Sep 19, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo (8) runs for a touchdown at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Rebels defeated the Tide 43-37. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Nick Saban is not done and buried. Alabama, as it did last season, can push its way into the College Football Playoff after an early loss to Ole Miss.
But you don’t really believe that, do you?
The Crimson Tide are just a couple of seasons removed from Saban’s third national title in Tuscaloosa, but the cracks in the dynasty were evident again Saturday as the Rebels got the bounces, got the turnovers and just flat-out got the better of Bama, winning a ridiculously wild 43-37 game on the road.
Saban started his postgame press conference with, “Well, this is a little disappointing,” and then he ran through assorted laments, such as his team’s five turnovers.
Sure. We can envision hundreds of scenarios in which Alabama beats the Rebels on Saturday night, but it didn’t, and only so much can be put on the whims of the football gods, because Ole Miss did average 6.7 yards per play without a turnover against a defensive front that was supposed to be the pillar of this Tide team.
If you can’t trust the Alabama defense, what can you trust?
Not Alabama’s quarterback play. Not Alabama’s placekicking. Not Alabama’s ability to dominate the line of scrimmage. Not Alabama’s ability to force turnovers.
Saban’s cloak of invincibility has been stripped away, much the same way it happened to Pete Carroll in the slight, but significant, decline at USC after it lost the 2005 national championship game to Texas.
USA Today noted that since Alabama eviscerated Notre Dame to win the 2012 national title, the Tide has gone just 4-5 against teams ranked in the AP top 15. In five of those nine games, Alabama has allowed at least 40 points.
Alabama still has to play at Georgia, at Texas A&M and vs. LSU in the regular season (along with assorted other SEC challenges). The Tide is good enough to win more than its share of the tough games ahead — this is still a program built on No. 1-rated recruiting classes — but it will often face a deficit at quarterback, and that’s no way to consistently win at college football’s highest level.
“I really like the resilience of our players,” Saban said, with merit, after the loss to Ole Miss. “They played for 60 minutes in the game. They fought back in the game, but the mistakes that we made, all that we gave away, we could not overcome.”
Alabama has heard something similar more that it cares to in the past two-plus seasons.
Ten things we think we learned in week 3
1. Ohio State should settle on a QB. The unanimous preseason No. 1 Buckeyes, once thought to have too many quarterbacks, can’t find rhythm on offense, and coach Urban Meyer says he doesn’t know if his starter will be Cardale Jones or J.T. Barrett next week (and he no longer means this in a this-is-a-good-problem-to-have kind of way). On the other hand, Jones did tweet early Sunday: “In the words of the great @AaronRodgers12 “RELAX”
2. TCU isn’t going to make the Playoff. The Frogs lost at least one more defensive player Saturday, when cornerback Ranthony Texada suffered a likely season-ending knee injury. TCU has already lost linebacker Sammy Douglas, defensive end James McFarland, defensive tackle Davion Pierson, safety Kenny Iloka and defensive end Mike Tuaua to various injuries, and linebacker Mike Freeze to a personal leave. Coupled with the significant defensive departures from last season, TCU is going to have a couple of stumbles.
3. Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury can hold a grudge. The Red Raiders, known for their fancy passing, beat Bret Bielema’s hoggish Arkansas Razorbacks 35-24 … and then Kingsbury won the press conference. “At the Texas high school coaches convention this summer (Bielema) stood up and said if you don’t play with a fullback, we’ll kick your a–; if you throw it 70 times a game, we’ll kick you’re a–. And he just got his a– kicked twice in a row, and probably next week by A&M as well, so that did feel good. … He’s a prideful guy, says what’s on his mind and it’s not working out for him.” Arkansas lost to Toledo a week earlier.
4. Cal coach Sonny Dykes is living right. His Golden Bears survived a 20-point Texas fourth quarter when Longhorns kicker Nick Rose missed an extra-point attempt with 1:11 left. Cal won 45-44. The Bears won a game in a similar fashion last season when Washington State missed a 19-yard field goal in the final seconds of a 60-59 Cal victory. Cal has been lucky, and it’s also getting good.
5. Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson needs a mental health day. He looked like the next big thing for Auburn, but he has been intercepted six times in three games. That’s the same number of INTs that Nick Marshall threw in 2013, when he led the Tigers to the national title game.
6. Arizona has the most interesting backup QB in the country (non Ohio-State division). Senior Jarrard Randall has six carries for 209 yards, including touchdown runs of 57, 72 and 73 yards in the past two weeks. He’s a former Oregon commit; he, Marcus Mariota and Johnny Manziel were once all in the same Ducks’ recruiting class — and Randall was rated highest. Randall ended up at LSU and then junior college before transferring to Arizona last year. He’s not going to unseat Anu Solomon, but coaches are looking at getting him on the field now as a receiver or running back.
