Alabama is nation's best ... after 1 month

The calendar is about to flip to October, so what better time to assess what we have learned after the first month of the college football season and a few things we still don’t know.

What we have learned …

• Alabama is the best team in the nation, not Florida or Texas.


• Auburn is a very good home team.


• Nick Saban is worth all the millions the Crimson Tide has invested in him.


• Gene Chizik is a better head coach than anyone gave him credit for.


• Terry Bowden could become a hot name in coaching circles again after his 5-0 start at North Alabama.


• Gus Malzahn is truly an offensive genius.

• The motor of Auburn assistant head coach Trooper Taylor never stops running.

• Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy should be part of the Heisman Trophy conversation.


• Chris Todd definitely was the right choice to be Auburn’s quarterback, even before throwing nine touchdown passes in the past two games.


• Jacksonville State quarterback Ryan Perrilloux would be among the top five quarterbacks for the 2010 NFL draft if not for off-the-field issues.


• Alabama’s stable of running backs – Mark Ingram, Roy Upchurch, Trent Richardson and Terry Grant – is the best in the nation.


• Auburn’s dynamic duo of senior Ben Tate and freshman Onterio McCalebb is just a notch below the Tide’s foursome.


• Tide sophomore receiver Julio Jones is a man among boys.


• Auburn’s receiving corps with wide outs Darvin Adams, Mario Fannin and Terrell Zachery and tight ends Tommy Trott and Philip Lutzenkirchen is a pleasant surprise.


• Alabama’s defense is the best in the nation, just ask Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett.


• The loss of linebacker Dont’a Hightower to a season-ending knee injury is a major blow for the Tide.


• Auburn’s defense still needs plenty of work, despite forcing 12 turnovers in four games.


• Troy is again the class of the Sun Belt Conference.


• UAB continues to fade into oblivion.


• The non-FBS schools in the state are pretty good – Jacksonville State (2-2 with losses to Georgia Tech and Florida State), Samford (2-2), North Alabama (5-0), Alabama A&M (3-1), Alabama State (3-1), North Alabama (5-0), Tuskegee (4-1), Miles (3-2), West Alabama (3-2), Birmingham-Southern (2-1), Huntingdon (3-1) and South Alabama (2-0).

Five things we still don't know ...

• Will anybody left on the schedule (including Ole Miss, LSU and Auburn) challenge Alabama?


• Will Auburn prove a capable road team, beginning Saturday night at Tennessee?


• Can anyone slow down Auburn’s offense?


• Can anyone penetrate Alabama’s defense (even without Hightower)?


• Will Bowden lead UNA to a Division II national championship?

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)

Is it time to pull plug on UAB football?

Before the UAB-Troy football game last Saturday, The Birmingham News ran a story asking the question: Who’s No. 3 in State?

Obviously, Alabama and Auburn are the top two college football programs in the state, while UAB and Troy are trying their hardest to be taken seriously at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level.

Troy has a much longer and richer football history. The Trojans are celebrating their 100th season this fall. Most of that was spent at the small-college level before they made the jump to NCAA Division I-A status, now FBS, in 2001. They are members of the Sun Belt Conference.

UAB didn’t have a football program until 1991 and made the move to FBS in 1996. The Blazers are members of Conference USA.

After the Trojans’ 27-14 spanking of the Blazers on Saturday, the more legitimate question might be:

Is it time to pull the plug on the UAB football program?

As I wrote before the season started, the Blazers did little in their first 18 years to make themselves relevant. They created a buzz several years ago when quarterback Darrell Hackney was throwing passes to wide receiver Roddy White (Atlanta Falcons), but the buzz has been silent the past three years.

With current coach Neil Callaway in his third season, UAB desperately needed a good 2009 season to renew interest in the program, but after a rousing 44-24 victory against Rice to kick off the season, the Blazers have fallen flat. They lost at home to double-digit underdog SMU 35-33 in their second game and last week fell at Troy, which came in 0-2.

Now, UAB might not win another game until November. Their next five games are at Texas A&M on Saturday, at home against Southern Miss, at No. 4 Ole Miss, at Marshall and at UTEP. It’s conceivable the Blazers could win at Marshall or UTEP, but I doubt it because frankly they are not a good road team.

In other words, UAB is facing a 1-7 start and staring at its fifth consecutive losing season. And their shrinking fan base – the Blazers drew fewer than 20,000 spectators to their first two home games – probably will shrink some more.

UAB is still a part of the University of Alabama System, which includes the Crimson Tide, and is governed by the UA System Board of Trustees. With their schools in financial straits because of state budget cuts, the board could decide to save some money by axing football at UAB. The Blazers do not have a self-sustaining program as The Birmingham News story pointed out.

A friend of mine who is a UAB supporter, booster and friend of Gene Bartow, the former UAB basketball coach and athletic director who started the football program, told me he has heard some talk to that effect.

So, UAB football might not be around to celebrate its 20th birthday in two years.

At this point, I don’t think it will be missed.

Small-college football a refreshing pastime

In between watching Alabama’s waltz against North Texas and Auburn’s stirring comeback against West Virginia on television Saturday, I took in the Miles College-Samford game.

Now, I truly love big-time college football, especially the Southeastern Conference. I attended Alabama in the 1970s when Paul “Bear” Bryant was still stalking the Crimson Tide’s sideline in his famous houndstooth hat and I was familiar with Auburn and its legendary coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan.

