Holy shit.
I mean, they’re 55 a night around the metro, not that I’d know or anything. The Price is Right, I guess.
Category Archives: Alabama: Nothing Going for the State Other than Football
Short Yardage Situation
Ruh roh, Shaggy. Looks like the short yardage game is down a man come Saturday.
Bowens being out hurts. With Frazier being back in we can anticipate more aggressive running, but Bowens has been solid in the short run game this season.
Enter Bo Walker. Time to step in, and step up, young man.
Also on the Questionable List: Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Rock You Like a Hurricane
For all the prognostication about what the offenses would look like on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, worry not, there’s a real chance the game could be postponed due to…a hurricane.
It wouldn’t be the first time, and you don’t have to look too far back to find out the last time a game was postponed due to weather…then played the next day.
Oddly, it was scheduled for October 8th, 2016, but played on October 9th, which was a Sunday. Georgia prevailed 28-14 behind a record-setting performance by Jacob Eason, who amassed 29 yards passing with one interception on the day. I’m not lying.
So what’re the possibilities? Who knows, but I have a few options.
- Option 1 – Play on Sunday, October 11th, 11 pm (CT)
This is mainly not to compete with the NFL, who oddly kicks off their Sunday slate at 9:30 am with the Eagles vs. Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. Baltimore is playing at Atlanta at 8:20 pm, so a midnight kickoff would avoid competing with NFL air time and yield the greatest “eff you” to the Pac-12 After Dark crowd by playing a game that technically starts on Monday morning and ends around the time you’re getting up for work. Screw work.
2. Option 2 – Saturday, October 10th, 7:30 pm – Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia or Caesar’s Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Why not. It’s either the Sugar Bowl or the Peach Bowl, either one is a great venue. For the purposes of the adjustment, I feel MBS is the better option, and Arthur Blank can be a real humanitarian by offering discount concessions and dollar beers. If Trump still shows up, we can really create Armageddon in downtown Atlanta traffic but allowing fans into MBS at 9 am with Blank’s grace would make for one hell of an evening game, would it not?
To further add mystique, call it an SECCG Play-In Game, and start the expanded playoff model early. After all, Alabama is back and a CFP lock, right? Let’s play it out on the field.
Option 3 – Saturday, October 10th, 7:30 pm – Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Hey, Auburn isn’t in the cone model, so technically this could be a split between Georgia and Alabama fans. To make matters more enjoyable, either side could have the added pleasure of knowing that it’s the first time locals have seen two ranked teams playing each other in Jordan-Hare in God knows how long.
So what would you like to see happen? Or should we just make it epic and play through the Hurricane like Lieutenant Dan making peace with God in Forrest Gump?
Discuss.
First look at Alabama
Saturday night, the pressure of the season ratchets up to 11 as the Dawgs travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama in a top 10 showdown. Georgia has not been tested to this point rolling through its schedule 5-0 and not being behind for a minute this season. Alabama has had to come off the mat a couple of times in games against Kentucky and Florida State coming back from 1st half deficits. Both teams are extremely talented with future NFL players all over the field. This game appears to have the look of a 4-quarter battle royale where the first to blink potentially loses. Let’s get to the first look.
Series record / last meeting
Alabama leads the series 45-27-4, but Georgia has a 1-game streak in the series. In the last meeting, the Dawgs avenge their only regular season loss with a 28-7 physical pounding of the Tide in the SEC championship game. The Georgia defense got after Ty Simpson’s ass and held the Tide to negative yards rushing. Georgia took advantage of turnovers, special teams and field position to generate easy points and to send the Tide faithful to the exits midway through the 4th quarter. In the months following, Alabama fans could not accept the absolute domination claiming Georgia won only because of Alabama mistakes
Gambling degenerate facts
According to DraftKings, after opening as a 3 point favorite, Georgia is a -1.5 point underdog with a point total of 55.5 with Bama as a -122 money line favorite. Essentially, Bama is favored due to home field advantage.
