Crimson & White Roundtable: Our Belated Roundup

We’re well into a long vacation, but you can only spend so much time at the beach, and so we return with a roundup of the best responses to the questions we posed a while back.

Which non-conference home-and-home series would you most like to see?
Third Saturday in Blogtober: To me this is a no brainer. I’m going with Texas. Alabama has never beaten Texas and I would like to see that end. There aren’t many teams out there that can say that, and I think it’s time we change it for them. Add in the Applewhite offensive coordinator stuff with both UA and Texas, and the Saban/Muschamp reunion of sorts, I think it has promise for a great series. I would definitely love to go to Austin and check out what Texas has to offer and I would imagine the same would go for Texas fans and Alabama. Two storied programs matching up like that with all the story lines from the connections the two programs have with each other…Yeah, Texas is my choice.

Picture Me Rollin: I’ve spoken before of my love for the Oklahoma game; that was my favorite OOC that I’ve ever been to. There are several games that fit the bill for me and I would be happy with any of, say, Notre Dame, Penn State, Nebraska, USC, Georgia Tech, or Texas. If you had to have one single team though, I’d have to pick Oklahoma.

Uncle Rico’s Time Machine: I’m going to pick a couple. First of all, only a couple of conferences qualify… the ACC, the Big 12, and the PAC 10. Sorry Big 10, but you do nothing to excite me. Well an easy answer for the ACC is Clemson. I’ve always thought/heard that they have a fairly SEC-ish atmosphere over there (the real death valley…what?). For the Big 12, give me the ‘horns. I live amongst them, they are routinely good, and they are one of very few teams that have a winning record against the Tide all time. And finally, give me USC from the PAC 10. anytime I can get increased Pete Carroll it’s a good thing.

Which of the following is the most likely win for Alabama this year: LSU, Tennessee or Auburn?
Roll Bama Roll: Tough call on this one since they are all rivalry games and there’s no telling what might happen between now and then. Personally, I think we can win them all, but we’ll need a lot of luck and some miraculous coaching to do it, and there’s the very real possibility that we could lose all three of those. But since you asked, the most likely would probably be Auburn. They’ll have a ridiculously good defense and offensive line returning, sure, but I’m not buying the Kodi Burns hype just yet (seriously, he couldn’t lock down the starting job in the spring despite a new offense that he’s supposedly made for?) and I couldn’t name you a single wide receiver on the team off the top of my head (wait, Tim Hawthorne, but only because he played for Homewood. Has he even seen the field for Auburn yet?), so until we see how the season starts shaking out, I’m pretty confident the streak ends this season and we’ll finally get some blessed peace from our wayward neighbors.

Third Saturday in Blogtober: To be completely honest with everyone I really want to say Auburn. It’s the only home game out of the three and it’s time to end the streak right now. However, as far as most likely win, I’m going to go with Tennessee. Alabama has really played Tennessee the best over the past few years. Heck, let’s be honest here, Tennessee is the only team we have beaten out of the three mentioned in the past 5 or 6 years. We always play Tennessee tough in Knoxville and I think this will be the best shot at a win. I think our offense will play better than UT’s offense against our young defense. We have a slight edge in the special teams game as well, so I could really see this as a potential win.

Who will be the #2 quarterback coming out of Fall practice?
Roll Bama Roll: There’s no question that McElroy is the #2 guy and will be the rest of the season. Saban is a program builder, and he’s not going to waist a redshirt year on Star Jackson just to have him out there running some gimmick option plays three or four times a game. That’s what Burton Scott is for (oh, snap!). Anyway, I know everyone has had their “how sucky must McElroy be if he couldn’t overtake Wilson for the start last year?” say, but I honsetly have some faith in the kid and believe the staff does, too. Texas Tech wanted him to run their Air Raid offense, so you know he can throw, this staff let him switch to the #12 jersey (though I’m perfectly willing to bet that the significance of an Alabama QB wearing #12 probably doesn’t really register with them), he was never in any danger from Fanuzzi or Darrah during the spring, and Saban himself singled out McElroy as the guy most able to step in and fill Wilson’s shoes immediately should he, God forbid, go out with an injury during a game. So yeah, Star Jackson and all that, but McElroy is the guy, and I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if he locks down the start next spring after Wilson has graduated.

Third Saturday in Blogtober: The answer to the question is actually in the question. #2 Star Jackson. I know, I know – McElroy has been in the system longer, and Darrah was impressive in the A-day game. People, he played against the rest of the walk-ons! Give me a break. Star Jackson will be the number 2 quarterback coming out of fall practice. I think he will see meaningful snaps this year in order to prepare him to take the job over next season full time. This guy is the real deal for those of you still unsure of him. He just has that “it” factor. He has the measurables, the talent, the smarts, and a bit of a swagger to him that Alabama has been waiting for. He’s my pick for #2 QB out of fall practice.

If you could swap any two SEC schools for any other schools in the Southeast, which would they be?
Uncle Rico’s Time Machine: Great question. First of all, who would I dump? I can’t imagine anyone not voting to dump Vandy unless they’re trying to keep the conference GPA up or something. I think the second choice is a little tougher, but for me it’s gotta be the ‘cocks. they are one of the last 2 teams to join the conference, so they don’t have the history or long term ties. Obviously Arkansas joined the same year as the ‘cocks (’91), but the Hogs have a much more storied program, so they’re staying.

Now, who to add? Go ahead and give me both Papa Bowden (the ‘noles) and Baby Bowden (Clemson). Why? Here are just a few reasons: geography, style of play (see SEC speed), and they already have some loose ties in terms of recruiting battles and coaching staff incest. There is just one little problem with this scenario…with no ‘cocks there’s no Spurrier. Don’t worry, in this little dream scenario Kentucky hires Spurrier so we can keep his entertainment value.

Picture Me Rollin: I’d get rid of the Arkansas (it’s just too far away) in the West and swap them for Southern Miss and I’d get rid of Vanderbilt and swap them for Florida State because that would make their rivalry with Florida mean more than bragging rights plus it would be coll to play them more often.

Third Saturday in Blogtober: I would most definitely drop Kentucky and Vandy. Everyone knows why I pick Vandy, and Kentucky is too far North for me. So, with those teams gone, let’s add Florida State and Miami. Both are big time schools in college football and have been to the top on several occasions. They are both programs like Alabama in my honest opinion, that are in a transition or a process of changing. It’s good, it’s healthy, and it’s something that I would like to observe more closely in my own conference. Alabama and Florida St. hasn’t been as big of a match-up in the past, but Alabama and Miami have locked up in some great games and somewhat of a mini rivalry. Of course, if this were to happen, then the SEC Champion should have an automatic berth in the Title game (they should now anyway in most cases), or just leave the NCAA and have our own “Champions League.” I’m only joking NCAA.