That was Alabama? Fourth-ranked and undefeated, the Crimson Tide impressed no one in their ugly 17-0 win Saturday, as their offense sputtered between the 20s.
‘Bama only mustered three offensive points against State, and that field goal-producing drive was off a terrible personal foul flag thrown by the lousy head referee.
Without the basket of goodies the Bulldogs gave them-a fumbled kickoff and an errant pass by freshman quarterback Mike Henig-the Tide would have found themselves crying home with an embarrassing loss. And believe me, the crimson and white faithful would have been shedding more tears than there were at “the Bear’s” funeral if their beloved Tide were to lose with Southeastern Conference and national title hopes in view. Instead, this somehow undefeated ‘Bama team escaped with an ugly victory.
“We have not been playing to our potential offensively,” Tide head coach Mike Shula said to the media after the win.
Credit their defense. Alabama’s defensive effort was superb, but they were going against one of the most horrendous offense’s in the nation. The Bulldog offense has only scored a combined 33 points in its six SEC losses.
But is UA’s offense that much better than State’s? Alabama has scored only one offensive touchdown in the last 13 quarters against teams from the SEC. Are they national championship material? No way.
“Our defense is good enough to win the national championship,” UA quarterback Brodie Croyle told reporters after Saturday’s game. “We just aren’t playing up to their standards.”
Yes, ‘Bama is undefeated. But for the exception of its wins over South Carolina and Florida, the Tide has barely escaped in its four other SEC victories, not to mention they had to come from behind to beat Southern Miss at home, and they only led Middle Tennessee State (3-4) at halftime 9-7.
Arkansas (2-6) was down to the Tide by only four points with three minutes left in the game. ‘Bama had to have a last second field goal to beat Tennessee and Ole Miss, two teams with a combined record of 6-10.
There is no way anyone can convince me that the team I saw playing Mississippi State Saturday is worthy of a national championship. Even more so, they are certainly not worthy of an SEC Championship. The loss of receiver Tyrone Prothro has definitely done damage, seen in the Tide’s offensive production since his loss late in the Florida game.
‘Bama has a tough road ahead to add another undefeated season to the school’s 12 already. They face No. 5 and highly-talented LSU in Tuscaloosa this weekend, after which they will face No. 15 Auburn down in the Plains in the Iron Bowl.
If they do make it to Atlanta for the championship game, they will face either a much-improved Florida team or a Georgia team that, in my opinion, will whip the Tide, provided they have quarterback D.J. Shockley back from injury.
The Tide’s dream season will most definitely drown over the next month as they face some of the top teams in the nation, teams that will not give away 14 points, as the Bulldogs did Saturday.
The streak continues
With their loss to Alabama, Mississippi State has extended their losing streak to SEC Western Division teams to 18. The last victory over a SEC West opponent came in 2001 when the Dawgs beat Ole Miss 36-28.
MSU’s 0-6 SEC start is its worst since 2000
Mississippi State hasn’t started a season with an 0-6 conference record since 2002 when they went winless in the SEC. With the loss to the Tide, the Bulldogs have now matched that SEC start.