Crimson Red Sports

been blinded by the past defenses in the SEC?  Are they not as strong as we think they are?  I will be honest, this has put questions in my mind about the Bama/ND game.  Is the Bama D as strong as we think it is or has the team Bama has played been that offensivly poor?  The strong offensive teams Bama has played T A&M and UG has put points on the board and frankly I am worried more about ND since seeing the past bowl games.

If you're worried, I'm worried.   :-\

The SEC might very well be down this year. 
LSU losing to Clemson? 
Florida losing to Louisville?

Bama's defense definitely is not where it was last year. 
There really is no argument about that.

But Bama has motivation. 
The players know what it takes and are giving it their best.

So we aren't going to see a slacker Bama team out there,
confident of victory, dancing around like a Georgia cracker.

No

If there is to be a battle, which General would you pick?
I think we got the one.

I have lowered my expectations as well in light of the bowl results so far.  I was thinking it would be an easy victory but now I am thinking it might be a hard fought battle that comes down to the wire.  We will see how aTm does against Oklahoma and reassess the situation.

LSU has been unpredictable all season. But both LSU and Miss St. dropped off after the Tide beat them. Georgia and USCe showed SEC dominance. Let's not get panicky!

BAMA 34-6

And UF has struggled mightily at times, especially on offense.  It seems like some of the teams are not very motivated for their bowl game since they aren't playing for the crystal football.  Of course we won't have that particular issue.

Florida did not play inspired-- their fans didn't even show up--- but L'Ville will be a couple of weeks before they brush their teeth without moaning and groaning.

The sweet taste of victory!

This is what concerns me.  Bama gave up 435 yards to LSU, 418 to T A&M and 394 to UG.  They did out gain both A&M and UG, however, they didn't out gain LSU.  They are playing, from what I have read and seen, a very strong ND defense.  If AJ is not throwing the ball better, then things could tilt in the favor of ND.  This is just my opinion.

Coach, I see Bama pounding the rock in this one to at least 60/40 run to pass. If our O line plays like they did against Ga., we should see ball control and TOP heavily in our favor. Barring turnovers, this would lead to a good win, but we've got to hold onto the ball.

Big load on AJ, that is for sure. If his receivers catch anything that hits them on the numbers we'll be fine. Only so many perfect passes will be thrown, so the "hands" guys need to give AJ a break. Also it would be nice to have Kenny Bell available, if only for a decoy.

Well it is time to fess up, are we really ready to be in the BCSCG, I say we are and we belong. Our defense stumbled some what But We know what it taste like to loose and I just don't really we want that taste ever again. I think they are ready on both sides of the ball. I remember at the beginning of the year we were young and our defense had to learn and grow, all the players went off to the NFL. I will say I think they grew and improved pretty quick. Yea were going to be OK. Not to sound mean now nothing like that, but we are ready. Win, Lose or Draw. RTR!

Sounds like Preacher is ready! RTR. While I've always complained about the month between the SECCG and the NCG but we needed every minute to get some injuries healed. But, as I heard someone comment on TV last night (maybe Kirby Smart), this is like a start of a new season rather than the final game of the regular season. CNS invariably is able to get the Tide prepared and ready to play on the opening KO.

This is the biggest Crimson Tide game of my lifetime!  :o 8) #+

ND has given up only two rushing TDs this year.   

Yes, and their numbers in the red zone are off the chart as well, as are their goal-to-goal numbers. 

ND has won its games the old fashioned way, with stifling defense and adequate offense. 

But Bama has faced great defenses this year, LSU, Georgia, TAM (which held OK to the same 13 points at ND but scored 10 more points), and of course their own D in practice.  So I think Bama's offense has an advantage, and is better, than ND's offense, and that will be the difference.  It could be a low scoring game, or it could be lopsided, but I'm thinking it will be both.

After the Cotton Bowl and the Ole Miss game I am back to feeling like it will be an epic beat down.

It's not that other teams don't have good defenses. They do. But they are few and far between. Teams like ND, KSt, and others might play good defense. But the difference is that during the course of the season, teams from other conferences might play one or two good defenses with phenomenal athletes. But the rest of their schedule will be creampuff defenses. In the SEC, nearly every team plays great defense and they all have phenomenal athletes. Alabama faced LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M (Their D improved as the season went on), Ole Miss, and Miss St. All of these teams have good to great defenses and they all have phenomenal athletes. And then there's Florida and South Carolina, which we didn't have to play. Even Tennessee has some good defensive athletes. That's why the SEC is so good, because we play great defenses week in and week out.