With all due respect, does anyone actually think Alabama brought their "A-game" to the Sugar Bowl??

[Legionfield 0]

If you use that logic, we definitely came to play against Florida, so that means that Utah is better than Florida(and Oklahoma) and should be declared the National Champion!! I don't think that is true. I just think we layed an egg against a better than average Utah team. Maybe it is just me. Note that I haven't bragged at all about our win over AU. I was just happy we won this year, so please don't turn this into a peeing contest between UA and AU fans like another thread I know of...... Discuss

[WarTiger 4,120]

Who cares? uat lost and that's all that matters... move on..

[Legionfield 0]

Who cares? uat lost and that's all that matters... move on..

LOL......

[OldNewby 27]

IMO, when a team is over confident, they seldom bring their A-game. And when you don't bring it, you can't just run home and get it.

Utah jumped on UA early and often, much like Bama did to Clemson and UGA (who were both over confident at the time). It's hard to dig out of a hole against good competition.

[bigsixfive 341]

I wouldn't say it was the best game they played all year, but to say they didn't bring their "A game" undermines the efforts of Utah. The way I saw it was an excellent game plan and execution by Utah, to which Saban responded poorly.

Utah scored quickly and the Alabama defense failed to respond. They scored again, and Alabama didn't change much. After the third TD, the offense was then in a hole and had to back off the running game - which is what got Alabama to the Sugar Bowl in the first place - and attempt more of an aerial attack to even out the score. That plan failed because: 1) JPW, although a good QB, just isn't going to throw many games on his back and carry the team, and 2) the depth issue FINALLY reared its ugly head.

Because the passing attack wouldn't work, and there was no solid commitment to the run game, Alabama lost control of the clock and kept giving that potent offense opportunities to put up points. Personally, I would have stuck with the running game longer in hopes of wearing down the Utah defense. They're not used to a punishing ground game, and Alabama had one. But, I'm no coach. Maybe Saban did make the right call, and Alabama got straight up beat. The inability to find some sort of answer to their passing attack, though, is enough to still call it both an excellent game plan and a coaching failure.

[woody 11]

If you use that logic, we definitely came to play against Florida, so that means that Utah is better than Florida(and Oklahoma) and should be declared the National Champion!! I don't think that is true. I just think we layed an egg against a better than average Utah team. Maybe it is just me. Note that I haven't bragged at all about our win over AU. I was just happy we won this year, so please don't turn this into a peeing contest between UA and AU fans like another thread I know of...... Discuss

Has Alabama ever been beaten Really?

hasn't every game ever lost ,been stolen? or given away? Or Have all Alabama fan just turned into the

Excuse police. come on man ! They were not ready to play, Or UTAH was better what's the difference? You lost.

Hey that's the way to look backward though! I guess that is TURD-ISH-UN HUH?

[AUslug 1]

Utah brought their A-game and gave Bama the business and made em like it. I'm getting tired of hearing this that and the other about why Bama lost a game.

[quietfan 233]

I believe in the Bama W-L record books they actually record it like this:

(Moral) W's/(Excused) L's

[AUloggerhead 3,234]

If you use that logic, we definitely came to play against Florida, so that means that Utah is better than Florida(and Oklahoma) and should be declared the National Champion!! I don't think that is true. I just think we layed an egg against a better than average Utah team. Maybe it is just me. Note that I haven't bragged at all about our win over AU. I was just happy we won this year, so please don't turn this into a peeing contest between UA and AU fans like another thread I know of...... Discuss

You still can't give the Utes any props, can you? It's only been a little over 2 weeks and the best you can say of Utah is that they were "better than average." Wow. That is really beyond pathetic. You want to talk logic? The logic goes like this: if you think uat was a good/great team at all, then you have no choice but to admit that Utah was the better team. The reigning excuse is that uat didn't bring their "A" game? What kind of team can't get fired up for a premier BCS bowl game with an exclusive national TV audience? And, what kind of coach is it that can't prepare his team to play in such an event? I think the better question is: did uat and it's fanbase really & truly believe that the #1 ranking they (once) were bestowed with meant anything of substance? And here's another one: was $abun really deserving of his AP Coach of the Year award?

