Gridiron Guesswork

No Low Tide This Off Season.

Six consecutive national championships have come out of the South Eastern Conference.

In those 6 years, the eventual champions have a combined record of 78-5.

The last 3 Heisman winners have come from the Conference, with at least 1 nominee every year.

The men responsible for your development are and have been names like Meyer, Miles, Saban, Richt, Petrino, and Spurrier.

When you compete in company of this caliber, the only albatross you wear around your neck –aside from the always evolving and ever imposing challenge of being a steady contender in said company-is how in the world you as a coaching staff get your brand to glisten a bit brighter for the impressionable and free-to-choose incoming recruit class.

If you’re on the outside looking in as a prospect being catered to by a slew of these tier one competitors, there’s no telling us exactly what it was that sold you on choosing one over the other. Some opt to stay close to home while some just can’t wait to split their born and raised stomping grounds. Any way we slice it, with the smoke settling on this year’s signing day, one thing is evident: the rich just keep getting richer in the SEC. Inside of the SEC, the state of Alabama has managed to defend that BCS national title within its state borders for 3 running years. Even further underneath the magnifying glass, it’s the Alabama Crimson Tide who seem to continue harvesting diamonds in the rough for future polish and refining, as well as fully developed rocks that they will fine tune and cut into effective stones. Stones they hope will contribute to the hoisting of future crystal football BCS trophies.

The Alabama Crimson Tide finished with the number one ranked recruiting class at the close of signing day, including 13 commits from ESPN’s top ranked 150 prospects. Alabama is fresh off completion of a remarkable season that laid a never before seen format for shut down defense. Alabama addressed their near but not immediate future with their 3 most glaring losses this off season. Having lost powerhouse Heisman candidate Trent Richardson, airtight corner Dre Kirkpatrick, and punch-you-in-the-mouth linebacker Courtney Upshaw to the upcoming NFL Draft, the recruiting staff had to get to work to find the next patch of athletes to plant and farm from Alabama ground.

Though they had no immediate need to develop a new tailback, (not with Eddie Lacy fixing to take on the full time load next year) the Tide sold 4 star RB T.J. Yeldon on their program to the tune of a decommittment from Auburn for ‘Bama in December.  

At 6’1” and 210 lbs., he seems to fall a bit on the lean side of the fence in contrast to the power backs we have seen Alabama breed in the past several years. His scouting report has him lacking explosiveness from his lower body causing a shortage of pop after initial contact. He is long for his weight and needs to pack on some beef to avoid durability related shortcomings. If this is the only problem they see in him, they found a back with a problem they can remedy. Alabama has one of the most notorious strength coaches in the country, and his products have been some of the strongest athletes in all of college football since his arrival, most recently being Trent Richardson, who was cut off at a 475 lb. bench press and a 600+ lb. squat. Cut off as in, “stop there because you could get stronger but you don’t want to lose mobility or get hurt.” That power translated into over 1,000 yards between the tackles and more than half of his yards coming after first contact last season. Yeldon is also reported to have great quickness with the vision and awareness to find the crease, if any, at the line of scrimmage. He can hit a hole with good initial speed, and has great hands and route running ability. He is reviewed to have tremendous upside and potential to match the talent seen in him already. Keep an eye on Yeldon. He flew beneath the national radar but with a dedicated attitude and work ethic to match a dedicated coaching staff, he has more than some potential to make some waves out of the Alabama backfield.

With the departure of Dre Kirkpatrick, the Tide secondary took a massive hit with the loss of a weapon that knew the zone coverage they have become so successful at running. Kirkpatrick fit the package like a glove, so losing him left the need to find another corner that could move with fluidity, change direction on the tip of a razor, make plays on defenders in space, as well as have great leaping ability to maximize the ability to get in between the wide out and the ball.

Got him.

At 5’11” and 175 lbs., there’s no doubt that Geno Smith has some work to do in the gym, but again, this is an issue Alabama can solve without much problem. The only notable weakness in his game via his scouting report is his struggle playing aggressive bump and run coverage because of his lean frame. Outside of that, he has shown the hardware to develop or better just about every other desirable and necessary trait for a successful college level cornerback. His struggle with bump and run coverage also exposed how he can have a hard time maintaining long speed, though you could say this is balanced by his knowledge of schemes and his innate ability to become a receiver when the ball is in the air. This is a kid with prime potential to fit the zone coverage Alabama runs as a shutdown corner, much the way Kirkpatrick did.

