Based on a review of the season immediately following BCS championships from the inception of the series in 1998 to today, history may not be kind to returning champ Alabama in 2010.
Of the 11 National Champions before Alabama, none has repeated as champion the following season. However, some teams, such as Florida State, the loser to first BCS champ Tennessee, and 2001 champ Miami, managed to claw their way back to the championship game the next year. Miami would go down to the Ohio State University. The Seminoles won on their return trip.
Oklahoma made it twice in a row to the game only lose both times. Ditto Ohio State. USC followed up a championship with a loss the next year to Vince Young and Texas. So following up a championship with another championship hasn't happened.
In fact, the average record of BCS champion teams in the season following a team's championship is a relatively anemic 10-3. Specifically, the stats show a 10.36 average win season with 2.54 losses for those post-championship seasons.
The average ranking the next year? Almost ninth (based on the Associated Press rankings).
The best follow up year was, obviously, those teams that returned to the BCS championship game. For example, Miami posted a 12-1 year in 2002, and USC's 2005 season was perfect at 12-0 before the Longhorns spoiled it.
Florida, this past season, holds the record for best season after a championship without returning to the title game. The Gators' 13-1 sits at the top of the heap. On the other hand, the 2006 Gators came in at 9-4 and ranked 13th at years end.
The worst showing for a returning champion? Les Miles's Bengal Tigers in 2007, a team which followed up with an unranked 8-5 squad.
Thus, we wait for a first champion that can repeat the following year. As stated, it has not happened.
Yet.
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Based on a review of the season immediately following BCS championships from the inception of the series in 1998 to today, history may not be kind to returning champ Alabama in 2010.
Of the 11 National Champions before Alabama, none have repeated as champion the following season. However, some teams, such as Florida State, the loser to first BCS champ Tennessee, and 2001 champ Miami, managed to claw their way back to the championship game the next year. Miami would go down to the Ohio State University. The Seminoles won on their return trip.
Oklahoma made it twice in a row to the game only lose both times. Ditto Ohio State. USC followed up a championship with a loss the next year to Vince Young and Texas. So following up a championship with another championship hasn't happened.
In fact, the average record of BCS champion teams in the season following a team's championship is a relatively anemic 10-3. Specifically, the stats show a 10.36 average win season with 2.54 losses for those post-championship seasons.
The average ranking the next year? Almost nineth (based on the Associated Press rankings).
The best follow up year was, obviously, those teams that returned to the BCS championship game. For example, Miami posted a 12-1 year in 2002, and USC's 2005 season was perfect at 12-0 before the Longhorns spoiled it.
Florida, this past season, holds the record for best season after a championship without returning to the title game. The Gators' 13-1 sits at the top of the heap. On the other hand, the 2006 Gators came in at 9-4 and ranked 13th at years end.
The worst showing for a returning champion? Les Miles's Bengal Tigers in 2007, a team which followed up with an unranked 8-5 squad.
Thus, we wait for a first champion that can repeat the following year. As stated, it has not happened.
Yet.
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Every championship season has its moments when the team's fortunes could have gone another way—a mistake here, a dropped pass on that play, a blown coverage there—and the season is lost.
Fortunately, the 2009 season for the University of Alabama had few of those moments, and, in each one, the ball bounced the Tide's way due to preparation, skill, coaching, and athleticism.
But what about 2010?
There are some games on each team's schedule that might be called "land mine" games; these are those games where your team might look like the better team on paper, but, due to other factors, those games "blow up" in your faces and hang an "L" on the schedule.
This list is not intended to be a doomsday, oh-woe-is-we prediction, but it serves us to know the realistic chances of the possibility that 'Bama's regular season win streak may be snapped this year.
Let's take a look at five games where the Tide might face an opponent and find that things might not go the way they did in 2009.
Game No. 2: Penn State.
The fear here is that PSU is largely an unknown for the Tide. They return a great running back in Evan Royster, who is likely to become the all-time rushing leader in Happy Valley, but does he have a line that can open holes for him?
Will the incredibly talented but largely untested 'Bama defense have time to jell before the Nittany Lions come calling in Tuscaloosa? And will Penn State, known as "Linebacker U," have enough of a defense to stop the 'Bama offensive juggernaut?
Early season games against ranked opponents have proven successful for the Tide in previous years (Clemson in '08, Va Tech in '09); let's hope it continues here. But remember that each of those victories in the past two seasons were closer than the final scores indicated.
Game No. 4: @ Arkansas.
