Alabama Football remains Kings of SEC and college football

SEC football is back at the national forefront as the best conference in the nation.  Alabama football remains the overwhelmingly dominant, powerful force of the conference and country.

The first week of college football is complete. The Southeastern Conference finished 13-1 with the only loss belonging to Tennessee. The SEC West was 7-0 along with two Top 10 victories. Seven  SEC schools ranked in the Top 25.  Again, Alabama football annihilated Louisville 51-14 remaining atop the summit of college football.

LSU dominated a vastly overrated Miami Hurricanes squad. Auburn brawled with Pac-12 favorite Washington. Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Arkansas disposed of their lightweight opponents.

Oklahoma devastated an overmatched Florida Atlantic squad. Ohio State ran up the score on a hapless Oregon State team. Lastly, Clemson dusted a doomed Furman.

Before naive student bodies start raising “We Want Bama” signs, beware of the wrath that comes behind it.

Destructive Defense

Louisville entered Saturday night’s contest as a Top 40 team. Heisman winning quarterback Lamar Jackson’s departure to the NFL draft significantly weakened the Cardinals offense. Unfortunately, his replacement, statuesque Jawon “Puma” Pass’ first start occurred against the defending national champions. Tosh Lupoi’s defense suffocated the sophomore quarterback. The Cardinals’ non-existent running game held to 16 yards allowed the defense to tee off relentlessly on the quarterback.

On Training Days: Rolling with the Tide, Saban mentioned, “everybody wants to be beasts but are not everyone is willing to do what the beasts do.”

A few examples of beast mode plays:

• Inside linebacker Dylan Moses impressively darted down the field and caught Louisville’s speedy wide receiver Seth Dawkins from behind.
• Shyheim Carter delivered a pick six.
• Deionte Thompson resembled an All American at free safety by making plays all over the field.
• Quinnen Williams consistently found himself in the quarterback’s lap producing six tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.

There were plenty of errors made but expect Lupoi and Saban’s keen attention to detail to limit them moving forward. Expect the beleaguered beasts on defense to continue their bloodthirsty hunt for the rest of the season.

Lethal offensive weapons

Kirk Herbstreit insisted Tua made Alabama’s offense unstoppable. No hyperbole.

Small sample size be damned. After a game and a half, Tua Tagovailoa’s quarterback play is as beautiful as Michaelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel. He completed 12 passes to eight different receivers. The lefty even scored himself on a nine-yard touchdown run. Tua’s passes were on the money including a 49-yard strike to freshman receiver Jaylen Waddle.  His innate ability to scramble and extend plays is extraordinarily unique. The Crimson Tide scored on five out of six possessions in 12:28 of game time with Tagovailoa under center. The only drive stalled due to Devonta Smith’s fumble.

Tua’s 98.8 quarterback passer rating leads all FBS quarterbacks after week one. Tagovailoa’s efforts in the second half of the championship game resulted in a 90.1 QBR, third highest ever in a title game behind Deshaun Watson who had a 93.2 in 2016 and 91.4 in 2017. Last season’s Heisman winner, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, finished the season at 92.6.

The sophomore’s passer rating against Louisville was 235.4 with 14.2 per pass attempt.  He was three for three on 20+ yard attempts. Tua has averaged a touchdown pass every 4.6 times he throws a pass. He definitely moves the needle.

The offense flowed as effortlessly as Lake Tuscaloosa. Playmakers litter the field at every offensive position.

A thorn in the Tide’s side for several seasons, special teams now appear exceptional with playmakers Josh Jacobs and Jaylen Waddle. Jacobs returned a kickoff 77 yards for a score. Waddle dazzled as a punt returner and receiver earning SEC Freshman of the week with 80 yards on four returns with an additional 66 receiving yards.

Dynasty not stopping anytime soon

Alabama tied The Ohio State University for most appearances at number one in the Associated Press with 105 weeks. In the coaches poll, Alabama received 59 first-place votes out of 63 voting coaches.

After Saban named Tua the starter for their upcoming game against Arkansas State, it became crystal clear that the sophomore quarterback is the best quarterback to lead Alabama to another title.

The road through the SEC appears unsympathetic right now, but Alabama is the only team to navigate this unchartered course. Nick Saban’s Darth Vader chokehold on college football continues to tighten. Every fanbase despises Alabama football’s dominance. However, the Crimson Tide is not going anywhere and will remain college football’s most hated team.

As Scarface’s Tony Montana drunkenly bellowed as he left a stylish Miami restaurant, ” Say goodnight to the bad guy because you will never see a bad guy like this again.”

Let the Crimson Tide fatigue continue because they are here for another year.

Alabama football is the team everyone loves to hate. The utter dominance displayed by Alabama in college football will never happen again.