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Interesting Non-VIP Post from BamaOnline about Sugar Bowl
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:04 pm
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:04 pm
quote:
This is coming from a reserve lineman on the team…Good kid, good in-state HS program.
**Bama was extremely confident it would beat OSU and face Oregon in the championship game. So much so that the scout team was already preparing for Mariota indirectly. Saban told the defense OSU might use a WR to run some of their run plays but Mariota’s name was dropped a time or two in position meetings. The players on our defense had very little respect for OSU’s QB and frankly gave him zero chance to make enough plays running or throwing to beat them.
**The fact that OSU was winless vs. SEC opponents in the recent past and a member of the “weak” Big 10 did not go unnoticed by the players. Many students on campus and folks around town openly talked about us blowing them out and making Urban Meyer quit to the players. The coaches of course tried to build OSU up as much as possible but locker room talk amongst the players was that “Big 10 teams can’t compete with the SEC.” and recent Alabama blow-outs against Michigan and Michigan State were referenced by the players.
**This particular player flat out admitted: “We just didn't think they could beat us. And when we went up 21-6 a lot of us on the sidelines thought the game was over.”
TIFWIW…Nothing earth shattering but I found it interesting.
Now I need to go find my neighbor's dog so I can kick it. And I was almost over it... sigh
11
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:08 pm to chattabama
Well now they know the B1G can beat us.
And the B1G is only getting stronger.
And the B1G is only getting stronger.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:17 pm to chattabama
If that really is the attitude the defense took then that's just stupid after the way they played in the Iron Bowl. Not to mention getting carved up in the Sugar Bowl last year by an inexperienced QB. It's good to be confident, but it's not like we're talking about the '11 defense here
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:21 pm to chattabama
Doesn't surprise me. I was stupid/naive when I was in college, so it comes as no shocker that our guys had too much pride, and were overconfident.
Saban and the players will no doubt learn a valuable lesson with this loss. Hopefully, anyway.
Saban and the players will no doubt learn a valuable lesson with this loss. Hopefully, anyway.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:21 pm to AllBamaDoesIsWin
quote:
And the B1G is only getting stronger.
I have thought about this, and I think I know where you're coming from. But I feel like Harbaugh will hurt OSU recruiting and knock them down a peg or two. I know CUM likes to try to recruit guys from the south, but lets face it, he isn't going to win many recruiting battles down here. But with Harbough coming to Michigan he is going to have to watch his own backyard.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:27 pm to chattabama
I guess they just dismissed the other SEC West teams getting demolished.
If our guys thought it was over at 21-6, I wish that when the Buckeyes bounced right back it would've been a wake up call. OSU had been moving the ball all game up to that point. I know its human nature, but that still goes against everything Saban preaches and with the way last year ended coupled with the loss to Ole Miss, you'd think our players would learn to never take anything for granted. Pride comes before the fall.
Don't blame the staff for doing some Oregon work. In a playoff situation, you just have to do that.
If our guys thought it was over at 21-6, I wish that when the Buckeyes bounced right back it would've been a wake up call. OSU had been moving the ball all game up to that point. I know its human nature, but that still goes against everything Saban preaches and with the way last year ended coupled with the loss to Ole Miss, you'd think our players would learn to never take anything for granted. Pride comes before the fall.
Don't blame the staff for doing some Oregon work. In a playoff situation, you just have to do that.
This post was edited on 1/5/15 at 12:29 pm
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:30 pm to FairhopeTider
quote:
I know its human nature, but that still goes against everything Saban preaches and with the way last year ended coupled with the loss to Ole Miss, you'd think our players would learn to never take anything for granted. Pride comes before the fall.
Yeah. Its disheartening, and I hope that the players find a way to change their perspective.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:49 pm to chattabama
quote:
**This particular player flat out admitted: “We just didn't think they could beat us. And when we went up 21-6 a lot of us on the sidelines thought the game was over.”
You could tell the players let their foot off the gas. Credit to tOSU. It reminded me of the Iron Bowl. They were down, but they rallied for 28 unanswered. That's what championship teams do.
