Do Tasmanians eat Vegemite? I hope not...

We have a new winner in terms of horrible taste. Yes friends, dried anchovies are preferable to Vegemite, yet Australians put this stuff on their toast in the morning and use it to make pastries. Seriously Australia, WTF? Enjoy. I didn't.

ed. note: For those of you that picked up a copy of Yea Alabama 2009, you'll remember reading a story I wrote called "The Things We Do For Love" where I chronicled a lot of the ridiculous scenarios I've found myself in while trying to get to various Alabama games. Too bad I didn't save that article for the 2010 edition, because my trip to Starkville this past weekend easily qualified to be in it and hands down would have been the crown jewel anecdote in the article.

Let me just start off by saying that, yes, I realize hitchhiking in this day and age is an exceptionally bad idea. On Saturday, November 14th just a bit before 3:00 p.m. in western Alabama, somewhere between the tiny hamlets of Gordo and Reform (populations of 1,677 and 1,978 respectively according to the 2000 census) my friend Wes' car broke down (some of you may remember Wes from this post.) It's a 21st-century-made specimen of fine German engineering and has faithfully taken us to games in the past. As a matter of fact, the deal I struck with him was I'd give him the game ticket for free if he was willing to drive. That was the level of faith I placed in the ability of his automobile to take us to and fro sans incident.

The car began having trouble accelerating as we rolled down US Highway 82 and we saw a small garage that was still open as we began noticing the problem. We turned around and pulled in just as they were closing up shop. Nice folks that they were looked at the car for a while, but stated they didn't know much about this type of car, but recommended we not drive it any further. They kindly told us we could leave the car there if we wanted to since it was unlikely we'd be able to find anywhere this late in the day on a Saturday that would be able to work on it.

Get-It-Changed Oil & Lube in Gordo, AL

While Wes spoke with the proprietors of the oil change place, I took out my cellphone and began calling everyone I could think of that might be going to the game or who knew someone that might be going to the game. I called comer4tide and chinesedentist, but neither of them were going to the game. Chinesedentist (Bo), said he knew some folks that were going and that he'd make a few calls. I called Alabama ManDance and T.J. from Tower of Bammer and they too got on the phone and started working their contacts. I called a friend that went to Mississippi State, I called Todd and Kleph. I pretty much ran through my entire phonebook.

After what seemed like an eternity of making phone calls, we decided to ditch the car and start walking...with our thumbs out. We knew the car wasn't going to get fixed that day, so we might as well get to the game. We were most of the way there, we already had tickets...it seemed like the logical thing to do.

As I stated at the beginning of this article, hitchhiking is a very bad idea, but here's our rationale for why we felt okay about it.  We were decked out head to toe in Bama gear and nearly every car we saw while trying to figure out what to do had Bama flags flying from the windows or Bama magnets on the door or Bama stickers in the windows (and often all three.) By our reckoning, someone in that line of cars would realize that we were fellow fans stuck between a rock and a hard place and that we just wanted to get to the game. After a couple of miles of walking and hundreds of cars passing us by with that "Well, we'd like to help you and we know you're probably okay but sorry we're driving on anyway" look on their faces, we saw a pick-up truck pull into a business a short distance up the road. We both figured it was simply them stopping in to shop, but they turned around and we had a flutter of hope that they were coming back for us.

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With Senior Day almost upon us, I though it might be appropriate to consider graduation rates for Crimson Tide football. It just so happens that earlier this week, the NCAA released it's Graduation Success Rate data. While this was met by the usual chorus of praise from the applicable panjandrums it's probably safe to say almost none of us paid much attention to it at the time.

It turns out the numbers are pretty interesting. The graduation rate for the four-class average - the cumulative tally of students entering college between the fall of one year and the fall four years later -  for Alabama football has risen steadily over the past half-decade. In fact, as the Tuscaloosa News points out, the GSR numbers for both football and men’s basketball "are higher than the university’s overall graduation rate."

So it seems The Process most certainly does include academics. But then I got to thinking... how does this stack up against the other football programs in the conference? The answer is after the jump.