I also loved the NFL. My mother would let me leave church early so I could be at home in time to watch the noon kickoff of the NFL game on TV. I became a big fan of the Baltimore Colts because of Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore and John Mackey and cried when they were upset in Super Bowl III by Joe Namath and the New York Jets.

I didn’t really care for what I thought was small-time football, you know, something besides the NFL, SEC, Pac-10, Big Ten, Southwest Conference and Big Eight. For those of you too young to remember, the SWC and Big Eight were forerunners of the Big 12. The ACC was – and still is to a major degree – a basketball league. And there was also that independent college power from South Bend, Ind., we in Alabama loathed. That would be Notre Dame for those of you who wonder why NBC elects to show games of such a woebegone program.

In recent years, I have gotten a chance to attend a few small-college games and have come to appreciate football at that level. The players work and play just as hard as they do at bigger schools and some fans are just as rabid, but the atmosphere is totally different. It’s more of a pastime. You have few fans yelling at the coaches and calling them idiots for their play-calling. Boos are usually reserved for the refs after what the faithful think is a bad call. And while the adults are watching the game, you have some children beyond the end zone playing their own game, caring little about what’s happening on the field with the college guys.

To some extent, it harkens back to the days of yesteryear when college football still hadn’t sold its soul to money. Greed is rampant among the major schools.

From the billions of dollars the various TV networks throw at major programs and their conferences to broadcast games, to the millions the colleges pay their coaches, to the millions spent on stadium expansions (and the extorting of alumni and boosters to pay for it through the sale of skyboxes), to the millions made in merchandising of products (jerseys, caps, shirts, etc.), to the rising costs of tickets (and making fans attend at sometimes unreasonable hours because of TV), money rules in college football – regardless of any argument pandering college presidents and the NCAA might make.

Despite all that, I still enjoy the Alabamas and Auburns of the college football world, but I also have discovered there’s something refreshing about small-college football.

The Miles-Samford game was one of just two games this season that will feature two head coaches who are both members of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. Samford’s Pat Sullivan was inducted in 1991, while Miles’ Billy Joe was named to the Hall of Fame in 2007. Sullivan won the 1971 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at Auburn. Joe, in his second season at Miles, ranks second in all-time wins (239) at historically black colleges and universities behind Grambling State legend Eddie Robinson (408). Most of Joe’s wins came in 11 seasons at Florida A&M (86) and 13 seasons at Central State in Ohio (120).

Samford is where Florida State coach Bobby Bowden got his start when the school was known as Howard College and it’s also where his son, Terry Bowden, coached for six years before going to Auburn. Samford is a member of the Southern Conference, which includes Appalachian State, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) powerhouse that upset Michigan two years ago.

Miles doesn’t have as rich a football tradition, but for many years it was known as one of the top academic black colleges in the nation. It plays in the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) that includes Tuskegee, the 2007 national black champion.

The game was entertaining even if the outcome was predictable. Samford rallied from a 12-3 halftime deficit to beat Miles 31-12.

The genteel Joe was magnanimous in defeat. “No question it was great to be part of game in which both institutions stress academics,” Joe said, “and it was a great contest.”

And I left richer for having been there.

Chizik remains cool as expectations soar

I am beginning to warm up to this Gene Chizik guy.

Sure, I wondered what Auburn was doing when they hired him (and his 5-19 record at Iowa State) to replace Tommy Tuberville, but the way he has run the football program since taking over has been downright impressive.

Two decisions stand out. He brought in Gus Malzahn do be offensive coordinator and promised he wouldn’t interfere. Wise decision. After two games in Malzahn’s fast-paced spread attack that relies heavily on misdirection, the Tigers are averaging 572.5 yards total offense and 43.0 points.

Then, Chizik thwarted any quarterback controversy in fall camp by emphatically deciding Chris Todd would be the starter and Kodi Burns would move to wide receiver. But instead of letting Burns stew, he made him the “Wildcat” quarterback and last week Burns rewarded Chizik’s faithfulness by accounting for four touchdowns in Auburn’s 49-24 rout of Mississippi State in the Tigers’ Southeastern Conference opener.

But what I really like is Chizik’s even-handed temperament. Instead of getting caught up in the euphoria of Auburn’s rousing victories against a couple of lightweights – Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State – Chizik has remained calm, cool and collected. He simply pointed to the Tigers’ next game, which is Saturday night at home against West Virginia.

“We're not satisfied with the way we're playing, but satisfied being 2-0,”' Chizik said during the SEC coaches teleconference on Wednesday. “I think it's going to be a great measuring stick, by the end of the day, to see who we are.”

That was in line with what he said a day earlier when answering a question about fan’s expectations during Auburn’s weekly media conference.

“Here's how I feel about our fans here at Auburn," Chizik said. "Number one, we've got the greatest fans in the world, and they do their job as good as it gets. And I want them to be excited about the future. It's going to be very bright … We're not ready to buy stock in Auburn football yet. It's just not where we're at. We're just so far from that ... we have not arrived.”

A victory over West Virginia wouldn’t mean the Tigers have arrived, but it might land Auburn a spot in the Top 25.

In the only previous meeting between the two schools, the Mountaineers whipped the Tigers 34-17 last year in Morgantown. I expect Auburn to get a measure of revenge with a hard-earned 31-24 victory.