I posted this article that notes the problem with BCS voting but I doubt too many on here actually read it:

http://www.aunation.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=55203

Utah flew below the radar all year. The one time they were on ESPN was at the beginning of the season when they traveled to Ann Arbor & beat Michigan in the Big House. The pollsters admit that they didn't see Utah play -- that's why they never ranked them very high. Another problem with the Harris Poll is that pollsters are not given any criteria with which to rank teams. Essentially, they are free to use whatever criteria/logic/bias/reasoning/tea-leaves/chicken bones or whatever method they choose. THEY AREN'T EVEN REQUIRED TO WATCH THE GAMES. Many admit to just watching ESPN highlights to get their info. With such a stupid system in place, is it any wonder uat was so severly overrated & Utah so severly underrated?

Who is the true NC? I don't know and we'll never know. All we know is that UF & UO were selected to play in the BCS Mythical Crystal game & UF won that game. We also know that Utah beat uat in a way that UF could only dream of.

[otterinbham 0]

If nothing else, you deserve contempt for not really showing up.

[SKCAUB 0]

Who cares? uat lost and that's all that matters... move on..

LOL......

There's nothing to see here...move along...it's OK...I'm a dentist.

[AUman43 5]

Utah exposed the Tide's weaknesses. They came out with a no huddle, fast paced offense and the Bammers were so confused they caught them out of position for one thing. Their DE's crashed all night and flustered JPW and got him out of his rhythm and kept him there. They have one go to receiver in Julio and the rest are average receivers. Finally, the Bammers missed Smith and it showed when their O line was challenged. The turds can be beat but you have to bring your "A" game, keep at it the whole 60 minutes and put pressure on their QB. Others (LSU, UT, Auburn, and Georgia and Florida) no doubt took note of this and next year won't be a cake walk with them like this year was. Finally, Chizik and his staff are going to begin to challenge them hard on the recruiting trail and I expect us to get our fair share of top prospects next year with some victories with recruits this year as well. WDE!

[Legionfield 0]

I wouldn't say it was the best game they played all year, but to say they didn't bring their "A game" undermines the efforts of Utah. The way I saw it was an excellent game plan and execution by Utah, to which Saban responded poorly.

Utah scored quickly and the Alabama defense failed to respond. They scored again, and Alabama didn't change much. After the third TD, the offense was then in a hole and had to back off the running game - which is what got Alabama to the Sugar Bowl in the first place - and attempt more of an aerial attack to even out the score. That plan failed because: 1) JPW, although a good QB, just isn't going to throw many games on his back and carry the team, and 2) the depth issue FINALLY reared its ugly head.

Because the passing attack wouldn't work, and there was no solid commitment to the run game, Alabama lost control of the clock and kept giving that potent offense opportunities to put up points. Personally, I would have stuck with the running game longer in hopes of wearing down the Utah defense. They're not used to a punishing ground game, and Alabama had one. But, I'm no coach. Maybe Saban did make the right call, and Alabama got straight up beat. The inability to find some sort of answer to their passing attack, though, is enough to still call it both an excellent game plan and a coaching failure.

Post of the day......... I can buy that.

[Legionfield 0]

Utah exposed the Tide's weaknesses. They came out with a no huddle, fast paced offense and the Bammers were so confused they caught them out of position for one thing. Their DE's crashed all night and flustered JPW and got him out of his rhythm and kept him there. They have one go to receiver in Julio and the rest are average receivers. Finally, the Bammers missed Smith and it showed when their O line was challenged. The turds can be beat but you have to bring your "A" game, keep at it the whole 60 minutes and put pressure on their QB. Others (LSU, UT, Auburn, and Georgia and Florida) no doubt took note of this and next year won't be a cake walk with them like this year was. Finally, Chizik and his staff are going to begin to challenge them hard on the recruiting trail and I expect us to get our fair share of top prospects next year with some victories with recruits this year as well. WDE!

Once again, good analysis!!!! That is why I like the AUnation!!!!

[Legionfield 0]

Another thing that Utah did was conceding early that they couldn't run the ball. They just passed all over us. So I do need to give the Utes credit. Good game plan!!

[rebdawg 5]

If Bama didn't bring their "A" game to the Sugar Bowl, then they should have turned down the invitation.

[AUloggerhead 3,234]

... Personally, I would have stuck with the running game longer in hopes of wearing down the Utah defense. They're not used to a punishing ground game, and Alabama had one. ...

Post of the day......... I can buy that.

The facts don't support that opinion that Utah wasn't used to a "punishing" ground game. Utah's opponents with potent rushing offenses:

W 30-23 Air Force (#6 rushing offense)

W 40-7 Wyoming (#34)

W 13-10 New Mexico (#16)

W 13-10 TCU (#12)

--and--

W 31-17 uat (#30)

[SouthLink02 8]

I have no idea what this thread is about but I would just like to say that I am drunk off my ass

That is all

[AU Cav 0]

I have no idea what this thread is about but I would just like to say that I am drunk off my ass

That is all

Good, then while you are drunk can I convince you to change that sig? I worry about what happened to the little girl. I'm losing sleep over it man!

