No smoke and mirrors needed this week. No clever turn of phrase needed to build drama and intrigue with this game. Nope. To paraphrase what they say in the sales business, this is simply a game that sells itself. It's 'Bama v. LSU. Saban Bowl III. National championship implications clearly on the line. The entire country turning its eyes towards Tuscaloosa to play close attention at this contest. Again, this one sells itself. Let's look closer at the match-ups:

Alabama Offense v. LSU Defense

After putting up points and yards by the bushel in the first month of the season, the once prolific Alabama offense has slowly ground to a virtual halt over the course of the past five weeks. The vertical element of the passing game went into the Witness Protection Program in early October, and we still haven't seen any signs of it returning as of this writing. Mark Ingram has been nothing short of phenomenal -- sans the fumble against Tennessee -- but the lack of a vertical element to the passing game, combined with untimely penalties, questionable playcalling, and struggles in the red zone have kept the Tide offensive attack at bay and off the scoreboard.

Admittedly, the level of competition has been high the past several weeks. Kentucky has a good defense, and Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee rank in the top 25 nationally of more statistical categories than not. But such is life in the SEC... it's a brutal gauntlet of quality opponent after quality opponent, and there will be no rest for the weary this weekend when the Bayou Bengals come to town. Alas, when LSU arrives in Tuscaloosa, they will bring with them a defense that is as good as those we saw in October, if not better.

And unfortunately, injuries continue to take a toll on the Tide. Colin Peek looks to either miss this game or play nowhere near 100%, and that's a very big loss for the Tide. Michael Williams will likely play better than he did two weeks ago against Tennessee because he will be more prepared, but Peek is a critical element of our offense, and unfortunately Williams is an imperfect substitute.

Defensively, the weakness for LSU starts up front at the line of scrimmage. Shocking as though that may be -- I imagine I need remind no one that LSU's defensive line ate us for dinner from 2003-2007 -- it is nevertheless true. To be sure, it's certainly not a bad group, but it isn't a dominating one and it is not up to the level that we have come to expect the past several years out of LSU. Inside, seniors Al Woods and Charles Alexander are good players that any team would love to have, but they probably aren't to the level that we saw the past several years out of LSU with Kyle Williams and Glenn Dorsey. Likewise, the rotation isn't what it has been in previous years in terms of quality depth.

The real weakness for LSU on the defensive line largely comes outside at end. Senior Rahim Alem has been a bit of a disappointment this year. He was always a liability against the run -- which is why, despite leading the SEC in sacks in 2008, he wasn't a starter -- but he hasn't rushed the passer as well this year, generating only three sacks in the first eight games (only one of which came in conference play, and that was against Vandy). Opposite Alem, Lazarius Levingston hasn't exactly played poorly, but he hasn't really made an impact either. He has yet to generate a sack, and only has ten tackles on the year. Making matters worse, they are somewhat undersized, and mixed with their lack of a consistent pass rush, that generally explains why LSU's run defense has been somewhat middling, and also explains why they are at the bottom of the SEC in sacks.

Unfortunately, the rest of the LSU defense is significantly better. The linebacker corps struggled greatly in 2008, but they have made tremendous strides in 2009 under new defensive coordinator John Chavis. There is not one standout at linebacker like Alabama has with someone like Rolando McClain -- or had with Dont'a Hightower -- but it's a good group that gets the job done. Perry Riley, Kelvin Sheppard, Harry Coleman, and Jacob Cutrera are all good football players, and they are in many ways unique players that give Chavis a lot of options. Riley is a big, physical player who excels against against the run, and Coleman's past as a former safety makes him a very versatile player, particularly in passing situations. Kelvin Sheppard is probably the best all-around player of the bunch, and while Cutrera isn't a standout, he's a senior who can really play whatever position they need off the bench. Again, it's not a group that has the one rockstar standout like you find with a guy like Rolando McClain or Brandon Spikes, but it's a good group of players that have produced at a high level for John Chavis.

