To say Auburn is Alabama’s biggest test this year might not be wrong, but saying Alabama hasn’t been tested is.

By The Conduit

You know who’s critical of Alabama? Alabama is critical of Alabama. In particular, Nick Saban, AJ McCarron, Kevin Norwood, CJ Mosley, etc.

It’s hard for many Alabama fans to do the same. We hear from Nick Saban every week from his press conferences about mistakes and areas of improvement, but nobody swears at Saban to say something positive about Alabama. So let’s be critical instead and talk about how good Alabama is or isn’t this year.

First, the Texas A&M game stands alone. Yes, Manziel got too many completions with rainbow bombs into triple-coverage, but if Manziel can do it with those floaters anyone else could, too.

But they haven’t.

There are some questions still on offense, especially with AJ McCarron seemingly unable to hit long passes to deep receivers in motion, overthrowing the ball on go-ahead touchdown opportunities game after game. For what it’s worth, those kind of plays won games for Alabama last year, including in the SEC title game against Georgia.

The defense, however, has been impressive even for Alabama. Some expectations were low this year and they lowered further after losing Vinnie Sunseri, a game-changer as elite as CJ Mosley. But the defense has been incredible. Alabama has three zero-score games for 2013, plus near shut-outs against UT, CSU, Georgia State, and MSU despite not playing typical form against MSU. One explosive play in the season-opener against Virginia Tech created a lot of questions that have since been answered. And while I can’t say Texas A&M was crushed by Alabama the same way Alabama’s other opponents have been, many forget the last-second efforts it too TAMU to get close to an opportunity to tie the game with one play left.

Alabama is also ranked #1 in every poll. That makes a difference, too. We can argue about how much harder teams play against a #1-ranked team, but that’s too intangible to quantify. We can also argue about who else deserves to be there, only nobody who makes the polls seems to be arguing that anyway. The fact remains that Alabama has 11 consecutive wins as the #1-ranked team, and if Alabama beats Auburn they will tie USC with the most all-time #1-ranked consecutive wins. Thirteen could potentially be the SEC title game, and fourteen could be the national title game. As of today, Alabama is ranked in the top three for the 37th consecutive week, tying Oklahoma for the streak.

By contrast, I think the only team that stands up to the same scrutiny is Florida State. They’ve never struggled this year. Their schedule is weaker than Alabama’s, but Ohio State’s schedule is the weakest of the top-ranked teams and they’ve struggled nearly every opening half. They’ve certainly allowed more points than Alabama has against worst competition than Alabama has faced. Oregon is a great football team lacking too many fundamentals and making too many mistakes. Baylor is fantastic, but they lost to a better football team, Oklahoma State, who is absolutely mesmerizing; a top-3 team in my opinion. But they lost to West Virginia so now they’re overlooked and out of the BCS title race. Missouri is outstanding. They lost to South Carolina without their star QB and missed a field goal in triple overtime. TAMU will be a test, and Mizzou hasn’t had any shut-outs all season, but they’ve been outstanding at adapting over four quarters.

With all that said, is Alabama not the best team in the country? They’re missing some giant explosive plays on offense, but not missing much on defense. The schedule isn’t the toughest in the nation, but they’ve impressed in those games more than teams in similar situations. The Buckeyes needed to crush all of their opposition and they haven’t. Missouri has a very similar schedule to Alabama, yet even with the TAMU game Mizzou has allowed over than 100 more points than Alabama.

And then there’s Auburn. I understand the hype, and this Iron Bowl is already a historical one regardless of the result. Yet for all the questions about how good Alabama really is, I don’t think Auburn stands much of a chance and a win at Jordan-Hare will silence a lot of questions about Alabama’s rank at #1.

Auburn has allowed 68 more points than Alabama just against the teams they’ve both faced. That’s more than every opponent Alabama has faced this year combined outside of TAMU. Auburn had one more cupcake this year than Alabama, contributing to being nearly even on total points scored this season (62 points on Western Carolina helps, although even that game wasn’t a shut-out), but of course Alabama didn’t play Georgia this year. Instead, Alabama beat Virginia Tech, a team with the same win-loss record as Georgia, but I don’t think anyone reading this has to compare Georgia with Virginia Tech to remember how the Bulldogs lost to Auburn at Jordan-Hare. It might have looked like it at the time, but that wasn’t Auburn’s only close win this season.