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by Ed Reinke - AP

Kentucky running back Moncell Allen is tackled by Senior Eryk Anders, bottom, Senior Javier Arenas (28) and Rolando McClain (25) during the first half of the Crimson Tide's victory at Kentucky.

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Saturday morning in Tuscaloosa will feature more than just the game against Tennessee-Chattanooga, for Saturday will also bring Senior Day, and for the senior class this will be their final game in Bryant-Denny Stadium. After spending years and years performing at 100 Bryant Drive, this will be the final time that this senior class will strap it up in front of the home crowd.

Given such an occasion, I think it's only fitting that we should pause for a moment and take a bit of reflection on this class and just how they got here. Things haven't always been easy for this group, and far from it in fact it has almost always been difficult. Most of them weren't very highly-touted recruits, and most of them signed with Alabama when our program was struggling. Adversity has really been a constant for them almost throughout their entire time at the Capstone, and what these men overcame to reach this level should not be forgotten.

Eryk Anders was a one-star recruit coming out of San Antonio that played nose guard in high school at a mere 195 pounds. He didn't get a single offer before Alabama swept in late, and was actually planning on being a walk-on at Ole Miss before Alabama came along in late June of 2005. Coach Saban himself didn't think he'd ever be a contributor when he arrived, and Anders actually told his father he was going to transfer in his hotel room the night of the 2007 Independence Bowl. His father encouraged him to stick with his commitment and get his degree, and he died later that night in his sleep with a heart attack. And Anders not only stuck around, but he came out of nowhere to thrive.

Cory Reamer was a two-star safety out of Hoover who drew little interest from most BCS conference schools. He actually grew up an Auburn fan, but the Tigers signed two more highly-touted safety prospects in the previous class -- Tony Bell and Lorenzo Ferguson, both of which eventually became busts -- and never really gave Reamer much of a look. He signed with Alabama, and then proceeded to blow out his left knee as a true freshman, and when Saban arrived he looked to be the epitome of a player that would get caught in the crunch of systems turnover. Yet Reamer turned into a starter at outside linebacker on an elite defense.

Mike Johnson was a two-star offensive lineman out of Pensacola. He participated on the camp circuits, but no one really ended up biting. Alabama offered and he was Tuscaloosa bound, which was just about the only major school recruiting him. He came out of nowhere in 2007, and will finish his career as a three-year starter and an All-SEC player. A lucrative career in the NFL awaits him when his tour of duty in Tuscaloosa comes to an end.

Javier Arenas was a late signee in the 2006 class. His only other offers were from Florida Atlantic and Florida International, and not only was he not a big deal on the national scene, he really wasn't even a big deal in his hometown of Tampa. Then UA special teams coach Dave Ungerer argued vehemently on his behalf for a scholarship as a returner, and after we missed on some other guys like in that class -- Peanut Whitehead, Tim Hawthorne, and others, most of which turned out to be busts -- we signed Arenas. We signed him thinking he'd be a returner, but since he has became arguably the greatest returner in Alabama history, and an All-SEC defensive back who will play on Sunday.

Drew Davis was a two-star recruit in the 2004 class. He played at a tiny private school, and drew really no interest whatsoever on the recruiting trails. Alabama, in fact, only gave him a greyshirt offer, despite a complete lack of depth along the offensive line, and more than a few 'Bama fans questioned his viability as a legitimate SEC caliber player. And in the first four years of his career, he was an afterthought. But in 2008 he burst onto the scene as a starter, and in 2009 he has been an All-SEC caliber player who has kept at least two five-star prospects sitting on the bench. So much for his viability as an SEC player, eh?