The real strength of the LSU defense, however, comes in the defensive backfield, where the Bayou Bengals have an absolutely ridiculous collection of talent. Just look at the names and their recruiting hype... Chad Jones, #1 safety prospect in the country in 2007. Jai Eugene, #1 cornerback prospect in the country in 2006. Patrick Peterson, #1 cornerback prospect in the country in 2007. And guys like Chris Hawkins, Brandon Taylor, Karnell Hatcher, Ron Brooks, and Danny McCray? Yeah, they were generally "only" four-star recruits who could have had pretty much their pick of any school in the country.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Greg, lead us to Atlanta. We believe.

Browse more photos »

Let's just go ahead and get something straight: I don't care one ounce who else is playing this weekend. We've got a trip to Atlanta on the line this weekend and everything else takes a backseat to that. I wouldn't care if Florida and Texas were playing this weekend at the same time, I wouldn't even flip over to it during commercials.

With that in mind, I'm not doing this column this week. That's not a lazy cop out either. The 2nd best game of the weekend (as far as rankings go) is on at the same time (Penn State vs. Ohio State.) After that game, the drop off is so severe that it's nearly impossible to fathom. I don't care one iota about watching a Big East slap fight (West Virginia vs. Louisville) or "The Battle for the Triangle" (Duke vs. North Carolina) or the myriad of craptastic homecoming-esque games on tap in the SEC (Northern Arizona at Ole Miss, Furman at Auburn, Tennessee Tech at Georgia, Memphis at Tennessee.) You know it's a crappy week when Vanderbilt at Florida is on ESPN2 in prime time.

So, with that in mind, get ready for THE game of the season as far as we're concerned.

After scoring a mere two offensive touchdowns over the course of the past three weeks, it's safe to say that our once prolific offensive juggernaut has now effectively ground to a halt. One of the major complaints consistently aired has been our inability to convert in the red zone, so I wanted to take a closer look at that aspect of our performance. To that end, I've gone back through the play-by-play data for the past three weeks, focusing on the possessions in which we have gotten a 1st down and 10 inside our opponents 20-yard line to see what we could find.

Let's take a closer look. The following are all of the red zone possessions that we have had the past three weeks, broken down by game:

Ole Miss

• First and goal at the Ole Miss 3-yard line, immediately after driving 63 yards. We moved down the field thanks to two nice runs, one by Mark Ingram and another by Trent Richardson, and two nice catches by Colin Peek, and it looked like an easy score was coming. Nevertheless, we threw an incomplete pass on first down, and then had a false start penalty on second down. With 2nd and goal from the 8-yard line, we threw an incomplete pass to Julio Jones, and Colin Peek couldn't quite hang onto a tough catch on third down. Leigh Tiffin trots onto the field for a 25-yard goal attempt, which is good.
• First and ten at the Ole Miss 12-yard line, immediately after driving 54 yards. We get a decent gain with a run on first down, but an incomplete pass comes on second down, and Greg McElroy scrambles for a few yards on a pass play on third down. McElroy gets popped hard, but he hangs onto the ball and Leigh Tiffin hits a field goal
• First and goal at the Ole Miss 5-yard line after Corey Reamer's blocked punt. We run for no gain on first down, and then go to the pass, where two incompletions follow. 'Bama settles for a Leigh Tiffin field goal.
  
• First and goal at the Ole Miss 3-yard line after a long by Mark Ingram. Despite two good gains preceding this play from Ingram on the ground, we decide to line up in the pistol and it backfires immediately. We screw up the snap out of the pistol, losing three yards in the process. Back at the 6-yard line, we run for no gain and then fire an incomplete pass on third down. Another Leigh Tiffin field goal.
  
• First and ten at the Ole Miss 16-yard line, set up by Kareem Jackson's long interception return. Trent Richardson goes off right tackle for seven yards on first down, but he fumbles at the end and Ole Miss recovers.

