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.