Alabama again playing for a lot more than revenge against Auburn-sds

When he was growing up in Georgia, future University of Alabama quarterback Blake Sims knew about the Iron Bowl rivalry of course, but like so many others didn’t have a full appreciation until he became part of it. Sims grew up a Bulldogs fan, and to him the big rivalry was the annual Georgia Tech showdown for state bragging rights. Now after being on the sideline four times for Alabama and Auburn he probably gets what it’s all about as well as anyone.
“I just try to stay calm, keep the outside networking stuff away,” Sims said about his approach this week. “I try to focus on my family and my teammates and try to keep my composure and try not to listen to the negative things or the good things. Just stay to this week and know what I need to do.”
While one would expect all the monitors in the Crimson Tide’s football complex to be on a never-ending loop of Kick Six, Chris Davis’ touchdown return off the missed field goal as time expired last season, that’s no longer the case.
It was used for motivation during the offseason and in the weight room, but not Monday. Instead, the Crimson Tide kept things very low-key and close to the vest during Day 1 of Iron Bowl week.
“We all kind of remember what happened,” Coach Nick Saban said. “It was very, very disappointing to all of us here. Not just the last play but the last five minutes of the game that we never really every finished the game like we needed to. It was a tough way to lose a game, and I’m sure everybody sort of has that in mind.”
He didn’t raise his voice, grip the podium extra tightly while saying that, or even lift an eyebrow.
Saban didn’t need to. Anyone who has turned on ESPN over the past year has seen the return more than enough times, and strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran probably doesn’t have to scream the words “revenge” and “vengeance” again until after Thanksgiving.
“I take Coach Saban’s rule to heart, the 24-hour rule,” senior tackle Austin Shepherd said about the team policy of putting games in the rear-view mirror the next day. “Twenty-four hours it’s over. I’ve just kind of moved on from last year. A lot of people are lucky and they got lucky. Luck happens.”
Shepherd used the wrong word there, even if it is the one most Alabama fans have been saying since even before last year’s game (i.e. Georgia at Auburn), but that was the closest thing reporters got to an emotional response Monday. Junior cornerback Cyrus Jones offered, “No, I haven’t watched it,” and sophomore defensive end Jonathan Allen only opined: “Every loss motivated us.”
Nevertheless, this has become the game of games in college football as the last five winners of this showdown have gone on to play for the national title — which is why this week already has such a familiar feel to it.
Ever year since 2008 minus one the Crimson Tide has been in this position, with everything on the line. Alabama usually handles it well, but twice it did not, last year and 2010.
That’s when two-loss Alabama was playing the role of spoiler, ranked 11th while Auburn was No. 2 in the BCS rankings, and after jumping out to a 24-0 lead managed fall short 28-27.
“The 2010 game, that’s something that hurt a lot of people,” Sims said. “We tried to use that as a motivation and I feel like it helped us. In 2011 we did a good job. The main thing we’re trying to do, the way we played in 2011, that’s what we look back to if we’re looking to the past. We’re looking to 2011 and hoping we can do what we have to do like we did then.”
Nevertheless, during the 2010-11 offseason every Crimson Tide locker had a “Never again” poster that included the final score against Auburn.
“Coach Saban does not want to do that,” Sims said about the different approach this time, as Alabama has essentially been in postseason mode since losing at Ole Miss in early October. It won at LSU and then knocked off Mississippi State when it was No. 1, but even with a win the Crimson Tide will still have to face Georgia or Missouri in Atlanta next week.
“He keeps reminding us and reminding us to stay to the future. Stay to the future and don’t worry about the past and if you do have a thought, just think about the film we had on the bus.”
Incidentally, Alabama absolutely crushed Auburn, not only 42-14 in 2011, but also 49-0 in 2012, as both of those Crimson Tide teams were on a mission.
We’ll find out Saturday (7:45 p.m. ET, ESPN) if this one is as well because even though it’ll be No. 1 vs. No. 14 on paper, we all know what that’ll mean come kickoff when Alabama can stop pretending that it’s just another game.

