Leading off, we got a press conference from Kane Wommack, who went nearly 18 minutes. The man didn’t get to talk as much last week, so he sure made up for it this time.
Most importantly, Kane finally divulged
what he keeps in his gameday shoulder bag:
“There is no fanny pack. It’s got all my power pack stuff on the back. So there’s no like pouch or anything for me to put my lip balms, you know what I mean, and my essential oils or whatever. I don’t do anything like that. But it’s got like my radio that I talk to the guys, and then the communication piece up top, they strap it on the back. And then up top, we call it the easy button, the communication on-field to Deontae Lawson or whoever’s, Justin Jefferson at times has that. So that’s when I have to press that button to be able to communicate to those guys. So didn’t know that people thought that I was carrying a snack to the game.”
The big news for Alabama is the continued improvement on the health front.
Alabama football injury update: CFP availability report
Out
- LB Jah-Marien Latham
- DB Dre Kirkpatrick Jr.
- DL Jeremiah Beaman
Indiana football injury update: CFP availability report
Out
- DL Stephen Daley
- DL Kellan Wyatt
- DB Bryson Bonds
- RB Lee Beebe Jr.
Probable
- K Brendan Franke
When the SEC Championship rolled around, the Tide felt like they were a walking MASH unit. Even after that game, Georgia coach Kirby Smart came out and supported Alabama’s case for making the playoffs stating just how many of Alabama’s players were out or hobbled.
Now, though, the Tide is just down to Latham and Beaman, who were both knocked out for the season early in the year. Eveyone else is back and, by all accounts, seem to be good to go. Even starting defensive end LT Overton is back from his mysterious illness that has kept him out of three games, as is RB Kevin Riley who was out with a broken jaw. Hopefully, the clean bill of health will make a big difference for Alabama.
“You know what the best part of it is?” said Lewis, who also works with Future Fans Sports. “It’s gonna rain at the Rose Bowl.”
He chuckled.
“And that somehow favors Indiana,” he said in an interview with AL.com. “Because they can run the football. They can be physical in the trenches. And, like, this traditionally should be a game that Alabama muddies up and bloodies your nose. They do. And maybe they do. I’m not saying that Indiana’s gonna run away with the game. That’s just kind of the irony of this whole situation.”
He’s not exaggerating, either.
The numbers back him up, in stark contrast to the traditional reputations of these two programs.
If anything, it’s a challenge to Alabama’s front lines that aren’t quite as dominant as in the past.
And the forecasted rain only figures to increase the edge the No. 1 Hoosiers bring to this College Football Playoff quarterfinal game.
Indiana brings a balanced attack and an offensive line that’s plowed the way for the nation’s No. 10 rushing attack, which is averaging 221.2 yards a game.
If a wet ball becomes an issue with passing, Alabama’s 120th-best rush offense doesn’t inspire confidence. Only once has the Tide’s rushing total reached Indiana’s season average and that 269-yard game came against lowly Eastern Illinois (on 49 attempts).
1 – California “heavy rain” is very, very different from a Florida heavy rain.
2- I’ve never totally bought into the idea that teams that rush the ball better are necessarily more likely to win than those that don’t. We do statistically know that rain drops a QB’s completion % by about 2.5%. But rain affects nearly everything… RBs can slip more. Defenders can slip. Linemen may not get as good of grip.
I do believe that rain tends to equalize things a bit. Bad teams will play closer to good teams because everyone just messes up more.
What that means for Alabama-Indiana…. I’ll let you decide.
Only Michigan (1,021) and Ohio State (990) have won more games than Alabama’s 985 games, though to be fair, 142 of Michigan and Ohio State’s all-time wins have come against Indiana, and this is Alabama’s first crack at the Hoosiers.
I got a kick out of this line. Good one, Tom Fornelli.
Auburn star wide receiver Cam Coleman has informed the school he plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Coleman, a former five-star recruit, is expected to be the top wide receiver available in the transfer portal when it officially opens on Friday. The sophomore has two more years of eligibility but will be a prized NFL draft prospect next year.
Does the fact that Alabama just hired Auburn’s former OC to be their WR coach hold any sway with Cam Coleman? Who knows.
But we do know that Coleman’s very last play in Auburn showed that he was an Alabama guy all along:
We’ll always love him for that.
