Best All-Time NCAA College Football Coach

The admiration for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, and their appeal, as well as most of their success, is due in no small part to Paul "Bear" Bryant (born September 11th, 1913 - died January 26th, 1983) - the all-time greatest NCAA college football coach. His famous houndstooth hat, and steely gaze, is instantly recognized by Alabama football fans of all ages.

Bryant effectively steered his players to many prestigious college bowl and championship games, winning the trophies and awards that permanently changed the Alabama football program. College Football dominates in Alabama, and forever when people think of Alabama football they will think of Paul Bear Bryant.

Before returning to coach his alma-mater, the Crimson Tide, Bryant had previously coached at Kentucky, Texas A & M and Maryland. He did great things at all three schools, particularly UK and A & M.

Bryant was head coach for just one season at the University of Maryland, in 1945, and he took them a 6-2-1 record. After that short stay at the Terrapins, he went on to coach the University of Kentucky for eight seasons, and they made their first bowl appearance in 1947 and also won their first and only SEC title in 1950. Bryant moved to Texas A & M in 1954 and became their athletic director and head coach. He improved the Aggies from 1-9 his first year to winning the Southwest Conference championship two years later.

When the 1957 season finished, Bryant went back home to Alabama, and took up the posts of athletic director and head coach at the University of Alabama. Bear Bryant is recognized as perhaps the most successful NCAA college football coach of all time because of the work he did with the Alabama football program. In 1959, he was responsible for the first victory in six years over Auburn, which led to their first appearance in a bowl game in as many years. Two years later, in 1961, Alabama had an 11-0 season. They went on beat Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl and bring home a National Championship.

Bryant subsequently guided quarterback, Joe Namath; developed his wishbone offense; and led Alabama to 24 straight bowl appearances. He also achieved a total of six National Titles (1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, and 1979). Bryant turned around the Alabama football program with his tough love and charming personality. His players sweat blood and tears for their coach.

In his quarter century at Bama, Bryant racked up a record of 323-85-17 (.780); won six National Championships; made 29 Bowl Appearances; had 15 Conference Championships; three times was named the National Coach of the Year; and became a respected member of the College Football Hall of Fame. The University of Alabama honored the "Bear" even further, in 1975, by naming their stadium and a major campus street after him. The state of Alabama also named a high school after Bryant.

Some people thought Jim Tressel might someday possibly be considered the best CFB coach ever. Of course, that was before the Terrell Pryor Scandal.

Mo Johnson is the editor of The Best Football Blog which has interesting football stories about every level of football from high school, to college, to the pros.

Getting Teams to Jump Offsides in Youth Football - What is Allowed?

Trick Shift Play Backfires in Big Time College Football

Many youth football coaches are "football junkies". We like watching pro or college football. Sometimes we even see things that we think we can use for our own youth football teams. Often times this is how youth coaches come up with trick plays.

College Bowl Game SNAFU

One trick play used in this Bowl season was during the Sugar Bowl, Alabama versus Utah. Utah faced a 4th Down and short near midfield.

Utah decided to "go" for it with a play that is designed to draw the defense off-sides. This was a pretty safe and savy strategy, you are either going to get 5 free yards and a first down or you are going to take a delay of game penalty and punt on 4th down. Punting from the 45 instead of the 50 even gives your punter more room to pin Bama deep inside it's 20 yard line. No matter how the play turned out, the Utes will have improved their situation.

I'm not sure why more teams don't try this very safe tactic which often yields teams a free first down with zero risk, even at the college level. Utah started out with it's offensive linemen in very wide splits and in two-point stances and Quarterback under center. After the players had been set for at least a second, Utah then moved in unison, with the offensive linemen moving inward together to narrow the splits and the Quarterback backpedalling to a shotgun formation.

The Ruling

While the play did result in Bama jumping off-sides, the Utes were called for a 5 yard penalty for "illegally simulating the start of the play" a 5 yard penalty. The officials got it right on this one. While you can try to get teams to jump off-sides via varying cadence, players can not shift quickly in such a manner that simulates the start of a play.