Though Alabama depends so heavily on its secondary to prevent losing on the forfeiture of the long ball, their defensive greatness begins, ends, lives, and dies with their front 7. If you don’t know, you should know, that no one is better at disguising zone blitzes than Nick Saban’s defense. Running a 3-4 system allows for a great deal of creativity when designing and executing these blitzes, but not without the right defender. Courtney Upshaw was exactly that; the bear in a camp ground mentality that would aim to destroy pass protectors between the tackles and crush runners who tried to turn the corner on him. With him gone, Alabama successfully recruited and signed 4 different 4 star linebacker prospects. Of these 4, 3 of them are OLBs that Alabama recruited with more than marginal potential to play a different position, with the exception of the ILB they found: prospect Reggie Ragland.

At 6’3” and 245 lbs., he is almost exactly Upshaw’s size, and shares his downhill ability to slam and plug holes at the line of scrimmage and punish the runner who wants to hit the gap he is responsible for. He has great reaction time in regards to closing on a ball carrier and maintains nimble coordination with startling quickness in his cutbacks and pursuit. The one aspect of his game that will require some coaching up is his anxiousness and over anticipation of playing the run. Yes, Alabama’s secondary can cover ground like no one else in the conference, (though LSU might have something to say about that) but this is an issue that will require immediate construction if they hope to develop him into a starting role player. Upshaw was a stellar pass rusher hinged heavily on his ability to read a play like a book before the quarter back ever got under center. If Ragland can develop patience and channel his intensity through football intelligence, he has a mound of clay waiting to be formed into a very effective linebacker.

Exactly how good is Alabama’s recruiting program? They went into Louisiana and the heart of Bayou Bengal territory and supplanted the number 1 strong safety prospect in the country. Landon Collins stunned many people, and very infamously disappointed his mother when he committed to the Tide on national television. His selfless mother quickly expressed what a mistake she thought it was for him to pass on LSU… to no avail. “I’m gonna go Roll Tide, Roll.”

The Tide won’t be alone in the SEC with some talent developing in the coming season, as Florida and Georgia also finished among the top 5 ranked recruiting classes for the year. Promising news for Mark Richt, whose ‘Dawgs finished the season on a 10-0 run after losing their first 2 and found themselves in the SEC Championship game. They battled back to save their season, win their division, and help Mark Richt Keep his job. The undisputed untold story of college football this past season.

Diamonds as we know them aren’t created as such. They are forged under unimaginable amounts of pressure and heat, and they all start as coal. Every year we anticipate and predict the level of performance of high school prospects as they move into the college scene, and every year we are surprised by more than one who wasn’t supposed to become a refined stone that shines brighter than all the highly touted prospects. Some respond to that refining process better than others, and emerge bigger, sharper, stronger, more durable, and simply wear the cuts of dedicated coaches better than others. These kids are in the best possible position they can be to become better football players, and roll with the long respected tradition of Tide football.

The Giant and Patriot Act: 2.

Defensively biased enthusiasts can sit the rest of this season out.

The teams with the 2 best remaining defenses were eliminated Sunday, both in thrilling fashion, and both teams can, without guilt, lay the weight of those losses on the shoulders of their special teams’ blunders. Err, scratch that. Blunders can be overcome. These were catastrophic and inexcusable lapses in fundamental execution that cost their teams Super Bowl bids.

The less stunning of these 2 was definitely the Cundiff field goal miss that did not send them into overtime with the Patriots, even considering how consistent he is. Regardless, if they had made that overtime happen, I don’t like anyone’s chances playing sudden death with Tom Brady.

Kyle Williams, on the other hand, cannot brush the errors of his play off his shoulders, and no teammate that close to a Super Bowl will be in any honest hurry to absolve him of his disbelief and guilt. The 49ers fill in return man biffed on 2 punts in the game for a costly total of 10 Giants points off turnovers. Once in the 4th quarter that set up the go ahead Manning to Manningham score, and the second on an overtime return that gave the Giants field position that proved good enough for Tynes to kick the Giants into the Super Bowl for second time in just 4 years, and leave the 49ers wondering why Michael Crabtree had to be injured on this night.

