Tide Tidbits - December 20, 2008

SUGAR BOWL: Legacy on the line for Tide
Alabama coach Nick Saban is all about finishing. And a good finish to a 12-0 regular season does not include a loss to Florida in the South­eastern Conference Champion­ship Game and a loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl. "I really do think the legacy of this team lies in what they do from this point on," he said. "What has happened to this point really doesn't matter. This team will be remembered a lot by their last game."

Alabama to open 2009 season with Va. Tech
Alabama football coach Nick Saban traces a lot of his team's success in 2008 to a decision made the previous January to participate in the inaugural Chick-fil-A College Kickoff against nationally ranked Clem­son. "I think it really motivated our players in the offseason to work hard and prepare well for what was going to be a very chal­lenging game," Saban said. "I think it actually made our team better in a lot of ways: the atti­tude, the togetherness, the com­mitment, the work ethic, were all things that we probably needed to improve on and I think that game played a signifi­cant role in helping us do that."

Utes just ignore opinion of others
Heading in, they're already listed as 10-point underdogs. Such is life for a non-BCS powerhouse in today's college football climate. It's a constant uphill battle because, as Utah quarterback Brian Johnson said, "Nobody really pays attention to what's going on. People make a lot of assumptions at times, and I don't think a ton of people have watched us play," Johnson said. "We know that we're a big underdog, obviously, but at the same time, we think we're a talented enough team. We'll be ready. We're going to go out there and compete hard for 60 minutes and show up and be ready to play."

Roll Tide!