Roll Tide
Alabama won the Cotton Bowl in Dallas today, and did so in a familiar style--crushing Defense, just enough Offense, and a kicking game that didn't look great but came through when they had to. The final score was 'Bama 13, Texas Tech 10.
Although winning the Cotton Bowl--er, I mean the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic--doesn't mean what it used to, it's been a good season at Alabama. Of course, like all Tide fans I won't be satisfied unt
il Alabama is winning SEC titles and National Championships again, but considering where the program has been, a record of 10-2 and and a return to national prominence is something to be proud of. Keep in mind, this graduating senior class, which includes legends-to-be Brodie Croyle and DeMeco Ryans, started it's collegiate career with an abandonment by then-coach Dennis Franchione (how are things over at 5-6 Texas A&M, Fran?) and was then forced to endure the Mike Price debacle. There were a lot of doubts expressed by a lot of people about Mike Shula when he took the Head Coach position at his alma mater, and the doubters remained very vocal through Coach Shula's terrible first season and not-much-better second season, all the way up until this year's resounding victory over Florida.
It's pretty clear now that Shula has things moving in the right direction. Yes, there's a lot left to accomplish, and I'd be lying if I said that losses to LSU and Auburn this year didn't sting a bit (although it was fun watching Auburn get manhandled today at the Capital One Bowl by Wisconsin, a team they were favored to beat by over ten points--I may even have joined in the Wisconsin fans' chant of "O-VER-RA-TED" at the end), but considering what was accomplished this year, I'm not complaining. Next year we're going to have to see some improvement on the offensive side of the ball, and hopefully the injury gods won't curse us again as they did this year, but I feel pretty good about where things are headed. Sport's Illustrated was off just a bit when they declared "Bama is Back" on the cover of their October 10 issue; a
t this point, with the 2005 season in the books, I'd say Bama is about 3/4 of the way back. But the trend is clear: Good things are in the future.
Oh, and while we're at it, congrats to former Alabama great Shaun Alexander on capturing the NFL rushing title for the season and setting a new single-season record for touchdowns. Shaun, you'll be this season's MVP if there's any justice. Good luck in the playoffs.
Although winning the Cotton Bowl--er, I mean the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic--doesn't mean what it used to, it's been a good season at Alabama. Of course, like all Tide fans I won't be satisfied unt
il Alabama is winning SEC titles and National Championships again, but considering where the program has been, a record of 10-2 and and a return to national prominence is something to be proud of. Keep in mind, this graduating senior class, which includes legends-to-be Brodie Croyle and DeMeco Ryans, started it's collegiate career with an abandonment by then-coach Dennis Franchione (how are things over at 5-6 Texas A&M, Fran?) and was then forced to endure the Mike Price debacle. There were a lot of doubts expressed by a lot of people about Mike Shula when he took the Head Coach position at his alma mater, and the doubters remained very vocal through Coach Shula's terrible first season and not-much-better second season, all the way up until this year's resounding victory over Florida.It's pretty clear now that Shula has things moving in the right direction. Yes, there's a lot left to accomplish, and I'd be lying if I said that losses to LSU and Auburn this year didn't sting a bit (although it was fun watching Auburn get manhandled today at the Capital One Bowl by Wisconsin, a team they were favored to beat by over ten points--I may even have joined in the Wisconsin fans' chant of "O-VER-RA-TED" at the end), but considering what was accomplished this year, I'm not complaining. Next year we're going to have to see some improvement on the offensive side of the ball, and hopefully the injury gods won't curse us again as they did this year, but I feel pretty good about where things are headed. Sport's Illustrated was off just a bit when they declared "Bama is Back" on the cover of their October 10 issue; a
t this point, with the 2005 season in the books, I'd say Bama is about 3/4 of the way back. But the trend is clear: Good things are in the future.Oh, and while we're at it, congrats to former Alabama great Shaun Alexander on capturing the NFL rushing title for the season and setting a new single-season record for touchdowns. Shaun, you'll be this season's MVP if there's any justice. Good luck in the playoffs.
posted by Yukon Sully | 1:56 PM
4 Comments:
did you see the video of shula falling off the stage at the press conference after the game? it was classic.
Missed that--send the video if you can.
i can't find it on the internet. i saw it on sportcenter. cracked me up. he falls backwards off his chair and behind a curtain.
I didn't see it either, but Shula supposedly said, "Please don't put that on ESPN" when he got back up.
Great season for the Tide, 10 wins, a bowl win, a Top 10 finish, we got the orange monkey off of our back, now we just have to beat the barners and the Bayou Bengals.
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