Alabama Faces Washington Today In CFP Semifinal
No. 1 Crimson Tide vs No. 4 Huskies
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| AP/David Goldman Photo |
Today is the day. Alabama Crimson Tide football fans have been speed-gifting through the holidays for this very day: the College Football Playoff Semifinal Game featuring the Number One-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (13-0) and the Number Four-ranked Washington Huskies (12-1).
Alabama is the top-ranked team in the College Football Playoff, Associated Press, Coaches and other lesser polls. Washington is ranked fourth. The two face off this afternoon in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in the 2016 installation of the Peach Bowl at 2 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN. At the time of this writing, the Crimson Tide had been installed as a 14-point favorite.
Alabama is no stranger to playing in the Georgia Dome, having played at the venue only 200 miles from home before. In fact, just this season, December 3rd, actually, the Crimson Tide captured the Southeastern Conference Championship here. Incidentally, Alabama has won its last eight games at the Georgia Dome.
One of the key matchups of the game will be Washington's secondary versus Alabama's receivers. Earlier in the week, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban described the Washington secondary as Seahawk-like. That Husky secondary handles plenty of height to go up against and cause problems for Alabama receivers, averaging six feet.
Of course, Alabama receivers have shown an ability to elude and/or shake defenders all season, which would help to take that height out of the equation somewhat. But the passes from Tide freshman quarterback Jalen Hurt will have to be on the money. ArDarius Stewart leads the Crimson Tide in receiving yards this season with 852 yards and eight touchdowns coming on 52 receptions. Besides Stewart, Hurts will have other targets, like Calvin Ridley boasting 727 yards and seven touchdowns on 66 receptions, as well as O.J. Howard with 445 yards and two touchdowns on 37 receptions.
The Huskies have had problems dealing with dual-threat quarterbacks this season, especially during a September 24th overtime victory over Arizona. The Huskies allowed Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins to account for 343 total yards and three touchdowns, including 176 yards and two scores on the ground in that contest. If Alabama's backs and receivers are spot-on today, it should open up things some for the legs of Jalen Hurts to be called upon in the right situations to pick up needed yardage.
Incidentally, Hurts is only two touchdowns away from passing former Crimson Tide quarterback Blake Sims for the school’s single-season record for total touchdowns. Hurts has 34 total touchdowns (22 passing, 12 rushing) on the 2016 season as a true freshman. Sims had 35 touchdowns (28 passing, 7 rushing) in 2014. Hurts has scored a touchdown in every game but one this season, with that being against the Ole Miss Rebels back in week four.
The Crimson Tide defense ranks number one in the nation in total defense, allowing only 247.8 yards per game on average, rushing defense (63.38 yards per game) and scoring defense (11.8 yards per game.)
One of the things the Alabama defense will have to be on the look-out for are the trick plays for which Washington head coach Chris Petersen is known. He first employed trick plays during his play-calling days at Boise State, where he threw in the Statue of Liberty and hook-and-ladder to upset the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. He has made use of it numerous times as well with the Huskies.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban earlier had compliment Peterson and the Huskies on their trick play capabilities and the need for the Crimson Tide defense to be mentally prepared for such shenanigans. Saban commented, "The way I look at it is rather than thinking that they're trick plays, they're little unusual plays that create a tremendous amount of attention to detail and discipline for defensive players.
It should also be noted that Washington leads the nation with a plus 21 turnover margin, having forced 33 turnovers while only giving up 12 itself through 13 games this season.
A victory in this contest would place the Crimson Tide in the position of playing for its 17th National Championship. Both teams are worthy of the contest.
No score prediction here. However, I expect Alabama to score at least 30 points while holding the Husky defense to no more that 17.
Roll Tide.
One of the key matchups of the game will be Washington's secondary versus Alabama's receivers. Earlier in the week, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban described the Washington secondary as Seahawk-like. That Husky secondary handles plenty of height to go up against and cause problems for Alabama receivers, averaging six feet.