It's no surprise to anyone reading this that if the Tide can keep the Hog offense off the field and avoid defensive mistakes when they are on it, 'Bama can win this game. Notice that, again, it may come down to a defense that must, absolutely must, mature and learn exponentially in the first three games before Alabama goes to Fayetteville.
Mallett and Co. have the horses to score and score quickly from anywhere on the field. The giant Razorback already holds over 15 school records.
Besides, the game's at their house this year, and Mallett is exceptionally tough at home.
Game No. 5: Florida.
No rest for the weary. Florida comes to Tuscaloosa with a pretty big revenge motive after the thrashing the Tide gave the Gators last December.
With so much focus on All-Everything Tim Tebow for so long, many fans across the nation forget that coach Urban Meyer's team is as chock full of talent as Coach Sabans's is.
Besides the usual cast of extraordinary athletes returning off a 13-1 team, the Gators also bring in what is arguably the best recruiting class in the nation. Junior John Brantley, Tebow's heir, can throw as well if not better than his predecessor (Brantley holds the school boy record for touchdowns in Florida by one over—guess who?—Tebow).
So, the Gators will be primed and loaded.
Game No. 9: @ LSU
Do we have to go through this, this, this...Saban Hating thing every time we go to Red Stick? Do we? Apparently, yes; we do.
The Bengal Tigers will be up for this game, and it won't be easy for the Tide to win (when is it against LSU?), but the good news here is that 'Bama will be coming off its bye week.
And, like Florida, LSU always manages to grab enough good talent every year to keep up with 'Bama's speed and strength.
These guys are annoying. And they might just be playing for coach Les Miles's job at that point. 'Bama needs to shellac them and let LSU go back to being coached by the likes of Curley Hallman.
Game Nos. 6 (@ S. Carolina), 7 (Ole Miss), 8 (@ Tenn), 10 (Miss. St), and 12 (Auburn).
See that big bulls-eye on the back of our team's crimson jerseys this year? It's there because of who we are and what we did last season. This is the SEC. Every week, every game, is a potential upset. The quality in the conference is that good.
Remember 2008, when Ole Miss upset Florida? Do you remember how that happened (besides Tebow having an "off" day)? It was a special teams breakdown by Florida that allowed the Rebels to hand the Gators their last defeat before the Tide did it this past December in Atlanta.
So, do we need reminding that the entire special teams skill people for the Tide must be replaced? That special teams will be left largely in the hands of newcomers or those with little or no college experience? Would the 2009 UT game have the same outcome if one Tide field goal snap was off, one kick was rushed, or one hold bobbled?
And don't discount, no matter what you hear elsewhere, the off week many of our SEC opponents are getting the week before they play us. That may make a difference in any one of these games. Look at the advantage it gave Tennessee and Auburn—two of the closest Tide victories a season ago.
Besides, the South Carolina and Tennessee games are away.
Are we suggesting that Alabama will lose all these games? Certainly not! But all of these facts combined mean that the Tide cannot afford to overlook any one of these opponents; every week in conference is a challenge and a potential upset.
Think about this, too: Knowing how incredibly talented this conference is makes one appreciate the herculean task the Tide's accomplished by going undefeated in the conference the past two years.
Will we make it a third?
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This presentation chronicles five great football players for the Crimson Tide, but, odds are, today's average fan has not heard of these players.* Some great Tide players had moments of brilliance, only to see that brilliance cut short due to injury. Some of them had stellar careers in the shadows of more brilliant players or players who received more attention than they. And some great 'Bama players are simply forgotten. So, enjoy getting to know five great 'Bama players most fans do not know, plus a bonus player who sometimes gets lost in Tide history. *Unless you're a die-hard fan.Related posts
In three years at the helm at the Capstone, coach Nick Saban has managed to restore the Crimson Tide Football fortunes to their rightful place among college football's elite. Along the way, several of Coach Saban's wins at Alabama can be considered as milestones that pointed to future success as he led the Tide to greatness. Let's take a look at five of those milestone victories (and an extra one that capped it all off).Related posts
We spoke to San Jose State University's play-by-play man, Mike Chisholm, about the Spartans' 2010 team, new Coach Mike MacIntyre, the upcoming Alabama opener, Boise State's chances of going undefeated, and how San Jose wins--at least when it comes to having better weather.
Bleacher Report: Have you had a chance to see much of the SJSU team in the spring or early summer prep?
