Are you expecting an easy win vs. Texas?

What kind of game are you expecting against Texas?

  • Blowout for Bama (3 or more scores)

    Votes: 13 3.8%
  • Comfortable win for Bama (2 scores)

    Votes: 118 34.9%
  • Close win for Bama (1 score)

    Votes: 156 46.2%
  • Toss-up

    Votes: 37 10.9%
  • Texas win

    Votes: 14 4.1%

  • Total voters
    338

bonehouse81

All-SEC
Jun 30, 2006
1,206
0
0
Clarksville, TN
I'll begin this by saying I'm largely ignorant of Texas' team this year. I saw parts of their games against Oklahoma and Nebraska, and highlights from some others, and that's it.

With that said, it seems there's a LOT of confidence coming from our side -- it seems the consensus is Alabama *should* win fairly comfortably, unless they do some things to beat themselves.

I have to admit, though, I've been a bit underwhelmed by many of the arguments being made in support of that.

Four of the most oft-repeated:

1. SEC > Big 12. Therefore, SEC's Bama is clearly better than Big 12's Texas.

2. Florida > Anyone Texas beat. Bama blew out Florida, so Texas can expect the same from Bama.

3. Texas struggled against the only two good defenses they played -- Oklahoma and Nebraska.

4. Texas isn't physical enough to contain Alabama's running game, because they didn't play any strong running teams.


While those first three are true, I just don't know how much those things matter in this game.



  • Yes, Bama played a tougher schedule, but it's not like the Big 12 is the Big East and Texas is a mirage because they've feasted on cupcakes.



  • Yes, Bama drilled Florida, but that was our best game of the season, and we've certainly looked much worse than that, at times.



  • Yes, Texas struggled against Oklahoma and Nebraska, but how is that any different from our struggles against UT or Auburn or even South Carolina?



  • And as for Texas not being physical enough to match our running game, I think you need to have a pretty good argument for that when you're talking about the No. 1 rushing D in the nation (62 ypg). I mean, I'm sure you can present the numbers to somehow make it less impressive, but 62 yards is 62 yards. Those guys are obviously very strong against the run.

A few more reasons why I think this is a more evenly matched game than many of us seem to think:


  • Anytime you're playing against a QB like Colt McCoy, you've got a chance to lose. The guy's hitting better than 70% of his passes over the past two seasons and has put up monster numbers. The guy can sling it, he can run it, he's got moxie and he's the winningest college QB ever.


  • Texas' short, accurate passing game is similar to what gave us so much trouble against Utah. It's been said that no one's been able to make it work against us this year, but we haven't exactly played against a bunch of West Coast-type aces this year, either. I think Texas will be at least as good at running that type of offense as Utah was.


  • Texas' struggles against Nebraska shouldn't be a dead giveaway they're no good. Remember how crummy we looked against UT after playing eight straight weeks? I think Texas was in a similar situation against Nebraska.


  • I think a lot of Bama's momentum from the Florida game (as well as Texas' lack of momentum from the Nebraska game) will be negated by the long layoff.


  • Despite Saban's pleas, the always-dangerous "no respect" advantage will squarely be with the Longhorns. It's a great equalizer.


  • I mean, this is Texas we're talking about here. Doesn't Texas have 4- and 5-star talent all over the field? I know their fans are down on their OL, but I have a hard time seeing them being a whole lot less talented than Bama. And, by the way, they're 25-1 over the past two seasons.


To those who've watched Texas and can make an honest assessment: Am I missing something here? Is Texas really just not that good? Are Bama fans expecting a closer game than they seem to be?

(For the record, I think Bama will win by one score in a low-scoring game.)
 
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TommyMac

Hall of Fame
Apr 24, 2001
14,040
33
0
83
Mobile, Alabama
I don't, there are few states in the nation that can match the pride and enthusiasm of Alabama kids when it comes to football, but Texas is one of them.

We better realize that we're in for a dogfight. Those Texas kids won't be thinking they're anyone's cannon fodder.
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,552
39,661
437
Huntsville, AL,USA
You've certainly made a lot of assumptions about what Bama fans think which I don't think are valid at all - not even among the message board fans. I think the overwhelming majority think it's a tough game. If it's not a tough game, then I tilt in favor of it's being Bama's "not tough," and not UT's. Utah really didn't do UT and the other spread teams that'd've played (and will play) Bama a favor, when you come right down to it. Sorry you're depressed... :D
 

CullmanTide

Hall of Fame
Jan 7, 2008
6,614
885
137
Cullman, Al
Nothing that happened, not one game, one score or one fist down this season will matter when our game with Texas kicks off. It is gonna be a battle of titans.
 

bonehouse81

All-SEC
Jun 30, 2006
1,206
0
0
Clarksville, TN
You've certainly made a lot of assumptions about what Bama fans think which I don't think are valid at all - not even among the message board fans. I think the overwhelming majority think it's a tough game. If it's not a tough game, then I tilt in favor of it's being Bama's "not tough," and not UT's. Utah really didn't do UT and the other spread teams that'd've played (and will play) Bama a favor, when you come right down to it. Sorry you're depressed... :D

