Alabama vs. Penn State: Tide Without Marcell Dareus and Possibly Mark Ingram

One’s already sidelined while the other looks like he’ll be staying there as well. That’s the case for Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus and Heisman winning running back Mark Ingram.

Dareus, a 6'4" 300 pound junior with an NFL future, is suspended for the game due to an incident over the summer that violated NCAA rules. The suspension is part of a two game punishment that kept Dareus out of Alabama’s blowout win against San Jose State in the season opener.

Ingram, on the other hand, is simply nursing his wounds. He’s described as day to day, but the chances of him playing seem to be diminishing with each of those passing days. The SEC’s leading returning rusher had microfracture knee surgery performed just before the start of the season.

We’ll have to let everything unfold this week in practice, but as it looks now, the team will go into their monstrous match up against Penn State without their most dominant defender and possibly their best offensive weapon.

We know that Alabama has the depth to cover up the holes the two leave, but what does this do their mentality as they prepare for such a big game. What if perhaps, things get shaky early, and the Tide need a boost to help get them out of hole.

They won’t be able to count on Dareus, who was an absolute emotional warrior in last year’s national championship game. They probably won’t be able to count on Ingram, who always seems to make that crucial gain when the time demands it.

People will downplay their absences, saying that this is team is too talented not to be able to recover. But don’t be so quick to write off just how much this can affect them. These are key players, and anytime you lose guys with as much pure talent as this—it definitely weakens you.

So Robert Bolden, we’re looking at you now. Penn State’s freshman quarterback showed some glimpses of greatness in the team’s  44-14 victory against FCS Youngstown State. But guess what—things just changed.

This will be by far the most hostile environment Bolden has ever walked into in his life. He got the first game jitters out of the way on Saturday, but nothing could prepare him for what he will face in Tuscaloosa.

It’s going to be loud, crazy, and hostile. How will the young signal caller respond?

The best thing he can do is to get Penn State out to an unlikely early lead. If he can do that, The Tide will be wishing they had Mark Ingram and Marcell Dareus to help bail them out.