We use a very legal "no play" in these situations with great success. We usually run it 2-5 times a game to get teams to jump at significant times during a game, when we want to call timeout or even when we just want teams to stop jumping or anticipating our snap count. Our success rate of getting teams to jump offsides over the last 11 seasons has always been between 70%-90%. It is a great but under used strategy in youth football.

The rule invoked in the Utah-Alabama game is why many teams that shift, do so slowly and deliberately. That is why teams that run Jet Sweep type motion plays often have their motion man take a slow deliberate drop step before he starts his full speed motion towards the quarterback.

Here is a clip of the Utah-Alabama play in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB5yNZVYV3U

What Does This Mean for Youth Football Teams?

The moral of the story is, this is a great strategy and a perfect situation to run a play like this, however it was just poor play designing on the part of Utah. This coach should have known better. Now you know better, don't make the same mistake Utah did. Of course let's give Utah a break over the "body of work", they played a very brilliant and inspired game.

Dave Cisar-

With over 15 years of hands-on experience as a youth coach, Dave has developed a detailed systematic approach to developing youth players and teams. His personal teams to using this system to date have won 94% of their games in 5 Different Leagues.

To Sign up for his free tips newsletter or to see his 325 free tips go to: Football Plays

A Video Taste of Dave's teams:

Youth Football

College Football Wrap-Up Week 6 - 3 Unbeaten Teams Fall and South Carolina Upsets Alabama, 35-21

Three unbeaten teams bit the dust this week, and none was bigger than the No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide who showed that South Carolina is not only a very good team, but is tough to beat at home.

The Gamecocks spotted 'Bama a field goal and then South Carolina's Stephen Garcia threw 3 touchdown passes to put the Gamecocks up, 21-3. Garcia would go on to have the best day of his collegiate career, completing 17-of-20 passes (85%) for 201 yards.

When the Tide tried to play themselves back into the game, South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore took over, scoring once on a 9-yard TD pass, and rushing for 2 short-yardage touchdowns while piling up 93 yards on the ground on 23 carriers (4.04).

About all Alabama had to take home with its hurt pride and a 35-21 loss was the fact that its defense had held another runner to less than 100 yards gained for the umpteenth game.

The defense was really all South Carolina's as the Gamecocks sacked Alabama's Greg McElroy 7 times. Their offense shredded the country's top-rated scoring defense, putting the most points on the board since a 41-34 'Bama lost to LSU in 2007.

The win lifted South Carolina from 19th place to 10th in the AP Top 25 Poll.

South Carolina's victory was its first-ever against a No. 1-ranked team. The Gamecocks win snapped defending national champion Alabama's 19-game win streak, and threw the national championship race wide open.

There are now only 13 BCS teams left with an undefeated record. Ohio State, Oregon, TCU, Auburn, LSU, Michigan State and Nevada are all 6-0. Boise State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, Oklahoma State and Missouri are all 5-0. There are 120 Division 1-A teams.

The second biggest upset of the week was due in large part to sophomore quarterback Ryan Katz of Oregon State. Katz declared himself as a quality Pac-10 QB by completing 30-of-42 passes (71%) for 393 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushing for another score as the Beavers traveled to 9th-ranked Arizona and took down the unbeaten Wildcats, 29-27.

It was a huge win for Oregon State as the Arizona defense had been ranked 2nd nationally, giving up only 230 yards per game.

The Wildcats' Nick Foles, one of the Pac-10's best, completed 35 of 46 (76%) for 440 yards and 3 touchdowns, but it was not enough. Worse yet, Arizona was coming off a bye week and had double the time to prepare for Oregon State's visit. The Beaver victory was their 5th straight against Arizona on its home field.

The third biggest upset was the 17th-ranked Michigan State Spartans, a 4.5-point underdog, upending and then thrashing the 18th-ranked Michigan Wolverines at the Big House in Ann Arbor, so-called because it is the largest football stadium in the country, holding 113,000+ fans.

Michigan State jumped out to a 17-10 halftime lead and then won the 2nd half 17-7, and the game, 34-17. And it was not close at the end.

