Tide Tidbits - December 29, 2008

Utah Utes football: There's lots of sweet talk from 'Bama
Practically the first thing out of Alabama coach Nick Saban's mouth Sunday morning — other than a folksy how-ya'll-doin'? — was exactly how good Utah is. "This is an outstanding team that we are playing in Utah," said Saban. "This is probably the only undefeated team left in the country now, which is a significant accomplishment in and of itself, and is a very, very difficult thing to do in this day and age, in terms of the consistency you have to play with." So why does this sound slightly suspicious? Oh, right — because it's not necessarily true.

Bama has Utes dwarfed
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was quick to acknowledge his players will be the little guys in more ways than one when the Utes take on Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Friday’s game is not only a matchup of an SEC powerhouse and a non-BCS upstart from the Mountain West conference. It’s a game between one of the most physical offensive lines in the country and an undersized defensive front that relies on stunts and quickness. “It’s no secret we are going to have to put at least eight or nine guys in the box to stop their run game or at least slow it down,” Whittingham said Sunday morning, a day after both teams arrived in New Orleans. “I don’t like the word finesse, but we are going to have to move a lot, slant and twist and that type of thing. It is what we have been doing all season long.”

Changes coming for Tide in 2009
The momentum generated with a 12-1 season paired with the smallest senior class in the nation will have Crimson Tide fans clamoring for the start of the 2009 season. There will be changes, however. The offensive line will have to replace at least two seniors — first-team All-American center Antoine Caldwell and right guard Marlon Davis. And Outland Trophy winner Andre Smith, another first-team All-American, is eligible to enter the NFL Draft.

Nick Saban discussing the Alabama job: "I'm happy to do it for a long time."
Maybe I just don't get it, but I'm not understanding this hubbub over Nick Saban's comments at yesterday's Sugar Bowl press conference. So he gave a bit of a tepid, careful answer when asked if Alabama was his "ideal" job. If you missed it, here's the basic quote ...

Tide's Saban gets another honor
Nick Saban of the Sugar Bowl-bound Alabama Crimson Tide has been selected the Walter Camp 2008 Coach of the Year by the nation’s 119 bowl subdivision head coaches and sports information directors. The only other Alabama coach to earn the honor was Gene Stallings, who won in 1992. Saban is also the first coach from the Southeastern Conference to receive the award since Auburn's Tommy Tuberville was selected in 2004.

Roll Tide!