The Alabama Crimson Tide have reached the College World Series for the first time since 1999, but you can bet that they aren’t satisfied with a mere appearance. Advancing isn’t going to be easy, however, considering the gauntlet that lies ahead.
Alabama
Gump Day: Kirby Smart, Georgia carry the weight of expectations into Tuscaloosa
Happy Gump Day, everyone. We will open today with a piece from this Georgia bro, who notes that Georgia has an opportunity to change the narrative in a new era of Alabama football.
The common denominator of the Bulldogs’ poor record against Alabama over the past decade and a half was, of course, Nick Saban who is arguably the greatest college football coach in the history of the sport. Saban announced his retirement from coaching following the 2023 season, capping off one of the most dominant runs a college football program has ever seen.
With Saban’s reign on the college football world over, the Georgia Bulldogs now have an excellent opportunity to turn a new leaf in this storied rivalry. As a victory over the Tide in next Saturday’s matchup could signify the beginning of a new era for the Georgia-Alabama rivalry.
It’s fair to say that all of the pressure will be on Georgia next Saturday. They carry the number one ranking and all the expectations that come with it, and they are going to be feeling at least some local pressure after a putrid offensive showing in Lexington. Alabama fans should fully expect them to play much better in Tuscaloosa, but some doubt could creep in.
Georgia fans had joined the chorus of LSU, Tennessee, and Auburn folk over the past few seasons, pledging that the conference hierarchy would forever change once Nick Saban retired. Well, we’re here now. If Kalen DeBoer is able to handle Kirby’s Dawgs in their first matchup, with a quarterback that we have been told all offseason is clearly inferior to Carson Beck, some feelings are going to be mighty hurt. I’d say that Alabama holds a significant psychological edge in this one, for whatever that is worth. It seemed to be worth something in Atlanta a few months back.
Chase Goodbread has a solid observation about that dagger drive near the end of the first half in Madison.
In similar situations, Saban was known to let the clock run out, happy enough with a halftime lead on the road. The seven-time national championship coach had his reasons, beginning with the impact a turnover might have. Had Alabama lost a fumble or thrown an interception in the final minute, Wisconsin could have cut into the Alabama lead and seized major momentum going into the half. Even a penalty or two, or perhaps a third-down sack, might have presented the Badgers with a reason to call a timeout, force a punt, and make something happen with a quick possession of their own. Saban also usually had a dominant defense he could count on enough to win against anyone, anywhere, with ball-control football.
As for DeBoer’s approach? Here’s how he described it Monday: “We had 36 seconds, you’ve got a field goal kicker you believe in, and I think three timeouts. You’ve got a lot working for you.”
He’s not wrong. No way Saban was chucking it deep from his own territory on first down, with a lead and less than 40 seconds on the clock. It’s just the difference in a defensive minded coach who tended to me more risk averse with the ball, and an offensive minded coach who believes you can never have enough points.
The local beat writers have some bye week takes for you.
The Longhorns have easily been the most consistent and impressive team to date, but the fact Michigan continues to look like a dog devalues that win in the other Big House.
Still, they’re the most deserving No. 1 given the rest of the elite’s inconsistency or insufficient challenges.
Georgia looked incredibly beatable in a 13-12 win against a Kentucky team a week after taking a 31-6 home beating against South Carolina.
Ohio State’s been fine roughing up Akron (52-6) and Western Michigan (56-0). Nothing learned there.
Which SEC game will define Alabama’s 2024 season?
Colin: Georgia will be the game Alabama finds out where it stands. Tennessee will be the game Alabama finds out how it responds to either the weight of contention or adversity depending on the outcome of the Bulldogs game. But don’t look past road games at LSU and Oklahoma. Both could be fighting for one of those final CFP slots or could be looking to play spoiler. Both of the Crimson Tide’s road games in November could really determine where Alabama ends up come December.
This is a nice profile on Alabama basketball’s defensive guru, Brian Adams.
Q: What was Nate Oats’ pitch to you?
A: “No. 1, I had to pitch to him to be a part of this. I had to make sure he felt comfortable with me, one, as a person, and two, as a coach. But more importantly, running the defense. Obviously it’s an area that, with the high potent offense and what it was, last year they took a step back defensively. The years prior, they had been pretty legit. So he had to trust that I was the guy, bringing a team back that was very talented with a great opportunity for us.