Interesting statistic: 49.12% (Alabama’s 3rd down conversion rate)
Alabama has been extremely efficient on offense and has been good at staying on the field. 3rd down was the difference in game 1 in Athens last year, and if the Dawgs have their best chance to win on Saturday night, the defense needs to be able to get off the field and get the ball to the offense with good field position. The Florida State game is an interesting data point for Saturday night where the Tide only converted 1/3 of their 3rd downs. The Georgia defense is a step up in competition from the Seminoles.
Early outlook
It’s time for Georgia to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. If Georgia wins 3rd down, I really do think we are all going to be happy on Saturday night. If not, we will be staring down the remainder of the SEC gauntlet knowing that Texas doesn’t play either Georgia or Alabama and Bama will have the tiebreaker over us to get to Atlanta. That also means Georgia has 1 strike against us in the season-long battle to get to the CFP.
If the Dawgs can contain Keelon Russell, I do think the Georgia offense has one particular advantage to exploit in this game. The Georgia offensive line can control the game and keep the Alabama offense on the sideline.
I hate to say it, but right now, Bama wins a close one due to home field advantage and the real Bama privilege. Dawgs, please make me eat those words.
What’s your thought right now for Saturday?
Given the rivalry between the Alabama freshman class and UGA undergraduate admissions, what was your safety school? My answer is I didn’t have one.
Let us know in the comments below.
Tropic Thunder and Slowing the Offense in Tuscaloosa
I’ll start this off with this interesting quote from Alabama Defensive Coordinator Kane Wommack:
And I’ll raise it by showing you what’s going on and what’ll likely happen this weekend:
One thing is certain for Saturday, it’ll be night, and it’ll be wet.
So what does it mean? And how will it effect the gameplan and game play?
Well, for one, let’s start by looking at the two teams and how they rank/fare on both sides of the Ball:
Georgia Pass Defense: 42nd in NCAA, 187 yards per game, 9.72 yards per completion
Alabama Pass Defense: 106th in NCAA, 234 yards per game, 13.3 yards per completion
Georgia Rush Defense: 3rd in NCAA, 57.4 yards per game, 1.91 yards per rush
Alabama Rush Defense: 10th in NCAA, 78.6 yards per game, 2.47 yards per rush
Georgia Pass Offense: 39th in NCAA, 266 yards per game, 12.56 per completion
Alabama Pass Offense: 24th in NCAA, 287 yards per game, 14.81 yards per completion
Georgia Rush Offense: 26th in NCAA, 213 yards per game, 6.49 yards per rush
Alabama Rush Offense: 43rd in NCAA, 186 yards per game, 4.85 yards per rush
Granted, Alabama’s competition has been significantly better than Georgia’s. Wins over Kentucky, Mississippi State, Florida State, East Carolina, and South Carolina gives Alabama a rich portfolio against a host of different offensive looks and defensive sets.
One thing that sets the two teams apart in stats is Alabama’s turnover margin of +7, but they also are second in the NCAA in turnovers gained at 13 to Georgia’s 10 (with a margin of +6).
The big thing that everyone’s talking about is Keelon Russell, and his big play ability. And, of course, after their dismantling of Mississippi State (that also resulted in 4 Bulldog turnovers and Kamario Taylor being knocked out of the game), it seems that each week has a new flavor of the week and Alabama is it.
It’s unfortunate that it’s raining, because it seems that Gunner would be able to have some success through the air against Alabama’s secondary, at least based on the numbers. I’ve wondered here about Kirby’s gameplans the past two games, where it seemed like we were turning it lose late into games and passing more than running. Maybe he was setting Gunner up to be loose and take shots against Alabama, but if the weather makes the game go to the ground and between the tackles, I like our chances even more.
For one, I believe we have enough tight end talent where if the game was shrunk to a short field and lots of 13 personnel sets that would allow for short shots and dinking and dunking down the field. Alabama has also been wretched on the ground in the DeBoer era, where running almost seemed to be an afterthought.
Alabama has Daniel Hill, who has 51 rushes for 247 yards and four touchdowns. That’s under fifty yards per game, though Georgia’s only rusher in the same category is Nate Frazier, who averages 52.8 yards per game and has been held out for two weeks. Something tells me Nate will be back this weekend, out of pure necessity.
