11/19 The MSU Game
We’re 11-0! I know that it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal as compared to being 10-0, but can you remember the last time that we were 11-0? It was 1994, and that year we completed the regular season undefeated and then lost a heartbreaker to Florida in the SEC Championship game. But 14 years later, we once again reached that landmark record with a hard-fought victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
It might seem odd that I describe a 32-7 win as “hard-fought,” but it really was. MSU came out fired up, and really, held their own on both lines of scrimmage for the entire first half. If not for a tremendous punt return by Javier Arenas at the 5-minute mark of the second quarter, we might have trailed at halftime for the first time. However, thanks to that phenomenal return, we got the ball first and goal at the MSU 3-yard line, and punched it in to take a 12-7 lead. Believe it or not, that was our first offensive TD against MSU since 2004, one of the more disgusting statistics from our recent past.
The second half belonged to Bama, and after Rolando McClain sacked the MSU QB on third down to force a punt, Javier Arenas took matters into his own hands, and made a scintillating 80-yard punt return for a TD, pushing our lead to 19-7. The outcome was never seriously in doubt from that point. Leigh Tiffin added two more field goals, and then we had our only real TD drive about midway through the fourth quarter, making the final score 32-7.
There were several positives that I saw in Bama’s performance in this game. First, Javier Arenas was spectacular. He had two long punt returns that really changed the complexion of this game. I found his performance to be particularly important because he had such a crucial fumble against LSU last week. He seemed to get it together late in the game against LSU with that nice return that set up what should have been the winning field goal, and his performance against MSU makes me believe that he is all the way back. We’re going to need more performances like that in the upcoming games.
Also, Leigh Tiffin was 3-3 in field goals. If you recall, Leigh missed two crucial field goals against LSU, and since we punched in a TD in the second overtime period to win the game, he never had a chance to redeem himself in that game (thank goodness, in my opinion). Hopefully hitting those three field goals against MSU will help get his head right, because I’m fairly certain that we’re going to need a clutch field goal or two in the upcoming weeks. I don’t know if hitting those three FGs is enough to get his head right or not; I’ll feel better once I see him hit a truly clutch field goal.
On the negative side, our offense just does not look very good. I hate to say this, but I think our offensive line is overrated, or at the very least, is extremely inconsistent. Our run blocking is pretty good, but our pass protection is sub-par at best. Wilson constantly has to scramble to avoid the pass rush, even against non-blitzing defenses. Making matters worse, for some reason, our receivers are having a terrible time getting open. The LSU corners absolutely blanketed our receivers all game long, and the MSU corners, despite being less talented than our WRs, seemed to be running stride for stride with them. Also, press man coverage really seems to disrupt our offensive rhythm. Pressure on the QB coupled with a lack of separation in the secondary makes it really difficult to have a consistent passing game, and I think that’s what we’ve been seeing in the past several games. I know, as long as we’re winning, I shouldn’t complain. It’s just that we have some really big games coming up, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to step up our offense if we’re going to have a chance against some of the big boys.
We have a much-needed week off, and then we face our arch rivals, the Auburn Tigers. AU enters this game 5-6, but they’re better than their record indicates. Similar to several opponents we’ve faced, Auburn has had problem on offense this year. Four of their losses have been by 5 points or less, so they’ve been in most games. Most recently, Georgia needed a last ditch TD drive to win 17-13. In short, they’re not as bad as we’d like them to be. They have a stellar defense, and that’s what scares me, because with all the emotion surrounding this rivalry, if we have trouble moving the ball against them, and they manage to get some early points, this game could be a lot like the LSU game, and you all know how close we came to losing that one.
But I don’t mean to dwell on the negatives. We are 11-0, and we have an off-week to work out the kinks in our passing game, and we should be favored by a TD or more against AU. I don’t have to tell all of you how important this game is. We have lost 6 in a row to these jokers, and losing this one would be the most devastating loss we’ve ever had to them. I trust Saban not to let that happen.
Check back next week. Even though it’s an off-week, I’ll try to think of something cool to blog about. The BCS, the Stallings era, stupid coaching decisions, Recruiting 2009, who knows? The great thing about Bama football is that there is always something interesting to talk about.
Until then, feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
Roll Tide,
Kenny
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