Michigan's wunderkind, superstar quarterback Denard Robinson, who came into the game on everyone's Heisman list and leading the nation in rushing with an average 181 yards a game for his first 5 games, looked a lot more human when the game was over.

Robinson was held to 86 yards on 21 carries (a 4.1 average per carry) and was intercepted 3 times. This was primarily because Michigan State was the first team Robinson played against this year that actually had a defense.

Meanwhile, Spartan running back Edwin Baker rushed for 147 yards on 22 carries (6.68 ypc) and scored on a 61-yard touchdown dash. I say dash because Michigan State's offensive line opened up a hole that a Mac truck could have driven through.

Michigan State's outstanding freshman, Le'Veon Bell, picked up another 78 yards on 7 carries (11.14 ypc), and scored on a 41-yard run that the offensive line opened up like a crater. Not to be outdone, Michigan State's 3rd outstanding runner, Larry Caper, picked up another 34 yards and scored on an 8-yard run.

Michigan, which had the 2nd-best total offense in the nation at 565 yards per game, was held to 377 yards while Michigan State rolled up 536 yards, 249 rushing and 287 passing. Spartan QB Kirk Cousins went 18-for-25 (72%) for 284 yards and a 42-yard TD strike to Mark Dell.

The Wolverines got a good butt-kicking, the Spartans won their 3rd straight over Michigan, and by doing so Michigan State became the dominate team in the State of Michigan.

The fourth biggest upset saw 12th-ranked LSU travel to 14th-ranked Florida and slide past the Gators, 33-29, in a game Florida will not soon forget. The Gators saw their unbeaten record fall by losing 31-6 last week at Alabama, and hosting LSU was the Gators 3rd ranked opponent in 3 weeks, and proved too much.

The Louisiana gambler, coach Les Miles, rolled the dice again against Florida by keeping the winning drive alive with a successful fake field goal that allowed Jarrett Lee to throw a 3-yard pass to Terrence Toliver for the victory with 6 seconds remaining.

Worse yet, LSU tried to run the same play to the same player, Toliver, on their previous last-second play. It was successfully defensed the first time, but not the second time as Toliver, with a height advantage, made it count.

Last week Miles was criticized for poor clock management in the final moments as Tennessee almost upset the Tigers, but LSU won anyway, 16-14. Miles just smiles, and wins again as opposing coaches pull out their hair in frustration.

The fake field goal by LSU you may never see again. With 35 seconds left and clock ticking, the holder Derek Helton throws a no-look pitch over his head that bounces off the turf and into the hands of place-kicker Josh Jasper who scampers for the first down to keep the winning drive alive. They couldn't pull that stunt off again in the circus.

Nonetheless, LSU is 6-0, fat, sassy, and really lucky. This is college football, folks, expect the unexpected and unanticipated EVERY week - that's why it is so much more exciting and topsy-turvy than pro football.

The fifth upset saw the 23rd-ranked Florida State Siminoles fly into Miami and upend the 13th-ranked Hurricanes, 45-17. The Hurricanes saw a lot of Jermaine Thomas' taillights as he scored a career-high 3 touchdowns (1 passing and 2 running) during the first 21 minutes.

Miami players then spent the rest of their time chasing Siminole Chris Thomspon's rear end as he rushed for 158 yards and logged in the longest run Miami has allowed in its illustrious history - a 90-yard scoring jaunt. It was an easy win for Florida State.

The win lifted Florida State from 23rd place to 16th in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Six other Top 25 teams had impressive victories Saturday.

They included the 5th-ranked Texas Christian University Horned Frogs who ran their record to 6-0 with a 45-zip shut out of Wyoming, and the 24th-ranked Missouri Tigers who stayed unbeaten with their 5th victory, a 26-zip shut out of Colorado at home.

Seventh-ranked Nebraska ran its record to 5-0 as the Cornhuskers traveled to Kansas State and handed the Wildcats their first loss, 48-13. Some thought K-State should have been ranked with a 4-0 mark. Now we see why they were not.

The 2nd-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0) hosted Indiana and reminded the Hoosiers why Ohio State is unbeaten and the premier team in the Big 10, thumping them 38-10, while showing a lot more offensive weapons.