While Chizik was trying to temper expectations, Alabama coach Nick Saban was busy answering questions about the health of his players, notably sophomore wide receiver Julio Jones (bruised kneecap) and senior running back Roy Upchurch (high ankle sprain). During his weekly radio on Thursday, Saban listed them as questionable, but sounded as if they wouldn’t play Saturday when the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide hosts North Texas.

"They haven't been able to practice enough probably to prepare," Saban said. "I don't think either guy is out of the realm of being able to play and will be back very soon after this game if they can't play in this game."

The Tide won’t need either against the not-so Mean Green. The only question is which newcomer will shine. Last week, it was freshman running back Trent Richardson, who rushed 15 times for 118 yards and two second-half touchdowns in the Tide’s 40-14 victory against Florida International.

So, Jones and Upchurch can just rest up and get ready for Alabama’s SEC opener next week against Arkansas. They should have plenty of company on the sidelines from other frontline players by halftime as the Tide rolls to an easy 45-10 victory, allowing Saban to give fans a chance to get excited about some of the talented reserves they have been waiting to see in action.

(Photo by Cliff Williams/Opelika-Auburn News)

Perrilloux finally focused?

I interviewed Jacksonville State quarterback Ryan Perrilloux briefly by phone the other day just to check and see what he was thinking moving forward with the rest of his senior season.

Perrilloux, who began his college football career at LSU, returned to action last Saturday against Florida State after being suspended for the Gamecocks’ season-opening 37-17 loss at Georgia Tech. He was suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Similar disciplinary problems plagued him at LSU – he was suspended at least three times – and eventually was kicked off the team by head coach Les Miles.

He transferred to Jacksonville State in the spring of 2008 and had a brilliant junior season with the Gamecocks, passing for 2,318 yards and 19 touchdowns, while throwing 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 368 yards and seven touchdowns.

In his first game this season, Perrilloux almost engineered a monumental upset at Florida State. He threw for 213 yards and a first-quarter touchdown and ran for 39 yards, but the Seminoles scored two touchdowns in the final 35 seconds to escape with a 19-9 victory. The second of those two touchdowns came when Perrilloux fumbled and Florida State’s Kevin McNeil returned it 33 yards for a score.

Despite the disheartening loss, Perrilloux was just glad to be playing again. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

“It was good, it was fun and it was exciting to get back on the field,” Perrilloux said. “I missed playing a lot that first game. I’m a player who wants to be on the field.

"I did what I could to help our team win. I played my role. Of course it was disappointing to lose. Now our focus is to go out and win the next ball game.”

Focus was a word that kept coming up in the interview – as if Perrilloux was trying to convince us that his off-the-field troubles are really behind him this time. They had better if he wants a chance to play at the next level.

Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe said 10 NFL scouts already have come by to check out Perrilloux and he expects all 32 NFL teams to take a look at his quarterback before the season is over.

Crowe praised Perrilloux for his performance against Florida State.

“Ryan is a great player,” Crowe said. “No disrespect to (FSU quarterback Christian) Ponder, but he was the best quarterback on that field and he is going to be the best quarterback on every field we play on.

“He is dealing with having to become whatever is needed, where the match-ups are and where he can benefit, but he has to carry that tough load. He will stand in there and he will do the tough work. We have got to be smart with him and he has to be smart with the game plan every week to stay inside the system and make the system work. But, I thought under those circumstances, he showed enormous toughness. We had some offensive production and I think he was the key to it.”

Perrilloux understands as he goes so go the Gamecocks. And he understands what this season means to his possible future in the NFL.

“It's extremely important because this team is counting on me to be on the field,” Perrilloux said. “As far as the off-the-field thing it was just bad circumstances. I just have to stay focused, do what I can and block the other things out.”

Jacksonville State (0-2) travels to Huntsville Saturday to play in-state rival Alabama A&M, which off to a 2-0 start.

“A&M has a good football team,” Perrilloux said. “We’ve got to go out and compete as well as we can. We’re definitely looking for our first win. We’ve got to play a complete game and stay focused.”

Time will tell if Perrilloux can stay focused – off the field as well as on.

Must-win looms for UAB, Troy

The college football season is heading into just its third full weekend, but already the UAB Blazers and Troy Trojans face a must-win situation when they kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Troy.

UAB (1-1) desperately needs a win after its clunker last week at home against SMU when the Blazers fell behind 28-7 at halftime and lost 35-33 in a Conference USA game. Junior quarterback Joseph Webb, after his sensational 415-yard, four-touchdown performance in UAB’s season-opening 44-24 victory against Rice, was less so against the Mustangs. Webb passed for 226 yards, ran for 97 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, but he threw four interceptions, lost a fumble and was stopped short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt with 13 seconds remaining that would have tied the game and forced overtime.

What a come down for a program in search of some attention.

Troy desperately needs a win because the Trojans don’t have one. Their 56-6 thumping at Florida was expected, but blowing a 14-0 lead and losing 31-14 at Bowling Green in their season-opener was a total surprise, especially after the Trojans’ defense was touted as one of the team’s strength. It’s one thing to get run over by quarterback Tim Tebow and the Gators, but quite another to get stomped by the Falcons (Bowling Green, not Atlanta) and their quarterback Tyler Sheehan. Troy’s defense (what defense?) has allowed more than 1,000 yards in two games.

Now, the Trojans get set to play their home opener at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium against an in-state rival, trying to avoid a 0-3 start. Talk about a blockbuster.

The significance of game is not lost on the coaches and the players. Just listen to some of their comments.

