Future games against Penn State, Virginia Tech and Florida State are on the drawing boards, Nick Saban was quoted as saying in the Sand Mountain Reporter. “Our goal is to play one (marquee out-of-conference team) every year. You get better by playing great teams,” Saban said.

For you J.P. Wilson bashers:“John Parker is our best chance to win,” Saban said. “He’s got the talent and got the attitude.”

Stabler out of radio booth for a year
Kenny Stabler was bounced from his color commentary role at UA for a year, according to a release from the Crimson Tide Sports Network. He’ll be replaced by Tom Roberts. Stabler requested the leave of absence to work on personal issues. Presumably, those personal issues relate to his most recent DUI arrest.

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Antoine Caldwell to write column
University of Alabama center Antoine Caldwell is one of 22 players who will write a weekly column this fall for Sporting News Today, a digital daily sports publication. Caldwell’s columns will cover topics from each week’s upcoming game to life as a student-athlete, the Tuscaloosa News reported.

BOL: Strong Fall camp could propel Alonzo Lawrence into rotation
Bama Online gives its opinion on the potential impact from freshman Alonzo Lawrence. “A strong fall camp from Lawrence could get him involved in that (nickel) package, possibly as a cornerback with Arenas moving to the nickelback, or “star”, position.” What could keep him out of the rotation? Technique. “Coach Nick Saban is a stickler for technique, especially in the secondary, which he oversees on a daily basis in practice. As well, in the secondary there is little margin for error when it comes to busted assignments because they more often result in big plays for the opposing offense. So the mental adjustment for Lawrence, apart from technique, will also be crucial.”

28 thoughts on “Penn State, Va. Tech, FSU on future schedule?”

  1. “Our goal is to play one (marquee out-of-conference team) every year. You get better by playing great teams,” Saban said.

    Come on Saban, let’s see Notre Dame and Texas on that list.

    Of course, I’d rather wait until Weiss is tossed and someone is hired and the program is revived before playing them, that way the game will be more competitive.

  2. Saban has said he wants Notre Dame, but last year I think the Irish said their schedule was full for a long time.

    An Alabama game with Texas would be a great one. I wouldn’t mind adding Miami and another few games against a Pac-10 school or two.

  3. I concur with the statement Saban made concerning JPW. He has the stats, his only downside is he lacks the wins. But it’s a team effort and the age old saying is there is no “I” in team.

  4. Cap, I’d like to play Miami and wouldn’t mind scheduling a Pac10 team either, as long as it’s not USC. lol At least for now anyway.

  5. Jim McElwain is tweaking up our offensive system by adding a bit more diversity to our once inconsistently predictable offense.

    Even though we lost our two key playmakers, Nikita Stover, an already proven receiver, Earl Alexander, and Mike McCoy should fill that gap very solidly, allowing JPW to shine even brighter than before. In addition, factor in an explosive Terry Grant, who set UA’s all-time rushing record for a freshman last season, and a very versatile Javier Arenas, who brings a Prothro like ability to the table, will be a huge plus for our underrated offense.

    We shouldn’t throw in the towel just yet. Our offense will prove themselves worthy of being one the conference’s best in the 2008 season.

  6. Christopherson, Arenas is playing cornerback and kick returner so he wll not be involved in the offense.

    The fan bravado and ticketholder in me says lets play two or three big nonconference opponents each year. But pragmatically speaking, with an SEC schedule one big time non-con opponent is all most teams will schedule. Georgia has the best team in the country but many commentators are writing off their national championship chances b/c of the sheer difficulty of their schedule which includes only one major non-con game (AZ State).

  7. Christopherson, Arenas is playing cornerback and kick returner so he wll not be involved in the offense.

    I know. I should’ve specified that a little more briefly. Arenas, alone will put our offense in a better position to score, that is when he gets his hands on the ball. He’s a playmaking asset that will play a crucial role in starting off with good field position.

  8. Bama has several big play threats waiting in the wings, And if the incoming class is all that I hear it is. Bama might be a big surprise for a lot of folks this year.
    I think Coach Saban has the right philosophy. If you want to be considered as one of the best you need to consistently beat other teams that are considered among the best.
    I see nothing wrong with loading Bama’s out of conference schedule with marquee teams. Because they are quality wins. The malaise that occurs when you play directional schools can cause your team to lose focus and ….well… lose games. The up side is that at the end of the year if you are still a contender you wont be as likely to get passed over for a title shot.

  9. I hate to say this but I have a bad feeling about Parker. We keep putting all this preseason stock into him, and he only lets us down. I don’t think anything will change this year.