This post was edited on 1/5/15 at 12:50 pm
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:49 pm to chattabama
Meh. I'm sure they did think they'd win. And, I'm sure the coaches WERE preparing for oregon/fsu some, but I would expect them to do that.
I'll agree the team seemed a little uninspired though. I wondered before, and during the game, if Saban would try to have them pumped and dancing on the sidelines for two games in a row. Or, if he'd play it conservative in the first one.
I'll agree the team seemed a little uninspired though. I wondered before, and during the game, if Saban would try to have them pumped and dancing on the sidelines for two games in a row. Or, if he'd play it conservative in the first one.
This post was edited on 1/5/15 at 1:08 pm
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:51 pm to chattabama
At the same time, I find this hard to believe given the similar circumstance the team faced in OU. We thought we were better. Motivation has been mentioned, but maybe we should be critical of Saban for not having the team ready instead of thinking we gave them the game by not taking an opponent serious enough.
This post was edited on 1/5/15 at 12:52 pm
Posted on 1/5/15 at 12:57 pm to AHM21
I wish in situations like that when the players start to cool off, we call plays that force the foot back on the dash. Throw a bomb to Coop, send a massive blitz, etc.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 1:24 pm to AHM21
I find it a little easier to believe when Evans talks about livin it up on Bourbon and collins posts an edit of him with the cfbp trophy before playing the sugar.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 1:33 pm to chattabama
All of what is said in the OP is correct. Whether or not it was openly said, it was thought.
Much the way we were on the other end in '92, where Miami had been getting all the media nods, it went to the players heads. And we know how that turned out.
Being an underdog can be a valuable thing for coaches.
I'm sure the coaches tried, to a degree, but sometimes you just have to find that will power to play your best every game.
Some credit needs to go to the team (moral victory, at best, though) for hanging in the game and it coming down to the last play. Unlike Miami in '92.
Much the way we were on the other end in '92, where Miami had been getting all the media nods, it went to the players heads. And we know how that turned out.
Being an underdog can be a valuable thing for coaches.
I'm sure the coaches tried, to a degree, but sometimes you just have to find that will power to play your best every game.
Some credit needs to go to the team (moral victory, at best, though) for hanging in the game and it coming down to the last play. Unlike Miami in '92.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 2:50 pm to East Coast Band
Yeah, the guy who wants his first ring will probably always play a little harder than the guy who already has one on his finger. We see that all the time in sports. That's why building a program is so much tougher.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 3:47 pm to FairhopeTider
I am not discounting the player saying that, but it was 21-20 at the half. If that didn't light a fire in them defensively then I don't know what could have. Hate to say it, but they made the plays we didn't. Time to move on to signing day!
Posted on 1/5/15 at 3:54 pm to Bamadoc
quote:
I am not discounting the player saying that, but it was 21-20 at the half. If that didn't light a fire in them defensively then I don't know what could have. Hate to say it, but they made the plays we didn't. Time to move on to signing day!
I think the whole thing about complacency and not taking them seriously was that they, in essence, beat us before we ever took the field. They prepared as if this were the only game they'd play. We prepared as if this game were a stepping stone to the NCG. When we got up 21-6 confirmed our thinking that they just weren't that good. By the time they got up and punched us in the mouth we were too stunned to do anything.
Credit to Urban Meyer. He had his guys ready for the kill.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 4:59 pm to Bamadoc
By then it's too late. Games between evenly matched teams are won and lost by how you prepare.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 5:14 pm to Bamadoc
quote:
I am not discounting the player saying that, but it was 21-20 at the half. If that didn't light a fire in them defensively then I don't know what could have.
Agreed. The first few minutes of the second half played out like the last few of the first. It was if there wasn't even a halftime.
Of course that's a topic that deserves it's own thread.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 5:19 pm to chattabama
Wow... Sadly reminds me of Ohio State in the build-up to the '06 Championship game against Florida. That was embarrassing to read.
Posted on 1/5/15 at 7:18 pm to chattabama
quote:
I find it a little easier to believe when Evans talks about livin it up on Bourbon and collins posts an edit of him with the cfbp trophy before playing the sugar.
That falls on the coaches. They haven't been able to develop leaders over the past two seasons. That needs to change.
This post was edited on 1/5/15 at 7:19 pm
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