A little over 24 hours after the 3 point loss to LSU this Alabama team is still left with a sickening feeling. After leading the game at halftime, the Crimson Tide crumbled under the pressure after falling behind by 10. A quick scoring drive in the latter portion of the fourth quarter quieted the crowd and instilled hope into the Alabama sidelines. But, even after cutting LSU’s lead to 3 Alabama gave up a 44 yard gain on 3rd down and 13 due to a blown coverage. After that, this team had a last second miracle in mind, taking the ball with 15 seconds left in the game at our own 15. 3 plays later and we were left scratching our head and wondering what could have been. 

The hopes of repeating as national champions are gone. The hopes for a third straight SEC title game are gone. But this Alabama team does have something left to play for. Pride. This Alabama team has the ability to show their heart and soul in the next 3-4 games. Overlooking Mississippi St could lead to even more problems. The Crimson Tide may feel that all is lost but they can still end their hated rivals chance for a title game appearance. 

There is no denying the fact Alabama has one of the most talented teams in the nation with one of the best coaching staffs, but for some reason this team never quite clicked like an offense that was picked to be one of the best in the nation. Averaging only 27 points a game in SEC play, which is a bit deceiving due to the fact the numbers are a bit skewed by the 41 points we scored on a bad defensive Tennessee team and 31 to a reeling Florida team earlier in the season. I will not make excuses for this team. They never bought into the fact of playing one down at a time, and bringing what they have been taught on the practice field to the actual field. It’s very disappointing for a team loaded with NFL talent to muster only 7 points in the first half to a defense that gave up over 400 yards rushing just 2 weeks ago. It’s disturbing to see blown coverages and missed assignments this late in the season. It’s sickening to see the offensive line get manhandled like a bunch of high schoolers this late in the season. And it’s down right confusing on why this team hasn’t shown the fire and will to win.

I want to believe that Alabama can beat Mississippi St handily, but right now I can’t. I want to believe that Alabama can stop Cam Newton and beat the little brothers from down the road, but after sitting back and watching this defense grow, if that’s what you can call it, I just can’t. I do believe we have a chance to win both games by a lot, but at the same time, I do believe we have the chance to lose both games by a lot. There lies the problem, consistency. This team could look like world beaters in the first half, and look like a high school squad in the second. We look like an unstoppable machine one game, and a Windows 95 powered computer the next. Some will blame the Quarterback, those who do, probably have not played much football. Greg McElroy held the ball too much against South Carolina, but against LSU he dissected a very good LSU secondary. He found the open receiver, delivered the ball at the right time even his one INT was a good thrown pass that bounced off the hands of the receiver and directly into LSU’s linebacker Sheppard. For those who want AJ McCarron in the game, probably haven’t watched Texas this year with Garrett Gilbert. I’m not doubting McCarron’s ability to throw the ball, he is a better pure quarterback but throwing in your freshman this late in the season will not only cause problems (and more than a few mistakes will be made with McCarron at the helm) this season but will carry over to the next year because you show you don’t have the faith in your players to let them right the ship. 

Alabama’s has some questions to ask like what is “what is the identity of this team?”, will we lay down and come out flat against the Bulldogs of Mississippi State or are we going to respond and unleash 60 minutes of hell on the next 3 opponents? Are we going to let the media decide how good this team is, or are we going to show the media what we are? Are we going to complain about not getting respect, or are we going to go and grab that respect by the horns? This Alabama team isn’t just fighting for a good record this year, but they are fighting for the identity of next years team as well.  We have all the talent to win the rest of our games and ruin Auburn’s title hopes, the only question that really matters is, will we continue to fight or will we, like some of our fans have, give up? I haven’t given up, have you?