10/5 Florida Game
For the second week in a row, Alabama defeated a Top 10 opponent. This week it was the mighty Florida Gators, but unlike last week’s nail-biter against Arkansas, this one was never really in doubt. Bama took the opening kickoff and drove deep into Florida territory before being forced to kick a short FG. Florida had a nice drive on their first possession, but Nico ended the threat with an interception on the goal line against a jump pass that didn’t even come close to fooling us. After that, it seemed like a blink of the eye and the score was 24-0. Even though our offense seemed to shut it down at halftime, Florida never really looked like they would be able to mount a viable threat, and the game ended 31-6, a score that I think pretty accurately reflected the way the game went.
Instead of giving a detailed recap, I instead want to focus on some impressions I took from watching the game. First, I think to some extent we were all concerned about our defense after watching Arkansas march up and down the field on us for three quarters last week. However, this week our defense seemed to be a full step faster. Our defensive line (which was non-existent last week) was very disruptive throughout the game. Courtney Upshaw appears to finally be healthy, and he made a huge impact from the Jack/DE position. Marcell Dareus was supposedly slowed by an ankle injury, but he played what was clearly his best game of the year so far. Damian Square really appears to developing into a solid contributor at the DT/DE spot, and Darrington Sentimore is in my opinion a superstar in the making. I don’t know what happened between last week and this week, but hopefully what we saw against Florida is more indicative of what our DL can do.
I also saw a noticeable improvement in the play of our linebackers and secondary. CJ Mosley had a pick six that effectively ended the game, and Dont’a Hightower played his best game of the year. However, I believe the emergence of Nico Johnson at the Will linebacker position has had the biggest impact on the defense. With the new and improved Nico and “getting back to form” Dont’a roaming the middle of the field, every facet of our defense will improve. In addition, I think we’re finally starting to see the All-America potential that Dre Kirkpatrick has. The fourth quarter of last week’s game was really a breakout time for him, and he continued the momentum this week against Florida. If he can develop into that lockdown corner that we need him to be, it opens up a ton of possibilities for our defense.
Look, I know that we didn’t exactly shut them down from start to finish. They had several long drives, and it seemed like we spent a good deal of time backed up against our own goal line. But at least Florida had to work for what they got, unlike Arkansas last week. Brantley was forced from the pocket several times, and he had to throw off his back foot or on the run. Yes, he made some really good reads and throws which kept the chains moving, but good defense is based on forcing the other team to execute perfectly to be successful, and we did that better last night than we have all year. Remember, we were playing Florida; this wasn’t a Boise State opponent. And also, we’re still a young defense that is learning on the fly. In Saban’s complicated schemes, there is no substitute for experience, and we are gaining that each and every week.
So if I sound encouraged by what I saw on Saturday, of course I am; we beat Florida 31-6! No, they’re not the team they were last year, but they are a legitimate Top Ten team, and they are loaded with talent from top to bottom. I expected to beat them, and I expected it to be a much “easier” game than Arkansas, but even I was surprised (and amazed) with the way we took care of business on Saturday night. This team is still playing hungry, and I’m loving every minute of it.
Our three-game murderer’s row is only two-thirds over. Next week we face Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia. Like every other team on the rest of our schedule, South Carolina will be coming off of a bye-week, so they’ll have an extra week to plan, heal, and rest. And to put that in perspective, of the 8 games that Saban has lost since being our coach, 5 were against teams coming off a bye week. It’s a huge advantage. So yes, this will be a tough game, and to be honest, SC in Columbia is a tougher matchup than Florida in Tuscaloosa. They are the most balanced team that we have played. They have a tremendous RB (Lattimore), a senior QB (Garcia), three incredibly talented WRs (all of which are huge), and a very solid defense. I’m probably not as worried as I should be, because after this week’s shellacking of the Florida Gators, I’m a believer that our team will approach this one with the focus and intensity that it requires.
That’s it for now. Be sure to check in next week as I review what will hopefully be yet another win against a ranked opponent. Until then, feel free to send me any questions or comments.
Roll Tide!
Kenny
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