Tenth-ranked Utah went on the road and won convincingly while staying unbeaten in notching its 5th straight victory over Iowa State, 68-27 -- a 41-point margin. The 4th-ranked Boise State Broncos remained unbeaten while hosting Toledo and beating the Rockets, 57-14 -- a 43-point margin.

Eight other Top 25 teams won, but were hardly dominate in doing so. Two of them were lucky to get out of town alive.

The 8th-ranked Auburn Tigers scored 31 points in the first half against Kentucky, and then needed a last-second field goal to nip the Wildcats, 37-34. Eleventh-ranked Arkansas was held scoreless by Texas A&M in the last quarter and slipped out of town with a 24-17 victory.

The 16th-ranked Stanford Cardinal hosted Southern California and darn near lost. Each team scored a touchdown in each of the first 3 quarters, and then USC added a second touchdown in the last quarter with barely a minute to play and took a 35-34 lead.

This happened because Stanford's kicker missed the extra point try after the Cardinal matched USC with its second score in the last quarter. The kicker, Nate Whitaker, redeemed himself with a 30-yard field goal with 4 seconds to play to give Stanford the win, 37-35.

Elsewhere, the 21st-ranked Nevada Wolf Pack had a hardly impressive 35-13 win over an extremely weak San Jose State excuse for a team. Third-ranked Oregon was not much better as the Ducks downed a rebuilding program at Washington State, 43-23.

The 22nd-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys apparently spent more time in the saddle than on the ground as they could only beat an absolutely terrible Louisiana Lafayette team, 54-28. Okie-State gave up 4 touchdowns to a team ranked 172nd out of 120 Division I-A teams. Please don't ask me if they have a defense.

Oklahoma State is now 5-0; little wonder with opponents like Louisiana Lafayette. The Cowboys strength of schedule is currently 118th among 120 teams. In other words, they have played jack and diddly so far. All of this nonsense might stop when they host Nebraska in two weeks.

The 20th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers hosted Minnesota and beat the Golden Gophers (whatever a Golden Gopher is), 41-23. The Badgers were at home and should have won bigger, badder and better. And 25th-ranked Air Force took down a very weak, visiting Colorado State team, 49-27.

I am frankly surprised at how many top-ranked teams this year give up so many points while winning. Very few teams play defense and it is beginning to seem like they all give up a lot of points, except TCU in its last two games, and they have played 5 weak sisters in going 6-0.

Copyright © 2010 Ed Bagley

Ed Bagley's Articles is Writer, Author and Editor Ed Bagley's personal web site with hundreds of original articles on 46 different subjects. Ed Bagley's Articles is a treasure trove of feel good stories, satire, insight, and frank commentary on our life and times in America. Find Ed Bagley's Articles at: http://www.edbagleyblog.com

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GameDay Open Thead | #4 Alabama vs Western Carolina

GameDay Open Thead | #4 Alabama vs Western Carolina - Roll 'Bama Roll @media all and (min-width: 599px) {.sbn-pl-sbn-dfl-comments-wrapper { min-height: 610px;}}.flipme .sbn-river-standard-chunk {direction: rtl;}.flipme .sbn-river-standard-chunk div {direction: ltr;}.flipme .sbn-river-standard-chunk div.sbn-river-standard-chunk-stack-col {border-left: 0;border-right: solid 25px #fff;}.flipme .sbn-river-standard-chunk.chunk-left {direction: ltr;} window.ooyala_player_id = "e7e908eebffd4efeb96a3096aa9b4bd0"; _umbel.push(['tag', 'profile.tags', 'sport:ncaa-football']);_umbel.push(['tag', 'profile.tags', 'team:Alabama Crimson Tide']);   Login Sign Up Roll 'Bama Roll, an Alabama Crimson Tide community Menu Items NFL NBA MLB NHL CFB CBB UFC Soccer NASCAR Fantasy Golf Tennis Video Local Cycling Boxing Horse Racing Running Water Polo Wrestling SB Nation View All 320 Blogs Football GameDay Open Thead | #4 Alabama vs Western Carolina 141 By Todd on Nov 17, 11:01a

Marvin Gentry-US PRESSWIRE

The Crimson Tide looks to rebound from the first loss of the season against FCS Western Carolina.

