Morning Kickoff: Crimson Tide News 11/19

Get your day started with the Morning Kickoff. All your Crimson Tide news in one place.

Alabama No. 1 in CFP rankings (ESPN)

"Long said Alabama controlled the game in its 25-20 victory against Mississippi State enough to earn the big promotion this week. Alabama led by two scores in the fourth quarter and Mississippi State cut the lead to five with a touchdown with 15 seconds left.Long referred to game control a few times this week. It’s not a metric used by the committee but a subjective discussion about how the game was played."

As we go through another round of playoff rankings, Alabama finds itself on top. Will they stay there? Who knows. You gotta think as long as they keep winning, they will. But this Committee has proved, time and again, that each week could bring a new surprise.

SEC Bowl Projections: Week 12 (ESPN SEC Blog)

"Meanwhile, if everything plays out as it should — and it never does — the Tide’s opponent in the Sugar Bowl would be none other than Mississippi State. That’s right. The Bulldogs only dropped to No. 4 after Saturday’s loss to Alabama, and that means they’re still in good shape for the playoff if they can take care of business against Vanderbilt and Ole Miss."

Scary thought, but as we inch closer to bowl season, this will be something to watch. Every team in the West save Arkansas will get a bowl bid for sure. How many from the Eastis going to be the real question.

Alabama vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (Bama Hammer)

"Alabama’s three interceptions were truly the difference in the game. All three picks snuffed out potential scoring drives for State. Prescott threw a touchdown with fifteen seconds left to make the score look better, but Landon Collins’ interception on the drive before truly ended the game. Alabama hasn’t managed to force a ton of turnovers in 2014, but the Tide defense made some huge plays against the top team in the land with the entire nation looking on. The defense also contributed the first points of the game with a safety."

A final look at the game against the now No. 4 team.

Men’s Basketball Holds Off Western Carolina, 80-74 (RollTide.com)

"“We’re fortunate to win,” UA Head Coach Anthony Grant said. “I’m really proud of our guys and the way we were able to respond. Give Western Carolina credit, I thought they played really well. You always want to learn from a win as opposed to a loss. I think there’s a lot that we can take away (from tonight). I thought at the end our guys were able to respond. We were able to get the stops we needed. We were able to get ourselves to the free throw line and make some shots and made enough plays to win the game.”"

Alabama Basketball is 2-0 and is so far playing very impressively. We’ll see if that holds.

4-star P.J. Blue on meeting Nick Saban: ‘It was almost like talking to God’ (AL.com)

"“Alabama has great facilities and it makes you want to go there instantly,” he said. “But there’s more to it than just facilities and I’m going to have to look at it more.”There is mutual interest between Alabama and Blue, but Saban hasn’t offered him a scholarship yet. He’ll need to bulk up if he wants one.“Alabama told me I needed to get bigger if I want to play linebacker for them,” he said. “They say I have the frame but need more weight. My target weight is going to be 210.”"

Well, he’s basically saying what everybody else who’s interacted with Saban was thinking.