Depressed? Not at all! You did see I predicted a Bama win, right? :wink:

It's obviously impossible to peg exactly how a fanbase is feeling, but I've definitely gotten a sense that Bama fans are feeling very confident about a win (I also frequent a different board). Just trying to get some thoughts on it ...
 

bayoutider

Administrator Emeritus & Chef-in-Chief
Oct 13, 1999
29,712
27
0
Tidefans.com
Sunshine pumper and resident homer here and I chose toss up. I want Bama to win, I expect Bama to win but we have 24 more days to suffer through till the game and who knows what bad luck might befall one of the teams or players. Thats why I chose toss up but the closer it gets the more likely I will slip the coin flipper a two headed coin and call heads. :)
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,552
39,661
437
Huntsville, AL,USA
Depressed? Not at all! You did see I predicted a Bama win, right? :wink:

It's obviously impossible to peg exactly how a fanbase is feeling, but I've definitely gotten a sense that Bama fans are feeling very confident about a win (I also frequent a different board). Just trying to get some thoughts on it ...
I was just teasing you. It so happens that the points against UT you outlined are really valid points. Of course, they, in turn, point out our UTe and AU games. It's possible to do this with any two good teams at this point in the season. For me, I'll follow Nick's lead and expect it to be tight. If it's not - and it's in our favor - then I'll just be pleasantly surprised, as I was for the UF game.
 

JAXFLBAMAFAN

All-SEC
Nov 30, 1999
1,131
4
157
66
Jacksonville FL
I think it will be comparable to the SECCG in terms of gameplanning and score. But, just like the SECCG if the defense doesn't come up with big plays, it could turn into a field goal, or last team with the ball finish.
 

92tide

TideFans Legend
May 9, 2000
58,154
44,877
287
54
East Point, Ga, USA
i'm saying win. im not going to predict whether it will be easy/comfortable or not because i know next to nothing about texas' team this year.

i will say that our defense has exceeded most expectations this year when going against strong passing qb's.
 

CapitalTider

All-American
Jun 8, 2004
2,798
0
0
Vienna, VA
Yes, Texas struggled against Oklahoma and Nebraska, but how is that any different from our struggles against UT or Auburn or even South Carolina?
The primary difference in my mind is that Texas struggled in their last two games. Whereas, Alabama, outside of the first quarter of the Auburn game, has not struggled since mid-season. There may be other factors that would counter this, but it certainly looks like Texas was sliding at the end of the season while Alabama was peaking. We'll see if that is indeed the case.

And as for Texas not being physical enough to match our running game, I think you need to have a pretty good argument for that when you're talking about the No. 1 rushing D in the nation (62 ypg). I mean, I'm sure you can present the numbers to somehow make it less impressive, but 62 yards is 62 yards. Those guys are obviously very strong against the run.
I think you have to take that rushing defense stat with a grain of salt. The majority of the teams Texas faces in the Big XII are not great rushing teams. In fact the emphasis of the conference seems to be on QBs and passing the ball. I'm not slighting that approach, but it is different from what you typically see in the SEC. Is Texas' rushing defens that good or are the rushing offenses of their opponents that bad? We'll see January 7th. For what it's worth, none of Texas' opponents were ranked in the top 20 in rushing offense by the NCAA. Only two were in the top 25, Oklahoma State at #24 and TAMU at #25. Texas surrendered 134 yards and 190 yards respectively, to those two teams.

Anytime you're playing against a QB like Colt McCoy, you've got a chance to lose. The guy's hitting better than 70% of his passes over the past two seasons and has put up monster numbers. The guy can sling it, he can run it, he's got moxie and he's the winningest college QB ever.
I'll agree with much of that. The value of a great QB cannot be underestimated. However, we have also shut down some pretty good QBs this year in Mallet, Snead and Tebow. Frankly, UT and UF run a similar offense and the QBs are similar in many respects. McCoy is a better passer overall but Tebow is a tougher runner.


short, accurate passing game is similar to what gave us so much trouble against Utah. It's been said that no one's been able to make it work against us this year, but we haven't exactly played against a bunch of West Coast-type aces this year, either. I think Texas will be at least as good at running that type of offense as Utah was.
I think the 2009 version of the Alabama football team is substantially different from the 2008 version, especially the version that showed up to the Sugar Bowl. But even that team, after the initial 21-0 barrage managed to essentially shut down the Utah offense. Our offense missing two OL could not generate enough offense to dig us out of that initial hole. This year, we have another year in Saban's system, Saban focused on that problem over the off season and a big difference, this year we have a pass rush. I never expected Alabama fans to use last year's Sugar Bowl as a reason for us to lose this year.


' struggles against Nebraska shouldn't be a dead giveaway they're no good. Remember how crummy we looked against UT after playing eight straight weeks? I think Texas was in a similar situation against Nebraska.
That's entirely possible. However, if Cody is 3/4 of the player that Suh is, we should be able to slow Texas' offense down.

I mean, this is Texas we're talking about here. Doesn't Texas have 4- and 5-star talent all over the field? I know their fans are down on their OL, but I have a hard time seeing them being a whole lot less talented than Bama. And, by the way, they're 25-1 over the past two seasons.