South Carolina

• First and ten from the South Carolina 14-yard line after driving 66 yards. Ingram runs for six yards on first down, setting up a promising second and short, but two runs straight into the line net no real gain, and thus Leigh Tiffin comes on for the field goal.
  
• First and ten from the South Carolina 18-yard line immediately after Mark Ingram's 54-yard run. Needing a breather, Ingram comes out of the game, and Trent Richardson runs on first down for no gain. Incomplete passes to Upchurch and Julio follow, respectively, and Leigh Tiffin comes on for the field goal.
  
• First and goal from the South Carolina 4-yard line after Mark Ingram singlehandedly carried us down the field in the Wildcat. We bring McElroy back in for this one, who tosses it left to Ingram for the touchdown.
  

Tennessee

• First and ten at the Tennessee 12-yard line after driving 56 yards. This is the controversial play-calling episode right before halftime. Mark Ingram goes off left tackle for eight yards on first down, setting up a second and a short two inside the UT five. Unfortunately, we throw an incomplete pass on second down to Julio Jones, and it is followed up by yet another incomplete pass to Julio Jones on third down. Instead of going for the first down, Leigh Tiffin comes on for the field goal.
  

So, what do we see from all of this?

First and foremost, the passing game, yeah, um, what passing game? It goes without saying that throwing the football in the red zone is very difficult because the field becomes so compressed, but nevertheless, even with that in mind, it's a harsh reality... we literally haven't completed a pass in the red zone since the Kentucky game. In the last three games, McElroy is 0-10 passing in the red zone, and the "best" passing play we've had in that stretch is the short gain he had on the scramble where he was ultimately lit up against Ole Miss. What can you say? It's not rocket science... you can either move the ball by throwing it or running it, and if you are completely and totally unable to throw, well that really narrows your options then doesn't it?

Beyond that, playcalling does seem to have a lot of questions marks in it. We've had around five snaps the past three weeks from inside our opponent's three-yard line, and just about all of them have been passes? Why? I'm generally an advocate of spreading the field and throwing the football, but that's too much for even my taste. Besides, where has Cody been in goal line situations? We have not failed to convert a single time with him in the game the past two years, so why go away from it? And since we are struggling to throw the football so much in the red zone, why not just go to the Wildcat and take advantage of the additional blocker?

All of that said, however, the real key to look at here is just how few possessions we've had from within the red zone. Not counting easy setups by the defense and our special teams units, as an offense we've basically driven down field into the red zone only a grand total of six times over the course of three games. Do the math, that's effectively boiling down to the equivalent two lengthy drives per game. Two. That's all. So we've basically been unable to consistently move the football down the field, and making matters worse we cannot generate any explosive plays -- the longest pass play in the last three weeks is a mere 22 yards, and it's the only passing play we've had over this stretch of over 20 yards. So what do you do? You cannot move the football consistently down the field, and you cannot hit any big plays, so what do you do offensively? Simple, you don't score many points. That ring any bells?

In hindsight, then, the biggest issues that we have are probably not necessarily isolated in the red zone. Everything gets magnified once you get to the red zone, but as a general rule you're as good there as you are everywhere else on the field. Nothing magical happens once you get inside your opponent's 20-yard line. And with that in mind, it's not so much that we need to improve in the red zone offensively, it's that we need to improve offensively, period.

With the Tide having the weekend off, today was a slow day for some nice casual football viewing. So, before we turn our focus entirely towards the LSU game, a few random thoughts from around the SEC:

• The more I watch of Ryan Mallett, the less impressed I am. Everybody talks about him being a future NFL star, but I'm just not seeing it. Admittedly he has a huge arm and a great frame, but he is like a statute in the pocket and he has a very long, slow wind-up on his delivery. Any pressure whatsoever greatly affects him, and with his mechanics it takes a long time for the ball to come out. He reminds me of Drew Bledsoe very late in his career, and that's not a compliment. Is he a pretty good SEC QB? Yes. A future NFL star? I don't see it right now.
  