7. Northwestern’s D is for real. The Wildcats held Stanford without a touchdown. The Cardinal just put 41 in a win at USC on Saturday night. That doesn’t make a lot of sense, but believe it. Northwestern won 19-10 at Duke on Saturday, holding the Blue Devils to 271 total yards, as linebacker Anthony Walker made 19 tackles.
8. There’s a new game of the year in the SEC. Not the Iron Bowl. It’s LSU at Ole Miss on Nov. 21.
9. Will Muschamp isn’t a miracle-worker. Not blaming Auburn’s new defensive coordinator for others expecting an immediate turnaround, but the Tigers gave up 45 points to LSU on Saturday and have allowed at least 30 in eight consecutive SEC games.
10. Sark has some explaining to do. USC coach Steve Sarkisian already did plenty of that before the season after his erratic behavior at a booster event, but now the Trojans have flunked their first test of the year, 41-31 to Stanford, after being the Pac-12 favorite. Explain this: Why did USC running backs only get five carries in the second half?
Five top Heisman candidates
1. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU. Un-tackle-able. Is that a word? He repels defenders as the churns downfield. Man-child.
2. Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss. His strong arm has transformed the Rebels’ attack, and that passer rating of 205.7 is might pretty.
3. Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia. Had 159 yards and two scores against South Carolina, marking 11th consecutive game with 100-plus yards on the ground.
4. C.J. Prosise, RB, Notre Dame. Perhaps you prefer Irish receiver Will Fuller. Fair enough. But Prosise has been a savior in a depleted backfield, with 451 yards on 59 mostly electrifying carries.
5. Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M. Nation’s most feared defensive end has 5.5 sacks in three games.
Five best week 4 games
1. UCLA at Arizona (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET). ESPN GameDay is headed to Tucson for his Pac-12 South showdown. Storylines: UCLA freshman quarterback Josh Rosen; Arizona’s on-a-roll offense.
2. USC at Arizona State (Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET). Not as much luster after the Trojans’ loss to Stanford, but you can see by our top two games that the Pac-12 South is going to start to take shape Saturday.
3. BYU at Michigan (Saturday, noon ET). Slow down, BYU. Let’s see what the Cougars have left in the tank after playing at Nebraska, vs. Boise State and at UCLA. They haven’t been boring, and you never know what Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh might do next.
4. Utah at Oregon (Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET). The Utes are grinders; the Ducks are flyers. Another good one in the Pac-12 this week.
5. Oklahoma State at Texas (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET). Maybe redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard is the answer Texas needs at quarterback. Or perhaps the Longhorns’ misery continues against a Cowboys team that should challenge for Big 12 title.
NFLDraftScout.com: Film Room Review
Analyst Rob Rang’s five prospect takeaways for this week. Players listed including position, school, year (Height, weight and current NFLDraftScout.com overall rating and by position).
OT Vadal Alexander, LSU, 6-5, 326, Sr. (#24 overall, #1 OT): Often matched against potential Top 100 pick Montravious Adams from Auburn, Alexander consistently paved gaping running lanes. He projects best inside as a guard in the NFL, where he started 25 games the past two years. His strength and surprising lateral agility make him a devastating run blocker with the length, balance and anchor necessary to hold up in pass protection.
CB Jevon Kearse, Louisville, 6-3, 209, Jr. (#3 CB in Class of 2017)): The nephew of former Titans star Jayron Kearse showed two traits scouts place an absolute premium on — speed and reliable open-field tackling. Kearse’s range limited Louisville’s willingness to attack deep, and his speed was evident in nearly stopping speedster Traveon Samuel near the goal line.
DE Shaq Lawson, Clemson, 6-3, 275, Jr. (#77, #10 DE): Penalties for roughing the passer and hands to the face were questionable. More important, Lawson put together an all-around impressive performance in run support and pressuring Louisville QB Kyle Bolin.
RB Leonard Fournette, LSU, 6-1, 230, So. (#1 RB in Class of ’18): Fournette isn’t eligible to enter the NFL Draft until 2017, but left scouts drooling with a dominating 228-yard, three-TD performance against Auburn. He sports a chiseled frame, power and breakaway speed that has earned comparisons to everyone from Adrian Peterson to Herschel Walker.
QB Jared Goff, California, 6-4, 210, Jr. (#6, #1): Goff made a strong statement for the No. 1 overall pick by displaying poise and accuracy along with great stats under the lights in a tight victory at Texas. His lanky build is still a concern, but he survived a few big hits from the Longhorns.
