NCAA

The Tide Keeps on Rollin’

By: Jonathan Goad

If you haven’t noticed, the Alabama Crimson Tide are really good. They’re ranked number one in the country and rightfully so.

The Tide are leading the nation in yards and points scored. They are averaging 53.6 points per game while allowing only 15.1 points per game, good enough for seventh in the country. Those numbers are absurd! They are beating teams by almost 40 points per game!

Sure, they haven’t had the most difficult schedule so far this season.

Bama Schedule

Photo credit to ESPN

The most they’ve given up in a game is 31 points. That was to Arkansas. Check the other number, 65. That’s what Bama scored. Obviously, the defense didn’t need to be top notch that day. The offense took care of that one.

Maybe these numbers aren’t good enough for you. Well then, read these next few sentences very carefully.

Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t attempted a single pass in the 4th quarter this season. Not one. How crazy is that? The Tide’s starting quarterback has not had to throw a single pass in any 4th quarter so far this season. That should tell you exactly how good this team is.

I don’t know about you, but that just baffles me. Not one of their opponents has been competitive enough to force the Tide to keep their starting QB in the game and passing. These teams who have tried and failed should be embarrassed.

It’s not just the offense that is helping the Tide dominate. In their most recent win against Mizzou, the Tide defense held the Tigers to 212 yards. Mizzou isn’t a bad team either. They average 34.2 points per game and 477 yards per game. Yet, the Tide held them to 10 points and less than half of their per game average in yards.

The big takeaway from the Mizzou game has to do with Tua’s health. He tweaked his knee in the third quarter and didn’t return. Sure the game was in hand and Coach Saban did say that he could have returned if needed, but it’s still something to keep an eye on. However, the Crimson Tide do still have Jalen Hurts. You know, the backup quarterback with two National Championships under his belt.

Between the three QBs who have attempted passes for them, the Tide have thrown 27 touchdowns and just a single interception. Tua Tagovailoa’s numbers are ridiculous; 88/123 for 1,760 yards and 21 touchdowns. Remember, not one of those passes has been thrown in the 4th quarter of a game this season.

The Tide will be tested in the coming weeks, especially against #5 LSU on November 2nd. That game is at LSU and might be the SEC title game. LSU did just knock of Georgia, who many thought could challenge Bama.

Possibly the most terrifying thing is that this might be the best Alabama team we’ve ever seen. That’s insane to think about when you look back at some of their previous teams.

When it’s all said and done, Nick Saban will probably go down as the greatest college coach in history. He’s on his way to his sixth national title in ten years. He’s got a well-oiled machine down there in Tuscaloosa. They continue to reload every year and contend for championships. And as long as Nick Saban is the head coach, everyone else is playing for second.

Nick Saban.jpg

Photo credit to AL.com

Anyone else think the NFL should make Alabama an expansion team?

Roll Tide

roll tide.gif

Photo credit to Giphy