It had to happen eventually. AlabamaGameday is your host for this week’s roundtable.
If you’re just joining us, the rules are simple. Each week, a different Bama blogger poses a series of questions. Any and all Tide bloggers are encouraged to post responses on their own sites. If you do decide to jump in, be sure to let us know by emailing webmaster@alabamagameday[DOT]net.
We’re departing sunny Orlando later this week for sweet home Alabama, so a compilation of the best answers will be up by Monday. And now, on with the questions…
Which non-conference home-and-home series would you most like to see?
We’re a big fan of non-conference rivalries. The old days of series with Notre Dame and Penn State were clashes of titans, unlike today’s jobber matches with the likes of… well, La. Monroe.
True enough, scholarship limitations have allowed traditional patsies to become more competitive, but we still pine for the days of epic battles. That said, we’re excited about the renewal of the Penn State rivalry, and would love to host USC and Notre Dame. Texas would be great, and although Coach Fran is gone, we’d also like to see the Aggies of Texas A&M in Bryant-Denny.
Which of the following is the most likely win for Alabama this year: LSU, Tennessee or Auburn?
This may be a no-brainer, but one can never tell with a rivalry game. LSU figures to be strong, but is also subject to the whims of the Paddleboat Gambler, Les Miles. Tennessee figures to be resurgent this year, after winning the SEC East last year.
That leaves an Auburn team trying to become a fun-and-gun team in a cloud of dust conference. Can Auburn pull off this transition with a new starting QB? We’ll know by November when the Iron Bowl rolls around, but it’s our feeling that a battle-tested Tide team may just break the streak this year.
Who will be the #2 quarterback coming out of Fall practice?
With Star Jackson mania running wild earlier this year, there seemed to be no question this kid would be breathing down John Parker Wilson’s neck come September. But walk-on Thomas Darrah had the best A-Day stats, and surprised lots of folks.
In the end, however, the nod will go to Greg McElroy. He’s been in the system longer, and despite the new OC, enough of last year’s playbook remains the same to give him the edge coming out of Fall practice.
To hedge our bets, however, we note that Coach Saban has long stated depth charts are just a way to account for all the players. Even if McElroy is posted at #2 for administrative purposes, he could lose the job quickly if he fails to perform in any mop-up opportunities he gets.
If you could swap any two SEC schools for any other schools in the Southeast, which would they be?
We’re asking for two schools because we assume everyone would ditch Vanderbilt, and we’re no different. In the place of the futile Commodores, let’s bring in Southern Miss. They’re already a defacto SEC school; we’re just making it official.
And to avoid three Mississippi schools, we’re dropping Mississippi State in favor of Clemson, thus giving us an Auburn with a lake, to contrast the one without.