• Troy head coach Larry Blakeney: “It’s an opportunity for us to play in a game where we have a chance to win, and certainly a chance to lose. It’s the next game for us. It’s our home opener, and we need to put our best effort out there in all facets of the game to get a win.”



• UAB head coach Neil Callaway: “It'll be interesting to watch us play in someone else's house. I'm just anxious to see this team play again Saturday after what we did last Saturday. We better have a chip on our shoulder because Troy is the most talented team we've played to this point. They've won three (Sun Belt) conference championships in a row, and we're going to their house, so we better be ready to play.”



• Troy linebacker Boris Lee: “I wouldn’t say I’m mad (about being 0-2) … well, yeah I am mad. I’m more disappointed. We had a lot of expectations coming in to this season. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and believing in one another.”



• Troy receiver Cornelius Williams: “Everybody wants to win. We’ve lost two games in a row, and it’s just a bad feeling. Everybody is anxious for a win. You can tell by how we started workouts (Monday) that there is a sense of urgency there.”



• UAB defensive end Derek Slaughter: "This is a big game because Troy is 0-2 and they're hungry for a win. We are coming off a loss too, so we're both going to go at it and it's going to be hard. They don't want to be 0-3 and we sure don't want to be 1-2, so everybody's going to want to win."

So, although there’s still a lot of football to be played, it’s must-win time indeed.

In Gus, Auburn trusts

It’s still early and the competition is nowhere close to being among the elite of college football, but still the Auburn Tigers’ offense has been crazy good in their first two games.

How good? Well, Auburn has surpassed 500 yards of total offense in back-to-back games for the first time since 1970.

The Tigers’ 589 yards in their 49-24 blowout of Mississippi State Saturday night eclipsed the 556 they chalked up in their season-opening 37-13 rout of Louisiana Tech.

"It was pretty amazing," said Auburn “Wildcat” quarterback Kodi Burns after the Tigers’ runaway victory against Mississippi State. "It was fun."

Fun for Burns because he accounted for four touchdowns, three rushing and one passing.

Fun because Auburn is averaging 572.5 yards total offense and 43.0 points.

Fun because Gene Chizik had the good sense to hire Gus Malzahn as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator for his inaugural season as Auburn’s head coach.

In Gus, they trust.

“It’s very innovative, and it’s fun to watch,” Chizik said of the warp-speed spread attack Malzahn brought to Auburn from Tulsa. “From a defensive background, it’s problematic in a lot of ways.”

No kidding. You don’t know what the creative Malzahn might draw up on the board – reverses, options, slants, screens, draws and other stuff you wouldn’t believe anybody would try. Every possession is treated like a two-minute drill in Malzahn’s hurry up, no huddle system with an array of formations designed for deception.

The Tigers aren’t pass-happy in Malzahn’s spread offense. Against Mississippi State, the Tigers ran for 390 yards. Ben Tate, despite sitting out the first quarter because of -- um -- a coach’s decision, ran for a career-high 157 yards and a touchdown and Onterio McCalebb added 114 yards and a score. It marked the first time in Auburn history two players rushed for more than 100 yards in consecutive games.

Chizik isn’t surprised. "You hear so much about the passing, but what caught my eye is how (Malzahn) brings a physical edge to everything he does," Chizik said. "This is a rushing offense. It comes at you directly -- whether it's a run or a pass. That's who we are."

Malzahn expected Auburn to run the ball effectively. “We knew that our front five, we knew that they were a solid offensive line, and we knew we had some backs who could be change of pace,” Malzahn said. “And so far they’ve really bought in to what we’re doing.”

Plus, Malzahn keeps some tricks up his sleeves just so things don’t get dull. “Yeah, we try to tell our guys, that’s part of our offense,” Malzahn said of the trickery. “Not a lot of people think of trick plays and all that, but we work on them every day. That’s part of what we do, and our guys are starting to get a little used to that.”

Auburn fans no doubt are already getting used to the Tigers running up big numbers in Malzahn’s system.

Talk about fun.

Troy Has No Chance in The Swamp

The Troy Trojans' advertising slogan says: Anyone … Anytime … Anywhere.

No one can dispute Troy’s willingness to go on the road to play in backyard of some of best teams in college football. In the past three years, Troy has traveled to LSU, Ohio State, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Georgia Tech and Florida State.

You know how many of those games the Trojans have won? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

And they won’t win Saturday when they make a return engagement to “The Swamp” to play the No. 1 Florida Gators.

A few weeks ago, I heard one of those ESPN college football analysts – I can’t remember which one – say that this was a possible trap game for Tim Tebow and the Gators because it comes before Florida plays Tennessee.

I laughed off the notion. Troy win at Florida? C’mon. Not even on a bad day for the Gators. And that was before the Trojans blew a 14-0 lead and lost 31-14 at Bowling Green last week in their season opener.

When the Trojans played the Gators in 2007, Troy scored 31 points and gained 336 yards, but still lost by four touchdowns, 59-31.

There won’t be any suspense today. The Gators should have this one well in hand by the end of the first quarter – if not sooner.

The only drama today will be if Trojans senior defensive end Brandon Lang shows he’s deserves to be a first-round draft pick. According to one scouting report the 6-foot-4, 256-pound Lang is rated the No. 3 defensive end for the 2010 NFL draft, comparing favorably to former Troy stars DeMarcus Ware (Dallas Cowboys) and Osi Umenyiora (New York Giants).