Mike Chisholm: Yeah. Things look good. Coach MacIntyre wants to run the ball, so we've been seeing a lot of the Pistol Formation, some shotgun runs, a lot of 1-back sets, and some H-back leads. If holes can be made...
BR: That's Question 2-Since Coach Mac will run more than (former) Coach (Dick) Tomey did—does SJSU have the players to make the transition to the different blocking schemes and offensive abilities a running game requires?
MC: Well, two good runners return in Lamon Muldrow and Brandon Rutley. Plus, we have a (University of Washington) transfer (and JUCO player) David Freeman. He's quite the talent.
Also, Coach MacIntyre will throw to the Tight End, which Coach Tomey never did. We've got a great TE in Ryan Otten, a guy with a long frame, a guy who can block and has the hands. I see him in the (former U. of Wyoming and Dallas Cowboy) Jay Novacek mold.
But yeah; blocking will be the key.
BR: Coach MacIntyre has a pretty good pedigree for a first-time coach, doesn't he?
MC: Absolutely. He talks all the time about his two biggest influences: Coach (David) Cutcliffe (Duke Head Coach--MacIntyre was the DC there before coming to SJSU) and Coach Parcells (Coach Mac was a defensive coach under him in the NFL). That's a great defensive background to have.
Especially since this team needs to improve defensively in the coming season. And Coach MacIntyre has completely changed the fitness regimen here, and that will reap benefits far down the road.
BR: What recruits do you see that point to Coach MacIntyre looking for defensive help, run blockers and RBs to fit his scheme?
MC: Right. Coach Mac is looking to build a program, not a team per se. Since California is rich with talent, he's been hitting the recruiting trail hard since he was hired in December. He and his staff have visited over 1,000 schools since then.
What he's looking for is athletes. Even now, the coaches are looking at players in different roles, places where they may fit better than they do now. Some players are even going to see some time on both sides of the ball--that means athletes that have the ability to play defense, for example, but still have 20 or so snaps on the offensive side of the ball.
BR: In your opinion, knowing that fall camp has yet to start, is (last year's starter and senior) Jordan La Secla going to be your starting quarterback?
MC: I honestly don't know, and I don't think the coaches know. All three quarterbacks took snaps with the first team in the Spring Game, and all three have different skill sets that can help the team. Besides Jordan, you have (Matt) Faulkner (a JUCO transfer) and (RS Freshman Dasmen) Stewart.
Stewart is a great athlete. He's 6'3", weighs over 200, and can really run. He's the type of quarterback you want running a system like the one Coach MacIntyre has put in place here. If he hits the corner on the run, he's gone.
BR: What will it take for the Spartans to turn around the 2-10 season you guys had a year ago?
MC: Like I said, we're looking for the long term, and last year was a difficult year. What I do know is how hard we work--coaches, players, staff, everybody. Being stronger and getting better athletes will bring great changes to the program, and that's what we're looking for long-term.
As I said, Coach MacIntyre is building a program, not a team.
BR: Will you guys be ready for Alabama?
MC: We'll do our best. And our early schedule is a killer. We play four ranked teams in our first seven games, including last year's National Champion. We face Wisconsin the week after we get you guys, then Utah two weeks after that. The only good news here is that we do face Boise at our place, and we usually play them tough here.
BR: Do you think Boise State will go undefeated this year?
MC: Undefeated? Probably. Everybody's got that Virginia Tech game circled. If they can win that one... The funny thing is--even in their Fiesta Bowl win years, they still had several close calls within the conference. Their win over SJSU in '06 was only 23-20, and that was on a last second field goal.
But yeah; Boise is incredible. As Coach Tomey used to say, "Boise does everything better than everyone else." And he's right.
BR: Can you tell 'Bama fans a little bit about the history of this program?
MC: Sure. It's a pretty old program (SJSU first fielded a team a year after Alabama did--1893). There was a time a few years back when San Jose sent several draft picks a year to the pros. There was success when the school was a member of the old Big West Conference; the team won more games in that conference than any other team at the time.
And the success in the '80s and '90s was due in large part to the program's use of JUCO players from the large talent pool that the California junior college programs provide.
The Spartans also went to a bowl game as recently as 2006.
BR: How's the weather in San Jose?
MC: Great! Weather here is mild, mid-70's; we always get a good breeze going being this close to the ocean.
BR: Nice. We have temps in the 90s with 90% humidity. It's like breathing through a sweat sock. Thanks for talking with us.
MC: You bet. See you in September.
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For the uninitiated and possibly relatively new Crimson Tide football fan, first of all, welcome to the most rabid and--dare I say--sacred fan base on the planet.
