Bleacher Report: Tennessee will beat Alabama, but...

[jasonvol18]

Looking back on it...how in the world did we lose to Alabama by 24, in Saban's first year, and make it to Atlanta?

Feels weird just typing those words.

And Ala had suspended several of their starters right before the game and we still got our a$$ beat.not sure how in the hell we managed to do that. That was an average at best Ala team and we still couldn't beat Saban.

 

[jasonvol18]

Alabama better take USC seriously. Because USC is loaded with talent at every position. That is not going to be a cake walk. Bama has talent no doubt...but no proven Ingram...Richardson...Yeldon...Henry to hand the ball off to while the QB gets comfortable in the offense. This is my upset pick of the week.

Mine as well.although based on the line it won't be an upset but A'M not being ranked and UCLA being in the top 20 it would be an upset with me taking Texas A'M to beat the Bruins. Also will not surprise me in the least if NC beats GA..that's another upset I'm going with this weekend and taking the points in the Texas game too and wouldn't surprise me at all if they beat Notre Dame. I'm taking USC+ the points,Texas+the points,N.C plus the points and A'M minus the points..May not be done yet with upsets lol.

 

[bamawriter]

It's true, only 2 left early. But they also only return 6 starters from the offense and 5 starters from the defense. Among the starters on the offense returning, the QB and RB position are not any of them. Bama is still bama, but you have to admit bama lost some serious experience last year (15 players were either drafted or signed in free agency).

I'm not sure where you're getting those numbers, but that's very liberal with the word "starter". We lost 4 on offense and 5 on defense, but that defensive number includes losing two guys from a 9 man DL rotation. We return 13 of 19 interceptions and 41 of 52 sacks. While we lost our top two RBs, we return our 3 best WRs, our TE, and replace Mullaney with Dieter. From a game contribution standpoint this is the most experienced team Saban has fielded since '09.

 

[jakez4ut]

I'm not sure where you're getting those numbers, but that's very liberal with the word "starter". We lost 4 on offense and 5 on defense, but that defensive number includes losing two guys from a 9 man DL rotation. We return 13 of 19 interceptions and 41 of 52 sacks. While we lost our top two RBs, we return our 3 best WRs, our TE, and replace Mullaney with Dieter. From a game contribution standpoint this is the most experienced team Saban has fielded since '09.

i think the only thing people are questioning about Bama is can they strike oil three times in a row with yet another year of a new starting qb....and breaking in a new RB rotation. everywhere else, bama is fine. recent history suggests they'll be fine even w/the two ?'s above.

either the trend continues and they'll go 11-1 with a nasty defense, or the odds turn on them and they go thru some real growing pains with a new qb and new rb.

that said, at least half of the prognosticators still have Bama winning the SEC and going to the playoff. the other half have LSU.

all in all, if that's the "down year" now under Saban (1 game away from SEC title), then i think y'all will be ok.... in the end Bama could go 10-2 and still win the SEC, and still be seriously considered for the playoff.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Have a feeling this is going to be Bama's worst year since 2010, when they went 9-3 in the regular season and missed Atlanta. They may not lose 3 again, but think they'll lose at least 2.

Trouble is nailing down where the losses come from. Bama should be favored in almost every game they play, and a push in those few they're not. ESPN's FPI says Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU are the three games most likely to break pachyderm hearts. USC, A&M and Arkansas have a real shot at them, too.

IDK, like I said, pretty tough to nail it down. But I'd bet money this is as bad as it gets for Bama fans over the past six years.

Go Vols!

 

[jakez4ut]

Have a feeling this is going to be Bama's worst year since 2010, when they went 9-3 in the regular season and missed Atlanta. They may not lose 3 again, but think they'll lose at least 2.

Trouble is nailing down where the losses come from. Bama should be favored in almost every game they play, and a push in those few they're not. ESPN's FPI says Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU are the three games most likely to break pachyderm hearts. USC, A&M and Arkansas have a real shot at them, too.

IDK, like I said, pretty tough to nail it down. But I'd bet money this is as bad as it gets for Bama fans over the past six years.

Go Vols!

@Ole Miss, @UT, and @LSU and @ Ark....too bad those 4 aren't in a row...but those are 4 tough road games.

as good as Bama is, would anyone really be surprised if they went 2-2?

point being, like you said, this could be as bad as it gets for them.

 

[bamawriter]

i think the only thing people are questioning about Bama is can they strike oil three times in a row with yet another year of a new starting qb....and breaking in a new RB rotation. everywhere else, bama is fine. recent history suggests they'll be fine even w/the two ?'s above.

Agree with you there. Despite his lack of carries, I have a lot of faith in Scarbrough. He looked good in his limited carries last year, and he's been very solid in practice. His problem is staying healthy. If he goes down, Bama could be in trouble.

And it's hard to argue against the law of averages catching up when it comes to QBs. But the worst Bama's done when starting a new QB under Saban is winning the SEC and losing in the playoff. I think our O-line will be improved without the swinging gate that is Dominick Jackson. And whoever gets the nod at QB will have one of the best receiving units in the country to help him out.

But, as noted before, Bama's got a really tough schedule, with the toughest games mostly away from home.

 

[jakez4ut]

Agree with you there. Despite his lack of carries, I have a lot of faith in Scarbrough. He looked good in his limited carries last year, and he's been very solid in practice. His problem is staying healthy. If he goes down, Bama could be in trouble.

And it's hard to argue against the law of averages catching up when it comes to QBs. But the worst Bama's done when starting a new QB under Saban is winning the SEC and losing in the playoff. I think our O-line will be improved without the swinging gate that is Dominick Jackson. And whoever gets the nod at QB will have one of the best receiving units in the country to help him out.

But, as noted before, Bama's got a really tough schedule, with the toughest games mostly away from home.

what bama has going for it is what we don't. we've seen Bama do this before, so the hedged bet is to bet on Bama.

with us, it's been a while, so the hedged bet is go against.

will history repeat itself in both cases, or will the trend get bucked?

here's to getting bucked.:thumbsup:

 

[BleedingOrange18]

Bama could have two losses before we play them, Ole Miss and Arkansas. A loss in Knoxville could be the knockout punch. I doubt that scenario with two losses plays out but it could.

The thing I would hate is if we beat an already two loss Alabama team I'm going to have to listen to people say it and the Florida game weren't signature wins because they're on down years, although I'll admit id rather hear that than lose to either of those two teams

 

[VonVol]

Agree with you there. Despite his lack of carries, I have a lot of faith in Scarbrough. He looked good in his limited carries last year, and he's been very solid in practice. His problem is staying healthy. If he goes down, Bama could be in trouble.

And it's hard to argue against the law of averages catching up when it comes to QBs. But the worst Bama's done when starting a new QB under Saban is winning the SEC and losing in the playoff. I think our O-line will be improved without the swinging gate that is Dominick Jackson. And whoever gets the nod at QB will have one of the best receiving units in the country to help him out.

But, as noted before, Bama's got a really tough schedule, with the toughest games mostly away from home.

Still got faith in Scarbrough? Serious question.

 

[Sgt_Nick_Fury]

Can we beat Ohio and Florida before we talk about Bama?

 

[BallinVol]

Can we beat Ohio and Florida before we talk about Bama?

Don't forget Georgia and Texas A&M ...