Bama looks like this year's Ohio St.

[jamie72921]

The reason SEC defenses have fooled you is that there are no offenses in that league. 

There are at least 8 SEC teams whose offenses are simply bad.  Auburn and LSU have QB's who have trouble hitting a wide open screen pass.

I believe we've heard this before only to see that it isn't true come BCS championship time.

Good defenses make the offense look bad more times than not. That is basic in any sport. What is it about you experts that make you forget this simple principle.

Defense wins championships. Maybe that's why the SEC owns the BCS and the Big XII, well, you know.

[NWASooner]

Good defenses make the offense look bad more times than not.

Just because a baseball game ends 1-0 doesn't mean it was because of great pitching.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Bama has the best Offensive line in the country. Period.

Do they have the best Qb? No.

The reason the Big XII's offenses have fooled you, no defense in that league. That is exactly why BOTH Bama and Fla would win against these Big XII wannabe's.

The match up that would hurt the Big XII teams the most would be their weak, non physical defenses against top notch, slobber knocking, ball control offensive lines that both Bama and Fla possess.

Anything can happen in a one game circumstance, but if those weak defenses had to play week in and week out in this physical league, your opinion of them would be properly softened.

Well, them having the best O-Line in the country is simply a matter of your opinion, not necessarily fact. They didn't exactly manhandle that Tulane defense that is ranked 65th in the country, in fact that defense held them scoreless in the 4th quarter and allowed 99 rushing yards the entire game. And against vaunted Ole Miss that dynamic line churned out an entire 107 yards, a whopping 3 yards more than we did.

And all of that really isn't the point. The point is that I know they are good and I know they have had some great games, but Oregon averages 268 rushing, Okla State 261, Ga Tech 251, Penn State 218, W. Virginia 215, Florida 213, USC 209, and OU at 194 right behind Bama's 198 and you can't say that all of those teams have played schedules full of patsy's. So while they have a great line, I'd have a really hard time saying they had the, "best offensive line in the country...period." One of the best maybe but the best hands down? Uh no.

I think any game among the top 3 in the Big 12 and the top 3 in the SEC would be a great game because what you are going to see is dynamic Big 12 offense versus a dynamic SEC defense and a fair defense from the Big 12 vs. a fair offense from the SEC with the exception of perhaps Florida.

[hawgsav1]

You might have a slightly slanted opinion as well. We play better defense in the SEC, but with the exception of Florida right now, there isn't anyone who can hold a candle to the Big 12's offenses and their offensive lines, is what I was specifically referring to. I've said for sometime that I am not impressed with their defenses let alone their defensive lines.

I'm no SEC homer, but I don't think you can say that TT's or OU's O-lines are significantly better than Alabama's.  They are comparable, and are VERY good (especially in OU's case.  They've only given up 8 sacks this year I think compared with Tech's 5, though again Graham Harrell always operating out of the shotgun and getting rid of the ball very quickly certainly helps their O-line look good.).  As you said, JPW is not much more than a serviceable QB.  The fact that Alabama has been able to do what they've done with a mediocre QB and no exceptional TB for the defenses to key on is pretty amazing in my opinion.  OU has Bradford and DeMarco Murray, complemented by a very underrated Iglesias and Manny Johnson and Quentin Chaney.  Tech has Graham Harrell and Crabtree, Britton, and Lewis.  Alabama has...well...they have Julio Jones and Terry Grant, who have played above and beyond this season.  Having a good QB with good instincts and the ability to make quick reads and get rid of the ball will certainly help an O-line look great (though like I said, OU's and TTech's O-lines are already good).  What's even more amazing is that Bama's line isn't that big.  Only Andre Smith is larger than 310 lbs, and yet they still have made JPW look good.  And besides, JPW makes his passes when he needs to. 

[Captain Hogthrob]

They may be but they have found a way to win those close games. I'm not gonna count them out till that changes.

[GWFan]

Alabama had to resort to serveral field goals for scores against Mississippi St.
I'm thinking that Florida is gonna own Alabama.

[31to6]

The reason SEC defenses have fooled you is that there are no offenses in that league. 

