BCS Rankings 2010: Breaking Down the Alabama Crimson Tide
The first BCS Rankings of 2010 are finally out and the defending Bowl Championship Series National Champion, the Alabama Crimson Tide, is right there in the hunt to defend their title. Last year the Tide opened the BCS rankings second overall. They beat No. 1 Florida in the South Eastern Conference title game earning them the right to play Texas in the BCS National Title game.
Alabama returns from last year’s national title team such offensive weapons as: wide receiver Julio Jones, quarterback Greg Mcelory, and last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, running back Mark Ingram.
Although, Alabama has lost the defensive leaders that helped them secure their first national title under head coach, Nick Saban.
So where does this Alabama team open in the first BCS Ranking of 2010? Click through find out where and what they need to do to repeat as the best in college football.
How They Got to This Point
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Alabama started this season as the No. 1 team in the nation. They opened the season against San Jose State without Mark Ingram. Ingram was sidelined for the first two games after having his knee operated on.
This did not deter the Crimson Tide’s offense as they won both of the games 48-3 and 24-3. When Ingram did make his return, against Duke he made his presence felt rushing for 151 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries.
Bama though, has hit a speed bump on its way to defending their title, as it lost on the road against South Carolina.
Best Win
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It is hard to depict which one of Alabama’s wins this season was its best. Although, gun to the head between the Arkansas great comeback on the road or the domination of Florida at home; it would have to be the comeback win against SEC division member Arkansas.
The win came at the beginning of a treacherous three game stretch that saw them play Arkansas on the road, then Florida at home, and finish with South Carolina on the road. All three of these teams ranked in the top 25.
Arkansas came out fired up led by senior quarterback, Ryan Mallett. Mallett led the Razorbacks to a 17-7 halftime lead. Coming out of halftime, McElroy led the Tide back into the game with a touchdown in the third quarter. An Arkansas field goal had the score 20-14 after three quarters.
In the final quarter the Alabama defense, which the team relied on so much last year, stepped up in stopping the Arkansas offense; as the only two drives from Arkansas in that quarter both ended in interceptions.
The first interception ended with the go ahead touchdown run from Mark Ingram. The second interception ended the game and upset chances for Arkansas.
BCS Ranking
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The Crimson Tide open the BCS rankings at No. 8 They got here by totalling .6654 points which puts them right behind Michigan State who has .7628 and just ahead of Utah who has .6540.
The one loss at South Carolina hurt Alabama in this ranking. If South Carolina can continue to win in the SEC East, Alabama's ranking in the BCS will improve.
Plus with Bama's final five games having three of them coming against top-25 teams, this eight spot will not be where this team finishes.
Too High or Too Low
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The ranking for Alabama seems about just right. They are the highest one-loss team in the BCS. One would have to imagine if South Carolina would not have lost to Kentucky last week that its ranking might have been a little higher.
It would have been hard to put the Tide higher than such undefeated teams as: Michigan State or TCU. Sure both of those teams have not played the high level of competition that Alabama has to play in the SEC. But, both of those teams have gone undefeated in the first half of the season.
Remaning Schedule
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The rest of the season is not pretty for Alabama. However, with its tough schedule it may open the door back to one of the top spots of the BCS rankings.
Currently they are in third place in the SEC West division. They are a game behind both undefeated teams, Louisiana State University and Auburn.
The remainder of Alabama’s schedule looks as such:
Oct. 23 @ Tennessee
Nov. 6 @ No. 6 LSU
Nov. 13 vs. No. 24 Miss St
Nov. 18 vs. Georgia State
Nov. 26 vs. No. 5 Auburn
If Alabama can get past these final five games they will have to face the winner of the SEC East division in the SEC title game.
Potential Pitfall
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There are plenty of potential pitfalls for this Alabama team. First they have to figure out who their top wide receiver is going to be as Julio Jones is recovering from a broken hand that was suffered in the South Carolina loss.
They have a tough game on the road in Tennessee. The Volunteers have struggled on offense this year, however came within one bone head penalty from defeating LSU on the road.
More than likely they will get past Tennessee. The real pitfall for Alabama comes in the games: against LSU and the Iron Bowl game against Auburn.
Intangibles
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The Alabama team is stocked full of veteran leadership on the offensive side of the ball. As stated in the introduction, they return the quarterback, top wide receiver, and Heisman trophy running back from their national title team.
They are coached by one of the best college football coaches ever. In the last two years, the Tide has been too two of the SEC title games, having won last year.
They have a quarterback in Mcelory who has only lost one game in his football career.
Their only concern is how they can finish the season without Julio Jones.
Analysis
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Alabama may start this BCS season just inside of the top 10 at No. 8. Yes, the road is very tough for the Tide to defend their national title. However, unlike years past, this national championship game will feature at least one undefeated team and one one-loss team.
This is where Alabama opening the BCS rankings as the highest one-loss team will help them. They do have to go to Death Valley to play LSU and they still have Auburn at home. It is these two games plus the SEC title game that helps the Tide over other future one loss teams like Michigan State or Oklahoma.
There is a famous saying, “it is better to lose early than to lose late.”
Bowl Projection
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When the smoke clears and the dust has settled and all of the conference title games have ended this 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide team will be playing for the 2011 National Title.
Yes call me crazy, but the last four BCS championship games have had not only an SEC team in the game, but an SEC team WIN the game.
Why would this year be any different?
Oregon more than likely will lose to either Oregon State or USC. Oklahoma will lose to Oklahoma State. Michigan State will lose to Iowa.
A loss will open the door for an Auburn team that will be undefeated, thus bringing us to the Iron Bowl, the day after Thanksgiving, November 26.
The winner of this game will represent the SEC West in the SEC title game. Here 'Bama will face South Carolina, (because someone has to win the SEC East, right?) in a rematch of its only loss on the season.
Bama avenges its only defeat of the year and then faces Boise State in Arizona to see who the 2011 National Champion is.
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