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Random Thoughts From Around the Country: An Emotional Day

A bad day For Tua and two playoff hopefuls. But a good day for Jalen.

Oklahoma v Baylor Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

#All other storylines took a backseat to Tua’s devastating injury. Despite the big Bama win, the sight of the Tide quarterback being carted off the field cast black clouds over the entire college football world. Even fans of other teams were sad to see such a traumatic experience befall our favorite ukulele playing quarterback.

However, there were other games played. Two more unbeaten P5 teams fell by the wayside as well knew they would.

Alabama 38 Missy State 7

The shocking injury of QB Tua Tagovailoa overshadowed a stellar effort by the Tide defense holding MSU to 270 yards and 11 first downs. MSU running back Kylin Hill was held to 35 yards on 16 carries. On the Bama side, Najee Harris scored three times on the ground and once on a pass reception. Mac Jones generated all of one field goal...

Georgia 21 Auburn 14

What should have been an epic battle turned more into a bit of a snoozer with the two teams combining for 18 punts. UGA’s Jake Fromm threw touchdown passes in each of the first three quarters to lead 21-0. Auburn made a mad dash comeback scoring two touchdowns in the fourth, but were twice stopped on fourth down in the final minutes.

OTHER SEC

Florida 23 Missouri 6 - Another sleepfest with 18 combined punts, five field goals and only two touchdowns. As per usual, the Gators came out sluggish in the first half and went to halftime with a 6-3 lead. UF scored a touchdown in their first and third possessions of the second half and then put it in cruise control. Mizzou did a whole lotta nothing.

LSU 58 Ole Miss 37 - There are bozos out there that want to blame Nick Saban for Tua’s injury. Yet guess who played whistle-to-whistle for LSU against Ole Miss. Heisman front runner Joe Burrow passed 32/42 for 489 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 INTs. Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran 23-172 and a TD. OM coach Matt Luke continues to play both Matt Corral and the Southern Dandy John Rhys Plumlee at QB, but it is clear the latter is the better of the two. JRP had 123 passing yards and 212 on the ground with four rushing TDs. The Tigers could struggle against Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond in two weeks. Corral is as good as gone.

ALAS, POOR YORICK

Minnie’s and Baylor’s moments in the sun were short but fleeting.

Iowa 23 Minnesota 19 - Iowa again plays spoiler ending the Gophers’ lollipop dreams of a B1G title and making the playoff. UM hasn’t won at Iowa since 1999, losing nine straight on the road in the series. We all called this, didn’t we? Now aren’t you glad you didn’t take Minnie seriously? But good for them on a fine season. What I can’t figure out is why PJ Fleck dresses like a 1920s golfer.

Oklahoma 34 Baylor 31 - If you are one of the 40 bazillion people who watched Super Bowl LI, you are probably familiar with the score 28-3. If you watched Baylor-Oklahoma, it may have felt like deja vu all over again. With ESPN GameDay and annoying HGTV personalities on hand, the Bears built a 28-3 lead. BU was held scoreless in the second half as the Sooners piled up 24 points including three passing scores by Jalen Hurts. This with standout receiver CeeDee Lamb sidelined with an injury. For Okie, it was the largest comeback in school history.

STILL NOT BACK

Wisconsin 37 Nebraska 21 - Now 8-14, Scott Frost’s troops took another crushing blow at the hands of TayTay who ran for 204 yards and 2 TDs on 25 carries. The ‘Huskers are 4-6 (2-5) with Maryland and Iowa remaining. Go Hawkeyes!

Iowa State 23 Texas 21 The Cyclones blew a 20-7 lead in the 4th and allowed Tejas to score 14 unanswered. With 2:16 left, ISU lined up for a 42-yard field goal to retake the lead, but the Longhorns jump offsides giving Cyco a first down. Brock Purdy bled the clock down to 4 seconds allowing the kicker to nail a 36-yard game winner as time expired. Tejas is 6-4 (4-3) with a game at Baylor and a homer vs Texas Tech still to play.

WORTH MENTIONING

Michigan 44 Michigan State 10 - Michigan recorded their third straight blowout win with Shea Patterson tossing a quartet of touchdowns. Ohio State might be getting a little nervous.

Penn State 34 Indiana 27 - PSU survived a tough Hoosiers team, but this win will not endear the Litany Nylons to the CFB Committee.

