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I'd like to take a minute and thank each and everyone of the RBR veterans of our armed forces. Y'all are my heroes.
Roll Vets!
Alabama No. 1 again in BCS standings as debate builds for second and third spots | AL.com
Behind the Seminoles, two more unbeaten teams and a spoiler are jockeying for position. Ohio State is No. 3 followed by Stanford and Baylor. The Cardinal have a loss to Utah, but knocked off then-No. 3 Oregon on Thursday.
What a giant middle finger to Baylor. Beating Oregon is a good win but Stanford lost to Utah, who isn't particularly good this year. This goes to show what the computers and pollsters think of the Big 12 as a conference.
Alabama Increases its lead in the BCS - ESPN.COM
It's the fourth straight week the Tide check in at No. 1 in the BCS standings. Their average is .9958, up from last week's average of .9797. As it did before, Alabama controls its own destiny from here on out and has a pretty good stranglehold on the top spot, with Auburn and the SEC championship game (if the Tide beat Auburn) being the last obstacles between it and an appearance in the VIZIO BCS National Championship Game.
Alabama doesn't need Auburn to be ranked in the top 5 or 7 when the Iron Bowl rolls around but it would be nice for that game to have actual meaning for college football beyond the boarders of the state of Alabama. Actually, when was the last time both teams were ranked in the top 10 this late in the season?
Did you feel Bryant-Denny Stadium sway during the Alabama-LSU game? (video, updated) | AL.com
The packed stadium was swaying along with the music in the fourth quarter of Alabama's 38-17 win over LSU on Saturday night. The Crimson Tide had just stopped LSU on fourth down up 14 with 9:10 to play. With CBS taking another TV timeout and "Dixieland Delight" playing at full volume, the shaking began.
Watching BDS shake is gumplicious. Everything we heard from home was that the stadium was the loudest its been in some time. Good job, guys and gals.
But that's the kind of looking ahead that Nick Saban would frown upon. One game at a time, the process and all that. Alabama still has Mississippi State to play next week, and don't dare overlook Chattanooga; play the games that are in front of you. There's no time for thinking about what might happen a week or two or three down the road. Still, you couldn't help but wonder if the joy that Saban showed Saturday night was a little peek into his thinking. Maybe he has looked ahead a little more than he would let on. And maybe Nick Saban likes his chances. Wouldn't you?
Actually, you couldn't be more wrong on why Nick Saban was happy. I can guarrantee you that Mississippi State, Auburn or the SEC CG was the last thing on Coach Saban's mind when he jumped into AJ's arms. Nick Saban is happy when his players give maximum effort, play to the Alabama standard and make opposing teams' asses quit..
His team did that on Saturday night and he couldn't have been more proud.
That's what makes Saban happy.
Auburn is again a threat to Alabama - College Football News | FOX Sports on MSN
The offensive line exchanged its youth for reps and is much improved built around center Reese Dismukes. They’ve carved massive lanes for running back Tre Mason, who’s averaging 5.7 yards per carry – for a total of 1,038 yards this season – and has driven an Auburn run game that’s jumped from 79th in yards per rush last season (4.07) to third in the nation in 2013 (6.49). That improvement isn’t all Mason, of course. As Malzahn brought his tempo-based offensive system back to Auburn, he imported an engine that could power it. From Garden City (Kan.) Community College came quarterback Nick Marshall, a part-time runner, part-time passer and full-time liability for opposing defenses.
OK, let's give Auburn and Gus some props for turning the Chizik dumpster fire around so quickly. I still wonder though, this Auburn team lost to LSU, didn't look great against MSU, somewhat dominated Ole Miss and was underwhelming against the Hogs. Perhaps we are giving them too much credit?
How much will it cost Florida State to keep Jimbo Fisher? - Tomahawk Nation
The $3.75M base is very competitive among coaches who have not won a national title. And the incentives for winning the national title ($6.5M total compensation, including bonuses) would make Fisher college football's highest paid coach in that given year. I think that's a contract that would remain competitive for several years. And I think it is something Fisher would sign.
A LOT of FSU fans are fretting over losing Jimbo after this season. The USC and Texas jobs are sure to be open after this season and then you have to wonder which jobs will be vacant after those openings are filled. FSU will have to pony up the big bucks if they plan on keeping Jimbo around much longer, but can they afford him? My money is on "no".
Saints' Mark Ingram rushes for 145 yards and TD in rout of Cowboys (gallery, video) | AL.com
Ingram, who went into Sunday night's game with 50 yards on 21 carries for a 2.4-yard average over three games, exploded for 145 yards and a 4-yard touchdown run on 14 carries. "He was a man on a mission," New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees told NBC right after the game. "Honestly, he's been banged up early in the season. ... You could tell he was ready. We fed him. He was ready to eat." Ingram had runs of 34 and 41 yards. He also added two catches for 15 yards.
Oh, hey look at that, when Ingram is healthy and they actually give him the ball, he produces. Funny how that works.
SI's Stewart Mandel: 'Florida State is the best team in the country' (link) | AL.com
"LSU receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry repeatedly burned starters Deion Blue and Cyrus Jones in the first half, much like Texas A&M star Mike Evans dominated Blue and John Fulton back on Sept. 14. I therefore can't help but wonder how 'Bama's corners would fare against Seminoles wideouts Rashad Greene, Kenny Shaw and Kelvin Benjamin, easily the finest trio of receivers in the country."
The FSU troll yesterday got me thinking and I've been hearing a lot about how great FSU is (tallahassee and all). So I wanted to take a quick look at the total offense and total defense rankings for their ACC opponents so far.
Team - total offense - total defense
Pitt- 106th - 42nd
Boston College- 103rd - 93rd
Maryland- 59th - 45th
Clemson- 11th - 31st
NC State- 63rd - 52nd
Miami- 41st- 54th
Wake- 118th - 30th
I'll let y'all be the judge but I don't see anything overly impressive here. I'd also like to point out that FSU has yet to play a top 25 passing defense (or rushing defense for that matter), while Alabama has played the 4th best passing defense in VT (who also has the 4th best rushing defense), LSU (16th), Ole Miss (26th) and Tennessee (22nd).
Volleyball Falls to No. 7 Missouri, 3-1 - ROLLTIDE.COM
Greenleaf Leads Tide Women to 6th at SEC Championships; Alabama Men Place 11th - ROLLTIDE.COM