In the early game, we got what we expected out of the Ravens. The defense came out and prevented Tom Brady from connecting to his favorite meat head for 15 yard gainers across every inch of turf. The Patriots were forced into a very deliberate offensive game plan. Small ball isn’t exactly foreign to the Brady Bunch, though the Golden Boy finished the night with 22 completions for only 239 yards, no passing scores, and 2 interceptions.

As it turns out, even 3 New England turnovers weren’t enough to give Baltimore what they needed to win. Why? The Patriots defense definitely came to play today, and they forced Baltimore into the one offensive corner they could not win fighting out of. They were going to make Joe Flacco beat them. The Ravens, and the Patriots, know that the offensive success of Baltimore rides the wheels of Ray Rice, not the arm of Joe Fluke-o. Rice carried 21 times for 67 yards, and caught one pass for no damage. No points. Flacco threw for over 300 yards and 2 touchdowns. That’s fine. Ray Rice was a non factor.

All season long, this Patriots defense has taken the punches about how lousy they are. And yet, all season long, they have played in such a way that has aided in putting their team in a position to win by simply keeping the number of points allowed low enough to let Tom Brady outscore said number. Today was no different, and their defense played a game, the exact game, that it had to, to effectively contribute to a win.

Albeit, this loss could justifiably be chalked up to a good call on a bad rule, regarding Lee Evans’ touchdown that wasn’t, or an over time that never happened because of Billy Cundiff’s missed field goal. Ultimately, for competitors like Lewis and Suggs, they aren’t in the Super Bowl, and that’s their only reality at this point. Post game, Ray Lewis said, “Billy didn’t lose this game and I‘m about to go tell him that. Never, ever drop your head. No one player or single play loses the game. We win as a team, and we lose as a team.” The ultimate competitor, also the ultimate teammate.

In the Big Blue corner, are we really that surprised? We knew the 49ers would bring a defensive assault that would carry a python effect with it, and we knew that the Giants were playing extremely well in all phases of the game. Maybe it was just me, but Alex Smith or not, the New York defensive performance as an entire unit was as sturdy, play for play, as we have seen the San Francisco defense stand on their best day.

Aside from Williams’ pair of punt return spills, the most telling statistic for the 49ers is the 0 for 12 on 3rd down conversion attempts they put up before the last play of regulation. That’s unreal defensive composure by New York. The Giants converted 7 of 21 3rd down attempts, which by any standard is facing impressive defensive resistance, but they were pivotal conversions at moments in the game where the Giants had to have them. That Manning to Cruz connection on 3rd down is going to be a problem for our friends in New England.

Some days, not only do the numbers not tell the whole story, they paint a very deceiving image. Eli Manning, by the numbers, did not throw a spectacular game. 32 completions on 58 attempts, a passer rating of 82.3, 316 yards and 2 touchdowns, and a per play average of 5.4 yards. Here is the most underrated marriage of numbers for the night: 12 hits and 6 sacks by the ‘Niners, and zero turnovers by Eli. Both defenses were relentless in their pass pursuit, both were quick to the ball carrier, and neither was going to concede an inch. In such a hotly contested game, it really is going to be a burden to wear for the 49ers; that 2 turnovers by a fill in punt return man cost them a Super Bowl bid.

Poise. Collected execution. A fifth career road win in the post season. Young gun Manning managed this game as well as anybody could have asked him to given its cold, wet, windy, bruising nature, and with everything they play this game for at stake.

For the second time in just 4 years, the Giants are headed to the Super Bowl. Off an overtime win. In bad weather. On a Lawrence Tynes field goal. To play the New England Patriots. As astronomical as the odds are against the brush strokes painting this exact same scenario in such a small frame of time, we all know now that we should have known better.

Should have known better than to think that some one catch wonder named David Tyree had the power to call the curtain on this championship pairing once and for all.

Should have known better than to think that Tom Brady would take one like this on the chin and not put himself in position to be king of his world for a fourth time. Again.

Should have known better than to think that the younger Manning fluked his way to a championship and would never really bother anyone again come post season time.

Should have known better than to think that Tom Coughlin would weather more darts about being fired than any other head coach in the league in the last several years and not be on the cusp of winning a second championship.

Should have known better than to think that defenses win championships and that this league is not and always has been run, controlled, or otherwise owned by the best TEAM.

The celebrations are fleeting. Only 2 remain, and it’s happened again.

