Cecil Hurt
TideSports.com Columnist
Memo No. 1: Alabama may be the best college football team in the country right now, and the College Football Playoff Selection Committee may acknowledge that Tuesday night.
Memo No. 2: Alabama was in an even better position at this time a year ago, unbeaten and No. 1, and that didn't turn out so great.
That's not to downplay, in any way, a victory over Mississippi State. Far from it. Instead, it is meant to highlight just how difficult the weekly grind of an SEC schedule really is, how it turns less-than-stalwart teams into grist. And for everyone across the nation with a wisecrack to make about Western Carolina, tell me who has survived back-to-back bonecrushers like LSU in Baton Rouge and MSU anywhere?
In fact, a brief "Hail State" is in order here. This was not an overmatched MSU team. If you scored the second half like a heavyweight fight, MSU won it. A big early deficit, two critical interceptions and one gritty Alabama drive kept the 'Dogs from winning, but their No. 1 ranking was no hollow accolade (and should not be vastly altered, perhaps down to No. 3 or No. 4, on Tuesday night.)
When Nick Saban said the decisive Crimson Tide possession in the fourth quarter was "probably one of the great drives in Alabama history," he was saying a lot. Alabama history is filled with great drives, including one that was less than a week old on Saturday.
But it wasn't mere hyperbole. Given all the circumstances - waning momentum, championship dreams on the line - it was a great drive, and a defining moment for Blake Sims. And it was utterly necessary.
"It's like we're in the playoffs now," Saban said. "We can't afford a loss."
That doesn't make Alabama unique among the playoff contenders. There is probably no one, even among the top teams, that can lose a game and feel comfortable. But no one has two more daunting games down the stretch than Alabama.
In two weeks, there is Auburn. The emotional residue from last year's game alone makes that hard to predict, and the Tiger offense gives them a chance against anyone. Win that and you get to go to the Georgia Dome, most probably to face Georgia. Win that - and then you have a playoff game, and perhaps another playoff game after that. And only then does the team truly define itself, as Saban said on Thursday night.
The next game, for the last time this season, is a time when one mistake won't bring dreams to a crashing halt. Beyond that, there is no safety zone, no time when a sloppy play or an undisciplined penalty might not wreck a year's work. Alabama has already been through two relentless, unforgiving weeks only to earn the privilege of one more, and potentially more after that.
Blake Sims, unlikely hero of the season so far, was asked in the locker room if he thought Alabama was the best team in the country.
"Yes, sir, I do," he replied.
And he is right. No one has done more. But what matters isn't what Alabama has done, not even a mighty win over Mississippi State. What matters is all the work that still remains.
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1704914
TideSports.com Columnist
Memo No. 1: Alabama may be the best college football team in the country right now, and the College Football Playoff Selection Committee may acknowledge that Tuesday night.
Memo No. 2: Alabama was in an even better position at this time a year ago, unbeaten and No. 1, and that didn't turn out so great.
That's not to downplay, in any way, a victory over Mississippi State. Far from it. Instead, it is meant to highlight just how difficult the weekly grind of an SEC schedule really is, how it turns less-than-stalwart teams into grist. And for everyone across the nation with a wisecrack to make about Western Carolina, tell me who has survived back-to-back bonecrushers like LSU in Baton Rouge and MSU anywhere?
In fact, a brief "Hail State" is in order here. This was not an overmatched MSU team. If you scored the second half like a heavyweight fight, MSU won it. A big early deficit, two critical interceptions and one gritty Alabama drive kept the 'Dogs from winning, but their No. 1 ranking was no hollow accolade (and should not be vastly altered, perhaps down to No. 3 or No. 4, on Tuesday night.)
When Nick Saban said the decisive Crimson Tide possession in the fourth quarter was "probably one of the great drives in Alabama history," he was saying a lot. Alabama history is filled with great drives, including one that was less than a week old on Saturday.
But it wasn't mere hyperbole. Given all the circumstances - waning momentum, championship dreams on the line - it was a great drive, and a defining moment for Blake Sims. And it was utterly necessary.
"It's like we're in the playoffs now," Saban said. "We can't afford a loss."
That doesn't make Alabama unique among the playoff contenders. There is probably no one, even among the top teams, that can lose a game and feel comfortable. But no one has two more daunting games down the stretch than Alabama.
In two weeks, there is Auburn. The emotional residue from last year's game alone makes that hard to predict, and the Tiger offense gives them a chance against anyone. Win that and you get to go to the Georgia Dome, most probably to face Georgia. Win that - and then you have a playoff game, and perhaps another playoff game after that. And only then does the team truly define itself, as Saban said on Thursday night.
The next game, for the last time this season, is a time when one mistake won't bring dreams to a crashing halt. Beyond that, there is no safety zone, no time when a sloppy play or an undisciplined penalty might not wreck a year's work. Alabama has already been through two relentless, unforgiving weeks only to earn the privilege of one more, and potentially more after that.
Blake Sims, unlikely hero of the season so far, was asked in the locker room if he thought Alabama was the best team in the country.
"Yes, sir, I do," he replied.
And he is right. No one has done more. But what matters isn't what Alabama has done, not even a mighty win over Mississippi State. What matters is all the work that still remains.
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1704914