To say Auburn is Alabama’s biggest test this year might not be wrong, but saying Alabama hasn’t been tested is.

The second half of the LSU game was arguably Alabama’s best performance all season, but I’d still say it’s a surprise they haven’t played as well more frequently; the numbers (notably on defense) make it look like they have, but missed opportunities for explosive plays have led some people to question if Alabama is that good.

They are, however, that good.

Look at the numbers, look at the game tapes, look at the intangibles, look at anything you want to know the best chance for Auburn having success is for Alabama to fail at fundamentals. Simply put, Alabama has to avoid messing up to win. I’m not outright dismissing Auburn and I’m sure they have some tricks they’ve been practicing every week since July, but I do think Alabama’s mistakes will have more to do with Auburn’s success than Auburn’s talent, planning and hurry-up-no-huddle distractions. I try to be more critical than most against Alabama and there’s definitely room for improvements in execution, but the more I look the more I’m convinced they belong at the #1 position.

Alabama hasn’t been mistake-free in every game this season. They’ve just been more mistake-free than anybody else. That is how good they are. That is the team Auburn has to play Saturday. That’s the team everyone else in the country either wants to beat or see beaten just so their team might have chance at success. That’s the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. If Auburn’s #4 ranking does nothing more than to put another exclamation point on Alabama’s unblemished 2013 regular season, then so be it. Roll Tide.

19 thoughts on “Yes, Alabama is that good”

  1. Y’all just ignore Me! I was high as hell when I posted this story. Did I really brag about shutting out UT, CSU, Georgia State, and MSU?! WTF is wrong with me?! Then I went on to call other teams schedules ” soft ” and ” full of cupcakes”! ITK , why didn’t you stop me from making a complete idiot of myself? I knew smoking that stuff that Crimsonite brought back from Mexico would help me cope with the fear of losing the Iron Bowl , But damn! I may need an intervention!

    1. Wow, you really are Little Brother.

      You treat me the way Auburn treats Alabama. I kinda like it.

      Why put quotes on something someone didn’t say?

      It’s Little Brother Syndrome. Roll Tide.

    2. Well actually dumbass, we didn’t shut out any of those teams you mentioned. We did however have 2 shutouts against SEC teams to whom you shitbirds gave up a total of 39 points. In fact we beat every common opponent worse than Awbie. Some we beat a hell of a lot worse than Awbie did and WE did it when those teams were healthy. Then again there’s the 35 point difference in the LSU game, which strangely enough is exactly the difference in the score I’ve been predicting for two months. Bama 52-17. RTR!

    3. This is the most biased article I have ever read. If I had to guess you might be an Auburn fan right? …..

  2. Yap yap yap. Your fictional writings are real amusing , but you tend to repeat yourself over and over and over and over. We get that you have a brother fetish ( help him out crimsonshite) and you think that you are some sort of English Professor. We get it! You can stop repeating yourself now! Do you just copy and paste all of your responses?

    1. Fictional writings?

      Says the guy writing comments using my name.

      I think you mean “stats.”

      I love you, Little Brother. You’re adorable.

  3. Hey Cantdoit…..Why don’t you put your crimson spin on the warning shot that Mrs. Saban fired in the Wall Street Journal? Per WSFA out of Montgomery…. ” Teams engaged in an annual rivalry as fierce as that of the Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers expect to hear a little – ok, a lot – of trash talk from the other side, but not from your own base, much less anyone in the head coach’s personal camp.

    In a new article published by the Wall Street Journal, that appears to be the case. The article focuses [Read here] on the woman behind arguably college football’s best (and best paid) coach: Mrs. Nick Saban.

    The coach’s other half had some not-so-flattering words for the Tide Nation. It appears the first couple of all things crimson, hounds tooth and white are at “a crossroads”.

    Terry Saban is quoted as saying, “expectations get so great, people get so spoiled by success and there gets to be a lack of appreciation…” She says that’s where she thinks she and her husband are at this point.” NEXT STOP AUSTIN!!!!!