The Giants will ride all the momentum they can fit on their team plane into Indy, along with a remarkable 5-0 NFC Championship record. Tom Brady will lead his team’s charge into the organization’s 7th Super Bowl appearance fresh off of his record setting 16th NFL post season victory. Is the best front four pass rush we’ve seen in recent memory set to Tuck the Golden Boy in for good? Or will Tom Brady’s Bunch rise to crush the insurrecting underdogs from New York? Will little brother outdo his field general elder’s title count with so many more years on his ticket?

In the event of a Giants victory, we can do all but marvel in bewilderment at how the G-Men pulled this off. If New England wins, we can all watch Brady’s hater wagon exponentially multiply while he slips on that 4th ring and adds credit to his case as the best triggerman to ever play this game. The possibility of 4 Super Bowl wins. Unbelievable… just as a possibility.

The stage is set for a red, white, and blue rematch. We should have known better than to ever think otherwise.

…One Giant Leap for Mann-ing Kind.

For all the winners of the Divisional Round of the playoffs, a bye week meant time to sharpen fundamentals, better team chemistry, prepare for opponents, and most importantly, it showed what a disciplined week off will do: prevent you from beating yourselves.

That is, unless you are the Green Bay Packers.

The Giants got off to an ideal start, of sorts. They very deliberately drove the ball down field with patience and did not force a thing. They took what the defense gave them all night, and on the opening drive they converted 3rd downs needing 8 and 10 yards with 19 and 11 yard receptions, respectively. After an exchange of field goals, we saw an example of what Giants receivers have become infamous for: transforming small ball into mile long scores. What should have been no more than a long first down for Hakeem Nicks became a 66 yard touchdown off of a broken tackle. Nicks bolted midfield with 5 Packers trailing him, none of whom had any reasonable chance to catch him. 10-3 Giants.

Big deal. Lot of football left to play, right? Rodgers did what we expected on the ensuing drive and found Kuhn for an 8 yard score. Tie game. “Giants won’t get any closer.” The next 2 Giants possessions ended with a blocked field goal and an interception, but the Giants defenders were making sure no points came of it. Kuhn fumbled on the next Green Bay drive which the Giants turned into a field goal, before New York stunned the Lambeau audience on the last play of the half with a Manning to Nicks hail Mary touchdown.

The Giants took a 20-10 lead into the 2nd half, and a 20-13 lead into the 4th quarter. Trailing 23-13 and near midfield, the Packers were in a dangerous position to make a close game a very close game. Kenny Phillips was having none of that, and forced a Ryan Grant fumble that Blackburn returned all the way to Green Bay 4. Manning to Manningham, 30-13, Giants. Time is getting to be a serious factor. 9 plays and 2 minutes later, it’s 30-20 off of a Rodgers to Driver 16 yard touchdown. The Packers would ultimately not cash another opportunity in for points, and a Brandon Jacobs touchdown run put the game out of reach, and a Grant pick of Rodgers made sure of it.

Bye week? Bye, repeat.

The team who entered the playoffs with the best regular season record and came in as champions until someone said otherwise wound up being the squad to showcase what happens when all the basics go haywire, and you host the hottest team in football with a quarterback as clutch as any.

Multiple dropped passes, 3 lost fumbles, 4 sacks, missed tackles, and an icing of an interception was more than the Packers could make up for. Magical Mr. Rodgers was missing the connect he normally has with his receivers all game. Drops aside, there were overthrown balls and misread routes we haven’t seen the slightest of from them this year. All those errors surfaced in the same game at the worst possible time. The Packer defense was as generous as we are used to seeing it, but they managed to force only one turnover. A solitary interception is not going to get it done when you play “bait the quarterback,” especially when you’re dealing with Eli.

There’s no disputing the fact that Green Bay did plenty to beat themselves, and had the assistance of two horrendous officials calls, but let’s be real: the Giants came prepared for a defending champion caliber team. There was nothing that Green Bay attempted that seemed to catch the Giants off guard. The Giants, quite simply, looked one step ahead all night. Eli Manning had the kind of night he needed to have for the G-Men to come away with a win, throwing for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns. Eli reminded us all that his name is as elite as that of the best in this league, and tonight we saw what might be the most impressive display of his mental vice grip on the game. Manning cut the Packers secondary to pieces, and willed himself not to bite on the forced big play, thus staying away from what Green Bay does best by picking the ball off. He took what he knew he could get away with, especially on 3rd downs. Some quarterbacks manage the game so as not to lose it for their teams (Flacco). Manning both managed the game so as not to let the Packers beat them with their strengths, and threw his game the way he does best. Trusting his playmakers has yet to cost him this post season.