Others went through much of the same. Tyrone King was a walk-on transfer from Grambling... we never recruited him, but he decided to chase a dream anyway. Roy Upchurch has fought through no less than three major surgeries including two season-ending ankle injuries that threatened to end his career before it ever began. Mike McCoy turned down both of his home state schools to play at Alabama, had a redshirt year wasted by the previous coaching staff, and then watched arguably the biggest recruit we've ever had take away his role. Lorenzo Washington spurned his in-state Georgia Bulldogs for 'Bama, then endured a tour of duty at Hargrave, a redshirt year in Tuscaloosa, a major injury, played out of position at nose guard, and found himself relegated to the bench when Terrence Cody arrived. And speaking of Cody, he had to overcome poor academics and poor physical care of himself to be a star, but he conquered both obstacles. Marquis Johnson became the pin cushion for the entire fan base after he was forced into a situation that he never should have been in against Florida State in 2007, but he persevered and turned himself into a fine football player. Justin Woodall was put through pure hell when the hometown homers in Oxford realized he wasn't going to sign with the Rebels. Leigh Tiffin has endured more criticism than any kicker ever should. Ali Sharrief lost his role in the coaching turnover, but he remained a valuable contributor nevertheless. Colin Peek spurned 'Bama the first time around, but nevertheless still ended up in Tuscaloosa. Brandon Deaderick passed up on in-state Kentucky out of high school and turned into a starter at 'Bama. And then he got shot. Twice. And he kicked ass in the Georgia Dome four days later.

Obviously a lot of things have changed in Tuscaloosa the past several years. Most of these players actually signed with Mike Shula. When Lorenzo Washington and Drew Davis signed with the Tide, Alabama was coming off a 4-9 season, ineligible to participate in bowl games, and playing in a stadium that held all of 83,000 people. It had been a mere eight months since Mike Price was fired for his actions with Arety's Angels. Nick Saban, fresh off of a national championship, had signed what most LSU fans hoped would effectively be a lifetime contract to stay in Baton Rouge. Most 'Bama fans at the time were just hoping we could show enough improvement in 2004 to get somewhere like Shreveport or Nashville.

Now, though, Alabama finds itself at the opposite end of the spectrum. Nick Saban now resides in Tuscaloosa, and we look to play for a spot in the national championship game for the second year in a row. At the very least, we'll end up with back-to-back BCS game appearances, and we may very well find ourselves back in Pasadena for the first time an SEC team has made the trek since Frank Thomas' War Babies wrapped up an undefeated season by crushing USC in 1945. Recruiting is better than it has been since the glory days of the Bryant years, and shows no real signs of slowing down any time soon. We've got more top-end talent and quality depth in Tuscaloosa right now than we've had since the late 1970's. And Bryant-Denny Stadium? It will hold over 100,000 people this time next year.

Again, the times have changed in Tuscaloosa, and we should all acknowledge the role that all of these young men played in delivering us out of the dark ages. Our newfound recruiting juggernaut has helped tremendously, of course, but realistically recruiting has a very long lag time before it translates into on-field success -- rest assured, even for an elite recruiting class, players like Julio Jones and Dont'a Hightower are very much rarities -- and if you are going to have success in the interim, you are going to need some otherwise unknowns to turn into high-end players in their own right, and that is exactly what many of these young men have done. It has never been easy for them, but they have persevered in the face of adversity and played an immeasurable role in rebuilding our program.

Moving forward, I have no clue where we will go from here. We will thump Tennessee-Chattanooga and these men will walk out of Bryant-Denny for the final time as winners, that much I know, but after that I really haven't the slightest clue. We'll probably beat Auburn, but who knows? Maybe we fall at the hands of Florida in Atlanta again, maybe we pull off the upset. Maybe we beat Texas in Pasadena, maybe we lose to TCU in the Sugar Bowl. Who knows? Only time will tell for certain.

Regardless of how the season ultimately plays out, though, nothing should take away from what this group has done. They have literally played an instrumental role in rebuilding the Alabama football program back as a national powerhouse, and all those who bleed crimson and white ought to be forever indebted to them for that. If we have had a better senior class than this one in my lifetime, I'm not aware of it. And, moving forward, we can only hope that the senior classes to come can legitimately match what this group has done.

...isn't feeling very clever this week and therefor can't find any obvious jokes/patterns/etc. in this week's offerings.  Instead, here's deep fried, bacon wrapped, cheese filled hot dogs.

Would this work as a Taste of the Town? Please say yes...

