Alabama endures first growing pains

By Marc Hudgens  |   Sunday, September 23, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Alabama Crimson Tide
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More often than not, you never know what to expect in any SEC matchup. Kentucky's win over Arkansas in Fayetteville is proof of that. Ole Miss striking sheer terror into third-ranked Florida this past weekend and Mississippi State winning in Auburn last week are two more examples. But whenever the game goes into overtime -- which happened between Georgia and Alabama -- it just becomes that much more enigmatic.

Not enigmatic was that it was a very tough fight in Tuscaloosa. Coming into the game as the nation's 16th-best team, Alabama fought hard to come back from trailing Georgia most of the game. It was only in overtime that the Tide got their first lead of the game. That was quickly squashed by the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs as Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to a well-covered Mikey Henderson on the team's first offensive play of overtime. The play stunned everyone in Bryant-Denny Stadium, and the Bulldogs took home a 26-23 win.

It appeared that the most noticeable issue with the Tide was the offensive line. There seemed to be only a few times that there was either strong pass blocking or run blocking. Georgia's defense zeroed in on whoever had the ball and it showed. 'Bama gunslinger John Parker Wilson was in claustrophobic quarters with the Dawgs' pass rushers more often than not, and Alabama running backs racked up decent yardage very sporadically.

The defense was solid as a whole. But the offense and its numerous three-and-outs kept defensive end Wallace Gilberry and the gang on the field too long; it was obvious fatigue set in late in the game, when energy was needed most.

If there is such an animal, this was a digestible loss for Alabama. The defeat still stings for Nick Saban's team, but it's explainable. Although Georgia didn't live up to expectations last year and has struggled so far this season, it's still a well-regarded football program; this is the same school that has won two SEC championships in a five-year span and went to a third conference title game in that same time frame.

Secondly, this is the Southeastern Conference. It's insane for anyone to expect their team, save for LSU this time around, to go undefeated. The SEC just has too much parity for that to happen. But if you're going to lose, don't do it to a team that's considered a hands-down patsy (Vanderbilt, etc.). In other words, don't take a page from Auburn's book.

Finally, Saban is underway in the rebuilding of the 'Bama program from the erratic Mike Shula years and prior. Saban's job basically is to take a mediocre team and make it into a conference and national title contender, which is arguably much more difficult. So there will be some lumps that the Tide will have to take in their learning process.

This recent loss to Georgia shouldn't be viewed as a sign of things to come. Rather, it should be thought of as the growing pains it will take to become elite again.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He ...
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