• I honestly think Auburn kind of sucks, even after the win over Ole Miss, but I'll be honest... for all of the outrage over the Chizik hire, he's certainly not the problem. Those guys have basically zero top-end talent and paper-thin depth, and I think they will probably get to 8-4 with wins over Furman and Georgia. I do think the schedule has helped them out a lot, but admittedly Chizik has done a pretty dang good job on the Plains. You don't get to 7-5 or 8-4 with what he has without doing a good job.
  
• Color me officially (somewhat) worried about the Mississippi State game. They aren't very good, but they kept it close with Florida, should have beaten LSU, and beat Kentucky in Lexington. That's not a bad team by any stretch of the imagination, and Dan Mullen has done a good job in Starkville. Now, after getting a big win on the road over Kentucky, those guys get an off week, and then we have to travel to Starkvegas after playing LSU, likely for an 11:21 kick. I'm not liking the sound of that game at all right now. 
• A lot of Ole Miss fans, I see, have this reaction of disbelief that Nutt isn't taking them to the promised land, and they keep talking about how they did all they needed to do by hiring a proven SEC coach. Not really. You hired a guy who had almost a decade-long track record of mediocrity, and never won the SEC. And now he's basically doing the same thing at Ole Miss, so why the surprise?
  
• Jevan Snead is probably the most overrated player the SEC has seen since Casey Clausen. This kid is clearly a below average SEC quarterback, and not six weeks ago people were touting him as a first round draft pick who was going to leave early? It's almost laughable if you think about it. If I had my fair pick of SEC quarterbacks for one day, I would take Tebow, Garcia, Mallett, Crompton, McElroy, Jefferson, and Todd over him, maybe even Cox. The only quarterbacks I would definitely take Snead over are Tyson Lee, Larry Smith, and Mike Hartline. He couldn't start at half of the programs in the SEC, which honestly is why he ended up at Ole Miss in the first place.
• Billy Cannon is truly one of the all-time legends, but I honestly think LSU has honored him at every single home game since that punt return against Ole Miss in 1959. And at some point, I think it can diminish the legacy of what he actually did. I mean, honestly, just by watching it today, you'd swear all the guy ever did was return a punt and get honored for it a bunch of times.
  
• The whole Joe Cox experiment at Georgia has basically made for a wasted year in Athens. Cox has done absolutely nothing, UGA has had a terrible year, and remember that Cox is a senior. Hindsight 20 / 20, UGA would have been in much better shape by playing either true freshmen Aaron Murray or Zach Mettenberger. The way it has gone down, now you have a really bad year in 2009, and then you still have to break in a green QB in 2010. You play to win now, but you don't, and then you still have to rebuild later. It's the worst of both worlds, really.
  
• Georgia keeps killing on the recruiting trails, as they have for years now, but honestly why would a top recruit ever want to go there? Obviously it's a fine school and a great college scene, plus they do have a solid track record of turning out NFL players, but in terms of winning big on the collegiate level, why? You go there just to be Florida's bitch? And besides, for all of the NFL players they have turned out, Athens has also been a place in recent years where a lot of highly-touted recruits go to die. Remember when Caleb King was supposedly the next Herschel Walker? I bet he does.
  
• And speaking of Richt, doesn't it seem like he earned his keep against a literal graveyard of coaches? Think about it... he consistently spanked a clearly out-of-gas Phil Fulmer at Tennessee. He consistently spanked Chan Gailey at Georgia Tech. He slapped around Fran and Shula. He fought to effective draws with Tommy Tuberville and Ron Zook. But again that's a literal graveyard of coaches, most of which long since gone. Can he now compete with Meyer, Saban, Kiffin, Johnson, and others? Maybe, but the early returns sure as hell aren't promising. Richt looks downright Fulmer-esque at this point.
• Tennessee is looking dang good. The defense is playing lights out, the running game continues to impress, and Crompton now looks like a completely different player. I imagine they finish up 8-4, and they might be the fourth best team in the SEC right now. I'm sure as hell glad we don't have to go through them again, that much is sure. I figure 2010 will be a tough year for the Vols just because of all the attrition, but say what you will about Kiffin, Tennessee is clearly a better team than they were a year ago.
• Dan Williams, at nearly 330 pounds, is easily the best interior pass rusher in the SEC. Neither 'Bama nor South Carolina had a center-guard combo that could consistently block him on passing downs.
• South Carolina is looking to continue their usual late season meltdown. Tennessee smoked 'em from the get-go, and now they are 6-3 with their three games remaining at Arkansas, Florida, and Clemson. They'll be 7-5 at best, and honestly I wouldn't be shocked to see them end up 6-6 again. It's more of the same for South Carolina.
  