  10. “Bama has several big play threats waiting in the wings, And if the incoming class is all that I hear it is. Bama might be a big surprise for a lot of folks this year.”
    A big suprise? yeah right. So you are saying that several incoming freshman who have never played college football will be “waiting in the wings” and can make bammer a suprise? A suprise alright. Losing more games than they did last year. bammer had a great recruiting class last year but putting that kind of pressure on incoming freshmen will not lead to wins. It will take that class two years to get it going for you. that is saying they all stay in school and turn out to be as good as you think they are.

  11. Any SEC team that schedules more than 1 marquis OOC game is cutting there own throat.

  12. Bamaa will have a pretty good offense is JPW dosnt implode. Arenas is a playmaker. Grant is a playmaker. That aint the problem. Defense will be the problem on Bammers team.

  13. I agree as well. An already slim defense is steadily losing talent due to injuries and off the field issues (drugs, assault, etc.).

    Offensively, I didn’t think we had that bad of an offense last season. Playcalling was a major issue, not the players themselves. Notice the plays changed dramatically in the second half of games which we were blowing out the opposition in the first, which led to a decline in statistics.

  14. C-Bass,

    I am from the south. I have somewhat of a southern accent. I get ragged on about it all the time. But wouldn’t you agree that Snake’s accent is the preventative factor behind him commentating college ball instead of pro? He has one of those “deep south” accents that are hard to translate at times. You can’t deny that.

  15. Thank you Rednecktider for living up to the hype. Proving once again…that Auburn fans usually dont have a damn clue what they are saying….

  16. Maybe now you can go to the oklahoma site, the USC site, the Texas site, and the Michigan site and tell them why the only team in the NCAA were the freshman will contribute is Auburn University.

  17. tmc1- you are blinded by delusions. You are a pathetic excuse for a fan. Typical bammer. If you think your defense will not have problems…. delusional. but go ahead and tell yourself it will be ok. Repeat this in your head about 3 or 4 times.. bammers back.. bammers back… bammers back.. maybe if you say it enough.. it will come true.

  18. By the way.. no one said the freshmen wouldn’t contribute.. (you can’t read either huh?) IF you decided to hang your hat on a couple of incoming freshmen who have NEVER played college ball and expect them to fill voids and help you out… crazy. But that is typical of you.

  19. Redneck Barnie, you always display a significant amount of impeccable class and character and I thank you for that. We “bammers” sincerely appreciate it.

    While it’s true our defense does have their small share of problems, yours should have just as many, if not more considering the mastermind behind it all is now at Texas and only six starters from last year’s squad is returning.

    You talk about our delusion and our defensive problems when your defense has just as many, and your offense is featuring an unproven quarterback who didn’t shine in the spring, nor did he shine last season against NCAA powerhouses Mississippi State and New Mexico State. But your delusion doesn’t allow you to see outside the borders of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. You could care less about Aubarn, but would give your first born to see Alabama lose, hence the reason your expertise in football is strictly the team you AUbsess over and not the team you claim to be a fan of.

    Nice, job! Your name, REDNECK says it all for us.

  20. RedneckBarnzoe,

    That rare knowledge and logic that you possess could take you somewhere. Somewhere like Lindys, Athlons, TheAubarnie.com, or The Corner News where you can join Cecil “Shakes” McFly in his weekly Bama bashing. You two would make a lovely couple and I’m sure more Barnies would support you guys’ cause more than they do a slowly decaying football program with one foot in the grave and one foot on the banana peel.

  21. It is so sweet to beat arrogance… something that bammers has strutted for some time, but lately there has been nothing to strut; and yet bammers are still reluctant to give due respect where respect is due. So, from time to time you will hear an Auburn fan make a comments about beating the crap out of Bama, because it is fun. The same would be fun for a Bama fan if they were to beat Auburn, but this apparently won’t ever happen again 🙂 bammers = class. Just keep repeating that to yourself and maybe it will come true.

  22. lmao… our defense has problems but theirs don’t????? leave it up to a tech fan to assure us of our weakest links, but never will they mention any of the pros of our team. go play in traffic idiot.

    Count this as my signature:

  23. Oh dear God.

    It’s a full time job being an overly obsessed Aubum, isn’t it Redneck Tider?

  24. Berman ..Yes your defense has problems …and No… ours dont..
    Auburn 07 total defense #6
    Bama # 31

    Next…

  25. I am about to hand out the worst insult in the history of this blog….so here goes….
    Redneck and Ballplay, you guys are an embarrassment to Auburn.

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