HURT: Hype for Alabama vs. Texas A&M a Category 5
Cecil Hurt
TideSports.com Columnist
A huge early-season game between Alabama and Texas A&M is just ahead, so, first things first ... the tropical weather report. The National Hurricane Center reported at 6 p.m. Saturday that there were no active cyclones in the Atlantic or Caribbean. So we will be playing football at Kyle Field, thankfully.
Since we have made reference to the famous (or infamous) 1988 Hurricane Bowl, let's make one point. There was no way that game, even if it had been played as scheduled on Sept. 17, would have been anywhere near as monumental as this week's game will be. An embattled Aggie coach Jackie Sherrill wanted to play, certainly, but the Aggies were already 0-2 with losses to LSU and Nebraska and were headed for another blowout loss against Oklahoma State the next week. So that game was a quirky historical footnote. This time, quite possibly, it will be history.
But is it really the game people think it is? The major networks, the far-reaching Internet sites, will sell it to America in that way, and perhaps it could be. But it seems a bit of a stretch, at least this early, to definitively say this is a matchup of the two best teams in America in the way Alabama and LSU were obviously the two best in 2011.
Despite the microscopic attention devoted within Alabama to the Crimson Tide's 35-10 win over Virginia Tech in its season opener, most of America saw the score, shrugged, and kept voting the Crimson Tide No. 1. That isn't a problem. Alabama is as good a choice as a half-dozen other teams at this point. But the issues on the offensive line were not illusions. Neither are the Texas A&M issues on defense. On the other hand, Johnny Manziel - forget about all the off-field stuff now, it's over - is the most dynamic offensive player in America, and Alabama can make a very persuasive claim (as usual) to having the best defense. Maybe this really will be the two best teams, if they both put their best foot forward.
The point is this - because of the location and the unique talents of Manziel, this might be Alabama's toughest test. The same might be true for Texas A&M, because Alabama is Alabama. But it isn't like 2011, when the Alabama-LSU winner was essentially guaranteed a BCS championship berth. (Georgia wasn't going to stop either one in Atlanta.) Someone is going to win, given the good news from the Hurricane Center. But it may be that the winner will still be carrying some issues in its backpack coming out of College Station, issues that could cause problems down the road. Neither team looks utterly unbeatable, even though one will emerge unbeaten.
You can take that as one last futile attempt to temper the coming media storm. The National Hype Center is predicting a Category 5. For the next six days, the best course is probably to sit back, listen to an Alabama-weary America call out, "Save us, Johnny Football," until Saturday and see what happens.
http://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1546612
Cecil Hurt
TideSports.com Columnist
A huge early-season game between Alabama and Texas A&M is just ahead, so, first things first ... the tropical weather report. The National Hurricane Center reported at 6 p.m. Saturday that there were no active cyclones in the Atlantic or Caribbean. So we will be playing football at Kyle Field, thankfully.
Since we have made reference to the famous (or infamous) 1988 Hurricane Bowl, let's make one point. There was no way that game, even if it had been played as scheduled on Sept. 17, would have been anywhere near as monumental as this week's game will be. An embattled Aggie coach Jackie Sherrill wanted to play, certainly, but the Aggies were already 0-2 with losses to LSU and Nebraska and were headed for another blowout loss against Oklahoma State the next week. So that game was a quirky historical footnote. This time, quite possibly, it will be history.
But is it really the game people think it is? The major networks, the far-reaching Internet sites, will sell it to America in that way, and perhaps it could be. But it seems a bit of a stretch, at least this early, to definitively say this is a matchup of the two best teams in America in the way Alabama and LSU were obviously the two best in 2011.
Despite the microscopic attention devoted within Alabama to the Crimson Tide's 35-10 win over Virginia Tech in its season opener, most of America saw the score, shrugged, and kept voting the Crimson Tide No. 1. That isn't a problem. Alabama is as good a choice as a half-dozen other teams at this point. But the issues on the offensive line were not illusions. Neither are the Texas A&M issues on defense. On the other hand, Johnny Manziel - forget about all the off-field stuff now, it's over - is the most dynamic offensive player in America, and Alabama can make a very persuasive claim (as usual) to having the best defense. Maybe this really will be the two best teams, if they both put their best foot forward.
The point is this - because of the location and the unique talents of Manziel, this might be Alabama's toughest test. The same might be true for Texas A&M, because Alabama is Alabama. But it isn't like 2011, when the Alabama-LSU winner was essentially guaranteed a BCS championship berth. (Georgia wasn't going to stop either one in Atlanta.) Someone is going to win, given the good news from the Hurricane Center. But it may be that the winner will still be carrying some issues in its backpack coming out of College Station, issues that could cause problems down the road. Neither team looks utterly unbeatable, even though one will emerge unbeaten.
You can take that as one last futile attempt to temper the coming media storm. The National Hype Center is predicting a Category 5. For the next six days, the best course is probably to sit back, listen to an Alabama-weary America call out, "Save us, Johnny Football," until Saturday and see what happens.
http://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1546612
