Saban accepts championship hardware
January 9, 2010
Nick Saban is thrilled to have brought another title to Alabama and a lot of joy to everyone involved in the Crimson Tide program.
Saban spoke at a news conference on Friday, sitting alongside four trophies crowning Alabama as the national champion following a 37-21 victory over Texas.
The Associated Press trophy honored the Crimson Tide for being voted No. 1 at season’s end. The others were from the National Football Foundation, the Football Writers Association and the crystal BCS trophy he received on the field Thursday night.
His wife reminded him this morning that a statue of him will be going up outside the stadium in Tuscaloosa. He says he hopes it serves as a model of the reward for working hard.
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Mocs Fall To Alabama, 45-0
November 21, 2009
The No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide scored five touchdowns on five straight possessions in the first half in a 45-0 shutout of Chattanooga at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Senior Day.
UTC held the SEC foe on a three and out on Alabama’s first possession, then the Mocs got a first down. However, it was downhill after that.
UTC gained 53 yards on the ground and 36 in the air against one of the top defenses in the country.
Sophomore Mark Ingram ran for 102 yards and two scores on 11 carries before the break, and senior cornerback/returner Javier Arenas scored his seventh career punt return touchdown to break the Southeastern Conference record. Arenas also intercepted a pass on the afternoon.
Senior kicker Leigh Tiffin tied the Alabama record for career field goals and single-season field goals with a 41-yarder in the third quarter, giving him 78 for his career and 25 this season.
Before the game, the 27 members of the senior class were honored on the field.
It was the final game of the season for the Mocs, who finish with a winning record of 6-5 under new Coach Russ Huesman after managing only one win last season and two the season before.
Alabama goes on the road next week to face rival Auburn on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Central time, and the game will air on CBS.
Tags: alabama crimson tide, bryant denny stadium, career field goals, central time, cornerback, Crimson Tide, denny, final game, Insider, kicker, kickoff, leigh tiffin, m central, mocs, punt return, shutout, southeastern conference record, straight possessionsRelated posts
Don’t forget about Arenas
November 21, 2009
Alabama has so many good players, and it’s easy to get caught up in what Mark Ingram has done this season on offense and what Rolando McClain and Terrence Cody have done on defense.
But the unsung hero on this team is without a doubt senior cornerback Javier Arenas, who played his final home game Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium and went out in style in Alabama’s 45-0 rout of Chattanooga.
Arenas returned his seventh career punt for a touchdown, an SEC record, and has been one of the Tide’s best all-around defenders all season.
You could make a case for his being the the most valuable player on Alabama’s team this season with all the different things he does for this team.
Tags: bryant denny stadium, chattanooga, cornerback, denny, different things, home game, mark ingram, Punt, rolando mcclain, rout, sec record, Tide, touchdown, Tweets, unsung heroRelated posts
Defensive demolition sparks Tide
October 11, 2009
OXFORD, Miss. When Alabama dominates, it’s never as pretty as USC. Nick Saban’s teams don’t put up a point a minute the way Florida does. But don’t mistake the No. 3 Crimson Tide’s 22-3 defeat of No. 20 Ole Miss as anything but a blowout.
If this were “CSI: Oxford,” the detectives would have known whodunit before the first commercial. Alabama left all the clues Saban’s best teams leave: The defense forced five turnovers, the opposing quarterback refused to set his feet, and every first down the Tide allowed became a cause for celebration.
“Probably the most complete team win we’ve had all year,” Saban said. “We’ve got a good team. Our guys play hard and play well together.”
The Tide D swarmed the Rebels Saturday.
Saban’s 2003 BCS champion team at LSU played this way: Defense and special teams make play after play, and the offense has its moments. Too many of those moments Saturday involved kicker Leigh Tiffin, who went 5-for-5 on field goals. The Tide’s lone touchdown came on a 36-yard run by Mark Ingram late in the first half.
The slow creep of the Alabama lead left the illusion that Ole Miss remained in the game. The rest of the game indicated otherwise. Ole Miss finished with 212 yards of total offense and was held to the lowest point total in head coach Houston Nutt’s two seasons.
“Very few people score points against Alabama,” Nutt said. “… We ran into a real wall today.” Take Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead, who began the season as a Heisman candidate and ended Saturday as a tackling dummy. The stats show that Alabama never sacked Snead. But the junior transfer from Texas got hit more than the Washington Nationals’ bullpen.
“We hit the guy just about every time in the first half, and I think it affected him. It affected them,” Saban said. “… That’s about as fine a defensive performance in the first half as I’ve been around for awhile.”
Snead forgot about setting his feet. He forgot about squaring his shoulders. At the half, Ole Miss had gained 19 yards, made one first down and crossed midfield for one play. Snead finished 11-of-34 for 140 yards with four interceptions.
He has thrown seven in the last two games after throwing 13 all of last season. In Snead’s defense, two of the interceptions against Alabama occurred because split ends Shay Hodge and Markeith Summers couldn’t hold onto the ball.
That brings up a valid point. Snead wasn’t the only Ole Miss player who heard footsteps. Halfback Brandon Bolden completed the unlikely triple play of fumbling a handoff, dropping a pass and fumbling a kickoff return.
“This was the fastest defense if you went from 1-11,” Nutt said. “It’s from the cornerbacks, to the safeties, to the linebackers, to the D-line. They’re the best I’ve ever seen.”
