9/6 The San Jose State Game
The 2010 football season is off and rolling, and our top-ranked Crimson Tide started things off in fine fashion by defeating the significantly outmanned San Jose State Spartans 48-3. It’s not often that I can say that a 45-point game was actually not as close as the final score indicated, but that was the case on Saturday night. Alabama scored on the first drive of the game, and never really looked back. Honestly, even though it didn’t happen, I felt like we could have scored on every drive if we really wanted to.
I know that games like this can be boring to some people, but I loved every second of it. We got to see how players that we knew from previous seasons have developed, and we finally got to see some players that we’ve heard about but have never seen. As for running backs, we all knew that Trent Richardson was an outstanding running back, but it looks to me like he is on an entirely new level this year as compared to last year, and we all know how good he was last year. Because of Mark Ingram’s injury, we finally got to see Eddie Lacy in action, and he was spectacular backing up Richardson. He showed an incredible burst, and a spin move that appeared to defy the laws of physics. Heck, Demetrius Goode looked outstanding as our third-string back.
We also got to see the long-awaited debut of AJ McCarron, our redshirt freshman heir-apparent QB. He certainly didn’t disappoint, and his first TD pass will always be remembered, not only because it was AJ’s first, but also because of the spectacular one-handed diving catch by Julio Jones on the other end. Of course, we also got to see fantastic catches from Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks, and Brandon Gibson appears to have carried over his hot spring and fall practices into the regular season.
On the defensive side of the ball, things got off to a slow start as SJSU moved the ball into field goal position and kicked the early FG to cut our lead to 7-3. After that, however, the game seemed to slow down for our D, and SJSU had very few chances to score for the rest of the game. Like on offense, the one-sided nature of this game led to substantial playing time for some players that I’ve been wanting to see. Several of the new guys were impressive, but I absolutely have to single out CJ Mosely, true freshman linebacker out of Theodore. I ranked him very high in my previous blog where I ranked our Top Ten recruits from last year, but wherever I put him (FYI, it was fourth), it was too low. I assumed that he would fill a need at the Sam linebacker spot, but after watching him on Saturday, I’m convinced that he will be next in our line of great Mike linebackers. I still stand by my statement that we’ll never see another like Rolando, but CJ just might prove me wrong. Needless to say, I was very, very impressed with that kid.
Look, I know that our opponent was San Jose State, and I’m aware that playing them is roughly the equivalent of playing Sister Mary’s School for Abnormally Small Girls, or maybe Jacksonville State (ooh, sorry Ole Miss!), but our approach and our focus looked like that of a championship team. Seriously, do you think that any of our teams under Perkins, Stallings, Curry, or Shula would have handled SJSU like what we saw Saturday night? And in a year with such high expectations, that’s really all you can hope for. So great job guys; you looked the part of the reigning national champions.
Next week will be much, much tougher. Penn State is no joke, and if we go into that game expecting to push them around the way we did SJSU, we might be in trouble. PSU has a great RB, and they are solid on both lines. Our backs will have to be patient and wait for the holes to open, and our QBs, who saw absolutely no pressure from the Spartans, will have to keep their cool when they face the inevitable pressure that PSU will bring. I think we’ll win, but I can’t get the memory of the 1986 game out of my head (you know the game I’m talking about). I’d feel much more confident if we had Ingram and Dareus, but we have a ton of talent even without them, and if we come out as focused and intense as we did this past week, I think we’ll be fine. If you’re going to the game, be loud, and make those Nittany Lions miserable!
As always, feel free to send me any questions or comments. Until next time, Roll Tide!
Kenny