It was obvious they would. They've been an elite program for several years and know how to pull that off. We don't - yet. They come downfield, lob up two passes and their WRs make a couple of ridiculous plays. I knew they'd do it - we weren't going to upset them.
However all isn't negative. We were outmanned to begin with, and we had tons of injured guys who did not play. We honestly had a great game plan and outcoached Saban in that game. We kept their running game in check, and we were just as physical as they were - and we did it with a bunch of freshmen and sophomores. Even Vereen had his best game to date. We will have to be patient - we can still win 9 games this year, and while we can all think about possibly winning 11 games this year had we not fizzleed up, we'll need to chalk it up to a learning experience. I was looking for signs that the coaching is getting better, and I am seeing that.
Some very encouraging things as well:
- OL continues to improve, but the pass protection needs to get better
- Guys like Kirkland, Martin, Malone, Hall, Jones - give me hope for the future
We do need to address a few things this year, still.
- Kicker seems to be in a funk. We need to get his confidence back. Medley is a good kicker, we have seen that.
- Secondary still has issues and gives up plays when we need a stop. This needs to improve - this year. We don't really play another really good team this year so there is no reason to not go 5-0 the rest of the way, however.
I am not discouraged. I am encouraged. I was not feeling that way after the FL and Arkansas games.
i think the secondary coverage was improved Saturday, especially with Martin in the game. With few exceptions though, we are not making plays on the ball and allowing the receiver to make a play. Frustrating that 2-3 times Saturday a corner had a chance to make a play and didn't.
