The Alabama Crimson Tide’s 24-7 throttling of Florida State Saturday night wasn’t just a victory. It was an outright beatdown. The Seminoles defense looked stellar, but the offense repeatedly shot itself in the foot. Deondre Francois took shot after shot and finally succumbed to an unfortunately awkward tackle by Ronnie Harrison. He’s now out for the season.
You hate to say it’s over for Florida State – the defense looked tough before being worn down by their offense continuing to put them on the field. Plus, Cam Akers looks to be the real deal. But, it was a huge win for the Tide, and could have been their biggest threat to making it back to the College Football Playoff. Tide fans can breathe a sigh of relief, and looking to the future.
But, when you look to the future….and when you look around the SEC….who should cause the Tide more fits than the Seminoles did? I don’t know – I don’t see a team on the remaining schedule that’s better than a Florida State with their quarterback.
Immediately, Auburn and LSU come to mind. But, it’s still too early to fully buy in on Auburn. It appears as though LSU has itself a quarterback. If you ask me, Interim Ed’s squad poses a bigger threat Granny Neck Gus’ team. That’s neither here nor there.
Let’s say those are the two biggest obstacles for the Tide….they don’t play either of those teams until they host LSU on November 4th. By then, this unit should be clicking on all cylinders. So, who’s in between for the Tide? Well, hell – let me just share the remaining schedule.
vs. Fresno State
vs. Colorado State
@ Vanderbilt
vs. Ole Miss
@ Texas A&M
vs. Arkansas
vs. Tennessee
vs. LSU
@ Mississippi State
vs. Mercer
@ Auburn
After that gutsy win in double overtime, there’s something eery about this Vols team. I can’t quite put my finger on it….we’re far from unofficially officially giving them the ‘team of destiny’ tag, but who knows what’ll happen before The Third Saturday in October? Vanderbilt looks like they have a stout defense, but will they be able to take a beating against the Tide rushing attack? Arkansas ain’t gonna do shit. Texas A&M might not have a head coach when they host Alabama. Ole Miss may put up a fight if their team is not completely in jail by then. Believe it or not, I actually think Nick Fitzgerald and the high octane Mississippi State Bulldogs pose a legitimate threat. He’s the mold of quarterback that Tide defenses have struggled with in the past.
But, for the most part, I look at the schedule and think the Tide’s most threatening opponent is behind them. This is a composed organization that’s only going to get better. I do know one thing, though – the Tide special teams isn’t going to set the offense up well if J.K. Scott keeps punting the ball nine yards.
Finally, before you come at me – it’s okay for us writers to look ahead. Don’t say I’m jinxing the team by writing this post. You all know damn well Nick Saban isn’t going to overlook anyone. Roll Tide.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @WrestlingNewsCo
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