So I had to pitch to him my knowledge, my scheme, my opinions on defense. And then at the end, his small pitch to me was, ‘come be a part of this great program that has a real chance to do something special.’ And then he asked me if I want to be a head coach and would I want to be a head coach in college? It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and been intrigued by. That’s a no-brainer. More me (pitching) to him. I don’t want anybody thinking he was pitching to me.”
Pretty cool to hear a dude with significant NBA experience describe the interview process this way. Sounds like a match made in Heaven.
Last, it’s tough not to be impressed with how the Miami Dolphins have handled Tua Tagovailoa since head coach Mike McDaniel came on board. Yesterday they announced that Tua was placed on Injured Reserve, which forces him to miss four games and get honest evaluations without his own competitiveness driving him to rush back at all costs.
The Miami Dolphins are placing Tagovailoa on injured reserve, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported on Tuesday.
The Dolphins later officially announced the move.
Tagovailoa will miss at least the next four games before he’s eligible to return, per NFL rules. Miami has its bye in Week 6, so the earliest Tagovailoa could return is the Dolphins Week 8 game against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 27.
Rapoport and Garafolo added that the decision was made to give Tagovailoa ample time to progress through the stages of league’s concussion protocol and meet with outside neurologists.
Tua has said that he has no plans to retire. Hopefully he gets a clean bill of health and is able to continue living his dream.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
After having execution via nitrogen hypoxia blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court, officials are now looking to execute death row inmate Jeffery Lee by lethal injection.
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office asked the Alabama Supreme Court to grant Lee’s death warrant by lethal injection. The state Attorney General Steve Marshall has previously commented about Lee’s stay of execution being a miscarriage of justice and that he’ll fight to see Lee executed.
A ruling has yet to come back on whether or not Lee will be given the lethal injection.
Of the eight teams in Omaha, five are from the SEC and Alabama is on the side of the bracket with only other conference members. The Tide opens play with Oklahoma, who finished 11th in the SEC to the Tide’s fourth place finish. The other two teams are Georgia, who won both the regular season and tournament championships, and the Texas Longhorns who finished second in the conference. The other team from the Southeastern Conference, Ole Miss, is on the other side with Troy, West Virginia, and North Carolina. The Rebels are considered to be on the easier side of things, avoiding meeting any of their conference foes until the final round.
Game one: A rematch with the Oklahoma Sooners
These two met in early April, with the Tide taking two of three in Norman. Both teams have changed a lot over the past two months, but obviously will be familiar with each other’s style of play and personnel. Alabama was hot down the stretch while the Sooners stumbled to the finish line in SEC play, but Oklahloma made it into Regionals and took down second overall seed Georgia Tech in an exciting series, then traveled to Kansas and took down the Jayhawks in Super play.
OU hit .289 as a team with 83 home runs, 100 doubles, 17 triples, and 124-146 stolen bases. Those marks are almost all ahead of the Tide’s .258, 80 home runs, 101 doubles, 10 triples, and 86 stolen bases in 94 attempts. Oklahoma pitches to a 5.15 ERA with a .236 batting average against with 264 walks, and 596 strikeouts. Alabama carries a 4.08 ERA with a .245 batting average against, 210 walks, and 532 strikeouts.
Oklahoma will likely start Cord Rager against the Tide in the World Series game, after not pitching against Bama in the earlier series. Alabama is most likely to go with Tyler Fay, who has opened every series for the Tide this season. Rager is 5-3 with a 5.20 ERA in 64 innings pitched with 81 strikeouts, 19 walks, and 50 hits allowed. Fay is 11-4 with 4.37 ERA over 103 innings pitched while allowing only 85 hits, 24 walks, with 121 strikeouts.
Individually for the Sooners, Dasan Harris leads the team with a .362 average and 18 steals in 19 attempts. Deiten Lechance is hitting .332 with 15 home runs, 62 RBI, and 12 doubles. Camden Johnson has a .309 average with nine home runs, 47 RBI and has swiped 28 bases in 31 tries. Brenden Brock is a .293 hitter with 12 home runs, 52 RBI and 27 bags in 30 attempts. Trey Gambill also hits .293 with 12 doubles and has stolen 16 bases. Oklahoma has some pop and a lot of speed for the Tide to deal with.
