I really think we can beat Alabama this week. Hear me out. They have played Virginia Tech, after which their offense was suspect. They rushed for 96 yards. Next up was the vaunted defense of Texas A&M and their rushing improved to 234 yards. Colorado State comes to Tuscaloosa and holds them to 66 yards rushing. Against Ole Miss they bounce back and garner 254 yards on the ground. They ripped of a whopping 181 yards rushing against Georgia State, then lit up Kentucky for 299 and really scored with 352 yards on the ground against Arkansas. AJ McCarron is not Connor Shaw or Marcus Mariota. His rushing yardage on the year is minus 21. Hes been sacked 7 times and attempted 5 runs. I would love to have every one of their running backs but I dont think their Oline is up to par. No doubt theyll have decent rushing yardage against us but I think we will get some stops. Im not afraid of their rushing attack.
Their passing game has notched 16 TDs this year, 5 of which came against Georgia State and 3 against Arkansas. They had zip against Ole Miss and in fact threw an interception to the rebels. All total AJ has thrown just 3 ints so far this year. Of course Conner had thrown none before facing our defense.
Theyve returned one KO for a TD and 2 Punts for TDs. The KO and one of the Punt returns were against Virginia Tech in the season opener. The other punt return came against mighty Colorado State.
Theyve tallied 11 sacks so far on the year against their schedule, 4 of which came against Kentucky. Theyve earned 35 TFLs, with a season high 8 against Georgia State. Weve earned 12 sacks and our season high was 4 against South Carolina. Weve had 41 TFLs with 7 in each of our last 2 games.
Theyve given up 7 sacks and 30 TFLs against their schedule. Weve given up 8 sacks and 35 TFLs against our schedule. Weve played Oregon, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Theyve played Va Tech, A&M, and Ole Miss.
Weve snared 12 interceptions, theyve managed 6. Weve forced 13 fumbles and recovered 5; theyve forced 8 and recovered 4. They have 32 PBUs to our 26. They have 22 QBHs to our 24. Theyve blocked 2 kicks, weve blocked 1.
Weve held both Murray & Shaw to less than 200 yards passing. Perhaps even more astounding is that in head to head contests Worley had more passing yards than either of those media darlings.
Obviously Saban will try to stop our rush attact. The game very well could turn on how our Oline and running backs perform against their front 7. Intuition tells me that our guys will go into this game feeling like they have something to prove. If our Oline is as good as the press has long suggested then its now or never. I think our guys know this. They have to bring their A game as does Neal and Lane. Worley just needs to protect the football and manage the offense. Everyone else has to step up and I think they will be focused. If the OLine, RBs, and receivers play up a notch or two they will make Worley look like an all-sec QB. He just has to stay poised and execute. #SnapAndClear
Alabama is the defending National Champion, two-times. Well the program is but they lost some key guys and as many saw in the beginning of the year they didnt exactly get the same quality in replacements. They have significantly more talent than we do but they do have some weakness in experience. Butch says talent doesnt win championships, teams win championships.
After South Carolina blew out Arkansas some of us noted that Arkansas had given up early in the first quarter after they threw an interception. Consequently, we argued that the game revealed more about Arkansas than it did about the Gamecocks. We expected the same team to show up in Neyland that we had been watching struggle all year against the likes of Vandy, Kentucky, and UCF.
Make no mistake. I am not saying Alabama is a bad team. I dont think South Carolina is a bad team. Both have enjoyed a bit over the top media love so theres a little bit too much worship going on for me to buy in. That media hype is easily sold to the masses who are your typical low information bandwagon riders. We should be smarter than that. I assure you our staff is smarter and I think our players are smarter. If Alabama is the better team theyll have to prove it. Its that simple.
I think Saban is a good coach and has been an even better recruiter. I dont think he is the inspirational sort of leader that can rescue a football team from a nightmare such as what our guys have been through and have them so motivated that they will run through walls for him. Butch and company have erased the nightmares in amazing time and made it possible for the young men on our football team to live the dream they had when they first came to Tennessee. He said he has never had a team with this level of chemistry and I think that is because they were so hungry after all they have endured. They love him for what he has done for them and I think he would run through walls for them. Its the kind of person he is and they know it. Its all about family. The pride is back on this team and these guys will fight for that pride, for each other, and their coaches to the last inch.
Saban has always built his teams on talent. Butch is building our team on heart first. Imagine what we will have as more talent arrives on the hill. I dont know if we will beat Sabans boys come Saturday but we wont quit and maybe well get a few breaks. There are very few if any who gives us any chance whatsoever. I didnt see anyone pick us to win against Georgia or South Carolina. I dont think anyone is going to pick us to knock off the No. 1 team in the land but we can win this game. I honestly believe that. More importantly, I think the staff believes that and Im absolutely confident that our team believes that. #ItStartsWithBelief
#GBO