In 2008, Lang led the Trojans with 10.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, ranking in the top 15 in the nation in both categories. He had five tackles against Bowling Green.

Lang is looking forward to playing the Gators again. “We’re going to try to improve a whole lot from the last time we went,” he said. “I feel like we’re a much better team than we were the first time we went. We have got the players and the talent. This game we’re going to have to come with it. We’re planning on coming out with a better attitude, and we’re going to come out intense and ready to play.”

Perhaps, Lang can get in a few licks on Tebow and a few of the other Florida ball carriers, but not enough for the Trojans to score a knockout.

I expect Florida to swamp the Trojans 55-10.

Auburn once again Running Back U

Who knew when Auburn hired Gene Chizik as its head football coach he would bringing Carnell “Cadillac” Williams and Ronnie Brown back to the Plains with him?

OK, Williams and Brown are still in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins, respectively, but the guys who piled up the rushing yards in Auburn’s season-opening 37-13 victory against Louisiana Tech surely resembled that fabled running back duo, who were wreaking havoc when Auburn went 13-0 in 2004, Chizik’s final season as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator.

Now that Chizik has returned he has senior Ben Tate (No. 44) and freshman Onterio McCalebb (No. 23) impersonating Williams and Brown. The 5-foot-11, 218-pound Tate is Brown because he’s a powerful runner with shifty feet. And the 5-10, 165-pound McCalebb would be Williams, a slasher with great elusiveness, although McCalebb is faster.

Chizik understandably likes his new dynamic duo and the problems they pose for defenses with their different running styles.

“When you have two backs that are very different it affects the momentum of the game, with the physicality of one back and the speed of the other one,” Chizik said. “There are guys with great vision that make great cuts. One guy may be a tackle-to-tackle guy and the other a perimeter guy, so you have the defense running all over the place and they get a little tired which lets you get more physical up front with the downhill backs. So it definitely puts pressure on a defense.”

The Tate-McCalebb combination certainly created problems for Louisiana Tech. Tate ran 20 times for 117 yards, becoming the 13th running back in school history to surpass 2,000 career yards rushing (2,076) in the process. He’s now 12th on the Tigers’ all-time list.

McCalebb was even better, rushing 22 times for 148 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first Auburn freshman to rush for 100 yards in a season opener since Bo Jackson had 123 yards rushing against Wake Forest in 1982.

You know you have done something fabulous when you’re mentioned in the same sentence with Bo.

McCalebb's total was also the seventh most in school history for a freshman. Five of his 22 carries went for at least 10 yards, as he averaged 6.7 yards per carry. The freshman from Fort Meade, Fla., and Hargrave Military Academy also added 49 yards on two kickoff returns, giving him 197 all-purpose yards, making him an easy choice for Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week.

Evidently, McCalebb benefitted from enrolling at Auburn in January and taking part in spring practice. Chizik said as much himself.

“I think that any time you bring a guy in in January, the comfort level when they come back in the fall is night and day,” Chizik said. “Onterrio is one of those guys where he is just a football player. He is tailback or a wide out or whatever we want him to be. He needs to stay humble because he has certainly not arrived either. He had a good football game and he needs to get better every week just like everyone else. But I'm proud of him because he went in there and he played like we expected him to play."

McCalebb and Tate became the first pair of Auburn backs to rush for more than 100 yards in a game since Tate (111) and Mario Fannin (103) turned the trick against New Mexico State in 2007.

Perhaps the school that brought you Bo, Cadillac, Brown, Joe Cribbs, James Brooks, William Andrews, Lionel James, Stephen Davis, Rudi Johnson and Tucker Frederickson is back to being Running Back U.

Chizik certainly sounded that way. “We've only played one game but we want to be a physical offense and run the football,” he said.

His predecessor Tommy Tuberville would be proud. Remember it was Tuberville who shelved the spread offense and fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin a few games into the 2008 season, just after he had brought in Franklin, the spread guru, a few months earlier to install the offense.

Listening to Chizik, I guess senior quarterback Chris Todd can forget about throwing the ball 35-40 times a game, especially with Tate and McCalebb around.

Smash-mouth football once again rules at Auburn.

By the way, Auburn plays host to Mississippi State in the SEC opener for both schools Saturday night. In their final game against Mississippi State – during that undefeated 2004 season with Chizik there – Williams ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns and Brown ran for 147 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per carry on 15 attempts, in a 43-14 Auburn blowout.

Don’t be surprised if Tate and McCalebb run roughshod over the Bulldogs, too.

(Top photo by Chris Pow)

Blazers' Webb worth watching

OK, UAB football fans. Get off your duffs and head out to Legion Field on Saturday for the Blazers’ Conference USA game against SMU.

You have something – or somebody – worth watching.

I know you are skeptical, especially after Neil Callaway’s first two seasons as the Blazers’ head coach resulted in a 6-18 record. But you have to admit, he walked into a tough situation after the program nosedived in 2006, Watson Brown’s final season at the helm.

At any rate, senior quarterback Joe Webb is worth the price of admission. A dual threat, he is the most talented quarterback in the state at a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school and that includes Alabama’s Greg McElroy and Auburn’s Chris Todd.

Jacksonville State’s Ryan Perrilloux, playing for a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school after transferring from LSU, might be better, but you never know if he’s going to be playing, given his penchant for being suspended.