• And another late season implosion in Columbia really makes me wonder what will happen will Spurrier. Will he even want to return for 2010? He's been in Columbia five years now, and as a whole it's really been nothing but one big humbling experience for him. And honestly, if you are South Carolina, do you even want him back? Maybe, simply because he could be the best you can reasonably get, but on the other hand if you are serious about being a high-end team in the SEC that legitimately competes for conference titles -- and, hopefully, to continue taking your program to the next level -- it's clear that Spurrier will never do that for you. It's interesting times in Columbia, really. That's a program that has really put a lot into winning the past 15-20 years, and one that really doesn't have anything to show for it.
  
• How many SEC teams will definitely have losing records? Vanderbilt obviously will, and Mississippi State should too. Five teams have already reached bowl eligibility, and Ole Miss will make it six next week against Northern Arizona. There are four more teams that are borderline -- Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Arkansas -- but I think all of those will probably make it. That would be ten bowl eligible teams in the conference, which means that we could see some bowl eligible teams getting left at home.
• For all of the talk of Florida's speed and athleticism at the skill positions, the thing that always sticks out to me when I watch them is just how good of possession receivers they have. Cooper and Hernandez consistently out-fight opposing cornerbacks for balls each and every week, and often times it is nothing short of a wrestling match. And speed and athleticism don't have jack to do with that. You can talk all you want about how they spread you out and kill you with speed, but that's one physical football team.
• Florida has officially clinched a berth in Atlanta with their win over Georgia today, and it certainly seems like the winner of the Alabama v. LSU game next weekend will follow suit. I know that LSU could still send the Tide to Atlanta by slipping up against either Ole Miss or Arkansas, but the more I see of those two the less I see it happening. 'Bama has got to beat the Bayou Bengals head-to-head, plain and simple. LSU could still give us a gift, but I imagine if we lose next Saturday the smart money is on us finishing up 11-1 and watching a Florida v. LSU rematch come the first week of December.

Believe it or not, there's apparently a conspiracy theory afoot. I don't know if the ol' vaunted REC has finally gotten to the SEC officials or what, but either way Lane Kiffin is talking of "magical" flags appearing, and when SEC Commissioner Mike Slive told him to shut up, that just meant it was time for Ed Orgeron to run his mouth talking about the officials favoring the conference's best teams. And, of course, this all comes against a backdrop of countless Tennessee fans whining about the officiating Saturday.

It all sounds incredibly stupid to me, but even so I want to take a closer look at the penalties called against the Vols on Saturday and see exactly what happened. And to that end, with the help of flaco, we're going to do just that.

From the outset, it should be noted that Tennessee was flagged with eight penalties on Saturday afternoon. Four of those penalties, however, consisted of three false starts and one delay of game penalty. None of those penalties can be seriously questioned. They are all elementary calls that need no further explanation via film review. That alone takes half of the penalties off the board, and leaves us only four for consideration. Those four penalties are as follows:

1. Pass interference on a ball thrown to Julio Jones on a 3rd and 8
2. Illegal block on Javier Arenas' long punt return
3. Holding on Tennessee while the Vols were driving into Alabama territory
4. Roughing the punter immediately before Ingram's fumble

Let's take a closer look at all four of these penalties, beginning with the pass interference call on the pass to Julio Jones. Click the following clip for the play:

This penalty comes on a 3rd and 8 from the 'Bama 35-yard line, with about two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The penalty results in a 'Bama first down, and ultimately a Leigh Tiffin field goal.