CONFERENCE CUPCAKES

Utah 49 UCLA 3 - Not
Oregon 34 Arizona 6 - worth
Ohio State 56 Rutgers 21 - re-
Clemson 52 Wake Forest 3 - capping

Hot seat

HOT SEAT

  • Michigan 44 Michigan State 10 - Call it a hunch, but I get the feeling Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio may be on the way out. His Spartans made the playoff in 2015 but were summarily dismissed by Alabama 38-0. The next season he went 3-9 followed by a ten win season in 2017. However, the last two years he is a combined 11-12 (B1G 7-9). And now he has some concussion protocol issues. The Former Nick Saban assistant is 63 years old and in his 13th season in East Lansing.
  • Despite being 4-6 with LSU coming to town to guarantee the Rebels a seventh loss, reports surfaced this week that Matt Luke is expected to return to Ole Miss for his fourth season as head coach. Luke’s buyout is currently around $6.5 million. [Why they even gave him a buyout is beyond me. He probably would’ve signed up his dream job without one.] When combined with the big contracts of offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez (3-year, $900K per year) and defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre (3-year, $1.5M per year) both in their first year, it probably behooves a struggling athletic department to live off the teet of the SEC cash cow for one more season. Luke is 15–19 overall and 6-16 against the SEC.
  • South Carolina announced that Will Muschamp will return for 2020. Like I said last week, it’s that big fat buyout.
GOLF: JUL 29 PGA - RBC Canadian Open - Third Round Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

COMFY CHAIR

  • BYU (6-4) announced Monday that head coach Kalani Sitake’s contract has been extended through the 2023 season. That what six wins gets ya these days.
  • I’ve been telling you all for weeks this would happen: Vanderbilt announced Tuesday that Derek Mason would return as coach in 2020 despite a 2-8 record and 26-46 (10-37) overall. Vandy is trying to make some kind of “2019” statement. I will leave it at that.

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESMOND HOWARD

Nobody picked LSU.

Teams in BOLD below already have one loss. Teams with a strikethrough have more than one loss.

  • DESI - 1. Georgia (SEC Champs), 2. Clemson (ACC Champs), 3. Oregon (PAC Champs), 4. Wisconsin (B1G Champs); Iowa State (B12 Champs); Clemson over Georgia in the CFP final.
  • CORSO - 1. Alabama (SEC Champs), 2. Clemson (ACC Champs), 3. Utah (PAC Champs), 4. Ohio State (B1G Champs); Oklahoma (B12 Champs); Alabama over Utah.
  • HERBIE - 1. Alabama (SEC Champs), 2. Clemson (ACC Champs), 3. Ohio State (B1G Champs), 4. Texas (B12 Champs); Washington (PAC Champs); Alabama over Clemson.

MY PICKS

  • 1. Clemson (ACC Champs), 2. Alabama (SEC Champs) 3. Ohio State (B1G Champs), 4. Georgia; Oklahoma (B12 Champs); Washington (PAC Champs); Alabama over Georgia.

BAMA STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

  • Duke (4-6) - Lawd, Blue Devils! What happened to y’all? Loss number six came at home to woeful Syracuse who had lost four straight, 49-6. The Dookies have now lost four straight themselves. Ugh. Next is a probable loss to Wake Forest which eliminates them from bowl eligibility and then Miami (FL).
  • New Mexico State (1-∞) - The Aggies get off the schneid in a classic program-changing win against the monks of FCS Incarnate Word by the score of 41-28. Can they keep this crazy winning streak going against one-win UTEP???
  • Southern Miss (7-3) - The Screaming Eagles defeat UTSA 36-17. With LaTech losing, USM is right behind them for the C-USA West title. Another Tech loss coupled with USM winning out gives the Eagles the division. They host much improved WKU this weekend while the Bulldogs are at UAB.
  • Western Carolina (3-8) - The Fightin’ Cupcakes get back to their losing ways, falling to Samford 31-13.
  • BONUS: SC lost again and will face Clemson to finish the season 4-8. Tenn was off.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

  • UL-Laf (8-2) - Laffy topped South Alabama 37-27. Double-digit wins are in sight with home games against Troy and ULM remaining.
  • Iowa State (6-4) - The Cyclones did not cause any chaos this season but the defeat of Texas, who had no business being ranked 19th, was delicious. We bid a fond a river derchi to the Cycos for now. May you reign down chaos on the B12 next year.
  • Hawaii (7-4) - The Rainbow Warriors slip by UNLV 21-7. They host San Diego State in a game that will decide the MWC West division.