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Tide holds off Oregon State, awaits Villanova

The Alabama basketball team held on to beat Oregon State in the 2K Sports Classic semifinal in New York's Madison Square Garden. The Tide will advance to take on Villanova in the final tonight.

UPDATE: We'll use this as our open thread. TV coverage via ESPN2, radio coverage on the Crimson Tide Radio Network, and GameTracker available here.

The Crimson Tide basketball team managed to hold on to beat Oregon State on Thursday night in New York's Madison Square Garden despite surrendering a 15-point lead in the latter stages of the second half. After a severe Alabama scoring drought and some key missed free throws allowed Oregon State to tie the game with less than a minute to go, Trevor Lacey, who had another outstanding game and once again led the team in scoring, found an open Rodney Cooper in the corner who subsequently nailed the game-winning three-pointer with only seconds remaining on the clock.

The win over Oregon State underscored some concerns about this team, namely interior scoring and defensive rebounding, but at the end of the day Bama was still able to stake claim to a neutral court win over a major conference team that is expected to win a lot of games in the Pac 12 this season. Oregon State isn't a great team, but picking up wins like this early in the season will go a long way come Selection Sunday in March.

With the win in last night's 2K Sports Classic semifinal, the Tide will now advance to take on the Villanova Wildcats of the Big East conference in tonight's final. That game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 CT and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

Like Alabama, Villanova will enter tonight's final with a perfect 3-0 record. The Wildcats took down Division II District of Columbia as well as Marshall at home last weekend, and then pulled out a dramatic, comeback win in overtime over Purdue in last night's second semifinal at the Garden.

Villanova, which appeared in the Final Four as recently as 2009, has slipped a bit as a program in the last few years, and bottomed out when they finished near the bottom of the Big East last season. However they entered this season expected to be much improved, and were projected to finish near the middle of the pack in the Big East.

The Wildcats are lead this season by a freshman, 6'3" guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who leads the team in minutes played, scoring, assists, and three-point shooting--in other words just about everything from the perimeter. A trio of 6'6" wing players are the next three leading scorers: junior James Bell, sophomore Darrun Hilliard, and sophomore JayVaughn Pinkston.

Seniors Maurice Sutton and Mouphtaou Yarou and freshman Daniel Ochefu split time in the paint, each standing at least 6'11". While the Wildcats have size, they lack a dominant inside presence, which is good thing matchup-wise for the Tide.

Much like Oregon State, Villanova will present Alabama with a major-conference opponent who will test the Tide physically. However, like Oregon State, Villanova is far from a world-beater this year, and this is a very winnable game for Bama. Vegas has the Tide a 3.5-point favorite.

Neither a win nor a loss would be likely be a game-changer on the Tide's postseason resume, but a win would put Alabama in the enviable position of having three quality wins already on the resume by middle November, something that would put the team in fantastic position moving forward this season. A third win on national television and an early-season tournament title in Madison Square Garden would also not be bad for the team's confidence and the program's stature as the 2012-2013 season gets underway. Hope for the best.

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Free College Football Pick

Every week sports handicapping service Vegas Experts will offer a free College Football pick that you can use to beat the sports betting line.

Alabama (-7.5) at Arkansas (54.5)
This is the most anticipated College Football game of the weekend with the number one team in the country hitting the road for the second straight week to take on the 10th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. Something has to give in Fayetteville Saturday afternoon as 'Bama has won 18 straight SEC openers, but the visitor in this series has gone just 1-5 straight up. The oddsmakers currently have the Tide favored by slightly more than a touchdown for this matchup.

Last year in Tuscaloosa, Alabama won and covered easily, downing the Hogs 35-7 as large 17-point favorites. Tide QB McElroy threw for a season high 291 yards and three touchdowns. A closer look inside the numbers reveals that Bama led by just a touchdown margin in the 3rd quarter before McElroy threw a 50 yd and an 80 yd TD pass on a pair of one-play drives to break the game wide open.