What Nick Saban thinks about facing Auburn …-sds

University of Alabama coach Nick Saban met with reporters and talked a lot about Saturday’s game against Auburn (7:45 p.m., ET, ESPN). Here’s some of what he said:

“The Iron Bowl is one of the greatest rivalries in college football. This game means a lot of people in this state, regardless of which side you’re on, and also around the country. As a competitor, it’s a great opportunity because this game has had a lot of significance over the last few years and certainly no different last year or this year. It’ll be a great atmosphere. An ESPN night game here at Bryant-Denny Stadium has been great. But I also think this is a game where you have to stay focused on the game and not on all the things that go on around it.
“This game requires a tremendous amount of discipline and focus and preparation to be able to go out there and play the kind of football game that you want to play. And you can’t really be concerned about all those other things and really be able to do that. The focus needs to be on what do I need to do to go out there and be able to do my job well.
“Gus (Malzahn) has done a fantastic job last year and this year. They’ve got lots of returning starters, nine on offense, six on defense.
“I think that obviously their offense is one of the most productive in the country and certainly in our league. They’ve got a very good scheme. Their quarterback, Nick Marshall, does a fantastic job of executing that on the field. They’ve got a lot of weapons offensively. A couple of really good, explosive, big wide receivers who are great versatile wide receivers in (Sammie) Coates and Duke Williams. A very good running back, who’s leading the SEC in rushing. The offensive line does a really god job. Lots of speed on the perimeter, and a lot of sweeps and things that they do.
“This is a very, very challenging team to defend in the way they play offense and the way they execute their offense. Their fast pace is certainly something that we’ve played a lot against this year, and hopefully something we’ll be adapt to in the game very well.
“Defensively, they’re very athletic up front and very active and create a lot of negative plays. They’ve been able to create a lot of turnovers with their defense and played great in the red zone and been very hard to score on. I think this is a very good defensive team. They always do a great job on special teams, but Quan Bray is one of the outstanding return guys in the country. So it’s going to be important to play well on special teams.
“This is a very, very good team and a great rivalry game. Certainly as a competitor something that all competitors really enjoy playing in games like this, against very, very good teams and a lot of good players with a lot of personal stuff going on with guys that they know and played against in high school and maybe even played with. So it’s a great game.”

On if Auburn is running less between the tackles than last year:
“I think that their offensive line was certainly very good last year, but it’s very good this year. They run between the tackles quite a bit. Last year, they hurt us with plays on the perimeter like they hurt a lot of people. I think some of their most effective plays that complement their inside running game is the way they run the ball on the perimeter. I think that’s the thing that makes it so hard to defend so it’s not that they’re one or the other. I think it’s the combination of the two and their ability to throw play-action passes vertically down the field to some very good receivers that make them one of the best offensive teams around.”

On defending quarterback Nick Marshall:
“The guy is really, really a fantastic athlete, and he’s very instinctive as a player, especially doing the things that they ask him to do in their offense. He also has improved in my opinion quite a bit as a passer, much more efficient, much more confident. So the combination of his athleticism when he keeps the ball on the options when he’s got an opportunity to throw it or run it is a bit of a mismatch a lot with the defensive ends that have to try to contain him. The guy’s a really, really good player especially doing the things that they ask him to do.”

On if the defense is better prepared to face this kind of offense:
“I don’t think we’re any better prepared than we were a year ago. We actually held them to 21 points for 59-and-a-half minutes in the game and did do a pretty decent job. We made some mistakes and those mistakes led to some big plays, but they also were a very, very good team that made some plays on their own, which good players will do. But we didn’t finish the game like we wanted, and I hope that we’ll be able to play the kind of defense that we need to play to have a chance to be successful in this game against, as I’ve said many, many times before, a very good offensive team. Very challenging.”

On the challenge of dealing with all of Auburn’s pre-snap changes:
“There’s a method to what they do. Everything that they do, I think, is for a reason. It’s very well-founded. I think Gus does a really good job, because I think he knows how people would try to defend that if they just lined up in the formation. The camouflage that he uses with the motions and all that is something that defensive players have to adjust to but it also doesn’t allow you to get set like you’d like to get set. It takes more adjusting on the defensive players’ part. But you have to defend all those things too, because they don’t just do it, they have something that they can do with it that you have to defend.”

On getting the team to peak on Saturday:
“As a coach that’s what you’re always trying to do. Tried to do it last week and didn’t do a very good job of it against the team that we were playing. We try to do it every week so the players are ready for when the game comes. I think the thing that we try to do is we have a routine that the players go through in terms of what they can expect on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and hopefully that routine helps them prepare themselves, not only physically to execute the things they need to do in the game but also psychologically in terms of getting themselves ready to play in the game. We don’t want to create a lot of anxiety with the players, we just want them to be focused and ready to go and have a sense of urgency to do things the right way and to be able to do it for 60 minutes in the game because I’m sure that’s what it’s going to take in a game like that for us to have a chance to be successful.”
On Auburn’s running game and change of pace:
“Both guys in their own way are really, really good players. They always seem to have a guy who is a really good, all around, inside-outside type runner and they always seem to have a guy who is great on the perimeter. This year, Corey Grant and No. 5 both have done that. No. 4 Quan Bray has done it some too. They always have a really good combination of guys to be able to do those things and both of those guys have played extremely well. But I think you also have to give them a lot of credit because of the way they use those guys and how effective they are in terms of how they are used.”
On comparing the emotions of the Iron Bowl with an SEC Championship or national title game:

