The tale of the Tide

It seems like only yesterday the Alabama Crimson Tide arrived at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for their opening game against the then-No.9 ranked team, the Clemson Tigers. Bama had barely busted through the gates of the pre-season BCS rankings, standing at No. 24. And who can fault the BCS for placing Bama in that spot? After coming off a medeocre season at best, 2008 was expected to be a 'building year,' a process that would take time to pay dividends under Nick Saban. Saban's $4 million contract was heavily criticized. However, while haters were hating, while Mark Richt was shopping for black jersies and while LSU was drafting their vendetta, Saban was compiling an arsenal. The recruiting genious was bringing in top talent from all over the place. The team wasn't the his only project. He rebuilt the entire program, everything from top recruits and the best coaching staff, to team celebration time limitations and a detailed, "one game at a time" philosophy.

When the big day in Atlanta arrived, Clemson's shining stars, Thunder and Lightning were less than the perfect storm, if a storm at all. By halftime, Clemson looked like they were at funeral, and the Tide, well the Tide was dancing on their grave. A team that was barely on the BCS radar, was suddenly grabbing everybody's attention. Even Sports Illustrated jumped in on the media frenzy, featuring the Tide as their cover story with a headline advisory: SEC Beware, The Tide sends out an early warning.

What was an early warning in Week One, turned into an unbelievable season -- a season in which the Tide re-established themselves as a dominant force in the SEC and in college football. Yep, the program that put the SEC on the map, began reclaiming their territory. The Tide has thier last regular season game this Saturday -- an annual "out for blood Alabama affair" against thier ultimate rivals, the Auburn Tigers.

But how did an "early warning" become the only only undefeated BCS team in the country in the final week of the season? Well, The Tale of the Tide goes something like this ...

After the big victory in Week One,The Tide would go under the radar as they played Tulane and Western Kentucky. While mildly struggling against Tulane, the Tide, as great teams do, found a way to win. Then, they stomped W. Kentucky 41-7.

Week four would bring about a familiar foe, The Arkansas Hogs. Once a competitive SEC West team, the Hogs folded under the pressure of the Tide, losing 49-14 at home. Guess I was right about them Hogs...they are far inferior after losing Coach Houston Nutt to Ole' Miss and Darryn McFadden and Felix Jones to the NFL. Who knows, maybe Petrino will turn things around, but no such luck this time around.

With four games and four wins behind them, the Tide would face UGA in a much-anticipated matchup Between the Hedges in Athens. A matchup in the past only seen every 5 years or so had reared its ugly head, lining Bama and UGA up for the second year in a row. The Dawgs gloated about their big win over the Tide last year, foolishly forgetting the the Tide took them into double overtime before ultimately losing. The Dawgs would use this matchup to rally the fans into a blackout. The Dawgs took the field in their much-reverred black jersies, but their bark would prove to be bigger than their bite. The Tide scored 31 points in the first half completely dominating. While the Tide cooled off the second half, the hole, or should I say grave, was too deep for the Dawgs to reconcile and they lost, 41-30, but atleast the Dawgs were dressed for the occassion.

Now the Tide had passed the test. UGA was preseason No. 1, but you wouldn't know it come 10 pm on Saturday Sept. 27. But as puzzling as UGA's descent down the BCS ladder, was Bama's near misses against Ole' Miss and Kentucky.

In what Saban called "a clinic on how to keep the other team in the game," the Tide would squeak by Kentucky, redeeming themselves of 10 penalties. With a 24-3 lead at the half over Ole' Miss, the Tide would once again, squeak by in "find a way to win" fashion. But nonetheless, with the season halfway over, the Tide was undefeated at 7and 0 and climbed through the top ten, sitting pretty at No. 2

As the plot thickened in college football, The Tide beat the struggling Tennessee Vols in Knoxville before rolling back to Tuscaloosa for homecoming against Arkansas State, a game they won 35-0. But outside of Tuscaloosa, the college football fan nation would watch as the race to the top became a "last man standing" battle. Top five teams such as Texas, Penn State and Oklahoma became victims of upsets, dropping like flies and leaving a room for rent at the top.

The Tide was on the winning side of BCS deal, sitting even prettier in the No.1 spot. The power came with responsibilty -- the responsibility to NOT screw it up --and as the BCS continued shifting, it seemed that it was only a matter of time before the Tide would become like the one's before them, No. 1 has-beens.

But that was just the beginning of the uphill battle ahead. The Tide was only one win away from clinching the SEC West, guarenteeing them a spot in the SEC Champoinship. But not just any win would do it. The Tide would have to beat one specific team. The timing was perfect, because just their dumb luck, the one team they had to beat was next up on the schedule. Hollywood couldn't have scripted it any better. The one team that stood between Bama and a spot in the SEC championship was none other than thier SEC West rival,and defending national champs, the LSU Tigers, aka, The Rajun' Cajuns.

