This Bama fan never gets old.
I’ll be honest. I’m just not feeling tomorrow’s Alabama/LSU matchup–at least not the way I should. Maybe it’s the contrarian in me. I just don’t like things being jammed down my throat.
ESP*I*N and seemingly every other major sports media outlet has had wall-to-wall coverage of this game for the last two weeks (both teams had OPEN weeks last week). College Football News has had NINETEEN preview articles on this game this week. NINETEEN.
As a nation, we went down a path that helped decimate the world economy with less media attention. (Occupy Overstatement!)
But, as a college football obsessor, I understand the hype. These appear to be the 2 best teams in America. They are College Football bluebloods. There will be plenty of star power, both on the field and on the sidelines. The winner will likely play for the BCS Championship.
For those reasons, I will set the DVR and record the Bama/LSU game. (How does this matchup not have a not-so-catchy nickname, yet?) I am sure I won’t need it. Every marginally important play will be breathlessly dissected by talking heads from sea to shining sea in its aftermath.
I expect it to be an ugly game. With 2 weeks to prepare, 2 stifling defenses and a lot on the line, I would be shocked if this game is anything other than a grind.
One of the things I will be looking for is to see how long LSU Head Coach Les Miles sticks with Jarrett Lee at quarterback. Lee is going to struggle against the Alabama defense–almost every quarterback does. When he hits a few bumps in the road, will The Hat have the confidence to stick with his recent rotation at QB or will he rely more heavily on the shifty Jordan Jefferson?
If Bama’s defense has shown a weakness in the recent past, it has been in dealing with a mobile quarterback who can throw (some would argue the latter does not apply to Jefferson, at least not consistently). That will make the idea of giving Jefferson more snaps appealing.
Lee has done a good job of protecting the football so far this season, but I expect the ridiculously good Alabama secondary to play aggressively and look for opportunities to slap Lee’s old nickname–Pick Six–back on him.
On the other side of the ball, LSU will likewise look to stuff the run and make Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron win the game through the air. Bama runningbacks Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy will likely have their moments, but the Tigers should have some success in slowing them. To counter, I look for Alabama wide receiver Marquis Maze and tight end Michael Williams to have a few big plays in the passing game.
LSU’s “Honey Badger”, Tyrann Mathieu, will make Bama Head Coach Nick Saban a Grumpier Old Man, though, if he is able to get his paws on the football. Mathieu has received enough publicity this season and is enough of a game-changer that if he has a big game tomorrow night, he could make a Charles Woodsonesque case for some Heisman run.
However, as crazy as it sounds, given his well-chronicled clock management issues, Les Miles is the wild card that gives LSU a shot in what will be an exremely hostile environment Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
It seems that at least once a year, Miles engineers one “What The You-Know-What” win (See Tennessee last year) and one “What the You-Know-What” loss (See Arkansas in 2007).
A Tiger win wouldn’t be a shocker (Alabama is a modest 4.5 point favorite) but this is a game the Crimson Tide should win, at home, at night after having had weeks to prepare for LSU.
LSU will probably have to be creative than usual to move the ball well enough to have a shot to win. Look for Miles to be agressive on 4th down and in the kicking game. Just hope (if you are rooting for LSU like I will be) that the game doesn’t come down to late-game clock management.
In the end, though, I think Alabama is just too tough. I expect the Crimson Tide to befuddle Lee and Jefferson and tack on a late score to win semi-convincingly. THE PREDICTION: Alabama 24 LSU 13
(Note: BK should be along this afternoon with a preview of tomorrow’s real big game.)
On the Arkansas Coaching Search–I Can See For Miles and Miles and Miles
Posted by Adam Butler on November 28, 2012
Just when you thought the 2012 Arkansas Razorbacks football campaign couldn’t get any nuttier, an off-the-wall rumor about a standing, 5-year, $27.2 million UA offer to LSU Head Coach Les Miles started making the rounds yesterday. Then, it was debunked, before it gained steam again.
Almost immediately, Arkansas fans found the nearest ledge and started threatening to jump. The nearly universal thought among Hogs (and Tigers?) fans seems to be that LSU wins despite Miles–the 2011 AP National Coach of the Year.
Is it even possible for that notion to be completely true? Yes, Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban left Miles a program that was rolling on the Bayou. And, The Hat’s success admittedly looks so easy even a Cave Man could do it.
But, former LSU head coaches Mike Archer, Curley Hallman and Gerry Dinardo–a combined 76-70 from 1987-1999–probably beg to differ.
So what does this mean for Arkansas as it reportedly eyes Miles? It’s hard to say at this point.
What we know is that Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long is a budding master of misdirection. After a couple of near misfires before he had time to get his UA office furnished (Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe, former Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden) Long has proven to be a capable hirer of head coaches.
And, recent history shows that the latest Miles rumors fit a pattern for Long.
While Razorback Nation has been (sometimes in a delusional state) contemplating the fate of its marquee programs in the hands of either disappointing (former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables, Florida St. head coach Leonard Hamilton) or ultra- exciting (former UNC head coach Butch Davis, Kentucky head coach John Calipari) rumored frontrunners during Long’s last few coaching searches, he has managed to pull a couple of unexpected rabbits out of his hat (Bobby Petrino, Mike Anderson).
This search should be no different. I’m not saying Long will land former Super Bowl-winning head coach and current Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden or Boise St. head coach Chris Peterson. In fact, I feel strongly that he won’t.
But I do expect Long to make a very solid, and potentially excellent hire after putting the Fear of Les into Arkansas fans’ hearts. That’s Long’s recent M.O.–lower the bar and then clear it with room to spare.
I do not know who the hire will be, but I think its much more likely that Arkansas ends up with a head coach like Vanderbilt’s James Franklin than a wildcard like Miles.
If so, Razorback fans might ultimately be counting their lucky stars and relishing the fact we aren’t in AR-KANSAS, anymore.
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Posted in Commentary, Sports | Tagged: Arkansas Razorbacks, Bobby Petrino, James Franklin, Les Miles, LSU Tigers | 12 Comments »