Game two: Either Georgia or Texas
The Bulldogs and Longhorns will battle, boasting two of the top offenses in the country. Each team has a clear number one pitcher as well. For Georgia, Joey Volchko is the likely starter against Texas and should face off against Dylan Volantis. Volchko has a 10-2 record with a 4.07 ERA over 17 starts and 86 innings. The big right hander has allowed 78 hits with 45 walks and 104 strikeouts. Volantis, last season’s National Freshman of the Year, is a big lefty that dominated this season. The sophomore starter has a 10-1 record with a 2.03 ERA in 88 innings, with 126 strikeouts, a .192 batting average against, and has allowed only two home runs all year.
Georgia mashed their way to a .326 team batting average with 123 doubles, a nation leading 174 home runs, with a .439 on base percentage and .629 slugging mark. The team struck out 497 times and walked 334 times with 124 hit by pitches. The list of offensive stars is long for the Dogs. Georgia pitching has a 4.92 ERA with 273 walks, 653 strikeouts, 82 home runs allowed and a .242 batting average against.
SEC Player of the Year, and the favorite for the Golden Spikes Award, catcher Daniel Jackson leads the way with a .396 average, 31 home runs, 13 doubles, 86 RBI, an absurd 1.339 OPS and 26 stolen bases in 28 tries. Centerfielder Rylan Luju hits .374 with 15 doubles, 13 home runs, 45 RBI, and 13 stolen base. Tre Phelps logs in with a .364 average, 10 doubles, 19 home runs, and 58 runs driven in. Part time player Michael O’Shaughnessy has 21 home runs and 50 RBI with a .296 batting average. Shortstop Kolby Branch has a .297 average with 19 home runs, 18 doubles, and 58 RBI. The list goes on and on.
Texas is almost as strong offensively as the Bulldogs, but has better pitching. The Longhorns hit .298 as a team with 103 home runs, 109 doubles, a .521 slugging percentage, and a .420 on base percentage. Texas pitchers have a team ERA of 4.08 with 192 walks, 658 strikeouts, and a .225 batting average against.
Freshman outfielder Anthony Pack leads the ‘Horns with a .359 average plus 11 home runs, 16 doubles, 52 RBI, and 23 stolen bases. Centerfielder Aiden Robbins comes in with .342 average, 24 home runs, 64 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. Catcher Carson Tinney checks in with a .333 average with 22 home runs, 12 doubles, 10 stolen bases and 58 runs driven in.
If the Tide plays the Longhorns, the matchup should be Adams for the Tide against Ruger Riojas or perhaps Luke Harrison. Bama faced both in Austin earlier in the season, and enjoyed more success against Harrison in their lone victory of the series. Both are tough matchups and I would think Riojas would get the nod. Adams pitched six shutout innings against the Horns, allowing only five hits with seven strikeouts in one of his best performances.
If the Tide faces Georgia, they will most likely send Zane Adams to face Caden Aoki. Aoki is 9-1 with a 4.04 ERA in 19 games with eight starts, while striking out 104 in 78 innings. Adams is 8-4 with a 3.96 ERA over 88 innings, allowing 90 hits with 27 walks and 98 strikeouts. If Alabama play Georgia they cannot get in a shootout with them, that’s a game the Tide can’t play.
The first priority is obviously to win game one. Alabama knows that whichever team they face, they will be in for a battle. Having not played Georgia and knowing what the Longhorns bring, Texas is probably the preferred matchup.
The Crimson Tide faces Oklahoma on Saturday, June 13 at 2:00 PM CT, airing on ESPN.
Bama Baseball Fever, Catch It!
For the Hairston family, the third edition of the revived East-West Classic at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., on Juneteenth isn’t just an exhibition game. It’s a true family reunion, in a city where they have roots.
Jerry Hairston Sr. is back to manage the East squad and his son
Jerry Hairston Sr. is back to manage the East squad and his son
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