To those who've watched Texas and can make an honest assessment: Am I missing something here? Is Texas really just not that good? Are Bama fans expecting a closer game than they seem to be?
To me Texas' biggest weakness is their inability (so far at least, that could change) to run the football. As Alabama fans we should be painfully aware of what happens to one dimensional offenses (of course we usually have the opposite problem, no passing game to go along with the running game). Unless Texas finds a running game I think we win this one easily. If they do find a running game and can keep our defense guessing this one could go either way. Since Texas has faced only two rushing defenses in the top 10, the majority of the others being in the bottom half I like our chances.
 

cam4mav

BamaNation Citizen
Dec 8, 2009
62
0
0
As a horn fan who feels much more objective than most, you are not wrong in anything you said. I had begun to lose hope in most Bama fans, you restored some faith.
It will be an epic close game full of hard hitting and big plays. Whoever executes for all 4 quarters will have a chance to win at the end.
 

rickvox79

All-SEC
Dec 11, 2008
1,393
0
0
Pace, FL
Yeah I had to be a debbie downer and go with toss up myself. There is so much time before the game. There will be a lot of distractions and hype surrounding it. As we know in these type games anything can happen. Even though Alabama won't underestimate this Texas team there is no doubt they will use their slight underdog status and the words of media types picking them to lose, to help motivate them.

I think if anyone can focus this team it is CNS and I'm sure he'll keep on preaching about the Utah game from last year until kickoff time. I think it is going to be a tough game and probably end with a close score either way.
 

NYBamaFan

Suspended
Feb 2, 2002
23,320
14
0
Blairstown, NJ
As a horn fan who feels much more objective than most, you are not wrong in anything you said. I had begun to lose hope in most Bama fans, you restored some faith.
It will be an epic close game full of hard hitting and big plays. Whoever executes for all 4 quarters will have a chance to win at the end.
You want us to pick Texas? :rofl:
 

GulfCoastTider

Hall of Fame
I picked a close win.

I don't care who you are or who you play, to go 13-0 and win a BCS Conference Championship, you are doing things right. Texas has recruited well for years. They have fine facilities, an excellent staff and a great Senior quarterback. The media, paying far too much attention to the two conference championship games, gives Texas almost no chance. That's bulletin board material and adds to the intangible factor. The intangibles affect college football far more than the pros.

Bama is in for a fight. But we're gonna win it, anyway. ;)
 

TumpkaTider

New Member
Dec 13, 2009
7
0
0
I think we will be ready to play, but I also think this will be the toughest test of the season. I believe in reality that we were looking past AU and did not play with focus...by the same token I think Texas was looking past Neb and probably should have lost to them.
 

CapitalTider

All-American
Jun 8, 2004
2,798
0
0
Vienna, VA
You want us to pick Texas? :rofl:
I was thinking maybe we should, to end this whole David vs. Goliath nonsense.

I'll have to adopt my poor mouthing. Man those fantastic offenses they have in the Big XII scare me to death. I hope Mack is classy and doesn't hang 100 on our poor little guys. I mean that would be so embarrassing to have triple digits scored on our lowly little team. I also hope they give us a mercy score or two. I mean it would be so embarrassing to be shut out. So Mack please try to keep it to 99-6 or something, please.:biggrin:
 

GulfCoastTider

Hall of Fame
I think we will be ready to play, but I also think this will be the toughest test of the season. I believe in reality that we were looking past AU and did not play with focus...by the same token I think Texas was looking past Neb and probably should have lost to them.
Didn't you hear?

The Red Elephant Club bought the Big XII refs too, because we didn't really want to play either one of those two powerhouses, TCU or Cincy. No, suh... We wanted that patsy, the University of TEXAS.
 

GMacFan

Suspended
Oct 3, 2009
2,132
0
0
33
Call me cocky, but I don't think it will be close. If it is, I think it will be because of Texas' style of play, with the short passing game exposing our defense schemes, and not because of our player's execution. Regardless of those who say we've overcame short pass games this year, none of them have been on the same level as Texas, plus they have more deep threat capability than anyone we've face. But if our gameplan is well-designed and doesn't overlook any factors, I look for comfortable win. I think our players are going to execute their positions flawlessly and not make many mistakes at all. Our guys are so focused. Even during his Heisman speech Ingram let everyone know it wasn't over yet, that there was still one game to be won, and that if we lose to Texas everything else that we've accomplished wouldn't matter.

I think we win because we have the better team, but we will still respect Texas. That's a recipe for success. When a better team doesn't respect the other team, that's when they lose. It's all about respect for your opponent.
 

NYBamaFan

Suspended
Feb 2, 2002
23,320
14
0
Blairstown, NJ
... Regardless of those who say we've overcame short pass games this year, none of them have been on the same level as Texas, plus they have more deep threat capability than anyone we've face...
You have asked about this three or four times since the Florida game and don't want to hear anything that those who have a great deal of football expertise tell you. IMO, you need to take a chill pill about this.

Here - take two: :chillpill::chillpill:

and wash them down with a beer... :cheers2:
 

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