The North Texas Game
The bad thing about playing a team like North Texas is that the only things that you can really learn about your team are bad things. Anything good that you do is expected, because you’re playing a terrible team. Everything bad that you see is really reason for concern, because if that can happen against North Texas, imagine how bad it will be against a good team. That being sad, we really didn’t learn anything about Alabama on Saturday, which is as good as we could have hoped.
As you all know, Alabama beat North Texas 53-7. Bama dominated this game from start to finish. All right; technically we dominated the game after the first play where McElroy got hit and fumbled, but other than that, the outcome was never even remotely in doubt. We even got some valuable prime-time playing time for Star Jackson before the end of the first half. Of course, our starting QB was magnificent, making the proper reads and delivering the ball accurately and on time on every play but one (the deep vertical to Smelley). Our running backs were fantastic. Ingram appears to have recovered nicely from the flu, and Trent Richardson continues to run with a maniacal ferocity. Terry Grant took over the Number 3 RB duties for the injured Roy Upchurch (still recovering from the high ankle sprain), and until Roy returns, it looks like he’ll remain at that position instead of making the move to slot WR. And speaking of our WRs, even without Julio Jones, I thought they all looked really good. Marquis Maze ran a beautiful flag route resulting in a TD, and Mike McCoy really appears to have stepped up his game.
Look; I could go on and on about how great we looked on Saturday, but the truth of the matter is, we played North Texas, so it really doesn’t mean anything. Instead, I want to spend some time talking about our next opponent, the Arkansas Razorbacks. I was talking to a fellow Bama fan before the season started, and he asked me if I was afraid of Arkansas. My response was, “I’m not scared of Arkansas; I’m terrified of Arkansas.” Arkansas’ head coach, Bobby Petrino, is the most innovative teacher of the vertical passing game in college football, and to make matters worse, their QB has the best arm I’ve ever seen in college football. I kid you not; if you haven’t seen this kid play (his name is Ryan Mallett), you’ve never seen anything like him. He’s about 6’8” with an overhead delivery, which makes it impossible to bat down his passes. Plus, with his height, he has an unobstructed view of the entire field, which is vital because of the offense that Petrino runs. I don’t know what it is, but with every offense that Petrino has ever directed, receivers always seem to be wide open about 30 yards down the field, typically running toward the sideline away from the safeties. Mallett in Petrino’s offense is a deadly combination.
He threw for 5 TDs against Georgia last week, and watching that game, it looked like it could have easily been more. Ultimately, Georgia beat Arkansas 52-41, and I as much as I hate to say it, I’m afraid that makes matters worse. I’m hearing so many people say that it doesn’t matter how many points they score, because they can’t stop us, but that kind of thinking does not bode well. If I haven’t made my point yet, let me state it much more succinctly. If we don’t take Arkansas seriously and put every bit of focus and effort we have into that game, we’ll lose. It’s as simple as that.
Don’t get me wrong; we’re a better team than they are, and we really should beat them. Our defense is solid, and our offense appears to be the best that it’s been in several years. But it’s hard to prepare for an offense like this when you haven’t seen it before, and if they get a couple of scores early before we can adjust and have to play from behind, it could be a long day. But Saban is our coach, and if anybody can figure out a way to stop that offense, he can do it.
Be sure to check back next week as I review this game. Win or lose, I’ll be here! Until then, feel free to send me any questions or comments.
Roll Tide!
Kenny
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