It goes beyond 11, actually. The Alabama special teams dominated, too. Linebacker Cory Reamer blocked a punt in the first half to set up Tiffin’s third field goal. He also knocked a punt out of Dexter McCluster’s grasp in the third quarter, a turnover that led to Tiffin’s fourth field goal.
That’s what Alabama does. They hit and they confuse and they hit some more.
Nick Saban and Bama have rolled to a 6-0 start.
“It’s not just their speed. It’s their size. They’re great tacklers,” Ole Miss offensive coordinator Kent Austin said. “They’re the best defense we’ve faced by far. Easily.”
The Alabama offense scored one touchdown, a great call by coordinator Jim McElwain. On fourth-and-one at the Ole Miss 36, with 1:02 left in the first half, the Tide loaded the left side with what seemed like 15 guys and ran a quick toss to Ingram. He burst through the line and found no one there. A 9-0 lead became 16-0, and the game was all but over.
Quibble if you must that six trips into the red zone yielded Alabama five field goals and a turnover. Five times quarterback Greg McElroy threw a jump ball to wide receiver Julio Jones in the end zone. McElroy went 0-for-5 and should consider himself fortunate that none of them got picked off.
McElroy finished 15-of-34 for 147 yards. Those numbers aren’t all that different from Snead’s. But McElroy’s blood pressure numbers had to be lower. He didn’t make the critical errors that Snead made all game. Plus, Ingram finished with 172 yards on 28 carries.
“Hard-earned yards,” Alabama fifth-year senior left guard Mike Johnson called them.
You could see how much Saban enjoyed this victory. It came before 62,657 fans, the largest crowd in Ole Miss history, eclipsing the record set in the LSU game in 2003. Saban won that game, too, 17-14. The victory sent the Tigers into the SEC Championship Game and on their way to the crystal football.
The comparison stops there. Saban won’t entertain any discussion of Alabama beyond the Tide’s next game, at home Saturday against South Carolina. When asked to compare this team to the Alabama team that began last year 12-0 and rose to No. 1, Saban answered by discussing what it takes to compete for 14 weeks.
After all, that 12-0 Crimson Tide team finished 12-2.
Mark Ingram rumbled to 172 yards and one TD.
“This is like climbing a mountain,” Saban said. “The higher you go, the more treacherous it gets. The focus has to be better. The execution has to be better, and you have to continue to go through the grind to get there. So far we’ve done it but we have to continue to do it.”
It’s a good metaphor and an accurate one, especially the mental picture of Alabama breathing rarefied air.
Tags: alabama team, bama, class, cornerback, cory reamer, Crimson, Crimson Tide, defense, defensive performance, end zone, field goal, field goals, Florida, four interceptions, game, handoff, houston nutt, Insider, jevan snead, julio jones, leigh tiffin, linebacker, mark ingram, midfield, nick saban, ole miss, reamer, rebels, return, score, SEC, snead, stat, touchdownRelated posts
Once again, big plays are killing Hogs
September 28, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Big plays are killing Arkansas. They did last week against Georgia, and they are again Saturday against Alabama.
The Crimson Tide, leading 21-7, have three touchdowns, and all three are from at least 50 yards.
Greg McElroy’s 80-yard bomb to Marquis Maze came with Arkansas cornerback Rudell Crim in close proximity, but Crim never saw the ball.
Maze’s touchdown hurt even more for the Hogs, because they had just put together their first drive of the game and pulled within 14-7 on Ryan Mallett’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Greg Childs.
The last thing the Hogs can do is give up quick touchdowns if they want to still be in this game in the fourth quarter.
Tags: ala, alabama the crimson tide, close proximity, cornerback, fourth quarter, greg mcelroy, hogs, rudell, ryan mallett, touchdown pass, tuscaloosa, Tweets, yard bomb, yard touchdownRelated posts
Highly ranked offensive lineman D.J. Fluker’s attention to detail impresses his Alabama teammates
August 12, 2009
TUSCALOOSA — D.J. Fluker has already got William Vlachos’ attention.
Fluker, the true freshman offensive tackle from Foley, was a prep All-American last year. Now, after offseason work on his shoulder, he’s trying to work his way into the offensive line 
rotation.
Physically, he has the tools to make a contribution at some point.
But it’s his approach to the game that’s earned him raves from Vlachos, the Tide’s center and a Mountain Brook native.
“His talent’s undeniable,” Vlachos said. “He’s huge (6-foot-6, 350 pounds).”
But it’s what Fluker’s doing away from the field that has overshadowed his work at practice.
“His willingness to learn has impressed me,” Vlachos added. “He’s always asking tons of questions in the film room. He’s asked me to stay late and go over things with him.
“A guy with that much hype and expectations, it’s surprising to see him work so hard and take that approach.”
Another newcomer earning praise from a veteran is Dre Kirkpatrick. The cornerback from Gadsden City was rated No.¤1 in the country last year by Rivals.
“Dre’s been looking pretty good,” said safety Mark Barron, who also praised fellow rookie defensive back Rod Woodson.
Kirkpatrick was absent from practice Wednesday due to a death in his family.
Tags: barron, cornerback, film room, foley, gadsden city, hype, Insider, kirkpatrick, mountain brook, newcomer, oas, offensive line, offensive lineman, rod woodson, s center, safety mark, teammates, true freshman, tuscaloosa, vlachos, willingness
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