As of late, we have seen the New York rushing attack with new life, and although Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw failed to break the 100 yard marker between the 2 of them, they both broke big runs in pivotal moments that either set up, or actually did the scoring that determined the outcome of this game. Bradhsaw twisted his way to a 23 yard gainer in which he darted the lateral distance of the field to set up Hakeem Nicks’ hail Mary score at the end of the 1st half. Then, in the 4th quarter with the game at 30-20, Bradshaw broke for 24 yards to set up an off tackle 14 yard touchdown by Jacobs that put the Packers repeat hopes on the shelf.

This Giants defense is playing as well as anybody’s that’s left. No question. There’s not a lot that’s going to look fantastic by the numbers for the Giants defense tonight, but, ultimately, they are the reason they won this game. They straight up stole points from the Packers. If you didn’t see it, Rodgers had a wide open Greg Jennings down the sideline when he was stripped by Osi Umenyiora. A sure fire score for the Packers. Antrel Rolle broke up an end zone score, and the turnover battle was won by the forced fumbles. A battle, more often than not, won by Green Bay because of their stockpile of interceptions. But all things considered, they did exactly what they had to do to win. Don’t give up the big play that they can kill you with. OK. Rodgers finished the night averaging 5.7 yards per play, and went 2 for 8 on passes of 15 yards or more. They held him to less than 300 passing yards and forced him to be their leading rusher. Controlling this offense is a tall order for any defense, but it was a well executed plan deserving of a win.

So, the final 4. In the NFC, we have neither the Saints or Packers. A bit surprising, though we have no time to really ponder it. Because, in the red corner, we have a revived team fresh out of the dark ages that won their season with a suffocating defense, and beat the Saints at their own long ball game in consecutive possessions, weathering questions all season long about Alex Smith and his (in)ability to lead a team to a playoff win. And, in the big blue corner… well, we’re not really sure how they managed to get here. All that’s certain is that they are, without a doubt, playing the most balanced football from all facets of the game, and they can trade with the best.

There doesn’t seem to be enough credit to go all the way back around to reach Tom Coughlin, but there certainly should be. In the last month of the season, he diffused a team taking public shots at each other, breathed fire into the lifeless team that took the field and lost at home to the Redskins, held his men’s focus through an avalanche of Rex Ryan noise, and is now 4-0 in one game seasons this year.

Quite literally, this postseason bears a chilling resemblance to the Super Bowl run the Giants took in 2007. And though no Giant will tell you it’s on their mind, Tom Coughlin’s guys know they have Lambeau in the deep freeze under their own lock and key. Until the Packers get a third chance at redemption, that “G” in the middle of Lambeau belongs to the G-Men.

No Doubt About It.

If the Alabama Crimson Tide wanted to eliminate the idea that a rematch for a National Championship game was underserved, they had to tread a tightrope with no room for error and win in such a fashion that anyone who said otherwise would immediately be discredited by their play on the field.

Whammy.

Alabama didn’t win on missed field goals, and they didn’t need overtime to lock it up. Alabama took LSU to school. Oh no, not college. We’re talking way back to the fundamentals. Never mind the X’s and O’s. Tonight, we watched LSU take a screeching chalkboard lecture on the letter “D.”

Contrary to common Pop Warner aged folklore, the golden rule is not to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s D-efense. Alabama made a case for an all time defensive standard this entire season, ranking first in all major statistical categories. Rather than fading into the horizon, they finished their season sentence with a bigger boot print than they had stomped into any opponent prior… on a national championship stage.

They did nothing short of cripple the LSU offense. The Alabama defense made the Tiger offense look, at their best on this evening, abysmal. They gave up less than 100 total yards through the air and on the ground combined and only 5 first downs. LSU didn’t even cross midfield until their next to last possession of the entire game. This was the same Tiger team that was averaging 375 yards of offense and 38 points per game entering tonight. Jordan Jefferson certainly isn’t known to account for a ton of standardized quarterback scoring, but his impact on this game is a direct reflection of his team’s score. The play calling was, at times, as questionable as the decision making on the field. For a creative mind the likes of Les Miles, that we would be credible to label as lunacy were it not for his successes, I would never have expected to see the option run exhausted and jack hammered into the bedrock beneath failure that the LSU offense ran to no avail.