COUSINS

  • Troy (5-5) - The Trojans dominated Texas State 63-27. Next is a tough road trip to division leader La-Laf, followed by a likely defeat to the other division leader Appy State.
  • South ALLLLLLLLLabama (1-9) - The Jags were handed loss number nine by La-Laf 37-27. Up next a visit to the concrete campus of Georgia State.

THAT ANNOYING STEP-BROTHER WHO THINKS KHLOE IS THE HOT ONE.

UAB (7-3) - The Blazers manhandled UTEP 37-10. Up next, division leader La Tech.

RS-Patriot

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

In a long-overdue move, Defense Secretary Mark Esper signed a memo allowing for military academy athletes to delay service if they want to turn pro in their given sport. This is HUGE for these three athletic programs.

  • Army (5-6) - The Black Knights bombarded FCS VMI 47-6. The Cadets have a week off before a LOOOONG trip to Hawaii in a must win game.
  • Navy (7-2) - The Midshipmen got beat up by Notre Dame 52-20. They host SMU - who had a bye week - with the winner taking the lead in the AAC West Standings.
  • Air Force (8-2) - The Falcons came back from a 14-0 deficit to hang 38 on Colorado State for a 38-21 win. [Is CSU (4-6) finally going to fire Mike Bobo (28–33)? They shoulda hired Jim McElwain back.] Next for AFA is @New Mexico and Wyoming.
boxers

CONTENDERS

CHEERING GUIDE:

  • LSU - Ark, TAMU, UGA (SECCG)
  • Ohio State - PSU, @Mich, Minnie or Wisky (B1GCG)
  • Clemson - @SC, ACCCG
  • Georgia - TAMU, @GaT, LSU
  • Alabama - WCU, @Aub (SECCG)
  • Oklahoma - TCU, @OkSt, B12CG
  • Oregon - @AzSt, OregSt, PACCG
  • Utah - @Ariz, Colo, PACCG
  • Penn State - @anOSU, Rutg

NEWLY ELIMINATED:

  • Minnesota
  • Baylor

ENDANGERED

  • Oregon, Utah
  • UGA, Alabama ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • Oklahoma
  • PSU

A way WAY WAY too early look at the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture:

All is not lost for Alabama.

  • ACC - Clemson.
  • Big Ten - anOSU has a tough doubleheader (PSU, @Mich) to finish the season followed by the B1GCG against Wisky or Minnie. PSU has an outside chance but must win out impressively and pray for a lot of chaos.
  • Big 12 - Okie prevailed this weekend. Baylor is done for, thanks to a shamefully weak schedule (Stephen F. Austin, Rice, and UTSA in non-conf). However, they can enact some revenge in the B12CG.
  • PAC-12 - Still winner of Oregon (9-1) Utah (9-1) in the PACCG.
  • SEC - Alabama still has a chance but they have to beat Auburn pretty handily. UGA has TAMU, @GaTech, SECCG.
  • Indies - n/a!

SPOILERS?

  • ACC - n/a
  • Big Ten - PSU
  • Big 12 - Baylor ... still?
  • PAC-12 - Arizona State
  • SEC - Texas A&M has Georgia and Louisiana State left on the docket. Gig ‘Em! (ugh, that felt dirty...)

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

Tonight, Tuesday, the College Football Playoff Committee will release their third poll. The top four won’t change but I have to wonder what they will do with Oklahoma and Alabama. I waffled on this a good bit. Below is how I predict the CFPC will rank the teams:

  1. LSU
  2. Ohio State
  3. Clemson
  4. Georgia
  5. Oklahoma - Big comeback win over Baylor.
  6. Alabama - They don’t want Bama in there with a back-up QB. Beat Auburn and that might change.
  7. Oregon - These guys... smh...
  8. Utah

Six Southeastern Conference teams are currently ranked in the AP.

#1 LSU
#4 Georgia
#5 Alabama - winning by 31 will surely drop you a spot.
#10 Florida
#16 Auburn - down 3 spots.
#24 Texas A&M - Welcome back, Aggie. Oh btw, your next two games are @UGA and @LSU.

Here is my after-twelve-weeks-half-ass Top 6 +1 rankings.