Bama would arrive in Baton Rouge for a homecoming, minus the warm welcome and hospitality. While the intense rivalry reared its ugly head, LSU fans had another bone to pick. Just a few years ago, after leading them to a national championship, Saban left for a bid in the NFL. His stint in the NFL was a failure, and Saban was on the hunt for a coaching job back where he was best, college. But after sending Saban off with a farewell and best wishes, LSU was mad as hell to see Saban reappear in the SEC as the head coach at Alabama.

Bitter and out for blood, LSU would give Saban a good-old-fashioned welcome for his first return to Baton Rouge since the leaving. LSU relished the opportunity to come back and haunt Saban as the potential spoiler of the Tide's perfect season.

The Brawl in the Bayou kicked off at 3:30 on a sunny afternoon. After the Tide's far from perfect first half, hat made every Bama fan want to crawl out of their skin, it appeared that LSU was on their way to making good on their vendetta -- the promise to wreck Bama's perfect season, thus trashing any national championship hopes.

The second half ensued. The afternoon brightness started to fade. And as the sun went down, you could begin to feel that change in the air, that spooky feeling. It was nightfall in Baton Rouge, and you could feel it in the pit of your stomach. Nighttime in Baton Rouge is creepy, something weird happens down there at night. Everybody knows night games at Tiger Stadium are no good.

But as darkness arrived, the Tide began to turn. Bama would take a lead, only to lose it, then gain it back. This tug-of-war brought the game to a field goal. The Tide lined up to kick for three and take the win, but in true LSU/Bama fashion, it wouldn't be that simple. Liegh Tiffin's would-be winning feild goal was blocked.

Overtime was the last hope for either team. But LSU made a fatal mistake ... The young Jarret Lee got greedy in their first possession of OT, throwing a deep pass into the endzone that intercepted by Rashad Johnson. After the turnover, JP Wilson would go long to Julio Jones, and at with only inches standing between the Tide and an SEC West title clinching win, JPW would leap his way into the endzone to close the deal.

While the Bayou Brawl, an instant classic, would reveal both teams' weakenesses, it would also, once again, showcase the Tide's ability to come through, even if they have to find a way to win.

After the physically and emotionally exhausing game at LSU, The Tide returned to Tuscaloosa to take on Mississippi State, led by former Bama Center and coach, Sylvester Croome. After beating us in the last two matchups, the Tide had to settle the score. After a rough start, the Tide unleashed on the Bulldogs. Javier Arenas would return a punt for a touchdown. This, along with JPW, Ingram and a solid performance from the kicking team, would lead the Tide to a 32-7 victory.

Still sitting pretty at the top, the Tide looks to their final challenge of the regular season. With one away from perfect 12-0 season, the Tide will host the Auburn Tigers. The rivalry, played out annually in the Iron Bowl, seems like a matchup the the Tide can handle After all, Auburn has struggled mightily this season and the Tide has had tremendous success this season. What could possible go wrong?

Well, despite Auburn's pitfalls, they do have thing... defense. As a matter of fact, the Auburn defense may be the toughest defense the Tide will face. Sounds funny, huh? But with a season in the toilet, a result of ineffective offense and a circle of rumors surrounding the leadership of the team, this could be the chance Auburn will finally capitalize on. Auburn lost to UGA in their last game, however they fought hard and showcased their strengths. UGA, once again, won in spite of themselves, but only by 3 in a 17-14 game. UGA had trouble breaking through Auburn's defense, but Auburn struck first, showing that their offense is improving. And not a moment too soon. But will the Tide rewrite 6 years of Iron Bowl history, or will Auburn come out on top with ONE win that can wipe out SIX losses?

And now, here we are, just days before the Iron Bowl. But after the Auburn chapter is written, The Tide, will return to the Dome, to where it all began 13 weeks ago. Except this time, a national championship is on the line against an opponent who has averaged almost 50 points a game, wiping teams like South Carolina and Vandy off the map. Will the SEC championship be the final chapter in the Tale of the Tide, or the beginning of a dynasty?

Stay tuned ........



Wrapping up, here a just a few of the highlights of the Tide's season:

John Parker Wilson (QB) has not put up big numbers, but he had done something just as important -- manage the game. He has showed poise and discipline and shined as a true leader.

The rushing game: The Tide has dominated with their running game using running back Glenn Coffee with Andre Smith as his blocker. Freshman Mark Ingraham has also had his share of carries adding to a dynamic offensive line.

Terrance "Mount" Cody: A junior college transfer, Cody has stopped offenses as the nose tackle. Teams have trouble finding a way to get through him and are forced to spread or put more than one of their guys up agianst him. And according to Cody, "He is living the dream"

Julio Jones: A highly recruited kid, JJ has made big plays at WR. And he doesn't look like a freshman. His stature and athleticism will land him in the NFL. And the best part: YAC -- he not only makes the big catches, but fights for yards with churning legs that often drag 1 or 2 along with them.

Special teams: Karim Jackson snuck in on Miss St today to block a punt. Javier Arenas returned at 90-something punt return for a TD, today. Rashad Johnson intercepted the would-be winning touch down last week to put the Tide back in the game, and the kicking team has done a good job of managing opponents' field position.