Of course, Alabama receivers have shown an ability to elude and/or shake defenders all season, which would help to take that height out of the equation somewhat. But the passes from Tide freshman quarterback Jalen Hurt will have to be on the money. ArDarius Stewart leads the Crimson Tide in receiving yards this season with 852 yards and eight touchdowns coming on 52 receptions. Besides Stewart, Hurts will have other targets, like Calvin Ridley boasting 727 yards and seven touchdowns on 66 receptions, as well as O.J. Howard with 445 yards and two touchdowns on 37 receptions.
The Huskies have had problems dealing with dual-threat quarterbacks this season, especially during a September 24th overtime victory over Arizona. The Huskies allowed Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins to account for 343 total yards and three touchdowns, including 176 yards and two scores on the ground in that contest. If Alabama's backs and receivers are spot-on today, it should open up things some for the legs of Jalen Hurts to be called upon in the right situations to pick up needed yardage.
Incidentally, Hurts is only two touchdowns away from passing former Crimson Tide quarterback Blake Sims for the school’s single-season record for total touchdowns. Hurts has 34 total touchdowns (22 passing, 12 rushing) on the 2016 season as a true freshman. Sims had 35 touchdowns (28 passing, 7 rushing) in 2014. Hurts has scored a touchdown in every game but one this season, with that being against the Ole Miss Rebels back in week four.
The Crimson Tide defense ranks number one in the nation in total defense, allowing only 247.8 yards per game on average, rushing defense (63.38 yards per game) and scoring defense (11.8 yards per game.)
One of the things the Alabama defense will have to be on the look-out for are the trick plays for which Washington head coach Chris Petersen is known. He first employed trick plays during his play-calling days at Boise State, where he threw in the Statue of Liberty and hook-and-ladder to upset the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. He has made use of it numerous times as well with the Huskies.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban earlier had compliment Peterson and the Huskies on their trick play capabilities and the need for the Crimson Tide defense to be mentally prepared for such shenanigans. Saban commented, "The way I look at it is rather than thinking that they're trick plays, they're little unusual plays that create a tremendous amount of attention to detail and discipline for defensive players.
It should also be noted that Washington leads the nation with a plus 21 turnover margin, having forced 33 turnovers while only giving up 12 itself through 13 games this season.
A victory in this contest would place the Crimson Tide in the position of playing for its 17th National Championship. Both teams are worthy of the contest.
No score prediction here. However, I expect Alabama to score at least 30 points while holding the Husky defense to no more that 17.
Roll Tide.
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Crimson Tide Is Tampa Bound
Plays For National Championship Against...Someone
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Crimson Tide Is Tampa Bound
Plays For National Championship Against...Someone
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| ESPN Photo |
Ahhhhhh! A peach never tasted so sweet!
It started slow, but ended with smash-mouth football...Alabama style-style.
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide handled their business this afternoon, laying the wood, bricks and mortar to to the Washington Huskies 24-7. With all the de-construction going on, the Huskies doghouse is a little flat. The Crimson Tide collared and leashed the Huskies, sending the Bama boys to Tampa, Florida on January 9th to face either Clemson or Ohio State in search of its second consecutive National Championship, and the 5th in 8 years.
This was the Tide's 26th consecutive win, the longest winning streak in the nation. Bama was especially impressive defensively, holding the Huskies to their lowest offensive yardage output this season at 194 yards. The previous low for Washington was the Huskies only regular-season loss with 276 yards to USC. But get this, the Huskies average for the year had been a whopping 477.2 yards. Of course an 11th defensive touchdown of the season looked good too. It was also the 15th non-offensive touchdown for the Tide of the year. Bama had three take-aways in the contest.
Penalties on Bama were abundant, some of which were wrong calls, but that's the game. Delay of game, unsportsman-like conduct, substitution and more were the calls of the day.
Now Bama gets to look ahead. Another National Championship opportunity.