There are at least 8 SEC teams whose offenses are simply bad.  Auburn and LSU have QB's who have trouble hitting a wide open screen pass.

The reality is there is a little of both going on in both leagues. Big12 has some very good QBs and very good offenses. But they also have, as a conference, some pretty mediocre defenses.

SEC team's total offense dropped by 29% vs. conference opponents compared to non-conference. Big-12 total offenses only dropped by 18%. This tells me that the Big-12 defenses are better than those they faced in their OOC schedule but not by nearly as much as the SEC's. And yes, the SoS's are comparable overall. We'll know more come bowl season.

Close scoring games are typical in the SEC. Last year LSU won half their games by a TD or less and took two games to OT and yet they destroyed tOSU (the score does not reflect the 3 quarters of beatdown they laid on them).  In 06 Florida did not score over 30 in a single regular season conference game and yet hung 41 on the suckeyes too. The last team to really dominate offensively in the SEC and win most of their games by huge margins was Auburn 04 which was a team with both great offense and great defense and we all know how that went down when the Sooners got blown off the a field that the Tigers should have been on.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I'm no SEC homer, but I don't think you can say that TT's or OU's O-lines are significantly better than Alabama's.  They are comparable, and are VERY good (especially in OU's case.  They've only given up 8 sacks this year I think compared with Tech's 5, though again Graham Harrell always operating out of the shotgun and getting rid of the ball very quickly certainly helps their O-line look good.).  As you said, JPW is not much more than a serviceable QB.  The fact that Alabama has been able to do what they've done with a mediocre QB and no exceptional TB for the defenses to key on is pretty amazing in my opinion.  OU has Bradford and DeMarco Murray, complemented by a very underrated Iglesias and Manny Johnson and Quentin Chaney.  Tech has Graham Harrell and Crabtree, Britton, and Lewis.  Alabama has...well...they have Julio Jones and Terry Grant, who have played above and beyond this season.  Having a good QB with good instincts and the ability to make quick reads and get rid of the ball will certainly help an O-line look great (though like I said, OU's and TTech's O-lines are already good).  What's even more amazing is that Bama's line isn't that big.  Only Andre Smith is larger than 310 lbs, and yet they still have made JPW look good.  And besides, JPW makes his passes when he needs to. 

See my last post above yours.

[HotlantaHog]

Alabama had to resort to serveral field goals for scores against Mississippi St.
I'm thinking that Florida is gonna own Alabama.

I wouldn't read too much into any one game. Bama is not going to embarrass itself vs. Florida.

[Jdub]

If Texas Tech wins out and Alabama wins out beating Florida in the SECCG, Tech will clean their clock in the NCG. We better hope it is Florida representing the SEC.

Tech will lose in Norman this Saturday.

[uams1989]

The SEC may be somewhat down this year, but, the records reflect that SEC schools beat each other up.  UT and AU are down, but, on any given Saturday...just ask Florida about Ole Miss.

The SECCG should be the BCS title game, and don't count BAMA out.  Being able to run and stopping the run, both of which BAMA can do, will beat finesse, but, Florida can be physical as well, especially relative to the Big XII.

Gators or Crimson Tide will be BCS #1 in the end!

[Niels Boar]

The SEC may be somewhat down this year, but, the records reflect that SEC schools beat each other up.  UT and AU are down, but, on any given Saturday...just ask Florida about Ole Miss.

The SECCG should be the BCS title game, and don't count BAMA out.  Being able to run and stopping the run, both of which BAMA can do, will beat finesse, but, Florida can be physical as well, especially relative to the Big XII.

Gators or Crimson Tide will be BCS #1 in the end!

UF has obviously gone to another level since losing to Ole Miss.  They didn't look very good the next week against us after promising to come out angry.  It was, what, 17-13 at the end of the 3rd quarter.  They have been a different team since.

