All-American offensive guard Will Blackwell admitted yesterday that he and his LSU teammates aren’t thrilled with the fact Alabama’s being given a second shot at them in the BCS Championship Game:


“We kind of have a chip on our shoulder.  We went to Tuscaloosa, and we beat them.  And they get another shot.  We don’t necessarily see that as fair.  We kind of fell like that if it were the other way around, we wouldn’t be getting this opportunity.  But it is what it is.  You can’t change it.  We’ll accept this challenge head on like we would every other team.”


In reality, the Tigers likely would be getting a second shot at Alabama, they lost a 9-6 overtime game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.  LSU’s strength of schedule has been — without question — the toughest murderer’s row in college football this season (at least among those teams in the title chase).  And Alabama’s second shot has more to do with the strength of the SEC than it does some perceived voter love for the Crimson Tide.

But this storyline was predictable.  At LSU, for inspiration, the Tigers have created a chip on their shoulders tied to facing the same team twice.  They’ve been “disrespected.”  While at Alabama, Tide personnel have already manufactured a “we beat ourselves the first time” chip for their own motivation.

Sorry, but we’re not into such nonsense.  Especially considering these two teams are playing for the BCS title and they shouldn’t need any added motivation.  But what we do like to hear is what Blackwell said as a follow-up to the above quote:


“I don’t think there’s any team out there that we dislike more, and I don’t think there’s any team out there that they dislike any more.  This is a definition of a rivalry game.  We’re just glad we get to play in New Orleans this time.”


Game on.

All week, Nick Saban tried to warn Alabama players, fans and media that Georgia Southern’s wishbone-style attack could pose problems for the Crimson Tide’s vaunted defense.  Turns out, he was right.

The Eagles put up 21 points (though 7 came on a kick return), 341 total yards and 302 rushing yards in Bryant-Denny Stadium last Saturday.  For a squad hoping to become the first since Oklahoma in 1986 to lead the nation in the top four defensive team stats, that’s the kind of day that can ruin a season’s worth of work.  So did it?

Nope.  Bama had a big enough lead in most categories that even Saturday’s slip-up didn’t knock the Tide down a peg in any of the main statistical areas. 


Scoring Defense
1.  Alabama — 8.4
2.  LSU — 10.0
3.  Penn State — 13.0

Rushing Defense
1.  Alabama — 74.6
2.  Georgia — 81.2
3.  Florida State — 84.3

Passing Defense
1.  Alabama — 121.3
2.  South Carolina — 137.5
3.  Wisconsin — 146.8

Total Defense
1.  Alabama — 195.9
2.  LSU — 247.9
3.  Michigan State — 257.3


Barring a huge offensive performance by Auburn in this weekend’s Iron Bowl, it appears as though Bama will match the Sooners’ feat from a quarter-century ago.

Line watch:  No movement today, the line is at Alabama -4.5 for the second consecutive day.  It opened at Bama -4 and then moved to -5 before settling in at the current position.

Ticket watch:  According to StubHub.com, the highest price for tickets is $1,177 a piece for four in the lower level of Bryant-Denny Stadium.  Earlier this week two tickets were going for more than $10,000 a pop.

And now the headlines…


1.  Trent Richardson will take to the Heisman stage on Saturday.

2.  CBS’ Gary Danielson says “this game means everything.”

3.  SEC coaches weigh in on the game and its significance.

4.  Florida’s Trey Burton said Alabama’s defense is better than LSU’s… “hands down, a lot better.”

5.  Bama backup tailback Eddie Lacy had a noticeable limp at practice yesterday.

6.  ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit says he and Brent Musburger will have the LSU-Bama game on while they’re calling Oklahoma State-Kansas State. 

7.  The Tigers’ offseason work led to a leaner, tougher defense in 2011.

8.  John Chavis will probably use more of his base defense against the Tide.

9.  Nick Saban and Les Miles have both been highly successful, but they have two different approaches to life and football.

10.  What if Miles were Alabama’s head coach?

11.  LSU’s been rolling since last year’s win over the Crimson Tide.

12.  Is Bama’s D an all-time great… or just very good and fortunate?

13.  Saban isn’t ready to crown his defense just yet.

14.  If the Tide wins Saturday, give some credit to their mental conditioning coach.

15.  Last year’s fourth-down gamble against Bama changed everything for Miles.

BONUS — Writers for The Sporting News have made their predictions.

The massive mile-wide tornado that smacked Tuscaloosa yesterday afternoon came incredibly close to Bryant-Denny Stadium.

In this 8-minute clip from WVUA-TV in Tuscaloosa, you can see the tornado approach the stadium:




And, if you don’t mind some natural sound filled with obscenities, you can check out this video of the tornado moving by the stadium, shot from a nearby apartment.




According to the site SportsByBrooks.com, a University of Alabama staffer reported that the tornado came within 250 yards of Bama’s home field.

He walked alone in the darkness toward the team plane resting on a runway in Tuscaloosa around midnight on Oct. 2. Urban Meyer had the look of a man in deep thought and not too pleased about his evening. A little while earlier, the team buses had pulled away from Bryant-Denny Stadium following a 31-6 loss to No. 1-ranked Alabama in a rematch of the 2009 SEC Championship Game. The loss was the Gators' first since Meyer's health scare 10 months earlier.
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The mischievous sound operators at Bryant-Denny Stadium tried to establish a theme for No. 9 Alabama’s game with No. 2 Auburn on Friday afternoon during warm-ups.
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The No. 9 Alabama football team lost for first time in its last 20 games at home, dropping a 28-27 decision in the 75th Iron Bowl to the No. 2 Auburn Tigers on Friday before a capacity crowd of 101,821 at Bryant-Denny Stadium
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Content provided by Dawg Sports.

‘Bama Public Address Paging Mr. Newton . . .

The Alabama football team held a 90-minute practice in shells Wednesday afternoon inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility to finalize preparations for FridayÂfs annual Iron Bowl against Auburn at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
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Alabama concludes the 2010 regular season with the 75th Iron Bowl on Friday, November 26, at Bryant-Denny Stadium on CBS. The ninth-ranked Crimson Tide square off with the No. 2/2 Tigers at 1:30 p.m. CST on Senior Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
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