MORE TO COME
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| ESPN Photo |
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| Pylon Cam |
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Playsight Comes To Alabama Crimson Tide Tennis
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| UA Photo |
PlaySight will now give Alabama tennis the ability to live stream in high definition and record/store practice and match sessions to the indoor and outdoor tennis facilities.
Get this. Live court features include embedded audio on each court that's being streamed, unlimited viewers, customizable and automatic screen resolution, scoreboards or live scoring, slow motion and fast forward replay capabilities. Amazing technology for UA tennis.
"PlaySight is an amazing addition to our tennis facility," said men's tennis head coach George Husack. "This technology will allow Alabama fans across the globe to catch great tennis action. I am grateful our administration supported this enhancement, which impacts our program significantly in many ways."
UA women's tennis head coach Jenny Mainz said, "We are looking forward to our partnership with PlaySight this spring. PlaySight will provide an excellent means to promote and enhance our Alabama Tennis Programs. Their technology continues to improve and will contribute to a first-rate experience for our Alabama fans, family, student-athletes and prospects."
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Touching Letter From Eddie Jackson To His Teammates
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| USA TODAY Sports/Marvin Gentry Photo |
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In the past four years, I’ve been blessed to accomplish a lot of the goals I set for myself when I first decided to attend Alabama. I’ve been named an All-American, I’ve won a national championship and I’ve earned my college degree. I’m really proud of all of those things, but the accomplishment that means the most to me is being voted one of your captains earlier this month.
I mean, there are … no words. I appreciate you. That’s all.
It’s a role I take seriously, so even though I won’t be on the field on Saturday, I wanted to share some thoughts and to let you all know that I’m still with you.
I’m not going to lie to you guys, the past few of months have been pretty tough.
When I broke my leg against A&M in October, it was one of the worst days of my life. It just didn’t seem fair. That wasn’t how my career at Alabama was supposed to end.
When I found out my season was over, I couldn’t stop crying. I think what made me the most upset was knowing that I’d have to miss out on all the fun we were going to have. Playing good football is hard work. It takes hours and hours of sweat and preparation. You have to push yourself to a level you didn’t think was possible. But ultimately it’s all worth it, because as everyone in this program knows, playing good football is — more than anything else — really, really fun.
Like I’m never going to forget the touchdown that Jonathan scored against Ole Miss this year. To watch that big dude rumble 75 yards into the end zone was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I was like a fan on the field jumping up and down and laughing like, Oh, my God! I can’t believe this!
I loved the feeling I got every time I caught a punt and then looked upfield at all the guys in front of me setting up their blocks perfectly. My eyes would get superwide and I would think, Oh baby! That was the best. That’s what made all the practice worth it.
I just want you all to know what a pleasure it’s been to have fun with you guys for the past four years.
The thing about playing at Bama is that, while there’s a lot of respect for the program’s history — and for all the great players who came before — the guys you look up to the most are the juniors and seniors you played with as freshmen. Those guys were larger than life when we first got here, and they showed us how to follow in their footsteps.
I was such a different person when I first arrived in Tuscaloosa. I showed up here as a three-star wide receiver from Florida who hadn’t played high school football until his senior year. At first, like a lot of freshmen, I was scared to death that I was out of my league. Yes, I had wanted to attend Alabama because it was Alabama, but I don’t think I fully realized until I actually got here the sacrifices I’d have to make in order to play. I didn’t just have to learn how to be a defensive back; I had to learn how to be a coachable human being.
I’ll never forget lining up against Amari Cooper one day in practice when I was a freshman. He was just destroying me — making me look silly on every single play. I was embarrassed. At some point I looked over at Coach Saban, begging for some relief. Coach looked back at me and yelled, “Eddie, I’m not taking him off you, so you better get used to it!”
We ran another play. I got roasted again. And then, as we were walking back to the line, Coop said to me, “Every play you go up against me, you’re getting better. I’m gonna have you live next year, son!”