  1. LSU
  2. Ohio State
  3. Clemson
  4. Alabama
  5. UGA
  6. Okie
  7. Oregon

LET’S GO BOWLING

  • 40 bowl games; 80 spots.
  • 64 teams have six or more wins.
  • 15 teams are a win away from six victories. 26 have a record of 4-6. It’s looking like more than a few 6-6 teams will not get a bowl invite.
  • This will not be a banner year for the SEC. Six teams (Ala, LSU, Fla, UGA, Aub, TAMU) are bowl eligible. South Carolina, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Mizzou (probation), and Arkansas are not going bowling. Tennessee and UK are 5-5 and should at least get one more win. Mississippi State will need to win the Egg Bowl to make it nine SEC bowl teams. That makes nine out of 11 tie-ins.

SEC BOWL TIE-INS & AFFILIATIONS

  1. College Football Playoff Semifinal: LSU
  2. First pick: Sugar Bowl vs. Big 12. Possible match-up: Alabama or UGA vs. Okie or Baylor.
  3. Second pick: Citrus Bowl vs. Big Ten or ACC. Possible match-up: Alabama or UGA vs. Wisconsin.

The SEC will assign teams to the respective bowls in this pool.

  • Liberty Bowl vs. Big 12
  • Belk Bowl vs. ACC
  • Music City Bowl vs. ACC or Big Ten
  • Outback Bowl vs. Big Ten
  • Gator Bowl vs. ACC or Big Ten
  • Texas Bowl vs. Big 12

* Birmingham Bowl (vs. AAC) and the Independence Bowl (vs. ACC) are out of luck unless Mizzou wins one more game as well as miraculously winning their weak NCAA appeal that was filed ten months ago.

TOILET BOWL

  • Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Maryland, Rutgers, Arkansas, Kansas, Northwestern are the only Power 5 teams with 7 or more losses.
  • Miracles do happen! New Mexico State and Rice both earned their first victories of the season. Akron is two defeats away from clinching their first Triple Golden Sombrero of a 0-12 record. Terry Bowden sure left that cupboard bare and salted the earth as he headed out of town.

STATS OF THE DAY

  • Notre Dame’s streak of 273 home sellouts came to an end on Saturday for the game against Navy. The streak - the second-longest active run after Nebraska’s 373 - dates back to the final game of the 1973 season. The school does not anticipate a sellout against Boston College on Nov. 23 either.
  • The PAC-12 inches closer towards mediocrity as four teams are 4-6, four are 5-5, and two have four losses. Only Oregon and Utah - both 9-1 - keep the league afloat.
  • West Virginia must really like wheat. In two trips to the rectangular state this year, they beat both Kansas (29-24) and this week #24 K-State (24-20) for their only conference wins of the season.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to Alabama haters out there who actually celebrated Tua’s injury. What is wrong with you? I get that maybe you hate the Crimson Tide and are sick of seeing them win everything, but you are cheering a devastating and excruciatingly painful injury to a 21-year old amateur athlete and genuinely nice guy.

HEISMAN HYPE

With the exception of TWO YEARS, the Heisman Trophy voting is basically a hype award. Often times voters fall in love with someone and refuse to REALLY look at what a player has accomplished.

WHO WILL WIN

CLARIFICATION: This section is not who deserves to win. It is who the slobbering press and other voters will callously crush on (see last year).

  1. Joe Burrow (QB LSU Sr.) Home Alone’s Kevin all-growed up.
  2. Jalen Hurts (QB Oklahoma Sr.)
  3. Tua Tagovailoa (QB Alabama Jr.) - Get well soon.

WHO SHOULD WIN

CLARIFICATION: This section IS for who deserves to win it.

  • Burrow

Runner-Ups

  • Jalen engineered a nice comeback, but also had a pick and lost two of three fumbles.
  • Tua will get some sympathy votes but you might as well wrap the trophy up for Burrow.
  • Justin Fields (QB anOSU Soph.) unlikeable.
  • J.K. Dobbins (RB anOSU Jr.) nobody is talking about him.