Decisive. The faith that Nick Saban vocalized about A.J. McCarron was cashed in for every dime tonight. McCarron became the first starting underclassman quarterback to win a national championship; a feat that college studs named Sam Bradford and Michael Vick cannot lay claim to. McCarron finished the night completing 23 of 34 passes for 234 yards. He earned what we have heard Saban say is the biggest compliment he can give a quarterback. McCarron did an outstanding job of managing the game. He led a very deliberate offensive attack that became dependent on him to gain field position with the pass because Richardson was having such a difficult time finding his wheels. Before Richardson broke a 4th quarter 34 yard score, he had 19 carries for only 62 yards. Given the questionable level of confidence that Jeremy Shelley had coming into this game, field position was key to getting him makeable field goals, and A.J. McCarron’s decision making while in the pocket, and his snap decisions to scramble and extend the play for a gain put Shelley in position time and time again, to the tune of a 15-0 cushion for ‘Bama that they never looked away from.

Determination. ‘Bama played with it on both sides of the ball. Your defense doesn’t shut out the LSU offense without relentless hammering at the line of scrimmage, and you don’t win the war in the trenches without unbreakable mental determination, and we know where that comes from. This was a blinding display of the best coached team in college football. Every time the ball came out from under center ‘Bama had multiple defenders swallowing the carrier like… well, a rolling tide. Courtney Upshaw did exactly that and was the unquestioned defensive MVP of the title game with 7 tackles and a sack on the night. There was no stopping this kid. For every play he had a chance to impact, he was going to disrupt, dispute, and dominate every Tiger in his lane.

If determined spirit isn’t tangible enough to get the coaching staff the credit they deserve, let’s extend our lesson with another “D”: discipline. How disciplined are we talking here? The jitters that come for a kid in a college football championship game have got to be unimaginable. The willpower to set it all aside and play your game free of flaws is evidenced by the single solitary penalty that ‘Bama had called on them in this game. One? One. That’s running a well wired house, and that‘s a disciplined, superbly coached, group of young men who have the best possible staff teaching them how to execute and not to beat themselves.

Deflated. You hate to look at such a well known and highly spirited squad like LSU and see the life sucked out of them like it was on the sidelines in the 4th quarter. The Honey Badger seemingly could not have been more withdrawn or less imposing, and we saw no effort from the captains of this team to revive their guys late in the game. Before Trent Richardson sledge hammered a 34 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter, the game was a 15-0 ‘Bama lead with an entire quarter to play. For a team with big play ability like LSU, a 2 possession lead was not insurmountable, though the deflated looks on the faces of those young guys painted a picture of a group resolved to losing the game.

There will be inevitable controversy surrounding this game since it was, in fact, a rematch. But, there is black and white here. Regardless of how the system arrived at the conclusion that Alabama’s performance throughout the season warranted a second chance at LSU and a bid at a national title, bottom line is no different than any other championship game. If you win, you’re champions. Ultimately, does it really matter how they arrived where they did? This was what it was called: a championship game, and Alabama won it. LSU and Alabama had equal time to prepare, but tonight, the Tide were the D-oers.

We hear the expression “backed into the playoffs” a lot in the NFL. In the last 2 years, we’ve seen teams that “backed in” with losses and/or got the help they needed to get a berth wring that playoff shammy dry (read: Broncos). Everyone remembers an injury riddled Packers team hitting the road as a wildcard team for 3 rounds and defeating the best defense in football in the Super Bowl last year. Do we ever hear anyone harp on the fact that if DeSean Jackson didn’t return that miracle punt on the Giants on the last play of the last game of the regular season that the Giants would have had the wildcard slot and not the Packers? No, because Green Bay took their opportunity the distance. Years from now, will anyone harp on the now failed notion that ‘Bama didn’t deserve the rematch they needed to win a championship? The likelihood of that is a percentage near the score that LSU put up tonight.

Trained, untrained. Ready, or not. When the opportunity comes, you “do” in the moment, or you move on to regret that you didn’t. For the 3rd time in his career, that will not be Nick Saban’s concern. Roll Tide.