Alabama Football: Convincing Victory, but Satisfaction Is the Road to Perdition

At this time last year, the results for Alabama football were very similar. Convincing wins in the opening frame of the season and then victory over a highly respected program and legendary head coach, Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

And success continued on the road in Durham and Fayetteville. Returning home, the victory over Florida in Bryant-Denny was sweet! Alabama was riding high.

But there was hell to pay on the road, which came in the form of a physical battle resulting in defeat at the hands of the Ol' Ball Coach and the Gamecocks by a two-touchdown margin. In the last seven games of the 2010 season, Alabama was 4-3 despite convincing wins over Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Georgia State.

Losses to LSU and Auburn were particularly difficult to overcome for the players because of the nature of the losses. Both games should have been victories for the Tide, but weaknesses and fears were exposed. The Tigers claimed victory in both contests by coming from behind in the fourth quarter.

The season was salvaged with a convincing victory over the Michigan State Spartans. A 49-7 romp that showcased much of the talent available for the 2011 season.

As good as the Tide looks in Week 2 of the 2011 campaign, be mindful that it is just Week 2. Alabama has yet to be tested by conference play. And the SEC West division is the toughest division in the toughest conference of college football.

This is not a time to become complacent, not a time to be satisfied. AJ McCarron has shown that he has the ability to lead, but he is still in a competition with someone who yet has something to prove to the fanbase what he has proven to his coach.

Trent Richardson now knows what it feels like to have the starting position as tailback for the Crimson Tide with someone breathing down his neck for the job.

The best offensive coordinators in the country will be looking for ways to break the spirit of the Alabama defense, and they tend to share their knowledge when a defense is a dominant as the Crimson Tide looks up to this point in the season.

Complacency is the road to perdition. It must be avoided now and until the last whistle has blown for the 2011 season. Roll Tide is a cheer for the entire season. And it is a mantra for the team that must be chanted daily. Pluck and grit, boys, pluck and grit. The time to prepare is now.