He was right. If I could cover Coop in practice, there was no other player in the nation who was going to intimidate me. That’s the advantage we have over everybody else. We earn all our experience the hard way on the practice field in Tuscaloosa against future early-round draft picks. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it was a privilege to get beat by guys like that. That’s how I learned. And even when I knew I was screwing up, it was my teammates who tried to keep my chin up. I could miss three assignments in 10 plays, but when I came off the field my boys would be saying, “Damn Eddie, you look good out there! You’re gonna be beasting guys soon.”
And when I broke my leg this season, it was you guys who lifted me up and let me know you had my back. I was just talking to Calvin Ridley the other day about how much I miss being on the field with all of you. But being away from the team has given me a chance to watch how you guys play from a different perspective, and it’s made me appreciate what we have here that much more.
At Alabama you’re either teaching or you’re learning — always. The reason we’re a great team has nothing to do with external pressure or anything else like that. What pushes this program to a higher level is that each of you demand the very best out of each other. If you build up your teammates, it all comes back. Hootie’s next interception might come because of pressure that Dalvin put on the quarterback. Dalvin’s next sack might come because of Ryan spying a quarterback and freezing him up. Our next victory might come because you did your job so well that the guy in front of you was able to do his that much better. Play by play, that’s how we win here.
So looking back, I think it’s kind of funny how worried I was about not fitting in when I first got here. The truth is, when you arrive on campus, it doesn’t matter where you went to high school or how many stars were next to your name. The guys who are caught up in that stuff don’t last long here anyhow. Your entire goal should be to live up to the standard that the player in front of you on the depth chart has set.
When I think about my fellow captains — Cam, Reuben and Jonathan — as well as the other seniors on this team, I feel a lot of pride about how much we’ve grown over the years. Playing at Bama is bigger than winning one national championship. Winning championships is the expectation. But playing here is also about becoming the very best possible version of yourself, and then showcasing that for the world. If you can do that, all of your other goals will fall in line.
That’s what I look forward to watching this Saturday, a bunch of great players showcasing themselves at their very best.
I know exactly what you guys have gone through to get to this point. You aren’t going to win by some miracle. You guys will win because you deserve it. The teams who try to get by on talent aren’t playing for anything. You guys have just as much talent as anybody, but you’ve combined it with the work. You’ve put your trust in the best coaching staff in the nation, and in turn they’ve molded you into men.
If you can survive early morning summer workouts, you can tackle any running back.
If you can survive the fourth quarter program in the spring, you can open a hole through any defensive line.
Now you’re up against the toughest challenge you’ve had to face all season. But I know you guys are ready for the test because every team we play gives us their best shot. We are the national championship game for most teams.
What distinguishes us is not our expectation to win, but rather it’s our refusal to lose. The difference between this team and all the others isn’t just found in what happens on the field, it’s also found in how we handle our business on the sidelines. The teams we beat get down when we start making plays. They might be jumping up and down, hollering during pregame, but by the third quarter they’re usually sitting quietly with their heads in their hands.
But that’s not how we operate.
On our sideline, there are no separate units. The defensive guys pump up the offensive guys, and vice versa. If another team makes a play against us, nobody believes we’re beat. Instead, we rally around each other. We pump each other up and shout, “That’s all they’re getting this game! That’s the only play!” And we all believe it. That kind of thinking is our edge. That confidence is what makes us champions. Keep that positive energy. We’re in this together.
When you’re on the field on Saturday, look at the man next to you. Look at how hard he’s going. If you’re not trying to match his effort and then surpass it, then you need to pick it up a notch. This is the moment you’ve been working for since you got that first letter postmarked Tuscaloosa in your mailbox. Remember the excitement you felt that day, and let it out. You’re doing it, man. You’re here.
I would give anything to be able to take the field with my brothers one more time. So when you go out there, put every bit of yourself into every single play.
Every single play.
You never know when it might be your last.
Roll Tide!
Eddie
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| USA TODAY Sports/Marvin Gentry Photo |
