His title... heh.
kurt
Tide Grounds it out against feisty wildcats
By: Daniel Rasmussen
Week in and week out, you learn more and more about your football team. That is definitely a fact. But after the determined Alabama Crimson Tide was denied an upset against the number one team in college football, Mike Shulas SEC conference opener against Kentucky would be a true learning experience.
What I was most concerned about was how the Tide would rebound from one week to another. Its tough enough coming that close to beating Oklahoma, now you have to get back on track against a Kentucky team with, but of course, the hefty lefty himself, Jared Lorenzen.
How do you overcome a widespread Wildcat offense? Simple. Two things: play solid defense, and your kind of offense.
What is Alabamas offense? Run the ball. As long as the ball is put into the hands of Shaud Williams, everything will go your way. The Tide did just that, with more than enough help from the offensive line, who parted a determined defensive front for Kentucky.
Shaud was explosive like he always has been, never missing a beat. Straight up the gut, and quick off the blocks. And it has been said before that Shauds 5-foot 10-inch frame makes it hard for the defense to find him behind the mountains that crouch down ahead of him. Hey, just go with what works.
One of the spots in the game that really surprised me was the Kentucky defense. They blitzed us constantly and showed no fear in an environment as hostile as Bryant-Denny. We have got to do so much as give those guys a pat on the back for their hard work and dedication to their team. Those guys played their hearts out, but in the end, it wasnt enough.
It didnt all go well for the Tide, though. There was some bad news. Most noticeably, the fact that Alabama failed to convert in key situations. Third down. These were swear words in the Alabama dictionary on Saturday. The Tide just played sorry on third downs in the game.
Also, Alabamas first drive of the game, Shaud Williams provided a lot of yards on the ground, and Brodie Croyle hit Dre Fulgham a few times to move the drive all the way down field. Third down plagued Bama again, holding them to a field goal attempt. Then, on a bad snap, the field goal off the foot of Brain Bostick fell short.
Right before half-time, another miscue. Kentucky brought the blitz on a third and goal, and Brodie Croyle made a mistake throwing into coverage, which led to an interception.
It didnt hurt us in this game, but failing on third downs, settling for field goals in the red zone, it may hurt us later on. This is without a doubt a game that Alabama needs to learn from.
Alabama has surprisingly limited penalties this year, but a few more than the average amount gave Kentucky too many second chances in the game. Six penalties for 60 yards. Not too bad, but Bama needs to be more cautious and play smart.
Alabamas secondary is another area that after the game was left with surrounding question marks. The main thing for the secondary is to stay sharp and never slow up. Another area with room for improvement.
Brodie Croyles night was overshadowed by the stellar performance by Shaud Williams, but Brodie had another above average game. Croyle went 14-27 with 198 passing yards.
But, the game ball goes without question again this week. The Tides MVP this week was Shaud Williams. The final score on Shaud: 30 rushes for 162 yards, a career high at Bama, and all three touchdowns scored by the Tide.
Without him, this game might have gone in a different direction. I think now Shaud Williams has put himself among the elite running backs in the conference. A big part of our offense revolves around this guy.
Kentucky played gutless in exhausting, humid conditions, but Alabama beat them up front physically. That is how the Tide has gone 16-4 in their last twenty ball games. And Alabama accomplished something else: they silenced the critics that said Alabama had nothing left after Oklahoma manhandled them. Oklahoma anything but manhandled the Tide. And sure, Bama was slower, but still too overpowering for Kentucky.
The most important thing about this game, learn from it. The Alabama Crimson Tide improves to 2-1 (1-0 in SEC), but there are more than enough areas that could use improvement.
-Daniel Rasmussen September 14, 2003
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