Tide Prepped & Ready After Final Full Practice
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| Photo Credit: Fox Sports |
If the Alabama football team was a gun you'd say they were locked and loaded, just waiting to get to the firing range for the big test of accuracy and scoring. As it is, the Crimson Tide is the number one-ranked football team in college football, and the game plan has been set and practiced to "rudely" welcome the sixth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies to Bryant-Denny Stadium tomorrow for a battle of Top-10 undefeated teams.
The game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff and will air live on CBS. Making the call will once again be Verne Lundquist on play-by-play, Gary Danielson providing analysis and Allie LaForce on the sidelines.
The Crimson Tide leads the series 6-2, with the first meeting dating back to 1942. Alabama has also won the last three contests between the two teams, outscoring the Aggies 149-65. The last contest in Tuscaloosa came in 2014, with the Tide delivering a 59-0 blowout victory, the largest win over a ranked opponent in UA history. Last season, Alabama departed College Station with a very respectable 41-23 win.
The Nissan Heisman House Tour will be making a stop at Bryant-Denny Stadium this Saturday for a pre-game experience inviting fans to celebrate college football's most outstanding players. Outland and Rimington Trophy winner Barrett Jones will be present from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT, participating in both a "Chalk Talk" segment with ESPN and an autograph session with fans from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT. Doak Walker Award recipient and Heisman Trophy finalist Trent Richardson will also be on hand from 12:30 to 2 p.m. CT and will participate in an autograph session from 1 until 2 p.m. CT.
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Tough Test For Tide & Aggies Tomorrow
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| Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports |
Tomorrow the University of Alabama Crimson Tide will face its toughest test of the season, the most balanced team of the year in the Texas A&M Aggies. Alabama is ranked No. 1 in all the major college football polls, while the Aggies come in at No. 6 in the land.
Though the head-to-head with Tennessee would indicate that A&M should be a pushover, don't let that particular double-overtime win fool you. However, you can't discount the fact that Bama demolished the Vols in their own house at Neyland Stadium either.
The Texas A&M offense is one that is balanced, with Trevor Knight able to take off on the run if he is in trouble, or hit an open receiver when the opportunity presents itself. Though that passing game may not have always been efficient, the running of Trayveon Williams has. And with a week off to rest and possibly prepare a new wrinkle or two for the Tide, the boys from Texas might just have a little extra spark, especially facing the top-ranked team in the land.
Now the defense is better than the Aggie offense, and is, in fact, putting up numbers in some areas better than those of the Crimson Tide. Daeshon Hall and Myles Garrett have shown that they can get behind an offense line and disrupt plays, knock down passes, hurry the quarterback and provide some sacks. Expect the secondary to have used the week to prepare for the Jalen Hurts effect, the run when an offensive play breaks down.
Of course, everyone has been able to pass against the Aggies so far this season, including the South Carolina Gamecocks. In the last four games alone Texas A&M has allowed well over a 60% completion rate. This should be something that Nick Saban, Lane Kiffin and Hurts will take advantage of, especially with the receiving corp possessed by Bama. Pound A&M with those backs, get Hurts running some of his patented keepers and that should especially open up some passing lanes. The two could work well enough in tandem that this game could prove to live up to the double-digit victory hype out of Vegas.
Already Alabama has shown it can score offensively, defensively and as well on the special teams. In this game some more of the same will be needed. Pick up a fumble or interception or two, or return a punt or kickoff for a big gain or a score and A&M could be put on the ropes if Hurts and company have the Tide offense rolling tomorrow.
Look for the fourth quarter to tell the tale. If A&M can hang with the Crimson Tide until then, expect that Alabama can pull away in that final frame though. A&M has some skills now, so don't expect this to be a Tennessee-type victory for the Tide. Texas A&M has been badly beaten by Alabama the past two seasons, and you can bet that is on their minds. The week off should allow them to have been able to get some clarity and focus, as well as needed rest.
Alabama and Texas A&M will kick it off tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. CBS will broadcast the game live.
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| Photo via Bing.com |
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Alabama Women's Basketball Participates In SEC Tipoff '17
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| Photo Credit: ESPN/SEC Network |
The University of Alabama women's basketball team, along with the other 13 member-schools, were represented at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee yesterday for Southeastern Conference Tipoff '17, the annual preseason showcase for all 14 SEC women's basketball programs. Crimson Tide women's basketball head coach Kristy Curry, accompanied by junior guards Hannah Cook and Meoshonti Knight jetted to Music City for the event.
There will be 50 Southeastern Conference women's basketball games airing on the network this season, the most ever scheduled on the SEC Network. More than 70 women's basketball games are scheduled by ESPN this season.
The Alabama women's basketball team will play their only exhibition game of the season Friday, November 4th against West Alabama. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. CT. Just a week after that, the ladies and the Tide men appear in the same venue for the season-openers on November 11th. The women will host New Orleans at 5 p.m. CT, while the men welcome Coastal Carolina to Coleman Coliseum afterwards at 8 p.m. CT.
Of course tonight is the Supe Store Tide Tipoff, with both the men's and women's basketball teams at Coleman Coliseum. Featured musical artist is Metro Boomin. Doors open at 6 p.m. CT. Students are free, and general admission is just $5.
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Kristy Curry Receives Contract Extension
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| Alabama women's head basketball coach Kristy Curry Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Curry was formally introduced as the Tide head coach back on May 16, 2013, Curry. Since that time, the Alabama women's basketball program has made great strides both on and off the court.
In her first season at the helm of the program beginning in 2014, the women's team won seven Southeastern Conference games marking the most since the 2001-02 season. Some of the biggest included in those wins were the first in Lexington against Kentucky since 2002, the first against Georgia since 2004, snapping a 23-game losing streak to the Lady Bulldogs, and the first in program history at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym. In 2014-15, the Tide reached double-digit wins in non-conference play for the first time since 2010, including a victory over the 12th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Probably the biggest win for Curry and the Lady Tide, however, was beating the "cream of the crop" in Southeastern Conference women's basketball programs, the 54-46 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers on February 25, 2016. It was the first in the series for the Tide since 1984, ending a 42-game losing streak to the Lady Volunteers, and the first victory in the series in program history in Tuscaloosa. Later that year, Alabama was also able to make it back to postseason play after having been out the five previous seasons.
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Tide Soccer Falls To 20th-Ranked Florida Last Night
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| Alabama soccer's Kat Stratton |
The University of Alabama soccer team last night fell into some monster jaws last night. The Bama belles were humbled on the road by a congregation of Gators 6-0 at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, Florida on Wednesday night in Southeastern Conference soccer action. The Crimson Tide falls to 8-7-1 overall, 3-5-1 in SEC play while the Florida Gators improved to 11-4, 6-3.
The Gators led the match 2-0 going into intermission. Alabama's Kat Stratton provided three saves between the posts to keep it that close. Stratton ended up with seven saves during the 90-minute contest.
| Game Stats | UA | UF |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 0 | 6 |
| Shots | 0 | 18 |
| Shots on Goal | 0 | 13 |
| Saves | 7 | 0 |
| Corners | 1 | 5 |
| Offsides | 1 | 1 |
| Fouls | 8 | 4 |
