Late-night, way-early prediction: Alabama 32, Florida 13 again
Published: Saturday, September 04, 2010, 11:46 PM Updated: Saturday, September 04, 2010, 11:48 PM
Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/09/way-too-early_prediction_alaba.html
I know, I know. Penn State's next. Process. Focus. Play your gap. Run your route. Do your job. Etc.
Besides, a month is an eternity during a football season, and Florida doesn't come to play Alabama until Oct. 2.
There's plenty of time for the Alabama team that spanked San Jose State 48-3 Saturday to get someone else injured or suspended.
And there's more than enough time for the Florida team that struggled past Miami of Ohio 34-12 to get better in a lot of areas, like snapping the football.
But one game into the 2010 season, it's easy to get the feeling that Florida's much-anticipated first visit to Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2005 is going to turn out a lot like its last trip to Tuscaloosa.
Or like its last meeting with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
Picture "The Hangover" without the happy ending.
Mike Shula's best Alabama team beat Urban Meyer's first Florida squad 31-3 in 2005. It was Alabama 32-13 last December in the Georgia Dome.
Unless Nick Saban's defending national champions lose a number of key players in the next month, Meyer could be headed toward a similar beat-down.
Florida after Tim Tebow looked a lot like Florida before him. Better than average, but not by much. If the Gators couldn't block the Miami of Ohio defensive front, how do they expect to deal with Alabama after Marcell Dareus returns?
Closer to home, Saban showed an eerie calm after the game. I thought, since the game was so easy, he might feel the need to rant a little. The closest he came was this passage during his opening monologue in the press room:
"There's just some execution things that, when we get challenged by better teams, we're gonna get exposed if we don't do things better."
But he issued those words of warning without raising his voice and followed them with this upbeat assessment: "I think the players understand that, and this is an opportunity for them to learn and grow and actually make improvements. Hopefully, there were some lessons learned out there."
What does that tell you?
It tells me that Saban knows how good this team is and how good it can become. And it tells me that Meyer should be very, very concerned.
Published: Saturday, September 04, 2010, 11:46 PM Updated: Saturday, September 04, 2010, 11:48 PM
Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/09/way-too-early_prediction_alaba.html
I know, I know. Penn State's next. Process. Focus. Play your gap. Run your route. Do your job. Etc.
Besides, a month is an eternity during a football season, and Florida doesn't come to play Alabama until Oct. 2.
There's plenty of time for the Alabama team that spanked San Jose State 48-3 Saturday to get someone else injured or suspended.
And there's more than enough time for the Florida team that struggled past Miami of Ohio 34-12 to get better in a lot of areas, like snapping the football.
But one game into the 2010 season, it's easy to get the feeling that Florida's much-anticipated first visit to Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2005 is going to turn out a lot like its last trip to Tuscaloosa.
Or like its last meeting with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
Picture "The Hangover" without the happy ending.
Mike Shula's best Alabama team beat Urban Meyer's first Florida squad 31-3 in 2005. It was Alabama 32-13 last December in the Georgia Dome.
Unless Nick Saban's defending national champions lose a number of key players in the next month, Meyer could be headed toward a similar beat-down.
Florida after Tim Tebow looked a lot like Florida before him. Better than average, but not by much. If the Gators couldn't block the Miami of Ohio defensive front, how do they expect to deal with Alabama after Marcell Dareus returns?
Closer to home, Saban showed an eerie calm after the game. I thought, since the game was so easy, he might feel the need to rant a little. The closest he came was this passage during his opening monologue in the press room:
"There's just some execution things that, when we get challenged by better teams, we're gonna get exposed if we don't do things better."
But he issued those words of warning without raising his voice and followed them with this upbeat assessment: "I think the players understand that, and this is an opportunity for them to learn and grow and actually make improvements. Hopefully, there were some lessons learned out there."
What does that tell you?
It tells me that Saban knows how good this team is and how good it can become. And it tells me that Meyer should be very, very concerned.