Four of Georgia’s leading rushers are averaging over five yards per carry – Frazier at 8.1 ypc, Phillips at 8, Walker at 6.7, and Stockton at 6.1. Bowens is averaging 3.5, though I’d argue that has a lot to do with situational football and using him as the short yardage back. Alabama has three – Brown at 5.0, Crowell at 7.8, and Russell at 5.0
The difference, on one hand, will come down to poise and the quarterback who is more willing to take a hit and get tough yards, and I’ll give Stockton the nod on that one. The offensive line is a “on paper” strength for Georgia, as is the tight ends room, so the theoretical idea here is the weather will benefit the Dawgs.
One other X factor – special teams. I’d imagine punting and place kicking will be in high use on Saturday, and we know Woodring is a ringer, but Alabama also has Conor Talty, who is 8/8 on field goals this year, including 4-4 from 40-49 yards with a long of 45. Woodring is 4-4 with a long of 49. Punt stats are a little hard to find, but Alabama also has one of the best kick returners in the nation in Dijon Lee, who averages 29.2 yards per return. Sacovie White-Helton is doing well as a kick return specialist, and Alabama uses Ryan Coleman-Williams, who also isn’t bad. If Lee can flip the field in a kicking contest, Alabama would get an edge and we could see a game go from a predicted 38-35 slugfest to a 15-12 game reminiscent of the 1996 Texas Tech game in Athens.
One can hope that the weather stays away and gives us a good matchup, but I also kinda wonder if the rain wouldn’t benefit the Dawgs more. If I had to guess which coaching staff has a deeper playbook on the run game, there’s no doubt in my mind that Georgia has the edge in this area.
Run the ball, stop the run, and damn the weather.
Drink if You Got Em
Let me lead by saying this is not a Playpen post.
If you plan on going to the Alabama game, be forewarned the entry time and lines will be long.
Maybe if you’re lucky they’ll open the stadium five hours early like they did for the Tennessee vs Texas game and let you get half priced beers.
Let’s not forget that this isn’t the first time Trump went to Alabama for a game against Georgia, last time being in 2024.
Ugh. Let’s hope we established a new baseline in the SECCG last year.
Of Course It Was Going to Be a Night Game
We couldn’t have gotten one of those marquee noon slots on ESPN, could we?
I’m sure it’s about two undefeated teams something something and the rivalry and the brand…but…didn’t that just happen last weekend with Tennessee and Texas?
Methinks Nick Saban may be whispering into producers ears up in Bristol.
Speaking of Kirby Breaking Programs
While we’re on the subject of destroying ACC programs for *checks notes* LIFE, how’re things going down in Tallahassee?
Well, let’s say if you could turn the lights on long enough to examine it…not good.
Leta face it, it’s way cheaper to buy out an AD’s contract than, say, this guy’s…
A lingering question sources have told On3 in recent days is whether Florida State moves on from Norvell and who would make the next hire. Alford’s firing signals he will not make the final decision on Norvell or who will handle a possible coaching search.
Senior associate AD Bruce Warwick will serve as Florida State interim athletic director, sources tell On3.
“Changes like this are never easy, but sometimes necessary,” Florida State Board of Trustees Chairman Peter Collins said in a statement. “We have made significant investments and structural changes in our athletics program and Seminole Boosters over the past few years, but more are needed. This step begins the next phase of restructuring that the University must commit to in order to compete in this era of college sports. ”
Alford brought Norvell back for the 2026 season despite a 2-7 finish in 2025 after starting the year 3-0. Florida State is 8-18 since its ACC championship game win in 2023.
With FSU fans crowdsourcing Norvell’s buyout, safe to say that losing the AD is just the first domino to fall.
Sometimes, Kirby just has a way of breaking you. Let’s hope he’s done it to another guy, too…
Fun fact…Alabama lost helmet communications in the second half and scored 32 points against Kentucky.
Maybe it is the coach’s fault, after all.