If I had a vote:

  • Burrow

THE SICK REPORT

  • If as expected we have seen Tua play his last game in crimson and white, he will forever be remembered as an Alabama great. 100 years from now, they will still be talking about him. We wish him nothing but the best for a great football player and an even better person.
  • Nick Saban made a good point that C.J. Mosley suffered the same hip injury as Tua in the 2011 title game and has had a great NFL career.
  • Defensive linemen DJ Dale (knee) and Raekwon Davis (ankle) were injured in Saturday’s game. Dale was seen was in street clothes walking with a severe limp after the game. Davis was seen in a boot on the sidelines. Saban also mentioned that DL Phidarian Mathis was injured as well. All three are “questionable” but most likely won’t play against WCU.
  • Bama WR Henry Ruggs bruised some ribs and is also questionable.
  • Wake Forest lost dynamic leading receiver Sage Surratt (66 rec, 1001 yds, 11 TD) for the season due to a shoulder injury. The redshirt sophomore did not play against Clemson and probably goes pro.
  • Okie WR CeeDee Lamb dressed out and went through warm-ups against Baylor but did not play. The official word is because of a “medical issue.” As kickoff approached, he was seen on the sideline without his helmet. It’s pure speculation on my part, but this sounds like concussion protocol.

This is the kind of player you want on your team. On that note...

DRAMA

  • Alabama freshman DB Scooby Carter was reportedly suspended for the MSU game for missing classes. What a tyrant that Saban is! Making guys go to class!?!?! Heavens forbid! On Monday, Carter tweeted that he was entering the transfer portal. He played in three games this season.
  • LSU OLB Michael Divinity was back at practice Monday but is not expected to play Saturday against Arkansas. He has missed the last two games in what LSU insists on calling “personal” issues.
  • Greg Schiano’s return to Rutgers seems imminent which is kinda sad. Schiano is a good coach who deserves better than crappy ol’ New Jersey U. But on the other hand, it’s his own fault when he left a good thing (5 straight bowl wins at RU) for a bad thing (lasting all of two seasons as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). On the plus side, anOSu would be losing their defensive coordinator. See how that feels, Ryan Day.
  • The Florida State administrators better get cracking on finding a new coach since support for interim coach Odell Haggins as permanent head coach is gaining traction. Nice guy, good assistant, but an inexperienced head coach candidate. A place like FSU does not need a first-time HC who has only faced cupcakes.
  • Urban Meyer pees in swimming pools... while standing on the edge.
  • Be sure to reset your clocks three minutes and 22.3 seconds ahead. When Fat F*** Phil Fulmer got out of bed on Monday, it jostled the Earth’s rotation a smidge.
Black and White TV

EYEBALLS

The biggest game of the Big 12 season - Oklahoma vs Baylor Bears - drew 6.43 million viewers. Isn’t that adorable? Only 10.21 million behind Alabama-LSU.

Cupcakes

THIS WEEK

College GameDay will will be heading to freezing-ass cold Columbus, OH for anOSU-PSU. Saturday’s forecast calls for AM showers and a high of 40°. LOL!

SEC Nation will be in Athens GA for UGA-TAMU.

(Below is an abbreviated list of games of interest. If you REALLY need to know about the big Ball State-Kent State showdown, you can find the details here.)

It’s CUPCAKE WEEK! So many bad games.

Tuesday, November 19

MAC1 at MAC2 6:30/7:30 ESPN2
MAC3 at MAC4 6:30/7:30 ESPN

Wednesday, November 20

MAC5 at MAC6 6:30/7:30 ESPNU
MAC7 at MAC8 6:30/7:30 ESPN2

Thursday, November 21

NC State at Georgia Tech 7pm/8pm ESPN - At least it’s not MAC.

Friday, November 22

Colorado State at Wyoming 8:30/9:30 ESPN2 - YeeHAW!

Saturday, November 23

MUST SEE!

Penn State at Ohio State 11am/noon FOX - ELIMINATION GAME! Go get a second TV while you watch Bama-WCU.

SEC:

So much terribleness.

Samford at Auburn 11am/noon SECN - Yuck
Texas A&M at Georgia 2:30/3:30 CBS - UGA has already won the East.
UT Martin at Kentucky 2:30/3:30 SECN - Bleh
ETSU at Vanderbilt 2:30/3:30 SEC ALT - Blurg
Arkansas at LSU 6pm/7pm ESPN - Gag
Abilene Christian at Mississippi State 6:30/7:30 SEC ALT - Icky
Tennessee at Missouri 6:30/7:30 SECN - Two 5-5 teams hoping to get bowl eligible.

