Tide Tidbits - November 12, 2008

Alabama vs LSU Report Card Results
Alabama fans are ecstatic for their newly crowned SEC Western Division championship team and are thrilled to be going to Atlanta. After improving to 10-0 and hanging on to the #1 spot in the BCS, the fans gave the majority of the team a "B" for their performances. There were only 2 "A's" on this week's progress report after the 27-21 overtime victory at LSU.

It Just Ain't So Nick! LSU's Saban Hatred Is Overhyped
I've had enough! Now that the hyped LSU vs. Nick Saban game is over, I just have to have my say. I need to say, I REALLY was bothered when Saban decided to take the Alabama job—our bitter enemy. We really enjoyed that Alabama has been subpar the past few years on the field...certainly not up to Bear Bryant's standards! But I did NOT feel betrayed by Nick. He is just a man, a very good coach and a very special person. Many of the younger fans do show a bit of immaturity in their hatred for Nick. I wondered if those folks really know what Nick did for LSU.

Wilson one of five for Unitas Award
University of Alabama senior quarterback John Parker Wilson has been named one of five finalists for the 2008 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. The winner, presented to the nation’s top senior quarterback, will be announced in Baltimore on Dec. 5, the night before the Crimson Tide faces Florida in the SEC Championship game. “It is a great honor to be named a finalist,” Wilson said in a release, while Coach Nick Saban added that it was “great for him and being one of the top senior quarterbacks.”

Pressure mounts for Tide
Consider it the Crimson Tide Revenge Tour 2008. The University of Alabama football team may have delivered the death blow to Phil Fulmer’s coaching career at Tennessee, vanquished the November nine-game losing streak, and won Nick Saban’s homecoming at LSU. Next up, the return of Sylvester Croom and Mississippi State, which has won the last two meetings, and arch-rival Auburn, not to mention a potential No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup against Florida in the SEC Championship game.

Alabama notebook: Expansion plans continue
A resolution is set to go before the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama system Friday to consider the approval of a preliminary budget for the proposed south end-zone expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium. Friday's report by the Physical Properties Committee is the next step in a project to extend the upper deck to the side next to Paul W. Bryant Drive, which could bring Bryant-Denny beyond a 100,000-seat capacity. The agenda includes discussion of a resolution that includes a potential budget as well as the "execution of architect agreement."

No. 1 Bama finds plenty of incentive
Brandon Deaderick, defensive end on the nation's No. 1-ranked team, has memorized all the reasons why pundits have said Alabama won't be able to stay there. "Not winning a game in November," Deaderick said, "or not being able to pull it out on the road. We're not fast enough. We don't have enough talent. Everybody was saying something about us every week."

Saban playing cards right
There are plenty of questions concerning top-ranked Alabama's ability to finish the season undefeated. Yet the Crimson Tide has a much better chance of achieving that goal thanks to some crafty personnel changes implemented by coach Nick Saban. "Coach Saban is a defensive mastermind," said Lorenzo Washington, a former defensive tackle who started at nose tackle last season but is now at defensive end. "He's always going to play the best players. They do such a good job of coaching us and getting us ready to play. That's why everybody is starting to come along now."

Roll Tide!