Alabama Football: Jalen Hurts is Iceman, Jarrett Stidham is Hollywood

When it comes to the next Iron Bowl, one only needs to look at the two quarterbacks. Alabama football QB Jalen Hurts has the edge, putting opponents on ice.

Anyone remember the movie Top Gun (1986)? It starred Tom Cruise, pre-couch jump, as Maverick, the risk-taking protagonist. As much as Maverick tries to win the competition for best fighter pilot, he couldn’t shake off Iceman, played by Val Kilmer. Iceman kept to the game plan, never allowed himself to get rattled, and frustrated his opponents until he won the battle.

Move over, Tom. The Iceman cometh to college football, and his name isn’t Kilmer; it’s Jalen Hurts.

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Jarrett Stidham fans shouldn’t feel slighted. There’s a perfect doppelganger for him, too: Hollywood.

Anyone doubting this casting call only need look at these quarterbacks’ results against the same football team that both the Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers have played in recent weeks. LSU put the fight to both Alabama and Auburn, picking up the win against the Tigers and a tough loss to the Tide.

The Hurts-Stidham comparison may have been the difference between victory and defeat for these two programs against LSU.

Hurts put the hurt on LSU with an aerial assault that included 11 completed passes out of 24 attempts, earning 183 yards and a touchdown. He also stayed calm while under intense pressure from an ever-improving LSU defensive line, as Hurts rushed 14 times for 44 yards and a running touchdown of his own.

Stidham, on the other hand, only completed nine out of 26 pass attempts, gaining 165 yards and a touchdown. The majority of those yards came from two passes that went over 49 yards.

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Rushing, never being Stidham’s thing, proved futile, as the Auburn QB ran six times for only 11 yards. In fact, one run earned all of those yards, as Stidham spent much of the time on his back behind or at the line of scrimmage.

Hurts felt his backside ache against LSU, as well; however, the difference between the two quarterbacks was how they handled the pressure. While Stidham looked like he was desperately searching for a Hollywood-esque, happy ending to happen, Hurts stayed frosty and moved the ball when it mattered most.

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If one would argue that both Alabama and Auburn have stellar defenses, then they would cancel each other out. The offenses would then be the difference, with Hurts giving the Crimson Tide the edge to get the job done as efficiently and effectively as needed. Yet, while Auburn players ask Stidham where did Minkah Fitzpatrick go, Stidham may be overwhelmed like Hollywood was when he was looking for Viper before being taken down, yelling, “Where’d who go?!”

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