Specifically, the flag is thrown on Dennis Rogan, and it's hard to complain too much about this call. Julio runs a hard slant inside, gets the proper positioning, but there is contact from Rogan the entire way. There is nothing overly egregious here, but again there is a good deal of contact beginning at the snap and continuing throughout the route, and the ball is clearly close enough to be considered catchable, so again it's hard to cite any real officiating error on this play. Any reasonable referee could have thrown a flag here, and this one did, after watching the route develop the entire way.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

One can't even begin to fathom what kind of atrociously ugly jerseys Chip Kelly and the Ducks will trot out against USC in this critical Pac-10 showdown.

Browse more photos »

Bye week! Woohoo! I've often found the bye week kind of sucky seeing as...you know...the Tide isn't playing and all. I realize now that I need the break just as much as they do (not really, but you know what I mean.) I know I'm feeling more relaxed and recharged this week. I've even managed to finish a couple of books I've been working on a for a while (rival fans, insert coloring book jokes here:___________,) but not making much progress on because I've been reading nothing but football news on tha interwebz. I've even managed to start a third. There are several games on the schedule this week that should be more interesting than they actually are (West Virginia vs. South Florida and North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech spring to mind.) Anyway, without a Bama game on tap for the week, here are your five "must see" college football games for Bama fans to watch for Week 9 of the 2009 season. Rankings reflect BCS standings and all times are Central:

OLE MISS (25) at AUBURN
Saturday, October 31st - 11:21 a.m. - ESPN Gameplan/SEC Network

It's kind of a slow week for great games, so that's why I changed it to "Five College Football Games for Bama Fans to Watch" this week. I included this one since the Iron Bowl is on the horizon and am trying to not have all the games I pick be at the same time. The Rebels could likely get a win over Auburn two years in a row for only the second time ever.

GEORGIA vs. FLORIDA (1)
Saturday, October 31st - 2:30 p.m. - CBS

On paper, Florida should win this thing by a country mile, but they've been scraping by the last few weeks and as they say with rivalry games, "Throw the record books out the windows." Florida's going to the SEC Championship game unless a meltdown of epic proportions occurs, but a win here for Georgia would at least ease the pain of an otherwise bleak season so far.

MISSISSIPPI STATE at KENTUCKY
Saturday, October 31st - 6:00 p.m. - FSS/ESPN Gameplan

Not a game that'll interest many for sure, but I take no team for granted and the Bulldogs are on the schedule for us right after LSU, so I'm watching all that they do. Some stupid playcalling (a fake punt in your own half of the field with that much time left?) and some more Florida-centric SEC officiating made the gap on the scoreboard bigger than it should have been between the Gators and the Bulldogs. It was so close and ugly in fact that Tebow didn't attend a post-game press conference for the first time ever (apologies for bring up Tebow again.) The close game with Florida coupled with the fact that we're 1-2 against them over the last three seasons (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit typing that) means that I consider nobody a sure win these days.

TEXAS (3) at OKLAHOMA STATE (14)
Saturday, October 31st - 7:00 p.m. - ABC or ESPN2

One of two games between ranked teams this week. Texas won a close one in Austin last year and Oklahoma State would certainly love to pull the upset here as it would put the Cowboys in control of their own destiny in the Big XII South (and would have Texas fans probably cheering for Oklahoma later in the year.) Oklahoma State's best win is probably over Georgia, which in hindsight, isn't saying a whole lot. Naturally, I want Alabama to go undefeated and handle their business the rest of the way, but Texas losing to Oklahoma State certainly won't hurt our cause either if we were slip up somewhere down the line. Go Cowboys.

