like it was a little insensitive to have a football press conference,” Muschamp added. “I think it is today, too. But we’ve got to move forward.”

According to sources, Treon Harris is allowed to take online courses but is not allowed to be on campus.

UFPD incident report for Treon Harris

Ole Miss Students Carry Goalpost To Apartment

It had been several hours that passed by after the fans tore down the goalposts at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium after a thrilling 23-17 win over No. 1 Alabama on Saturday, but somehow the goalpost ended up wandering the streets, being lifted by several students.

“The police are kind of tough around here,” said Buckner Corso, who is in his fifth year at Ole Miss and finishing a graduate degree in accounting. “But we were just walking down the street, people were honking, and they were laughing at us.”

Corso said that some of his fellow friends brought the goalpost from the field to his tailgating area, and then him and about 20 of his friends carried it around campus before it ended up at his apartment which was a mile away.ncf_e_goalpost01jr_400x600

Corso tweeted a picture of the goalpost at his apartment and shortly after, athletic director Ross Bjork replied to his tweet;

Corso decided on Sunday to cut the goalpost up into 30 pieces with his friends using a saw.

“I know I want to put an inscription on mine, and I’m going to keep it,” said Corso, who didn’t know if the others would take a more opportunistic route and try to sell their pieces.

This may seem ironic to you, but this isn’t the first time this had happened.

Back in 2002 after Ole Miss defeated Florida, the Ole Miss Loyalty Foundation sold 100 six-inch pieces of the post that were placed on wood plaques with every detail about the game for $100 a pop.

According to ESPN, the goalposts are about $4,000 to replace. I got a kick out of reading Bjork’s other tweets he posted.

I guess there really are crazy Ole Miss fans in Oxford!