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I'm assuming that everyone reading this watched the game, so I won't go into many of the details.  I do want to talk about some of the players and plays that we saw.  First, I was really worried that we were going to see Xavier Lee at QB for FSU, and sure enough, when their starter Drew Weatherford couldn't move the ball, Lee came in and picked up the pace.  Xavier Lee was the most highly rated "Dual-threat" QB in the nation coming out of high school, and I always thought he brought more to the game than Weatherford.  Unfortunately for us, the FSU coaching staff never really figured that out until Saturday night against us.  Still, the defense held up well all things considered until the first drive of the second half, where FSU marched down the field on us like they were facing a Bama defenses that needed one stop to win the game.  Things looked bleak when Marquis Johnson got toasted for a TD on a short out-route, and FSU took a 7-0 lead.

However, soon after, our offense finally started to show some life.  We faced a third and two from the FSU 24 yard line.   Since we were facing a stiff wind, I knew that we were going to go for it on fourth down if we failed on third, so effectively, we had two plays to make 2 yards.  However, the turning point of the game occurred when Preston Dial forgot the snap count between the time that he left the huddle and the time he reached the line of scrimmage, and he committed a false start that effectively ended the game.  Yes, we could have overcome that mental error, but when you're completely out-manned like we were on Saturday, you can't continuously put yourself in bad positions and hope to win.  So after the penalty, we had to pass instead of run, which of course meant we were sacked, which meant we had to punt, which meant they got the ball on the 20, which meant by the time we got the ball back we were buried against our goal line, which meant John Parker Wilson would get sacked and fumble inside our 5, which meant FSU would get another TD.  By the time we really had the ball back, we were down 14-0 (instead of being tied 7-7), and it was over.

Bama did make quite an effort to come back, scoring twice late, once on an amazing catch by DJ Hall (no surprise there) on fourth down, and one on a heroic catch by Keith Brown on a really good pass from Wilson (huge surprise there).  But in between, FSU had a long TD pass, once again nicely toasting Marquis Johnson.  It looked like we might have a chance after Kareem Jackson recovered an on-side kick, but the officials correctly called us for illegal touching, and FSU could run out the clock. 

Here's the thing.   Yes, we made a heroic effort at the end, and we can say that if a couple of plays would have been different, we might have won, but good teams don't rely on breaks like that.  Good teams put average teams away by actually beating them, and if those pivotal plays go the other team's way, then we win by 14 instead of winning by 28, and make no mistake about it; FSU is an average team.  Unfortunately, we're an average team (at best) too.

Now don't get me wrong; I have in no way lost my faith in Coach Saban.  It takes time to implement new systems on both offense and defense, and more importantly, we simply need better players.  As far as personnel goes, we have good enough players on the offensive line (not great, but good enough), wide receiver (very good), running back (again, not great, but good), and that's about it.  I can see the coaching starting to take effect on the defense, but every unit there needs a boost in personnel.  But don't worry; it's all being taken care of.  Saban can recruit with the best of them, and this year's class looks excellent.

One more thing, you might wonder if I ever disagree with Coach Saban.  In general I don't, simply because he knows what he's doing, but here's one thing that I really want him to change.  Coach, Keith Brown really needs to be in the starting line-up.  I like Mike McCoy too, but if you don't think Keith Brown is the second best wide receiver on our team, and by far the best compliment we have to DJ Hall, you're wrong.  We need him on the field, so please consider rethinking the starting line-up.

We have a tough game next week when we face Houston for homecoming.  They have a high-powered offense, and unless our offense really picks up the pace, we could be in trouble, because I doubt our defense can hold them to less than 24 points.  My prediction of 7-5 depends on us beating Houston, so we really need this one.

Talk to you again next week, and as always, let me know if you have any questions or comments.