USC (5) at OREGON (10)
Saturday, October 31st - 7:00 p.m. - ABC or ESPN2

USC has clawed their way back in the BCS title hunt despite a loss to 3-5 Washington. Oregon State is back in the Top 10 after an opening weekend loss to Boise State. Whoever wins this game is expected to win the Pac-10, but there is still plenty of room for slip ups along the way for both teams. Once again, every Bama fans should be pulling for the Ducks in this one as it'll provide a bit more cushion for Bama, though not much because Oregon could work their way back in. Regardless of how this impacts us, it should be interesting to see if USC can notch their first win in the state of Oregon since 2005.

Another week of great college football action brings us yet another great week of the meltdown time column. Last week may have been a short short on size, but we come back with a bang this week. This edition of meltdown time brings us great joy from Auburn, Arkansas, Nebraska, Texas Tech, and Miami, and we touch upon such great topics as Bammer conspiracies, crystal meth, coaches getting fired, Osama Bin Laden analogies, QB's committing suicide, taking dumps on Kyle Field, and killing Aggies in bonfires. It's a hoot, plain and simple.

And as always, you know the usual disclaimer. The language gets very rough, and if you are in any way adverse to reading / hearing that sort of thing, don't read this thread. And now, without further adieu, it's meltdown time...

Even if we beat them [Furman] there's no guarantee we'll get a bowl bid looking this bad, and I'm not sure we deserve one.

THANKS TO JAY JACOBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Somewhere... CTT is lighting up a cigar with a $100 bill and lying on a bed full of money that AUBURN PAID HIM TO LEAVE.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Dave Martin - AP

Tennesse coach Lane Kiffin, right, talks with quarterback Jonathan Crompton in the fourth quarter of their 12-10 loss to Alabama, presumably to ask him to explain, again, how this whole "fourth down" thing works. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Browse more photos »

After Cody's second block last night, when the announcers were yammering on about him taking his helmet off, I assumed that everyone who knew anything about football would recognize that taking one's helmet off is a foul like "excessive celebration:" no matter when it happens, it's the penalty enforced on the next. Play.

As it turns out, lots and lots of Tennessee fans don't really know the rules of football.

Neither does Lane Kiffin:

"If a play's still going, you can't take your helmet off," Kiffin said. "A guy throws his helmet as the ball's still live. He throws his helmet and then two of their guys go and recover the ball. It's a 15-yard penalty, and you kick again."

Now, it should come as no surprise that Kiffin has no idea what the rules are of the game he's coaching. It's not the first time.

But, seeing all of these people come out of the woodwork to talk about "re-kicks" and other silly things has frustrated me to no end.  Allow me to explain how football works, not for the benefit of our readers, most of whom have been on top of this all from the very moment of the block, but for other fans who might need a refresher:

The Helmet Rule

First, understand that removing your helmet while on the field of play is expressly against the rules. Rule 9-2-1:

Unsportsmanlike Acts
ARTICLE 1. There shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct or any act that interferes with orderly game administration on the part of players, substitutes, coaches, authorized attendants or any other persons subject to the rules, before the game, during the game or between periods. a. Specifically prohibited acts and conduct include: 1. No player, substitute, coach or other person subject to the rules shall use abusive, threatening or obscene language or gestures, or engage in such acts that provoke ill will or are demeaning to an opponent, to game officials or to the image of the game, including but not limited to:

. . .

(f) Removal of a player’s helmet before he is in the team area (Exceptions: Team, media or injury timeouts; equipment adjustment; through play; between periods; and during a measurement for a first down).

. . .

If committed while the ball is alive, these fouls are treated as dead-ball fouls.

PENALTY — Dead-ball foul or live-ball foul treated as dead-ball foul. 15 yards [S7 and S27] from the succeeding spot. Flagrant offenders, if players or substitutes, shall be disqualified [S47]. If a player or an identified squad member in uniform commits two unsportsmanlike fouls in the same game, he shall be disqualified.

Essentially what that means is that dead ball fouls are marked off on the NEXT play and do not ever result in a "re-do" of the play on which they occurred, despite what Lane Kiffin may believe.

