Day After Analysis

Actually, this is the Day After Day After Analysis. Labor Day weekend, plus extra-birthday-partying, left me all confused as to what day it was. Besides, the euphoria of our win over Clemson made me kinda lethargic and twittery at the same time (making it hard to find the time or energy to post earlier than now).

So, it's a little late, but here is my Day After (Day After) Analysis of the Alabama vs. Clemson game...

The stats can really speak for themselves. Just consider some of these:

Total offensive yards: 419 for Bama, 188 for Clem
Net yards rushing: 239 for Bama, 0 for Clem
Avg. per rush: 4.8 for Bama, 0 for Clem
First downs: 25 for Bama, 11 for Clem
Rushing first downs: 13 for Bama, 2 for Clem
Yards lost rushing: 8 for Bama, 30 for Clem
Our top two rushers (Mark Ingram, Glen Coffee) ran for 97 and 90 yards
Their top two rushers (James Davis, CJ Spiller) ran for 14 and 8 yars
Passing first downs: 1o for Bama, 8 for Clem
Third down conversions: 11 of 17 for Bama, 1 of 9 for Clem
Sacks by (# and yards): 3 for 28 for Bama, 0 for 0 for Clem
Time of possession: 41:13 for Bama, 18:47 for Clem

Although I'm not necessarily a numbers person (I struggled through all my Math classes in high school and college!), these statistics fascinate me. They really tell the story of how the night turned out the way it did.

Any way you look at it, it adds up to Domination. Domination on the offensive side of the ball. Domination on the defensive side of the ball. Domination in ball control. And, though it's not measured in stats, Domination in attitude and strength and conditioning and readiness.

A few thoughts about players of the game, difference-makers, and other assorted ramblings...

* Mark Ingram is going to be a huge player for us this year. The true freshman from Michigan led all rushers with almost 100 yards in his debut game. His style of running is powerful and bruising; he basically forced his will upon any one in his way. I found myself shaking my head at him every time he got his hands on the ball; I never doubted that he'd plow through those guys and get four or five yards.

* Glen Coffee was also incredibly effective and, as well know, two star rushers are better than one. (And with Roy Upchurch and Terry Grant as well, we should have fresh legs all year long1)

* John Parker Wilson was cool and collected--more so than I've seen in his three years as a starter. He was clearly comfortable in new offensive coordinator Jim McElwains' new offense; the short passes, the quick deliveries, the no-stand-around-and-think-about-it-decisions are seemingly perfect for his psyche.

* The tight ends were Wilson's favorite targets all night. Nick Walker had a career game, and Wilson went to him and the other TEs often. With the dual threat of our wide receivers (Mike McCoy and, of course, JULIO Jones the best among them), we have more opportunities than we've had in years.

* The beast of an Offensive Line made all of that possible! The surge they kept going all night was incredible; rarely did Clemson's defensive front get ahead of our offensive line. Andre Smith and Mike Johnson, I thought, were especially effective.

* Why do I ever doubt our defense? Sure, our defense was the big "If" part of our team; they are unproven with few returning starters (and among our starters, most of them are incredibly young--i.e., Ro McClain), but they came up BIG In the game. They forced their will on Clemson's offense and dared them to try and gain any yards--either in the air or on the ground.

* Terrence Cody, the new junior college nose tackle transfer, is amazingly physical for his size. He was double-teamed most of the night (if my eyes don't deceive me, I once saw him triple-teamed). There seemed to be no answer for the pressure he gave.

All of these different aspects to the game added up to an unbelievable game by our Crimson Tide. The questions now are these: Is this something we can hope to see the rest of the season? Can the offense and defense live up to the same brand of intensity all year? Is this game plan going to work against SEC teams? Will this consistency and intensity take us through the entire season?

It's hard to know the answer to these questions yet. Time will tell. But, I do think we have a different team this year. Different in intensity. Different in schemes. And, hopefully, different in the way it believes in itself. And that, I think, can make all the difference in the world this year!