Prep Work For Mocs Continues
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Bama running back Bo Scarbrough, sporting a brace, was back at work in drills yesterday showing improvement. Reuben Foster continued to work with a club on his hand to protect that broken finger. Alphonse Taylor wasn't seen during the media viewing period.
The Mocs come to Bryant-Denny Stadium this Saturday, November 19th for a 6:05 p.m. CT matchup
with an 8-2 overall record on the season, 6-2 in the Southern Conference. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 with Dave Neal handling the play-by-play duties, Matt Stinchcomb providing color/analysis and Olivia Harlan working the sidelines.
This will be the 13th meeting between the two schools, with Alabama having won all 12 previous meetings with Chattanooga, with the last on being a 49-0 victory in 2013. All the games have been played in the state of Alabama, with the Crimson Tide posting a 9-0 slate in Tuscaloosa against the Mocs, as well as 3-0 mark in Birmingham. Alabama football head coach Nick Saban is 2-0 all-time vs. Chattanooga, with wins in 2009 (45-0) and 2013.
Saban has always believed in the overall development of the student-athletes on the football team year-in and year-out, and the recent Graduation Success Rate figures (GSR) released by the NCAA highlight the Crimson Tide football team's success in the classroom. Alabama ranks fifth among teams in this week's College Football Playoff Top-25 with a GSR of 80. Last season, the Crimson Tide ranked fourth among Top-25 teams and led the Southeastern Conference.
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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Cam Robinson Named Semifinalist For Outland Trophy
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| Outland Trophy semifinalist Cam Robinson Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
The University of Alabama football team has again had one of its own afforded a great honor. Crimson Tide junior left tackle Cam Robinson has been selected as one of five semifinalists nationwide for the Outland Trophy, the
Greater Omaha Sports Commission announced on Wednesday evening. The award is given annually for college football's outstanding interior lineman.
This season alone the Monroe, Louisiana native has recorded 21 knockdown blocks in Bama's 10 games so far this season. During the course of his career, Robinson has blocked for 27 one hundred yard rushers on the Tide offense.
The other four finalists for the award are Cody O'Connell (Washington State), Ethan Pocic (LSU), Pat Elflein (Ohio State) and Connor Williams (UT).
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Tide Women's Basketball Tonight
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
This will be the third meeting between the two schools, with the Bama women having won both contests. The first was back in 1986 in Nashville, Tennessee with the Tide a 78-50 winner. The other was a Bama 68-49 win this past December.
The game will be broadcast on SEC Network + with Chris Stewart on play-by-play and Rick Moody as the analyst. It can also be heard via the Crimson Tide Sports Network.
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Alabama Swimming & Diving Set To Compete
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
It will be a highly-competitive meet, with the Crimson Tide having been looking forward to this one for awhile now. UA head coach Dennis Pursley said, "I'm expecting a little bit of a mixed bag from our swimmers because they're in different places when it comes to their preparation. Some groups are a little more rested and will likely swim a little closer to their personal-best times. For everyone, it theoretically should be our fastest meet to date. Based on a variety of factors, I'm expecting to see some good swimming."
Other teams from the Southeastern Conference competing will be Florida, Auburn, South Carolina and Arkansas, as well as host school Georgia Tech.
The meet begins each day at 9 a.m. CT with preliminaries, while the finals begin each afternoon at 4:30 p.m. CT.
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What Saban Said In His Weekly Conference Call
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| Alabama head football coach Nick Saban A preseason day on the golf course Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Accountability is a big deal to the head man, and commented on that very thing, and responsibility. Saban said, "I think the big focus for our team is everybody to be responsible and accountable to do the things that they need to do to improve so that we can sort of build on some of the things that we've done, improve some of the things that we haven't done well and have the respect for any opponent and all opponents."
Saban is pleased with the Tide's offensive line performance. He said, "I think we've made steady improvement there. I think right guard has been...losing Alphonse Taylor and playing several different guys at that position...is still sort of a work in progress. The two tackles, and Bradley Bozeman have done a really good job at center. As a group, they've made very nice progress and developed a lot of confidence. I think they've done a good job for us and made significant improvement."
The coach commented on the benefit of playing FCS schools like Chattanooga, saying, "First of all, we have a total amount of respect for their players, their program, their coaches and the good job that they do. We understand that it does help their schools, and it certainly helps our team to be able to go play a game and try to improve and get better and have the proper respect for the team that we play. Through the years, I've been an advocate of playing all Power 5 conference schools, playing more conference games. I know it's a more difficult schedule, but I think it would be better for the fans. In the playoffs right now, if you want to talk about that, that system is if you lose a game you're on thin ice. If you lose two, it's almost impossible. I think if we played more like the NFL ... the New York Giants won the Super Bowl a few years ago and lost six games. You play quality opponents every week and probably end up losing more games, but I think at the end of the day it would be more competitive for everyone involved relative to the fans and players and the selection committee and all the things that go into it."
Concerning an 8-2 Chattanooga Mocs team, Saban commented, "This is a good team that we're playing. They just don't play in our division all the time. But they do extremely well, and they're well-coached, and they execute well."
The number of freshmen being played at Alabama this season has been a big topic of conversation all across the nation. Saban had this to say concerning the Tide's freshman class, "We've had quite a few guys that
have contributed in some way. I think you probably know who all those
guys are without me going through those guys. We're very pleased with
the group. Really very few issues and problems, and a lot of guys have
contributed, and other guys are developing nicely. We feel like there'll
be a significant number of good players come out of this class."
Alabama and Chattanooga will kick it off this Saturday at 6:05 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