But Tennessee could've recovered the ball!

Well, no. No they couldn't have. A scrimmage kick (A.K.A. Field Goal) is a live ball, recoverable by either team, only until it crosses the neutral zone. At that point, the kicking team can only recover the ball once it has been touched by the defending team. Further, if a scrimmage kick touches goes beyond the neutral zone its character changes. From that point forward, the ball is unrecoverable by the kicking team unless it goes on to touch a player on the defending team. To be clear, the initial block would not count toward this. It would need to be touched again. Further, it would need to be touched before it touched the ground beyond the neutral zone. (See update #2 below for correction)

Rule 2-15-1-b states: "Any free kick or scrimmage kick continues to be a kick until it is caught or recovered by a player or becomes dead."

Rule 4-3-h states that the ball becomes dead "when a return kick or scrimmage kick beyond the neutral zone is made." While this might seem to imply that the ball was kicked from beyond the neutral zone, what it really means is that the scrimmage kick (the ball that has been kicked) has crossed the neutral zone and touched something on the other side. (See update #2 below for correction)

Rule 5-4 discusses the "continuity of downs" and says that the continuity is broken in a number of circumstances like the expiration of the half or game, a change of possession during the play, failing to convert a fourth down, and so on. In other words, no matter what down it was, after one of these things, the next down is first down. In many cases, this means a change of possession. One such occurrence that breaks the continuity of downs is: "(b). A scrimmage kick crosses the neutral zone."

In short: when the ball was hit by Cody it was live and could have been recovered by either team . . . until it rolled past the neutral zone, at which point it was dead by rule (See update #2 below) it was only recoverable by Alabama. Julio Jones tracked the ball down and covered it up. At that point, the play was over and Alabama received possession.

Update #1: bobo_the_vol suggests that the mere act of the ball crossing the Neutral Zone didn't result in a dead ball, so there's at least that debatable point, but remember that in order for that to matter a 'Bama player would still have to touch it after it crossed the NZ but before a Tennessee player did.

Update #2: After spending a few hours last night poking around the NCAA football rule book, I see what bobo_the_vol was trying to say, and I now agree with him. My initial interpretations of a few different clauses in the rule book were incorrect. Upon further reading, Rule 4-3-h means exactly what I said it did not mean (oops). The rule that I was leaning on to provide that interpretation, after another few reads through, doesn't support my assertion as I thought it did. As a result, the initial post was incorrect: the ball was not dead before Julio fell on it. As far as this particular play is concerned, it's a distinction with no difference as the ball was never bobbled around and there wasn't a Tennessee player anywhere in the vicinity of it when Julio touched it, so the final conclusion of this post is still valid. Regardless, I regret the error and appreciate bobo_the_vol taking the time to educate my stubborn self .

But what if Tennessee got the ball before it crossed the neutral zone?

Someone arguing this is probably alluding to the rule that the game can't end on a defensive penalty. The problem is that that simple statement of the rule is not entirely correct. A more accurate portrayal of the rule is that the game can't end on a live ball foul. Rule 3-3 controls here:

Extension of Periods
ARTICLE 3. A period shall be extended until a down (other than a try), free from live-ball fouls not penalized as dead-ball fouls, has been played when:
a. A penalty is accepted for a live-ball foul(s) not penalized as a dead-ball foul that occurs during a down in which time expires (Exception: Rule 10-2-2-g-1) (A.R. 3-2-3-I-VIII).
b. Offsetting fouls occur during a down in which time expires.
c. An inadvertent whistle is sounded or an official signals the ball dead during a down in which time expires.

Live-ball fouls that are penalized as dead-ball fouls do not extend the game. So even if Tennessee had recovered that kick, the game would still have been over because the game is not extended by fouls that are treated like dead-ball fouls.

So what you're saying is that there's no way that Cody taking his helmet off could have given Tennessee another shot to win the game?

Exactly.