If you can’t take my word that Webb is the must-see QB in the state, then listen to what Rice head coach David Bailiff had to say before Webb torched the Owls for 415 yards total offense, setting a C-USA record for rushing yards (194 on 20 carries) by a quarterback and accounting for four touchdowns (two rushing and two passing) in the Blazers’ 44-24 season-opening victory.

“You remember Rocky I, where he went and got the chickens?,” Bailiff said. “I told our d-line coach he better go buy a couple of chickens to see if we can't catch them. (Webb) is amazing. You watch the tape and there are times eight people miss him and then he completes a big pass down the field or he scrambles for a long yardage touchdown. He is definitely a threat."

Then, after Webb’s spectacular game, including a nifty 71-yard touchdown run, against an experienced Rice defense that returned eight starters, Bailiff said, “He put us on our heels, and instead of risking to be great we turned passive.”

Only 14,316 of you bothered to show up last Saturday to witness Webb average 9.7 yards per carry and complete an astounding 80 percent of his passes (12-of-15).

You should have already known about Webb. After all, during his junior season in 2008 he set a C-USA record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,021 and also ran for 11 touchdowns. He passed for 2,367 yards and 10 touchdowns, but did throw 16 interceptions.

"Joe is by far our best playmaker offensively," Callaway said. "And we've asked him to do an awful lot."

Remember the UAB glory days – that shouldn’t be hard since it was only a few years ago – when you flocked to Legion Field to watch quarterback Darrell Hackney’s amazing feats (and those of wide receive Roddy White). Well, Webb is a bigger (6-foot-4, 225 pounds), faster and stronger version of Hackney, although he doesn’t have anyone like White to throw to. Junior Frantrell Forrest has emerged as Webb’s go-to receiver – he caught both of Webb’s TD passes against Rice, including an acrobatic grab late in the first half – but he’s not on White’s level.

I know it was rainy last Saturday and that probably kept some of you away. I overheard a guy in the press box say the crowd was so small you could hear the rainfall. He was right.

I have checked the forecast for this Saturday and there isn’t any rain in the forecast, so you can’t use bad weather as an excuse. It will be a little cloudy, but pleasant for the 3 p.m. kickoff.

Besides, neither Alabama nor Auburn is playing anyone worthwhile and their games are at night. The Tide plays Florida International, while Auburn plays Mississippi State, which is picked to finish last in the SEC West.

The most compelling national game – USC at Ohio State (not Notre Dame at Michigan) – also is at night and you’ll have plenty of time to get home to watch it on TV.

So, get on out there and watch Webb weave more magic.

Book Tide for SEC title game

As I was watching No. 5 Alabama put the finishing touches on its 34-24 season-opening victory against No. 7 Virginia Tech Saturday night at the Georgia Dome, I turned to my wife sitting on the couch in front of the TV beside me and told her that we could dispense with the rest of the season and go right to the SEC Championship game between the Crimson Tide and Florida.

An astute football fan in her own right, she replied, “It’s just the first game.”

“But,” I responded, “It’s still going to be the Tide and the Gators.”

Florida was always a lock, but I had my doubts about Alabama -- because of their revamped offensive line, not because of new starting quarterback Greg McElroy.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I think McElroy is going to be brilliant and will make folks quickly forget John Parker Wilson, the three-year starter he replaced.

But replacing left tackle Andre Smith, the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL draft earlier this year by the Cincinnati Bengals, and center Antoine Caldwell, who was chosen in the third round by the Houston Texans, was more problematic.

After some early struggles against Virginia Tech, Alabama’s rebuilt offensive line physically dominated the Hokies, opening gapping holes for running backs Mark Ingram and Roy Upchurch and giving McElroy enough time to scan the field for any receiver he wanted.

Ingram ran for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as he rushed for a career-high 150 yards. Upchurch gained 90 yards on seven carries and scored a TD.

Meanwhile, McElroy overcame a shaky start to complete 15-of-30 passes for 230 yards, including an 18-yard yard TD toss to Ingram in the fourth quarter.

In the coming weeks, look for the offensive line, with new center William Vlachos and new left tackle James Carpenter, to continue to improve, and the strong-armed McElroy to blossom into the kind of quarterback pro scouts will love.


I haven’t even mentioned wide receiver Julio Jones, who has grown into a beast, or 6-foot-6 tight end Colin Peek, the transfer from Georgia Tech who figures to become a prime target of McElroy as defenses try to take away Jones.

If that is not enough convincing, then how about the Alabama defense with monster linebackers Rolando McClain and Dont'a Hightower and a host of other fast, strong, big hitters? Add to that the defensive schemes head coach Nick Saban and his staff devise, then it’s no surprise the Tide held Virginia Tech to only 155 yards total offense.

The Tide also showed it can wear down an opponent and dominate the final quarter.

Alabama will face tougher competition in the SEC – Virginia Tech is good, but the Hokies still are from the ACC – but it won’t matter. The Tide is bound for a return engagement to the Georgia Dome in December and another date Florida.

Go ahead and book it.

(Photos by Kent Gidley, rolltide.com)

McElroy ready to lead Tide

Finally, it’s time for kickoff. And the debates about whether Alabama can win a national championship and whether Auburn can stay out of last place in the SEC West can intensify – if that’s possible.

Both schools enter the 2009 college football season with some intriguing questions and I am here to provide the answers as No. 5 Alabama prepares to take on No. 7 Virginia Tech Saturday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, while Auburn plays host to Louisiana Tech.

