November 06, 2004
At the risk of offending any Republicans who aren't
feeling magnanimous after last Tuesday's landslide, it's
not time for the Alabama football team to drop that
banner just yet.
Yes, the Crimson Tide has reached the six-win plateau.
Yes, the Tide will get a nice bowl trip to Atlanta or
Nashville or Shreveport. Yes, it helps recruiting. Yes,
it's good for a team to get the added practice time that
comes with postseason eligibility.
But the real mission of this Alabama football team
should be more than beating the six most beatable teams
on its schedule. No, that's not a criticism. It's
certainly not a failure to recognize all the adversity
that Alabama's team has overcome to reach this point.
But there are still two regular-season chances at huge
wins -- one against an old rival that's coming off a
national championship, and a second against an even
bigger rival that's bidding for a national championship
of its own. That's where this team can really make its
mark in history in blazing letters.
Mike Shula says the same thing.
In the understandable excitement about earning a bowl
trip -- the first for all except the grizzled veterans
on this team -- Shula got an ice-water bath.
In the coach's estimation, it was premature.
"The water on the back is nice," Shula said. "But we
want to save that for when we win the big one."
That comment doesn't mean that Shula was slighting
Mississippi State. He spent a good part of his postgame
news conference praising MSU coach Sylvester Croom, and
it wasn't just lip service.
Croom brought in a Mississippi State team that could
easily have collapsed after some ignominious early
losses, and had them playing tough football. For all the
outside issues that had accompanied this game, it really
boiled down to the same thing that lots of
Alabama-Mississippi State football games have boiled
down to, long before either Shula or Croom were ever
hired. It was a hard-hitting, old-fashioned game -- not
mistake-free -- that was finally settled because Alabama
had more players and more playmakers (even in its
current state of attrition).
It wasn't a case where someone "outcoached" the guy on
the other sideline. Both coaches did just fine, and both
programs should feel comfortable with the man they have.
Alabama should feel comfortable -- but not content.
"We've got to put it aside right away," Shula said when
asked again about bowl eligibility. "We've still got a
lot of work to do. First, we've got to get healthy.
We've got to have a long discussion about what we're
going to do in practice this week, because we are beat
up. Then we've got to get focused on playing the
defending national champion (LSU) at their place. And
we've got to play better than we did tonight."
Alabama did improve in some areas on Saturday night. It
was the best game yet for Spencer Pennington at
quarterback -- not enough to make anyone forget Namath
or Stabler, but at least enough to make LSU and Auburn
aware that he can throw the ball. Brian Bostick made
some big pressure-packed kicks, although Brandon Brooks'
fumble on a punt return makes it hard to say that
special teams were "improved." It wasn't the defense's
best game, but that's only because the Tide defense has
set a lofty standard for itself this season.
And all that might be good enough, given the
circumstances surrounding this season. It might be good
enough that Alabama has established a no-nonsense
attitude, and earned more respect than it had at the
beginning of the year. But there is a chance to do
more -- a lot more.
It might be a slim chance. LSU and Auburn are as good as
any teams Alabama has played this year. Only Tennessee
would be comparable. Against the Vols, Alabama was able
to make it close, but not to win, and winning is what
counts. So the Crimson Tide can't pause to take a deep
breath. It can't simply start dreaming of a bowl game.
The toughest two-game stretch of the schedule is ahead.
The Tide shouldn't say "Mission Accomplished," without
seeing if it can go beyond anything it has done to this
point.
Cecil Hurt is sports editor of The Tuscaloosa News.
Reach him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or at (205)
722-0225.
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