I don't count Bama out, though I heavily favor UF in the title game.  Bama simply hasn't had to prove themselves against quality competition week in and week out.  Not really their fault.  Clemson, UT, and Auburn crashed and burned.  UGA was hit with the injury bug early.  MSU and LSU fell a notch.  Arkansas is in rebuilding mode.  They picked a good year to be on the rise like Arkansas in '98.  We had an easy schedule that year.  If they beat UF, they can beat anybody.  Luckily their worth will be decided on the field.

[uams1989]

Agree with everything you said, especially, the point that BAMA and Florida will have their chance on the field to prove it.  At some point, hindsight will tell us who's the best.

I do think it is funny that the PAC 10 and Big 10 are on the outside looking in.  Wonder when they give up this Rose Bowl stand and push for conference championship games or even Plus One or a playoff?

[webbgem]

Bama has only played 4 teams that currently have a winning record and two of those come in at 6-5 and 6-4.  Their margin of victories in those games have been +3, +4, +6 (OT), and +9 in order of increasing difficulty by record.  Despite this schedule they only rank 52nd in the nation in total offense (100th in passing).  They rank 3rd in total defense, but they have played a slew of weak offensive teams.  The national rankings of their opponents in total offense are 71, 59, 58, 23, 102, 41, 115, 37 (Ark St.), 39, and 111 (not including W. Kent.).  It's fortunate for the SEC that UF stands in their way.  They will have to be severely tested before representing the SEC in the NC.  

When you compare Alabama to Ohio St., you're comparing the SEC to the Big 10.  You can spit off numbers all day, but every week in the SEC is a battle and you never know what will happen.  Take LSU last year. 

[spudhog]

Bama has only played 4 teams that currently have a winning record and two of those come in at 6-5 and 6-4.  Their margin of victories in those games have been +3, +4, +6 (OT), and +9 in order of increasing difficulty by record.  Despite this schedule they only rank 52nd in the nation in total offense (100th in passing).  They rank 3rd in total defense, but they have played a slew of weak offensive teams.  The national rankings of their opponents in total offense are 71, 59, 58, 23, 102, 41, 115, 37 (Ark St.), 39, and 111 (not including W. Kent.).  It's fortunate for the SEC that UF stands in their way.  They will have to be severely tested before representing the SEC in the NC.

Bama's schedule has been average at best. Not a true contender and have really caught just about every team at the right time. It's not the players fault but it's true.

They are true athletic and physically tough. I think they are better overrall than the OSU team of 06'.  Florida will expose them as a good team but not a great team.

But, the good thing about playing a subpar schedule, the other teams really don't know how good you really are either. This Bama team can really surprise us all on either side.

[jamie72921]

Bama is worthy of their ranking.

The problem is, so are 4 other teams, but to say Bama is somehow unworthy as this post states, is just plain stupid.

[Niels Boar]

Bama is worthy of their ranking.

The problem is, so are 4 other teams, but to say Bama is somehow unworthy as this post states, is just plain stupid.

Learn how to read, moron.  I have never said they were unworthy of their ranking.  I have shown that their schedule to this point has been far easier than that of recent NCs.  Unproven is not necessarily the same as unworthy.  They are one of two undefeated teams.  So they should have the inside track to the NC.  We'll see what they can do against UF.

Your only argument is that they obviously have the best D-line and O-line in college football.  That is dubious and highly subjective.  They have played only one top 25 offense.  Yet, their D is only 52 in sacks. Dominant D-lines get to the QB.  The one top 25 offense they have played put 30 on them in the second half.  Did the D-line go home at half?

They don't throw the ball that much relatively speaking but are only 30th in sacks allowed.  They are only 22nd in rushing.  They are only 5th in the SEC in total offense.  Tulane held them under 4 yards/ rush, UGA under 3, Ole Miss 3.1, and LSU 3.7. So why should I believe they obviously have the best O-line and D-line in football?  Maybe they do, but I'm not going take your word for it.

[Niels Boar]

Reality.

This game is won in the trenches. Has been forever. Still is today.

If you are better in the trenches than other team, you can put pressure on the other team's better qb and win the game.

We are averaging as many sacks as Bama against a much tougher schedule.  I guess we have the second best D-line in college football.

[hawgsav1]

See my last post above yours.

Oops. My bad.