    1. I have Pay Pal and will match all the money you can scrape up selling your little sister on the corner, that says Saban retires at Bama. Put up or shut the fuck up dip shit Weagle. RTR!

    2. Um. I hate to have to point this out, Little Brother. You left out or forgot to read the rest of the story.

      Here, let me help.

      “For those who want to jump to conclusions on Mrs. Saban’s bold statement as proof positive the couple is looking to leave Alabama, she makes clear in the article that there will be no leaving Tuscaloosa.”

      “Asked if these reports were accurate, Terry Saban called them “rumors with absolutely no foundation.”

      “We’re staying,” she said. “We’re not going anywhere.”

      I won’t add the rest of the quotes since it’s entirely off-topic anyway.

      There’s still room at the kids table for Thanksgiving, Little Brother. So adorable.

      Alabama’s coming to town. Carving turkey is good practice for the slaughter this Saturday.

    3. Why didnt you mention her quotes saying “We’re staying” and “we’re not going anywhere”?I will tell you why, because those pesky little things make someone a liar or someone else wrong. I would put my money with Crimsonite.

  5. Umm everybody has pay pal. That really is not a status symbol crimsonshite. How do you want to do this? What amount would you like to bet? I am not sure how much you get paid being in the ” cartel” as you claimed. I am game for whatever amount you want to throw out there. I would want a contract written up by my lawyer and signed by you and your representative beofre we go further in this. We have to make this quick also because The regular season ends Saturday and that is Prime Time for Coaches to start making their calls. Give me an address and Contact number for you and your lawyer and we will get this ball rolling. I am not going to just take your word that you will pay up. We are going to do this the right way or no way at all. Name your price.

    1. Very fucking funny CumDoIt. Demanding physical correspondence for a Bet as if it we were financing a house. Excellent way to chickenshit out and try to save face. Not even the fucking CIA can find me from the information gleaned on this computer, nor from any physical addresses, email addresses or Debit Cards and or Pay Pal which is connected only to those emails and cards – and that’s the way it is going to fucking stay. Besides, dumbass, you may not still be alive when Saban retires from Bama in 2019. The only way the Bet would come due earlier is if all you jealous cum suckers are correct and he leaves sooner for another school. Don’t be coming on here acting as fucking stupid about a Bet as you do about everything else. No way in hell you are going to put $5000 in an escrow account for the next 6 years knowing you can’t touch it or ever get it back if Saban honors his current contract. Otherwise you deposit it in your Pay Pal account and send weekly emails of the official account balance to at least prove you have the Bet money available at all times. It’s up to honor whether or not the money would get transferred after the Bet is completed. As for me I don’t need your damn money. Just knowing you were without use of it for 6 years while making a dumbass Bet against your worst nightmare, is enough for me. As for the ‘Cartel’, dumbass; I am not in, nor do I have any affiliation with the ‘Cartel’. What’s more, there are at least 6 major ‘Cartel’s’ in Mexico, plus the ‘Zeta’s who are generally the local Police, plus the Federal Police, and the Military. They are all corrupt and all have dealings together. Different combinations in different areas of the country. This is why there is constant crime wars in Mexico. My ‘affiliation’ with one of the most powerful ‘Cartel’s’ whose name I won’t mention, is because after I married my wife, her brother who is in charge of US operations came to stay with us for a couple of months and that’s the first I knew of it. He came to stay as security because her exhusband who WAS a Zeta, broke into our hose while I was out of town and hurt her badly. He stayed with us until my his workers found the bastard and killed him. However, all I have to do is ask and it will be done – if you know what I mean. And they can find people that the Government cannot. Get the picture Weagel!

  6. Does anyone have ideas on what tricks Auburn will have in store for Alabama? We know they won’t kick to Alabama the entire game (just like with Georgia), so how about an onside kick? Maybe a fake punt? Statue of Liberty?

    I hope they kick to Alabama, just once.

    Wait, hope in Auburn, who am I kidding? Get ready for the bloodbath when Alabama ties USC with the most all-time #1-ranked consecutive wins.

    1. yep. They had a 109 yd kick return off of a FG attempt with 1 second left to win the game. Sounds crazy but I think it might work!

  7. Pingback: Yes, Alabama Is That Good : BamaFootball4Life

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