[bigsixfive 341]

The facts don't support that opinion that Utah wasn't used to a "punishing" ground game. Utah's opponents with potent rushing offenses:

W 30-23 Air Force (#6 rushing offense)

W 40-7 Wyoming (#34)

W 13-10 New Mexico (#16)

W 13-10 TCU (#12)

--and--

W 31-17 uat (#30)

Those are all spread O's in the smaller conferences. I wouldn't call those punishing rushing attacks. When I think of a punishing ground game, I think of teams that are going to line up and hit you hard, over, and over, and over.

[BigSammyK 180]

The facts don't support that opinion that Utah wasn't used to a "punishing" ground game. Utah's opponents with potent rushing offenses:

W 30-23 Air Force (#6 rushing offense)

W 40-7 Wyoming (#34)

W 13-10 New Mexico (#16)

W 13-10 TCU (#12)

--and--

W 31-17 uat (#30)

Those are all spread O's in the smaller conferences. I wouldn't call those punishing rushing attacks. When I think of a punishing ground game, I think of teams that are going to line up and hit you hard, over, and over, and over.

I'm not sure about the other 3 but Air Force is a triple option team that does line it up and hit you over, and over, and over again. They won one game this season without completing a pass and won a couple others with about 3-4 completions. Anytime a team runs the ball 60 times a game thats pretty impressive.

[Duder 259]

I think they brought "that day's A-game." To say they truly didn't show up would be a slap in the face of the football program in my opinion. If you can't get up for the Sugar Bowl then you do not have a place in college football.

I believe they underestimated Utah, of course they did--didn't most of us? That being said, Utah never bought into the hype of the Alabama juggernaut. They formulated and executed a game plan almost flawlessly. They took Bama's running attack out of the game early and pressured JPW into making mistakes when he had to throw. They put their foot back on the gas when they needed to in order to close the game out. True, Bama did not play as well as they probably could have. But, this game was won by Utah, not lost by Bama. Utah out-played and out-coached Bama/Saban no matter how you look at it.

[WarEagle007 1]

I think Utah got the jump on 'em. Bama was an overconfident disgrace running up that game even in the coin toss and captains meeting at midfield. I remember seeing the Bama players not even shaking their hands but just saying, "I'm coming for you, I'm coming for you." Crap like that is poor sportsmanship and should not be tolerated, I don't care how pumped up you are for a game. I'm still ecstatic they were so bitterly embarrassed in the national spotlight, they had it coming.

[AUloggerhead 3,234]

The facts don't support that opinion that Utah wasn't used to a "punishing" ground game. Utah's opponents with potent rushing offenses:

W 30-23 Air Force (#6 rushing offense)

W 40-7 Wyoming (#34)

W 13-10 New Mexico (#16)

W 13-10 TCU (#12)

--and--

W 31-17 uat (#30)

Those are all spread O's in the smaller conferences. I wouldn't call those punishing rushing attacks. When I think of a punishing ground game, I think of teams that are going to line up and hit you hard, over, and over, and over.

Not quite. AF & New Mexico were option teams. (Although New Mexico did change HC recently and the new guy promises to run the spread.) I didn't see Wyoming play but I included them in their because their running stats were closest to uat ( ) TCU was pretty successful running the ball too.

I think the lesson of the Sugar Bowl is that the prejudical attitude towards the "smaller conferences" is unfounded. When a team like Utah beats a Michigan, Ore State, BYU & TCU -- it's pretty obvious they can play with anybody. The fact that they knocked the crap out of uat and stuffed their "punishing" running game (62 yds on 21 carries -- I'm not factoring in the lost yards due to sacks) like nobody had all season long is further proof that these guys were legit. uat had no choice but to go to the air -- the ground game wasn't working against the Utes' defense.

[AU Cav 0]

What he is really saying here is that if they had played Utah during the regular season, while still undefeated, Bama would have won easily. So Utah gets no credit for beating them soundly. Typical.

What it means if this is so is that Bama is a quitter. They quit last year and ended the season on a big losing streak. They quit this year after they couldn't win a championship. They aren't champions, they are quitters. That's a systemic problem. Can't wait for them to quit next year if Va Tech lays it to them early.