Y'all know how to play: Put your iPod/iTunes/Zune/whatever on shuffle and list the first ten songs to come up. No cheating to make yours look cooler.

1. Elton John - My Father's Gun
2. Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch
3. Agents of Good Roots - Sultans of Swing
4. The Strokes - Reptilia
5. Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - If I Could Hear My Mother Pray
6. Miles Davis - Blues for Pablo
7. Jimi Hendrix - Message to Love
8. Pretty Willie - Lay Your Body Down
9. Hank Williams - You're Gonna Change (Or I'm A Gonna Leave)
10. Bob Dylan - Tell Me, Momma

The title is a legitimate question, not a lame attempt to knock off our coach's book title, nor an inability on my part to come up with a decent title for this piece. In all seriousness, how good do you want to be?

For Alabama, based on what we have done to date, we're going to have a very positive end result to this season. We know that much already. Even if we don't play particularly well against Tennessee-Chattanooga or Auburn, we probably should nevertheless win both games and finish up 12-0 with back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. So, even if we get smoked by Florida in Atlanta, we still end up making another BCS game and with a win there we finish up #2 in the country. And even if we lose again, life is still pretty much all gravy... we'll easily stay in the top ten, and we'll still be 25-4 over the course of our last 29 games. And, oh yeah, we've got another top five recruiting class on the way in 2010, we'll be in very good shape to win a lot of games in 2010, and for several years after that too. Regardless of how this season finishes up, life is good for a 'Bama fan. 

But again, how good do you want to be? Are we going to just be a team that wins a lot of games, or are we legitimately going to take the step to the next level and bring the first national championship to Tuscaloosa in seventeen years? And if your answer to that question is that you want to win a national championship this year, then that changes what you have to do.

Not all national championships are created equal. Each year presents a different set of circumstances, and its immeasurably more difficult to win a national championship in some years than it is in others. And without doubt, it will be tougher to win a national championship this year than it is in most years, and there will clearly be no freebies. We will not be able to lose a couple of games in the regular season and get patsies in the championship games like LSU did in 2007. Nor will we be able to avoid a conference championship game altogether and get a declining Nebraska program -- that couldn't even win its own division -- like Miami did in 2001. No, we're going to have to earn it the hard way... by beating a 12-0 Florida team in Atlanta and then likely topping that by beating a 13-0 Texas team in Pasadena. Again, no freebies this year, we'll have to earn it the hard way.

So, how good do you want to be? And if you want to be that good, you are going to have to accept the reality that you must play at a level commensurate with such accomplishments.

Last weekend against Mississippi State, we won in a relative route, 31-3, in a game that was really never in doubt. But of course, we didn't exactly play perfect football, and far from it in fact we made a lot of mistakes in our own right and took advantage of many mistakes on the Bulldogs' part. Just to name a few of them, they included:

• Two long kick returns allowed by our kick coverage unit
  
• A busted assignment in pass coverage by MSU that directly led to a 'Bama touchdown
• A missed chip-shot field goal by Mississippi State
• An easy touchdown pass missed by Mississippi State when their receiver never looked for the ball
• An easy touchdown pass missed by Mississippi State on the opening play by a poorly underthrown ball
• A slow start by 'Bama, allowing Mississippi State to drive the football twice early, matched with a three and out by the Tide offense

Now, against Mississippi State, doing things of that nature is fine and dandy because a team like that will often times beat themselves for you and be incapable of taking advantage of the mistakes that you make. But what about an elite team like Florida or Texas? Well, that's simply not going to happen. With the slow start we had, they would have probably gone up 14-0 early. And they probably wouldn't have missed the easy touchdown passes, or the chip-shot field goals, nor would they likely have given up big plays via busted assignments. And you can rest assured that they would have generated at least some points off of the two long returns. Playing like that is just fine against the Mississippi States of the world, but that simply won't cut it against a team like Florida or Texas.

We talked earlier in the year about putting it all together and effectively playing the perfect game. I think the potential is clearly there to do such a thing, but to date we have not done it yet. Nevertheless, that is likely what you will have to do if you want to get to where want to go. And if we cannot do that when the time comes, well... we've been done that route before.

