Alabama Football
Prep Work Continues For Matchup With LSU
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - Preparation is in full swing for the University of Alabama football team as it began the new week of practice with one hour and a quarter hours working out in shells on Monday afternoon at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields.
Fundamentals are being stressed as the Crimson Tide prepares for a vastly improved LSU Tigers football team. The Number one Alabama Crimson Tide will host the No. 19/20 LSU Tigers this week at Bryant-Denny Stadium for a huge Southeastern Conference Western Division game. Game time is set for 7:10 p.m. CT this Saturday, and will be broadcast live by CBS. Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson will be making the call from the booth, with Allie LaForce walking the sidelines.
Both Bama and the Bengal Tigers are coming off a bye week, so the rest was good for both teams. LSU visits Tuscaloosa with a 6-2 overall record, 3-1 in the SEC. Ed Orgeron, LSU head coach, is now in his second year running the Tigers football program and is 12-4 overall.
The Crimson Tide leads the series with a 52-25-5 overall record, including a 12-7 in games played at home. Alabama has now won six consecutive meetings between the two squads dating back to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. Most recently, Alabama came away with a 10-0 victory in Baton Rouge last year.
University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban met held his usual Monday press conference yesterday afternoon. Here is his opening statement:
"We had a very acceptable bye week last week in terms of the work and the things that we were able to do. There were a lot of opportunities for a lot of players to improve and get some repetitions. The young players especially were able to get closer to be able to play winning football. This is obviously the most challenging part of our season. We need everybody's energy and everybody's focus and intensity to prepare for the games, this game in particular. This part of the season really defines who you are, defines you as a team, and creates a total identity for the team that you are. Good preparation and focus is really important to not get lost in what's in front of you in terms of the challenges that we have starting this week with a very good LSU team.
"LSU has gotten better as the season is going on. Probably the worst thing to happen for all of us in the SEC is when they lost to Troy. They've really made a turnaround as a team, which I think speaks volumes of the coaching staff and the job Ed Orgeron has done there to get the players to re-center, refocus and work on improving. They've been very productive since that time and they're playing very well as a team.
"This game has turned into a huge rivalry through the years since I've been here especially, probably even before that. Since 2007, both teams have been ranked in the top-20 in each one of these games that we've played, and I don't think that this one is really any different. LSU has done a great job taking care of the ball this year on offense, they only have like 5 or 6 turnovers for the whole year. Offensively, they've done a great job of running the ball and they have a great running back. The quarterback has been very efficient in his passing and how he runs the offense. They've got a great receiver in #7 (DJ Chark). Their defense is ranked nationally in a lot of categories and has played very well. Pretty typical sort of LSU team in terms of how they play and what they're doing and what they're doing very well. They're always good on special teams because they have really good team speed. They've got really good returners so they're very good in the return game. All around, I think this is probably the best team we've played to this point in the season, especially the way they're playing right now. This will be certainly the most challenging game we've had to this point."
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College Football Playoff Committee
Releases First CFP Poll
The College Football Playoff committee releases its inaugural Top 25 for 2017. Chosen as No. 1 is Georgia based on "strength of schedule. The second-ranked team in the country is the ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE, the leader in the other two national polls. Of course the two may potentially go head-to-head in the Southeastern Conference Championship game.
Five teams from the SEC made the CFP Playoff poll this first time out. Besides Georgia (1) and Alabama (2), there are Auburn (14), Mississippi State (16) and LSU (19).
So as of now, the matchups for the playoffs would be Georgia-Clemson and then Alabama-Notre Dame. Of course that is certainly subject to change.
CFP Playoff Top 25 (Week 1)
1 Georgia (8-0)
2 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (8-0)
3 Notre Dame (7-1)
4 Clemson (7-1)
5 Oklahoma (7-1)
6 Ohio State (7-1)
7 Penn State (7-1)
8 TCU (7-1)
9 Wisconsin (8-0)
10 Miami (7-0)
11 Oklahoma State (7-1)
12 Washington (7-1)
13 Virginia Tech (7-1)
14 Auburn (6-2)
15 Iowa State (6-2)
16 Mississippi State (6-2)
17 USC (7-2)
18 UCF (7-0)
19 LSU (6-2)
20 NC State (6-2)
21 Stanford (6-2)
22 Arizona (6-2)
23 Memphis (7-1)
24 Michigan State (6-2)
25 Washington State (7-2)
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Crimson Tide Student-Athletes
Provide Best-Yet Halloween Extravaganza
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – More than 250 University of Alabama student-athletes provided fun, entertainment and treats for more than 2,100 children from the Tuscaloosa area on Monday night at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility for Alabama Athletics' 15th annual Halloween Extravaganza. There were little ghosts and goblins of all ages, as well as princesses, astronauts, queens, ninjas, cats, skeletons, and more on hand last night!
The annual event is hosted by the UA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Tide's Life Skills initiative. Each team hosted activities in a night that also included a bounce house, an inflated slide as well as a Big Al sighting.
The Halloween Extravaganza is the latest in a series of events and programming designed to fulfill the Crimson Tide Life Skills' mission to provide University of Alabama student-athletes opportunities for growth through personal development and service opportunities. The goal is to empower student-athletes to be difference-makers and people of positive influence as they pursue success at Alabama and beyond.
*All Halloween Extravaganza photos courtesy of UA Athletics
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Alabama Men Are Second, Women Are Seventh In
Latest USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings
The Crimson Tide men finished second last Friday in the SEC Cross Country Championships. It was Alabama junior Vincent Kiprop winning the men's individual title to lead a sweep of the top three spots as fellow UA juniors Gilbert Kigen and Alfred Chelanga finished in the top three, Kigen second and Chelanga third. The Bama women finished seventh to post their fifth-consecutive top-seven finish at the conference meet.
Next up for both teams will be the NCAA South Regional competition scheduled for November 10th at the Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa.
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Alabama-Mississippi State Broadcast
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