Arkansas has lost three straight to Alabama, but this is likely the strongest Razorbacks outfit since the 10-4 2006 team that did beat the Tide here in Fayetteville 24-23 (-2) in double overtime.

Alabama has covered all three of its games so far this season with ease. They have outscored opponents 134-19 and following last week's 62-13 demolishing of Duke are now 8-1 ATS their last nine true road games.

The Razorbacks are also 3-0 SU, but just 1-1 ATS. They opened with a non-lined win over Tennessee Tech and last week needed a last minute touchdown pass from QB Ryan Mallett to win at Georgia. They are now 9-6 ATS as a dog in the Bobby Petrino era.

With so much conflicting information on the side in this game, we are going to make a play on the total. The public certainly is envisioning a high-scoring matchup, betting the over/under line up a full five points from the opening number. What they must not know is that Bama is 11-1 Under if they scored 42 or more points in their previous game.

Therefore our free College Football pick of the week is to play the Under in Alabama at Arkansas.

Kyle Ross is a professional writer. He has written many articles. This time he is writing article on "WMiami (FL) at Pitt College Football Preview". For more information visit http://www.vegasexperts.com

2008-2009 NCAA Football Final Top 10 Predictions

1. Ohio State - I'm an avid Michigan fan but have to admit returning 18 starters from a already solid 2 year run is pretty tough to beat. The talent at OSU is at or above every elite level program in the country for this season and this should finally be there year.

* Win it all If....They pass a early season test @ USC (9/13). This could very well be the first of two meetings between the Trojans and Buckeyes in '08-'09, However the loser of Game 1 is going to have to hope for a shaky Top 5 like this past year. Win or Lose for the Buckeyes they will still have a shot at the end of the season to be in the NC Game.

* Potential Roadblocks...@Wisconsin, @MSU, and @ Illinois, with all 3 of them improved this season, could be tough as well as the final game at home vs. Michigan.

2. Florida - A Rematch of the '06-'07 game ends the opposite way for the gators, allowing OSU to knock off some of that SEC Supiority. (However I strongly feel the SEC is the best conference in the Country but thats for a different day.) Tebow, Harvin, Moody, Gainey and Co. will have an explosive offensive year and a still youthful defense will cause fits throughout the year.

* Win it all if...Its Simple, Beat Miami (Fl), Tennesee, LSU, FSU, Georgia, and Arkansas.

* Potential Roadblocks...The Schedule, Tebow's durability. IMO this offense will not be stopped, but there could be potential lapses I suppose.

3. Georgia - Its very tough to pick against the Bulldogs this season, They return almost everyone, 15+ I believe, the schedule could be the downfall. Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno will dazzle once again. Massaquoi will finally become a star alongside AJ Green for the big play threats. The defense will be very fast and hard hitting, I love Coach Richt as well, he always has his teams ready. Some of the big time recruits will have great freshman seasons. Tyson, Harmon, and Jackson will all boost the D-Line.

* Win it all if...They beat Florida on Nov. 1st, IMO Winner of the SEC East will be a lock for the NC game, barring an upset in the SEC title game.

* Potential Roadblocks...@ASU,@LSU, and @ Auburn is tough to overcome, as well as Florida, 'Bama, and Tennessee at home.

4. Clemson- I will hear it for this pick I think, but I really like this Clemson team, with a very favorable schedule and game breakers such as CJ Spiller and James Davis. Bowers on the defensive side will have a large impact as well Spencer Adams (S) and Brandon Thompson (DT).

* Win it all if...They don't stumble. They should be good if they pass Game 1 vs. Alabama, that is, until the ACC title game. VT and possibly Miami could be the difference between BCS Champ Game or the Orange Bowl.

* Potential Roadblocks...Alabama, @ FSU, ACC Title game and a lack of focus or preparation for any other games, It's happened before which is a criticism of head coach Tommy Bowden.

5. USC - 5 is most likely too low for this extremely talented squad. QB Mark Sanchez (Or possibly Mitch Mustain) inherits more offensive weapons than one could dream of, the only problem is the amount of pressure that brings as well.

* Win it all if...They get solid play from their QB. Both are experinced and very talented, they need to be leaders not playmakers. OSU at home, typical Cal and Oregon tough games, and then the showdown with New-UCLA.