“I really can’t compare this to anything else because when you’re playing in this game and any of those games, it’s the most important game that you’re playing in at that time. So I think the energy level and the intensity is always … that’s what makes it fun to play in games like this. But this game is one of those games that as a competitor, that’s where you get to. There are other games you have to play in that you mentioned that you have to get there, too because if we’re playing in one of those games, you’d be asking me the same type of questions. So you can’t really compare it, it’s just when you play in big games like this that have a lot of meaning to a lot of people, you can’t compare it to anything, you just know there’s a special level of intensity that goes with playing in a game like this and both sides are going to have it and that’s what makes it a great football game.”

Cooper, other injured Alabama players start gearing up for Iron Bowl-sds

Although University of Alabama junior Amari Cooper wasn’t leading the other wide receivers through individual drills when reporters were allowed to observe, he was at practice and doing some running Monday afternoon. Cooper, who sustained a bruised knee last Saturday, was playing the role of the jamming defensive back as his teammates broke off the line of scrimmage. He wasn’t wearing any extra support.
“He’s feeling good,” senior quarterback Blake Sims said earlier Monday. “He’s bouncing around, ready to play.
“I think he’s the most exciting guy on the team.”
Cooper was one of numerous players who left the game against Western Carolina with an injury: Sophomore A’Shawn Robinson (ankle), freshman left tackle Cam Robinson (ankle), senior fullback Jalston Fowler (stinger), sophomore linebacker Reuben Foster (neck/shoulder), senior tight end Brian Vogler (knee), and redshirt freshman wide receiver ArDarius Stewart.
Junior running back T.J. Yeldon (ankles), senior wide receiver DeAndrew White (hamstring) and sophomore kicker Adam Griffth (undisclosed) were also held out for precautionary reasons along with junior linebacker Denzel Devall (ankle).
Yeldon and White were back in their usual spots while most of the rest were limited, with senior Austin Shepherd taking snaps at left tackle and sophomore Grant Hill filling in at right tackle.
The two exceptions were Vogler and Stewart, who Coach Nick Saban called “questionable.” Both were in black no-contact jerseys and wore a protective brace after sustaining strained knee ligaments when someone landed on the back of their legs.
Stewart was filling in for White against WCU, but Vogler is a second-year starter with 46 games of experience.
“Brandon Greene has played quite a bit,” Saban said about the tight position. “We have a lot of confidence in O.J. Howard, he can certainly (do it). Dakota Ball has played quite a bit at that position, so those guys have all gotten experience as the year has gone on. They’ll all have to contribute in some role in this game.”
But Cooper’s injury at the end of his 27-yard reception to set up Alabama’s first touchdown was the one to take the steam out of the Bryant-Denny Stadium fans. With 90 receptions for 1,349 yards – both Crimson Tide single-season records – he’s been by far its most productive playmaker on offense.
Against the six opponents that are in the top 50 nationally in pass-efficiency defense he’s caught 56 passes for 817 yards with seven touchdowns. That includes two 200-yard performances, one of which was at Tennessee, which at the time led the Southeastern Conference in that category.
The reason why those statistics are so telling this week is that Saturday’s opponent is rival Auburn (7:45 p.m. ET, ESPN), which ranks 51st in pass-efficiency defense.
Cooper has faced the Tigers twice and had a 100-yard game in both. In 2012 he had 109 yards and two touchdowns, and last year connected with AJ McCarron for the longest play in Alabama history, a 99-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter en route to 178 yards on six catches.
“Amari Cooper has done a great job for us his entire career,” Saban said. “I think he’s improved and been a more productive player each year as he’s matured as a person and a player and gained more knowledge and experience. He’s had a phenomenal year this year.
“He’s featured in a lot of things and has seldom disappointed us in the way he’s preformed and the way he’s played. We’re just trying to get him in a position to hopefully finish strong and put a great cap on what has so far, been an outstanding year.
Despite missing most of the Western Carolina game he still leads the SEC and is sixth nationally in receptions per game (8.2) and is third in the country in receiving yards.
With one more reception he’ll break essentially the last Alabama receiving record still standing: career catches. Cooper and DJ Hall (2004-07) both have 194, and he’s the first receiver in Crimson Tide history to top 3,000 career yards.
Cooper also has 26 career receiving touchdowns, while no one else has more than 18 (Dennis Homan, 1965-67).
No wonder his teammates are almost never surprised by what he does any more.
“I think the game against Mississippi State when he made that catch, man that was a great catch,” Sims said about Cooper’s 50-yard reception to set up Alabama’s second touchdown. “Things he’s been doing, I’ve seen a million times and I’m just happy for the success he had this year.”