So again, how good do you want to be?

Coming at you live from our state of the art broadcasting facilities buried deep within Red Mountain!

It's about that time, kids.  8:00pm CST is the time, TalkShoe is the place. Join us in the chat, or listen in below.

On Jan. 10, 1925, the University of Chattanooga (which later became UT Chattanooga) announced the hire of a new head coach, a relatively obscure Georgia assistant named Frank Thomas - a man who would later go on to become a legend of Alabama football.

Thomas had been a quarterback at Notre Dame under the legendary Knute Rockne who called him "the smartest player I ever coached." That was good enough for Georgia's George Woodruff. In 1923, he offered Thomas $2,500 a year to be his backfield coach and bring the "Notre Dame Box" to Athens.

Thomas accepted partially for the money and partially to try his hand at coaching. "I took the job to pay off my [school] debts," he said. "Besides, I wanted to try coaching for a year. If I didn't like it, I could always quit and practice law."

But it turned out he liked it quite a bit, enough to consider being a head coach when offered the chance by Chattanooga a year later. Although reportedly unimpressed with the quality of talent, he took the job as it represented his first head coaching opportunity.

He took over a squad that had won a single game the season prior and had little prospect for better in 1925. Yet Thomas led them to a 4-4 record in 1925 and then to dominance of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA).

His teams tied for the SIAA championship in 1926 and won the title in 1927 and 1928. He lost just three games in his last two seasons at Chattanooga - two of those to then-powerhouse Vanderbilt.

In 1929, Thomas returned to Georgia as an assistant under his former Notre Dame teammate Harry Mehre. His return to Athens was for a single season as Alabama's head coach Wallace Wade personally selected Thomas to succeed him at the Capstone.

Wade had taken the program to the Rose Bowl and it's first national title four years prior. He had taken the head coach position at Duke but remained at Alabama for the 1930 season and invited Thomas to join his staff to ease the transition.

It turned out to be a fateful year. Alabama went undefeated, returned to the Rose Bowl to defeat Washington State and took the national championship. Nine days later Frank Thomas took over as head coach of the Crimson Tide.

Over the next 14 years Thomas extended Alabama's tradition of dominating defenses, winning records and national championships. His teams allowed an average of just 6.3 points per game and his win percentage trails only that of his protégée and eventual successor, Paul W. Bryant.

Yet even Bryant was unable to boast never having a losing season, something Thomas achieved beginning with that first squad in Chattanooga.

If it's Wednesday, then it's time once again for the RBR Radio Hour(ish).  With the mighty Mocs of UT-Chattanooga coming to town, we shouldn't be spending a whole lot of time previewing, but we've still got that whole State win to talk about, plus happenings and goings on from around the SEC.  Also, Todd's Taste of the (Horrible) Town with an assist from kleph, whom I now hate.  So get those questions in, and join us tonight at 8pm CST over at TalkShoe.

For once I kind of wish the mysterious package at my doorstep was a bomb...

Another week goes by, and another round of meltdowns explode across the Internet. You would think at some point fan bases would just become immune, but it just doesn't seem to happen that way. When there's a loss, there's a meltdown. You can bank on it like the sun rising in the morning.

This week we've got some great material from Auburn, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC, and Miami. All six took it on the chin this past weekend and, well, let's just say that none of the six took it particularly well. As usual, we've got it all this week... abortions, dikes, snipers, toilet bowls, group boycotts, Fear the Thumb, Daniel Moore speculations, the Detroit Lions, bribing officials, Krusty the Clown, Wild Turkey, Hormel Spam... You name it, and we've got it. Of course, the language gets very rough, so once again consider yourself warned.

And without further adieu, it's meltdown time...

ALL the recruiting in the world won't fix this. We have the worst coached defense in the conference and it looks like we still love going into Tubershell when we get up by more than 10 points. I blame the coaches totally for this loss!

I am seriously starting to question the intelligence of Auburn fans.  

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