Secondly, let's get some things straight right off the bat; there are certain requirements of all Alabama fans.
Let this article be your short primer on how to be a fan of the Tide, and there's no where better to begin than by having the right mentality. That means, simply put, Alabama expects to win. To what did you think, "Roll on to victory " refers?
And we're not talking about a 7-6 season or even eight or nine wins or so. What or who do you think we are--Ole Miss? No. We expect wins like we expect the leaves to change as those wins happen throughout the fall.
For example, a 13-1 National Championship season will be celebrated, certainly, but it will provoke some hand-wringing over the one loss. That loss will provide fodder for the discussions over The Best Team Ever that continues among Tide fans.
That's another thing; learn the history.
Maybe it's our southern heritage here, but history and the Tide are inexorably entangled.
We are not johnny-come-latelys (Hello? Miami?) to success in college football, and part and parcel of understanding this year's team is understanding them in the context of the history of the program.
Your family should speak of such men as Musso, Newsome, Neighbors, Hannah, Howell and Hutson; these should be known, savored, and, perhaps, used as names of beloved pets or, even, the odd child or two.
A child whose first word is, "Bama" or "Bear" is destined to go far.
Next, and this is corollary to the above, while we expect to win, we feel humbled by the experience. Oh, you might participate lustily in "Rammer Jammer " after each win, but you feel a twinge of guilt for gloating and saying "hell".
No, the winning should be accepted as a gift, as a bestowal of graces. You see, to the average 'Bama fan, there are such things as Football gods. They are the ones who gave us Coach Thomas, Coach Wade, Coach Bryant, and Coach Saban, and all the good kids who play their hearts out for their mamas and daddies.
And these 'gods' must be appeased. We must follow our game day rituals in order to be blessed with wins and success. We must wear that old jersey or that faded hat or sit in the right seat in front of the TV.
A closely guarded secret amongst the Tide faithful is that ultimate success or failure for the team depends completely on how we, individually, faithfully perform these rituals.
We don't like to talk about it, but each of us has the rituals and feels personally responsible when things go badly if they aren't followed.
Finally (for our purposes as a short introduction, anyway), there is pride, "Dixie's football pride ." I'm not talking about the 'We think we're better than everyone else' pride (which we are--but we don't talk about that).
I'm talking about holding your head up when you make a mistake pride. I'm talking about having respect for yourself and your opponent--even if the opponent wears some tacky color such as orange (sometimes mixed with blue) pride.
I'm talking about having pride in your efforts because you gave it your all, you played cleanly, you did your best, and because you wear crimson pride.
So, welcome, new Tide fans. You've got a lot of catching up to do, but enjoy the ride as this year's team continues writing 'Bama's "name in Crimson flame ."
And remember; hounds-tooth goes with anything.
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After Tommy Lewis sprang off the bench to tackle Rice's Dick Moegle in the 1954 Cotton Bowl as Moegle tore down the sidelines towards a sure 95-yard touchdown, the Alabama fullback explained his bizarre move by telling everyone, "I guess I'm too full of Alabama ."
Fast forward 56 years. Alabama's Marcel Dareus stands accused of attending a party thrown by professional sports agents this summer. While the details are still forthcoming about the incident, no matter what Dareus may say about it, one thing seems clear.
He's too full of Marcel Dareus.
How else could one explain why such a talented player take a risk like that? Why would a player on arguably the best team in the nation would put that talent and that team and countless hours of hard work and possibly, just possibly, a repeat national championship on the line by going to South Beach?
"Hey, I did it to help the team," doesn't sound right as a possible excuse. Neither does, "I know we were warned about this type of stuff, but everybody's doing it, so..." And, "I didn't know it was an 'agent party'" doesn't hold water, either.
What this action screams is something that has less to do with 'team' and more to do with 'me'.
Yes, yes; I realize that Mr. Dareus is a young person whose ability to make good decisions is not fully developed. Yes, I understand the pressures he's under. And, yes, like Tommy Lewis 56 years ago, it was a boneheaded move.
Perhaps I'm being too hard on the young man, but he has awfully big shoes to fill when it comes to excusing boneheaded behavior. As Lewis sat and wept unashamedly in the locker room following that Cotton Bowl game, his heart broken by the loss, he reached for the one thing that would somehow justify what he did. And, in reaching, Lewis touched something universal in 'Bama fans.
We, too, are too full of Alabama sometimes.
My fear is that Marcel Dareus isn't full enough.
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