Prekins on Bama

By William Perkins / Selma Times – Journal

It’s a good thing that football at Tiger Stadium is really just a secondary event to LSU fans. Beer, bourbon and boiled crawfish reign supreme over the day’s festivities. The actual game is a mere afterthought.

Why else would those guys keep going to the Alabama game? You would think they would have learned by now that &uot;the Tide doesn’t lose in Baton Rouge.&uot;

Alabama continued their dominance over the Bengal Tigers on their home turf by destroying them 31-0 in front of over 92,000 fans. It was the second largest crowd ever at an LSU football game.

It was a defensive struggle for most of the first half. LSU entered the game with the nation’s #1 defense and played like it for a quarter and a half. Bama went scoreless until Santonio Beard ran 6 yards for the first score of the game with under 4 minutes to go before halftime.

That touchdown opened the floodgates for Alabama’s offense. They scored again with just seconds to go before halftime and kept on scoring in the second half. Overall they torched LSU for 477 yards of total offense.

Santonio Beard and Shaud Williams both rushed for over 100 yards.

The receiver of the week was Sam Collins.

Collins caught 5 passes for 115 yards to account for nearly two thirds of the total passing yardage.

Defensively,Alabama showed everybody who the real no. 1 defense in the country is. The Tide held LSU to 196 yards and gave them their first shutout since 1996.

The Crimson Tide moves up to no. 9 in the AP Poll. Their overall record is 9-2. They hold a 6-1-conference record going into the final SEC game of the year.

Alabama’s goal all year was to make sure the best team in the SEC West was not going to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game.

Mission accomplished.

Because of probation Alabama’is unable to play for the league title.

Despite having no player or coach on the team who was involved in the whole Memphis mess, this year’s team is taking the punishment.

They didn’t do the crime but they’re doing the time. And instead of wallowing in self-pity, they’re playing with a chip on their shoulder.

I think Alabama plays Auburn this week. I’m not sure if the game will actually be played, though. Because every Auburn fan I’ve talked to has already conceded the game. Not one has given their team a chance to win. Alabama is a double-digit favorite over the school down the road. Despite this I think the game may be closer than people think. Talent wise both teams match up pretty well. In games like that the team with the fewest mistakes (turnovers, penalties, etc.) will win.

Tommy Tuberville has already begun making excuses for a possible poor performance this Saturday. He’s cried all year about his team being &uot;young&uot; and thin at several positions. That’s called depth, Tubby. And you’ve had three years to build it.

Also, Auburn’s fullback Brandon Johnson was injured late in the third quarter against Georgia. Auburn only managed two first downs after that. Tuberville later said, It amazes you how one person going down takes about 80 percent of your offense away. Would you like some cheese with that whine, Tubby?

What really amazes me is that Tuberville never has a backup plan.

When Cadillac got hurt last year Auburn went down the tubes. This year it’s Johnson. Things aren’t looking good for this coach who’s already on the hot seat.

Tuberville used to run a catfish restaurant in Arkansas before deciding to become a coach in the 80’s. A lot of Auburn fans wish he had never changed occupations.

Some point to the fact that he led Auburn to the SEC Championship game his second year. Auburn was also &uot;co-runner up&uot; in the SEC West last year (whatever that means). But if you look at the numbers you will find Tuberville has only a 17-14 SEC record. To put that in perspective, Doug Barfield had a 15-14-1 SEC record while coaching on the Plain.

The pressure is on Tuberville and the Tigers to win this Iron Bowl. A loss means the Crimson Tide will have won 4 of the last 5 meetings and 9 of 13 since 1990.

But what will Tuberville do if he loses this one? That’s a good question. You never know. You just may be seeing a new fry cook down at Mac’s in the future, though.

Alabama hosts Auburn in Tuscaloosa this Saturday. The game will kick off at 2:30pm and will be televised on ABC.