Happy Monday, everyone. Alabama dropped in both polls ahead of the bye week, if you are interested in this sort of thing.
Texas Tech jumped to No. 14 coaches, No. 12 AP with a win over Utah. Indiana also leapfrogged Alabama in both polls, moving up five spots to No. 12 in the coaches poll, No. 11 AP following a blowout victory over Illinois.
Georgia Tech also moved past Alabama in the AP poll. The Yellow Jackets moved to 16th in the rankings after beating Wake Forest.
Alabama will get a chance to get the
spots back, and likely move even further up in the polls, on Saturday. The Crimson Tide travels to Georgia, to face the Bulldogs, who were ranked No. 3 in the latest coaches top 25, and No. 5 in the AP rankings.
These polls mean next to nothing anymore, but that’s where they are. My guess is that a loss to Georgia is already priced in to some of the votes, and a win would catapult them.
Jalen is ready.
This is an interesting article. It seems that this game has less top end talent than we have become accustomed, at least according to these scouts.
Alabama left tackle Kadyn Proctor is “probably” the best draft-eligible player set to be on the field in this game, per one scout.
“Outside of that, there’s no dude you look at and is like, ‘there’s your Jalen Carter’ or ‘there’s your Quinnen Williams’ or whoever it may be. Derrick Henry. Brock Bowers. There’s nothing like that,” a scout said. “There’s nothing like that where you have your dead-set first-round player.”
Except for one underclassmen.
Scouts primarily focus on upperclassmen and draft-eligible players. They aren’t talking about or asking as much about true freshmen and sophomores. However, there is one player who won’t be eligible until after the 2026 season who has already caught the attention of the NFL.
“He is the best player in the matchup,” a scout said. “What he did to (Georgia) last year, that’s a perfect example. He did that as a 17-year-old freshman.”
Nobody tell him that King Henry somehow fell to the second round. It is interesting though, that these two programs lack many obvious first rounders. There are so many things working against the player development that was the hallmark of the Saban era, from players not sticking around long enough to some inevitable complacency from getting paid while in college. And, both programs have seen substantial turnover on the coaching staffs.
Bill Connelly is putting a lot of emphasis on this game for Alabama’s season.
Ty Simpson had to wait years to win Alabama’s starting job, and his tenure began as inauspiciously as possible with a dire loss at Florida State. Simpson has been almost perfect since, however, completing 41 of 46 passes for 608 yards and seven TDs against UL Monroe and Wisconsin. The Tide rolled in both games, setting the table nicely for an enormous and potentially season-defining trip to Georgia next Saturday. If Simpson looks good in a Tide win, he enters the Heisman discussion and Alabama’s CFP bona fides get a nice boost. If he struggles and Bama loses, the CFP starts to seem like a pipe dream. — Connelly
The Tide could still finish 9-3, and if all three losses are to teams in CFP contention, that would likely still be good enough to make it considering the strength of schedule. Beating Georgia would give them some breathing room. After last season I’m not sure if that’s such a good thing, but let’s win anyway.
Matt Stahl wonders if Georgia will be playing the revenge angle.
Revenge game?
The 2024 Alabama season will go down as a disappointment, with the Tide failing to win 10 games for the first time since 2007. However, for a fleeting moment, UA was on top of the college football world.
Alabama took over the No. 1 ranking after beating Georgia last season, doing so in dramatic fashion. The Crimson Tide took a huge lead into halftime, but UGA came storming back, pulling ahead late in the fourth quarter.
Then, Jalen Milroe found Ryan Williams, who made an acrobatic catch on the sideline, then a few jaw-dropping moves on his way to the end zone.
We got some bad news on the basketball front yesterday.
“Jalil Bethea injured his left foot during practice this week, which required surgery to repair. The procedure was performed by Dr. Norman Waldrop with Andrews Sports Medicine on Friday, Sept. 19th in Birmingham,” Oats said.
Oats added that the team doesn’t expect the injury is “season ending” and is counting on a “return this year.”
Bethea, an 5-star prospect, arrived in Tuscaloosa in April. In 31 games with Miami, he averaged 7.1 points and 2.1 rebounds.
This feels like the Chris Youngblood situation all over again. Hopefully he heals up relatively quickly and can get back on the floor in December.
Mac Jones led the 49ers to a comeback victory yesterday and continues to win his teammates over.
“I think he’s been pretty good,” Williams said. “He’s not a spring chicken, you know what I’m saying? He’s played some ball and he’s been in some really intense games and intenseatmospheres – you can tell. He’s been wonderful the last couple weeks in the huddle even when the stakes are high, he’s still the same person.”
Jones understands that while his offensive line is there to protect him on the field, it is the quarterback’s duty to return the favor after the game is over. The 27-year old was adamant on taking the blame for the play that gave the Cardinals the lead with just a few minutes left in regulation.
“When you’re running around in circles in the end zone it’s never going to be good,” Jones said with a laugh. “You definitely can put it on me. I feel for offensive linemen, they have a tough job.”
Last…. Lt. Gov. AJ McCarron? This Mobile area radio bro says it’s possible.
A Tuberville-McCarron slate at the top of Alabama’s 2026 general election slate? It could happen.
Perhaps best known as the starting quarterback for two of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide’s national championship teams, Mobile native and St. Paul’s Episcopal graduate A.J. McCarron is said to be considering a run for public office.
Sources tell 1819 News that McCarron had considered a bid for U.S. Senate but may opt for a run for lieutenant governor, given a desire to remain close to home in Alabama.
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.
