Bama had little trouble disposing of the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss last Saturday in Tuscaloosa to the tune of 52 – 12.  Southern Miss never crossed the Bama goal line – they did however manage a field goal in every quarter.

The Bama D remains #1 in the nation against the run – but seems the D backs are still struggling at times.

Attention quickly was turned to the SEC opener as Bama plays the Gators in Tuscaloosa in what will be the CBS 2:30 game.  

Bama (depending on where you look or who you listen to) is a 14 – 16 point favorite.  This will prove to the Tides biggest test to date and many think that since the Gators struggled with Kentucky, winning in triple overtime, Bama will win handily.   I am not so confident.  I am looking forward to seeing the Bama O and D against someone who is of SEC caliber, such as the Gators.

Blake Sims continues to impress putting together the best Offensive performance in 3 consecutive games in the Saban era. Though the doubters are plenty. 

Prediction - I think it will be close for a while – but Bama will pull away in the 4^th.

Bama 31 – Fla 20

ROLL TIDE

Week 3 Bama Vs Southern Miss

Perhaps my memory is failing, but I don't recall in my lifetime an Alabama game being "CALLED" - because of weather or any other reason, but it did happen in the Bama vs Fla Atl game this past weekend.  Bama ahead at the time 41 to 0 with almost 8 min left, it was a mutual agreement to call the game.

Can't really say as I blame either coach.  To get away without injuries in a game that was as lopsided as this one... I suppose that is called cutting your losses.

Bama came out with Sims and he looked really good, Coker made his way in the game and did well, but in my opinion there was a difference in the way the team responded with Sims and Coker does look like his timing is off.  And in fairness that could be expected. 

Bama amassed 620 yards offense. Defensively the return of Jackson and DuPriest made a difference, however the level of competition wasn't on par with West Va.

This week, Bama will be kicking off at the Capstone against the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss.  Gone are the days when Southern Miss was a grappling team scratching and giving teams great games.  In fact SMU is coming off a 49 - 0 shellacking at the hands of the Bulldogs of Miss State.   I don't look for this week to be any better.

Bama 59 - SMU 10

Week 2 Bama Vs Fla Atlantic

Embarrassingly I find myself as far behind as the Bama Defense looked against the “Couch Burners” from West Va.

If you were a bit like me, I thought the offense would struggle, and the Defense wouldn’t.  As usual, I was wrong.  From my vantage point in the Ga Dome, I felt the D was a step behind and the offense did a good job of keeping from making negative plays (sins one int) and moved the ball well. Blake Sims is catching a lot of flak from some fans, but broke a couple of records in his debut starting performance. 

Sorry I missed my prediction last week – I had picked Bama 35 -10 – Bama was triumphant by a score of 33 – 23. Obviously not covering the spread of 21.

All said and done, it was a W and that is what matters.

This week, Bama takes on the Owls of Florida Atlantic.   Bama of course is heavily favored in the game and this should be another great opportunity to get reps under the belt of Sims and I do look for Coker to see time as QB as well.  There have been a few changes in the lineup this week, as the coaches’ experiment to get the best players in the best spots and playing together. 

Fans – from my vantage point, seems to over react to everything that happens – good bad or mediocre.  With the return of DePriest I think things will look a bit calmer and the D will play a better game.