Let’s begin this top-five question and answer session with …

ALABAMA



1. How will Greg McElroy perform at QB?
McElroy, a junior, replaces John Parker Wilson, a three-year starter. He has played in only eight games in his college career, but has completed 16-of-20 passes (80 percent) for 196 yards and two touchdowns in a reserve role the past two seasons. And he did star in his one season as a starter for national high school power Southlake Carroll High School in Texas after taking over for Chase Daniel, the 2004 National High School Player of the Year who went on to star at Missouri. McElroy’s numbers were an eye-popping: 4,687 yards passing with 56 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. I don’t think the Crimson Tide will miss Wilson at all. McElroy is going to be sensational.

2. How long before the revamped offensive line jells?
Tackle Andre Smith (Cincinnati Bengals) and center Antoine Caldwell (Houston Texans) have taken their acts to the NFL, although Smith, the No. 6 overall pick, is sidelined with a broken foot after a long contract holdout. Senior left guard Mike Johnson and senior right tackle Drew Davis are back, but it will take some time for the line to play as a unit. Expect Virginia Tech to exploit some of the Tide’s weaknesses on the offensive front, after two exhibition games against Florida International and North Texas (OK, they are regular season games, but they just amount to paid wins for the Tide), the line should be together for the SEC opener against Arkansas on Sept. 26.

3. Who will be the Tide’s other go-to receiver?
The Tide needs somebody to step up, so defensive backs don’t gang up on sophomore sensation Julio Jones, Mike McCoy and Marquis Maze have great speed, but can they make the tough catch in a clutch situation? Perhaps, the Tide will have to rely more on 6-foot-6 senior tight end Colin Peek in the passing game.

4. Will the defense allow more than two touchdowns in any game?
There’s talk that this Tide team will rival the 1992 group that completely shut down opponents and paved the way for the Tide’s last national championship. Junior Rolando McClain and sophomore Dont'a Hightower could be two of the best linebackers to ever play at Alabama before they are finished. Senior nose guard Terrence Cody and senior cornerback Javier Arenas (also a dangerous punt returner) are as good at their positions as anyone in the nation. In other words, the Tide’s defense will have to take the field in the shadows of their end zone a few times a game for anybody to cross the goal line more than twice in any game. And even if opponents do take over in the red zone, they will have to settle for field goals more often than not.

5. Will Coach Nick Saban have back-to-back 10-win seasons?
Saban is the only current Football Bowl Subdivision coach to coach for at least 10 years and not suffer a losing season, but he has never had consecutive 10-win seasons. After guiding LSU to the national championship with a 13-1 record in 2003, the following season the Tigers finished 9-3. Last year, in his second season at Alabama, Saban led the Tide to a 12-2 record (the two losses coming in the Tide’s final two games against Florida in the SEC Championship Game and against Utah in the Sugar Bowl). After beating Virginia Tech – I predict 20-10 – to open the season, the Tide will roll through the regular season 11-1 (the only blemish coming Oct. 10 at Ole Miss), giving Saban back-to-back 10-win seasons. Also look for the Tide to win the SEC West, but lose to Florida (again) in the SEC Championship Game.

AUBURN

1. Will Gene Chizik prove he’s the right man for the job?
Chizik distinguished himself as Auburn’s defensive coordinator from 2002-04, including the Tigers’ 13-0 season, but he was a surprising choice to replace Tommy Tuberville, considering he was 5-19 in two seasons as head coach at Iowa State. He had a 10-game losing streak when Auburn handed him the head coaching reins on the Plains. The expectations are low at Auburn this year, so Chizik might get a pass on this season. But if the Tigers get blown out regularly by the top SEC teams on their schedule, then one of those ridiculous firecoach(fill in the blank).com websites might show up on the Internet.

2. Can the Tigers rediscover the pass?
New offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was brought in to restore some balance – i.e., a passing game – to the Tigers’ offense. The Tigers finished 10th in the SEC in passing yards per game (165.4 yards) in 2008 and had the fewest touchdown passes (7) in the league. Senior Chris Todd won the quarterback battle over Kodi Burns in preseason camp, but he has a largely untested receiving corps to work with, especially with senior Montez Billings suspended for the first four games for academic reasons. So the Tigers will have to rely heavily on the run again. At least that should make running backs Ben Tate, Eric Smith and Onterio McCalebb happy.

3. How will Kodi Burns adjust to wide receiver?
Burns was the Tigers’ starting quarterback for most of last season, but after losing out to Todd for the job in preseason camp, he was switched to wide receiver. Chances are Burns will see more time in the backfield in the “wildcat formation,” running the ball out of the shotgun than he will catching passes.

4. Will Antonio Coleman wish he had jumped to the NFL?
Coleman, a defensive end, passed up a chance to go the NFL to return to Auburn for his senior season. A wise move the scouts said. Another season in college will help him develop physically and improve his overall game, thereby improving his stock. He might have been a late-round choice in the 2009 draft, but could go in the first three rounds with a solid senior season. Plus, Coleman has 14.5 career sacks and needs one more to move into the top 10 in Auburn history.

5. Will Auburn win enough games to qualify for a bowl game?
After finishing 5-7 last year, leading to Tuberville’s departure, the Tigers open this season with four consecutive home games – against Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, West Virginia and Ball State. If they can sweep those, then yes the Tigers will go bowling. But if they split those, then Auburn will be hard-pressed to win four more games on its schedule, especially on the road at Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia and even at home against Ole Miss and Alabama. Figure another 5-7 finish.