The emoticon representing Yeldon’s injury outlook : Happy face-sds

Even though University of Alabama junior running back T.J. Yeldon didn’t play last week he passed the “smile” test on Monday, which may be bad news for Auburn. Senior quarterback Blake Sims explained: “It’s going to be great because T.J. is going to be a lot of help for us and he’s going to do a good job. He’s been doing a lot of treatment and getting better. He’s smiling a lot so when T.J.’s smiling, I think a good game is going to come out of him.”
Yeldon was one of three regulars held out of last Saturday’s game against Western Carolina due to injuries. Senior wide receiver DeAndrew White (hamstring) and sophomore kicker Adam Griffth (undisclosed) could have also played but stayed on the sideline for precautionary reasons along with junior linebacker Denzel Devall (ankle).
All are expected to be ready for Auburn (7:45 p.m. ET, ESPN). Coach Nick Saban said during his press conference Monday that the only players who are questionable are senior tight end Brian Vogler and redshirt freshman wide receiver ArDarius Stewart, who both sustained strained knee ligaments against the Catamounts.
“We’ve been fighting injuries the second half of the season with him and even though he’s been able to play he hasn’t been able to practice the way he’d like to practice and the way we’d like for him to practice,” Saban said about Yeldon, who had 100-yard games against Ole Miss and Texas A&M before sustaining ankle/foot injuries against Tennessee and LSU.
“We’re hopeful that just shutting him down for seven days like we did that it’s going to get him healthier, more ready to practice and be able to be better prepared to play in this game. That was kind of the plan with the way we managed him last week and we’ll see how it works out.”
For the season Yeldon has 151 carries for 758 yards, with six touchdowns and his longest carry has been just 31 yards. He also has 14 receptions for 167 yards and another touchdown.
Last year against Auburn he had 141 rushing yards on 26 carries. The year before the prize prospect who flipped his commitment from Auburn to Alabama was limited to 38 yards on eight carries, but Eddie Lacy ran for 131 on 18 carries.
Auburn is 38th in the nation against the run, but seventh in the Southeastern Conference.
“He usually sets our blocks up,” senior offensive lineman Austin Shepherd said. “He knows what he’s doing. You’re pushing someone out, he’s going to set up like he’s going outside, then go back inside. He knows how to utilize his offensive line and always hits the hole hard.”
After topping the 3,000-yard mark for his career against Mississippi State, Yeldon is sixth on the all-time Alabama rushing list. With between two and four remaining games he needs 465 rushing yards to break Shaun Alexander’s career record of 3,565.
3,565 Shaun Alexander (727 attempts), 1996-99
3,420 Bobby Humphrey (615), 1985-88
3,324 Kenneth Darby (702), 2003-06
3,261 Mark Ingram (572), 2008-10
3,130 Trent Richardson (540), 2009-11
3,101 T.J. Yeldon (533), 2012-14
Without Yeldon the Crimson Tide still managed 275 rushing yards against the Catamounts and cleared 600 total yards for the fourth time this season (Florida, Texas A&M and FAU the others), but Yeldon remains Alabama most complete player in the backfield.
“He has been by far, in my opinion, our most effective guy all the way around when it comes to blocking, running the ball, being a pass receiver, and I think I’ve said this before, people don’t appreciate that in a running back, the things they do when they don’t have the ball,” Saban said. “Everybody sort of recognizes what they do when they do have it. And that’s the part of it that has made him most effective.”

Alabama breaks tie with Florida in SEC record book-sds

With their win over Western Carolina on Saturday, the Alabama Crimson Tide staked out a new spot in the SEC record books. In recording its 10th victory of the season, Alabama took over sole control of the SEC record for consecutive 10-win campaigns.

This year is the seventh consecutive season the Crimson Tide have notched 10 or more victories. Coming into the year, Alabama was tied with Florida at six straight seasons. The Gators ran off their streak from 1993-98.
Here are the longest such streaks for the rest of the SEC.
Arkansas: 2 seasons (three times)
Auburn: 2 seasons (twice)
Georgia: 4 seasons (twice)
Kentucky: No consecutive 10-win seasons
LSU: 4 seasons
Mississippi State: No consecutive 10-win seasons
Missouri: 2 seasons (pre-SEC)
Ole Miss: 2 seasons
South Carolina: 3 seasons
Tennessee: 4 seasons
Texas A&M: 4 seasons (pre-SEC)
Vanderbilt: No 10-win seasons

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