* Potential Roadblocks...Complete meltdowns from both QB's, Trap games vs. ASU Cal Oregon and Notre Dame. Very easily could be playing for the title though.

6. Oklahoma - A very scary team, 1 of about 8 teams with a legit title oppurtunity. Bradford and Co. will be huge again on offense, and Coach Stoops' Defenses never seem to fail. A lot of talent returning from last years youthful squad. The annual showdown with Texas is the biggest test, but Kansas, KSU, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and Cincinnati all will pose as dangerous. And never count out Texas Tech either.

* Win it all if...They are consistent, they were all of last season until that dreadful Texas Tech game, A Dangerous Mizzou squad could await them in the Big 12 Title game.

* Potential Roadblocks...Not many, just learn from their mistakes last season. Play Stoops' ball and dont let up vs. Texas and any others.

7. Texas - Could flip with Oklahoma. One of the two will win the Big 12 South, a lethal defense will need to carry the load in the big games for them to have a chance in a very offensive Big 12 this season.

* Win it all if...They win the Big 12 Title, its do-able, but unlikely this year. McCoy will be huge though.

* Potential Roadblocks...Colorado, Oklahoma, Mizzou, Tech, Kansas, and Texas A&M, Big 12 Title game. Thats 7 very tough games. Easily could slip up.

8. WVU - They are for real, I did not think they were until the bowl game last season. This time will score many points, they just need to stay motivated and not get bitten by Pitt or any other "underdog." Bill Stewart will not let this program drop off. Pat White will have a Heisman Longshot, Noel Devine will be the real deal.

* Win it all if...They don't faulter. The midseason Auburn contest is huge for this team, but they played with the best of em last season vs. Oklahoma and showed they belong.

* Potential Roadblocks...Cincinnati will be a tough game again, The Bearcats will be better, Auburn as well, The Backyard Brawl is clearly always going to be interesting as well.

9. Missouri - They return a boatload of starters and Chase Daniel + Jeremy Maclin are the best 1-2 punch in the country on any given day. The defense will be able to win a game or two if needed, the potential downfall could be injuries, which we all hope never happens, but a lack of depth could hurt.

* Win it all if...They win the Big 12 Title, whoever comes out of the Big 12 could have a very serious NC game bid.

* Potential Roadblocks...Game 1 vs. Illinois in a rivlary game, Nebraska, Texas, Colorado, and Kansas.

10. Michigan - I have to do it. Im a big fan of the Wolverines and my optimism is really high at this moment. (Although I think 2010 is a real title shot). Rich Rod will have this team stronger, faster, and hungrier, as well as more potent. A lot of incoming speed and more playmakers in Ann Arbor. A young, Fast, and swarming defense is now in place as well.

* Win it all if...They won't but 10-2 is easily reachable, however that could quickly also be 6-6,7-5 type season as well.

* Potential Roadblocks...Notre Dame, Illinois, Wisconsin, MSU, OSU, and PSU all lurk.

Heisman Trophy: Chris "Beanie" Wells

Kimbo Nyce is a huge college football fan and loves to participate in ncaa football talk at sports talk website RootZoo.

Tide heads to Big Apple to take on Oregon State

The Crimson Tide basketball team will resume its nonconference slate with a neutral court matchup against Oregon State tonight in the 2K Sports Classic.

The Crimson Tide basketball team will resume early-season play with a pair of nationally televised games against major conference opposition over the next two nights in New York City's Madison Square Garden. First up will be tonight's clash against the Oregon State Beavers of the Pac 12 conference. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:00pm CT and will be televised on ESPN2.

Both teams will enter tonight with 2-0 records, each having downed a pair of mid-major foes at home last weekend. Alabama of course needed a big comeback and dramatic finish to knock off a good South Dakota State team before dismantling Division II opponent West Alabama. Oregon State meanwhile prevailed in a high-scoring shootout with Niagara in their opener, winning by 19 points, and then followed up with a nine-point victory over New Mexico State in their last game.