Being Joey Freshwater
If you ever wanted a deeper context of Lane Kiffin, there’s a nice excerpt from the book “Lane Being Lane” that details the genesis of the moniker “Joey Freshwater”, as well as his time in Tuscaloosa that lead to his firing the week before the National Championship game with Clemson.
Layla and the kids never made the move to Tuscaloosa, leaving Kiffin to go off the rails, frequenting Tuscaloosa-area bars. On at least one occasion, an Alabama staffer had to go to Innisfree Irish Pub to retrieve a golf cart Kiffin had left there the night before. “[Innisfree co-owner Derick] Purdy would call me and say, your boy Lane’s back in here asking where the hotties are,” says Josh Booty. “‘Can you introduce me to hotties?’” As one friend of Kiffin’s during that time put it, he was afraid Kiffin was going to “drink himself to death.” He was lonely without his family, and he was facing intense pressure working for a man he couldn’t understand. The stress was almost unbearable at times, and he looked for relief around town. With that came guilt and further strain from his family over his actions. “I’ve seen him on the floor crying like a goddamn baby,” the friend described, when Kiffin faced repercussions from mistakes that impacted his family. “And then I’ve seen him doing shit that’s like ‘you got to put your dick back in your pants.’” Layla filed for divorce in March 2016, citing irreconcilable differences. A month before the filing, Kiffin issued a statement to Fox Sports stating the couple had “mutually decided to divorce.”
It was around this time that Kiffin’s most famous nickname debuted: Joey Freshwater.The story goes that Kiffin, not wanting to say his real name when recognized in local bars, would tell women his name was Joey Freshwater. There are those who were around Tuscaloosa at that time who insist this was a real thing he did. “The Joey Freshwater thing, it got out there for a reason,” says Trevor Hewett, who worked at Innisfree in addition to covering the team. Kiffin wasn’t the first Alabama assistant to enjoy an adult beverage on the town after the game, nor would he be the last, but he wasn’t subtle about it the way others were to avoid Saban’s wrath. “Lane was visible publicly in a time where Alabama coaches were not visible publicly,” Hewett says. “The other coaches just never went out, and Lane was definitely different in that aspect. Lane was going to be in public at times, sometimes at very odd times during the season.”
The more Hewett thought about it, the more impressed he was that it had mostly stayed as scuttlebutt and never morphed into a public scandal. In some ways, he said half-jokingly, it was Kiffin’s biggest accomplishment while at Alabama. “The fact he made it out of Tuscaloosa without anything becoming super public is wild,” he says.
In 2017, radio host Clay Travis asked Kiffin directly about the Joey Freshwater nickname.
Kiffin denied it as only he could.
“I’ve used Jimmy Chestnut but not Joey Freshwater,” he said. “Someone told me Joey Freshwater is the best thing I’ve ever heard, and I said, ‘Well, his friend is Jimmy Chestnut and is just as good.’”
True or not, those rumors hurt his ability to become a head coach again. Multiple Alabama sources insisted that Kiffin’s behavior during his time in Tuscaloosa precluded him from ever succeeding Nick Saban and becoming the Crimson Tide’s head coach. He had upset too many important people, and the stories were too well-known for it to be palatable for those in power. College administrators viewed him as immature and a liability, even if he was having a lot of on-field success as Saban’s offensive coordinator.
Question now is this: Kiffin has obviously shown his mettle as a head coach again, and, despite the off-field nonsense he’s generated this year, if he’s successful at LSU, are the bridges still burned in Tuscaloosa? We all know that the Crimson Tide fanbase is a fickle one, and that a thirst for success makes for some short memories when it comes to getting great again at Alabama.
Granted, the question remains if he can have success at LSU as an SEC head coach if the presidents of the SEC decide to ban them from the league?
At least they’ve hedged their bets on Kalshi to pay the buyout when he jumps to Tuscaloosa.
A Beautiful Mind
Ever wanted to know what was in Nick Saban’s mind…and what might’ve made Kirby who he is today?
I’ve gotta admit, I will have my popcorn ready. Hate him or love him, it’s fascinating to know what was in his mind.
As a former coach of football, I wanna know. I also wanna know so we can protect Kirby at all costs.
In Kirby, we trust.