Death of hero worship makes athletes targets

The news on the college football scene in Alabama is happening at a dizzying pace. Here’s just a sample with my thoughts included – a little something I call News and Views.

News: Alabama defensive end Brandon Deaderick was released from the hospital Tuesday after being shot in the arm during a robbery attempt at an off-campus apartment. Although the 6-foot-4, 306-pound senior from Elizabethtown, Ky., returned to practice Wednesday, he probably will have to miss the fifh-ranked Crimson Tide’s season opener against seventh-ranked Virginia Tech Saturday night in Atlanta.

Views: More and more athletes are becoming crime victims because hero worship has died -- the leading cause of death being athletes' own bad behavior, although that was not the case with Deaderick -- and they are big targets. And that's not just physically.

News: The NCAA cleared Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram to play against Virginia. The Tide has asked whether a Gulf Coast fishing trip the two players took in the spring with businessman Curtis Anderson was a violation. In rending its ruling the NCAA issued this statement:

"According to the facts of the case submitted by Alabama, the student-athletes received impermissible food, lodging, transportation and entertainment from an individual with whom one of the student-athletes had become acquainted prior to enrolling in college. Consistent with NCAA membership requirements, the institution reported the violation and declared the student-athletes ineligible. As part of the reinstatement request, the institution required the student-athletes to make repayment of the value of the impermissible benefits to charity."

An Alabama spokesman said the money had been paid to charity.

Views: I understand why the rule is there, but this was much ado about nothing.

News: The Troy Trojans will begin celebrating their 100th year of football when they travel to Ohio to face Bowling Green Thursday in their 2009 opener.

Views: This could be a big season for the Trojans, considering a strong defense that led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense (21.3), total defense (327.5) and passing defense (187.8) in 2008. Defensive end Brandon Lang has been named both a semifinalist to the Lombardi watch list and is one of the 62 players on the Bronko Nagurski watch list. Also among the 48 players on the Lombardi watch list are middle linebacker Boris Lee and Troy's other defensive end, Cameron Sheffield. The top-ranked Florida Gators better not overlook the Trojans next week.

News: The Terry Bowden Era of UNA football officially began last Saturday with his first game as a collegiate head coach in more than a decade. Bowden and the Lions recorded a 41-9 win at Southern Arkansas. Bowden’s last time on the sideline was as head coach of the Auburn Tigers on October 17, 1998.

Views: Bowden has walked into a gold mine. Considering he has a team with several Division I transfers, Bowden should have the Lions, ranked No. 4 this week, contending for the Division II national championship.

Does anybody care about UAB football?

Neil Callaway’s comments were telling.

Any other head football coach coming off two losing seasons in his first two years at a school might be feeling some heat, but not Callaway, despite going 2-10 in 2007 and 4-8 in 2008 at UAB.

The only heat Callaway was feeling Monday during the Blazers’ first media luncheon of the 2009 season was from the bright lights of the video cameras of a few Birmingham television stations.

“There’s always pressure,” Callaway said, “but I think it’s self-inflicted. There’s not any outside pressure.”

Perhaps, that’s because UAB fans are not passionate about their football program and justifiably so. The Blazers have done little in their 18 years, including the past 13 at the Division I-A level (now called the Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS), playing football to make folks care.

They had a chance to create some enthusiasm a few years ago, starting 5-1 in 2004 with the only loss coming to Florida State, but they struggled down the stretch, finishing 7-5. They did earn the school’s only bowl berth in history that season, losing 59-40 to Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl.

The following season UAB opened with a narrow loss at Tennessee, 17-10, and generated some excitement by winning their next three games for a 3-1 start. But they won only two more games and finished the 2005 season with a 5-6 record.

Talk about buzz kill. What followed was even more demoralizing.

The 2006 season was a total disaster. After a 3-3 start, the Blazers lost their final six games to finish 3-9, leading to a nasty divorce with head coach (and athletic director) Watson Brown. Brown disgustedly resigned after 12 seasons, only three with a winning record.

Pat Sullivan, who had been the offensive coordinator under Brown, figured he would be elevated to head coach, but when it became apparent he wasn’t he bolted to take a head coaching job across town at Samford University.

In stepped Callaway, who had never been a head coach before, but had been an assistant at the two schools, Alabama and Auburn, that have made football a religion in the state. Callaway also had been an offensive coordinator at Georgia for six seasons prior to coming to UAB.

Unfortunately, the low-key Callaway was not the kind of dynamic coach who could inflame the passions of the dwindling UAB faithful. Attendance at home games has averaged below 20,000 in his first two seasons, including a mere 16,706 in 2007.

But Callaway is optimistic about 2009, particularly the kind of team that will take the field when UAB plays host to Rice in its opener in a Conference USA game on Saturday at Legion Field in Birmingham.

"We're going to be a much improved football team,” Callaway said, “but at the same time, I think we have a lot of work still to do. We have closed the gap somewhat. We are more athletic this year. We're bigger, stronger, and I think we have more team speed than we've had.

"I remember when we played Michigan State (2007) the first game our staff was here. I asked our guys to stand up if they had ever played in a college football game, and there may have been about a dozen of them. We are certainly past that point now. We're gaining on it, and we're heading in the right direction.”

Whether anybody notices and joins them on the journey remains to be seen.