NATIONAL:

Texas at Baylor 2:30/3:30 FS1 - Either Tejas moves to 6-5 or Baylor loses two in a row. It’s win-win!
Michigan at Indiana 2:30/3:30 ESPN - Michy better be careful they are not looking ahead to next week’s game with anOSU.
SMU at Navy 2:30/3:30 CBSSN - Whoda thunk back in August this would be a big game?
Pitt at Virginia Tech 2:30/3:30 ESPN2 - Is somebody/anybody going to take charge of the ACC Coastal?
UCLA at Southern Cal 2:30/3:30 ABC - This one is always a street fight.
Oregon at Arizona State 6:30/7:30 ABC - C’mon HERM!
TCU at Oklahoma 7pm/8pm FOX - C’mon FROGS!

SLEEP

Utah at Arizona 9pm/10pm FS1 - Sumlin has a chance to do something good in this world.

Saban on Tua: “I called him Saturday night to cheer him up and he cheers me up.”

#ALABAMA

Wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith are among the 12 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award to nation’s top receiver. They will get tough competition from Okie’s CeeDee Lamb and LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase. Jeudy won last year.

FROSH

  • LB Shane Lee (2 solos, 8 assts, INT, QBH) and LB Christian Harris (2 solo, 4 asst, 0.5 TFL, QBH) had big games. Defensive tackle DJ Dale was injured early on and did not record any stats. Offensive guard Evan Neal got his usual start.
  • DB Jordan Battle (2 asst) did not start.
  • QB Taulia Tagovailoa unnecessarily played in his fourth game, handing the ball off on the last two plays. I can’t understand this. Obviously, Lia will play against WCU which will burn his redshirt. In a perfect world, he won’t be needed against Auburn or in post-season games because Mac Jones will be awesome, and the WCU game would be Lia’s fourth game played. So why put him in this MSU game to do something a tuba player from the Million Dollar Band could’ve done?
  • TE Jahleel Billingsley - 1 catch, 19 yards.
  • WR John Metchie - no stats.
  • DB DeMarcco Hellams - no stats.
  • DE Byron Young - 4 asst.
  • P Ty Perine (fourth game) - Two punts of 42 and 37 yards.
  • LB King Mwikuta - no stats.
  • DL Justin Eboigbe - no stats.
  • RB Keilan Robinson - 3 rushes 10 yds.
RANK NAME YEARS WINS LOSSES BEHIND
1 Joe Paterno 46 409 136 163
2 Bobby Bowden 44 346 123 100
3 Bear Bryant 38 323 85 77
4 Pop Warner 49 311 114 65
5 LaVell Edwards 29 257 101 11
6 Tom Osborne 25 255 49 9
7 Nick Saban 24 246 64 -
8 Mack Brown 30 242 123 -4
9 Frank Beamer 29 238 121 -8
10 Lou Holtz 33 236 112 -10

SABAN VS MACK

With UNC’s overtime loss to Pitt coupled with Bama’s win, Nick Saban goes up 4 Ws in career wins as a FBS/I-A coach over Mack Brown.

GAME 11: Saturday, November 23, 2019

Western Carolina at Alabama - SENIOR DAY

Bryant-Denny-Saban Stadium ~ 11:00am/noon, ESPN

This senior class has a record of 64-5. Among the seniors are LB Anfernee Jennings, DB Shyheim Carter, DB Trevon Diggs, DB Jared Mayden, DL Raekwon Davis, OL Matt Womack, DL Tevita Musika, and LB Joshua McMillon. McMillon was injured before his redshirt senior season began. Could he possibly file for a medical hardship and get one more year with the Tide? That would be nice.

The Catamounts (3-8) are pretty awful even by FCS standards. The good news is they don’t run the triple option.

  • ESPN: Roy Philpott, Kelly Stouffer and Lauren Sisler. This crew also called the Bama-Southern Miss game as well.
  • Eli Gold on Alabama Radio.
  • Alabama has not lost to an unranked foe since Saban’s first year at the Capstone. On Nov. 17, 2007, the Crimson Tide fell to Louisiana-Monroe 21-14. That defeat may have been the genesis of the Sabanism “never waste a failure”. Two years later, Alabama won the National Championship.
  • As of post, there was no Vegas line on this game.

LOOKING AHEAD, BUT NOT REALLY: Iron Bowl at Jerdin-Hair will kickoff at 2:30pm CT and broadcast by CBS - as if we haven’t suffered enough...

#RollTide

Poll

Can Penn State win at Ohio State?

This poll is closed

  • 53%
    No way.
    (211 votes)
  • 21%
    No, but it will be close.
    (84 votes)
  • 25%
    Yes.
    (102 votes)
397 votes total Vote Now