The Beavers have struggled as a program for some time now, but finally showed some signs of life last season when they finished in the middle of the pack in an admittedly very "down" Pac 12 conference. However, after returning four starters from their respectable squad from last year, they probably have more hope entering this season than they have in quite some time. They should at worst be a middle-of-the-pack team in the Pac 12 once again this season, and could make a run at an NCAA berth if things break their way.

In short, the Beavers are no world-beaters, but they should provide the Tide legitimate, major-conference-level opposition tonight in the Garden. Vegas has the game as a near toss-up, with the Tide favored by merely 2.5 points.

The big name to watch on Oregon State is junior point guard Ahmad Starks, who has exploded out of the gates in his first two games this year, scoring a combined 51 points in his two appearances thus far. He's also claimed twelve rebounds, six assists, and four steals in those two contests. Starks is a big-time player. He'll be on the court nearly the whole game, and he'll be able to hurt Bama's defense in a variety of ways. He's only 5'9", but Starks has proven he can be deadly, so containing him is clearly the biggest challenge facing the Bama defense.

Starters for Oregon State in the post are 6'10" senior Angus Brandt and 6'10" sophomore Eric Moreland. Moreland is the stronger rebounder, but Brandt is a more dangerous scoring threat. Neither is an all-star but both are experienced and Brandt will challenge Bama's questionable frontcourt with his scoring prowess, while Moreland could exploit Bama's potential weakness on the glass. 6'8" junior Devon Collier will provide depth on the inside for Oregon State. This will be the best test yet for the Tide's pair of 7-foot centers, as well as the banged-up Nick Jacobs.

On the perimeter, 6'3" junior guard Roberto Nelson and 6'7" wing player Joe Burton round out the Oregon State starting lineup. Nelson is the team's second-leading scorer and like Starks, is a threat from the arc. Burton is more of a versatile player, but is less dangerous from the arc. 6'3" sophomore guard Challe Barton and 6'7" freshman wing player Jarmal Reid provide depth on the perimeter.

Overall, Oregon State may not be an elite-level team, and may have struggled in past seasons, but they have the look of a very solid major-conference team this year that could force their way into the NCAA Tournament conversation, especially if they manage to win a few games like the one tonight. This will be Bama's second significant test in its first three games, and anything less than a good performance tonight will likely spell defeat. While an early-season game like this is far from do-or-die, this is one of only about a half-dozen key nonconference games the Tide will face this season, and so the result will have a fairly significant impact on the Tide's nonconference resume come postseason time. Hope for the best.

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2K Sports Classic | Alabama vs Oregon State Open Thread

2K Sports Classic | Alabama vs Oregon State Open Thread - Roll 'Bama Roll @media all and (min-width: 599px) {.sbn-pl-sbn-dfl-comments-wrapper { min-height: 610px;}}.flipme .sbn-river-standard-chunk {direction: rtl;}.flipme .sbn-river-standard-chunk div {direction: ltr;}.flipme .sbn-river-standard-chunk div.sbn-river-standard-chunk-stack-col {border-left: 0;border-right: solid 25px #fff;}.flipme .sbn-river-standard-chunk.chunk-left {direction: ltr;} window.ooyala_player_id = "e7e908eebffd4efeb96a3096aa9b4bd0"; _umbel.push(['tag', 'profile.tags', 'sport:ncaa-football']);_umbel.push(['tag', 'profile.tags', 'team:Alabama Crimson Tide']);   Login Sign Up Roll 'Bama Roll, an Alabama Crimson Tide community Menu Items NFL NBA MLB NHL CFB CBB UFC Soccer NASCAR Fantasy Golf Tennis Video Local Cycling Boxing Horse Racing Running Water Polo Wrestling SB Nation View All 320 Blogs Basketball 2K Sports Classic | Alabama vs Oregon State Open Thread 142 By Todd on Nov 15, 5:49p

Kelly Lambert-US PRESSWIRE

The Crimson Tide travel to New York's Madison Square Garden to take on the Beavers of Oregon State in the 1st round of the 2012 2K Sports Classic

Alabama vs. Oregon State * 6 p.m. CST * TV: ESPN2 * Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network * GameTracker

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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