Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide: The Time to Rise Is Now

Nick Saban and the Alabama coaching staff have had time to prepare the Crimson Tide for a championship run. That time has officially passed. The hour has arrived to show the college football critics what they have produced with the talent they have developed over the past five years.

The Razorbacks Are Coming to Town

The SEC schedule for the Crimson Tide commences this Saturday and the opponent is nothing short of a litter of feral pigs. In SEC terms, that translates into the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Razorbacks will bring to Bryant-Denny one of the most feared offensive aerial attacks in all of college football.

You can't fight a farrow of pigs without getting dirty and this brawl will tell the critics a lot about both teams. Both are contenders for the SEC west division title and both desperately want to claim that title at season's end. the loser of this game will have a tougher time accomplishing that goal.

Don't be fooled by the 28 points posted by the Troy Trojans this past weekend. This Razorback defense is much better than the team Alabama played last year in Fayetteville, and that defense was almost good enough to pull off a victory against the Crimson Tide. Last season, Alabama walked away with a 24-20 win.

The Razorbacks recovered from that loss to finish the regular season 10-2, the only other loss suffered was on the road at Jordan-Hare. They won two road games against the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. They covered the spread in every home game and finished the regular season with a win against LSU in Little Rock, defeating the tigers 31-23.

The season finale was a respectable showing against Ohio State University, a team loaded with ineligible players. The 31-26 loss could have easily ended in victory for the Hogs, save a few poor decisions by Ryan Mallet and one costly interception.

Bobby Petrino has the Razorbacks back on track in 2011. They are once again lighting up the sky with guided missiles and long-range bombs, scoring an average 47 points per game. The passing attack has not skipped a beat, replacing Mallett with another homegrown hero Tyler Wilson. A prolific passer in high school, Wilson led his Greenwood, AR Bulldog team to the State Championship in 2007.

Over his high school career, Wilson passed for over 8,200 yards and connected for 94 touchdowns. In two years as a starter, Wilson threw 28 interceptions in 923 attempts. During his senior year, as a pitcher for the baseball team, he struck out 92 batters in 62 innings, finished 11-0 as a starter and had an ERA of 1.42. As coach Bryant would say, "he ain't nothin' but a winner."  

Wilson has garnered respect from the Arkansas fan base. He is a very good student, has kept himself out of trouble and is as tough as they come on the field. He knows how to make Bobby Petrino's offense click and has the ability to anticipate downfield action. His passes are very accurate, crisp and frequently thrown before the receiver has made his last cut. He has what is referred to as the X-factor.

In the first three games of the 2011 season, Wilson has passed for 822 yards and five touchdowns. He has a passer rating of 163.4, completing 59-of-86 with just two interceptions. He has completed passes to more than a dozen targets. Eight of the 13 targets have five or more completions. His favored targets are veterans Cobi Hamilton (13), Joe Adams(15) and Jarius Wright (11).

Jarus Wright leads the receiving corps with three touchdowns, Hamilton and Adams each have one TD. The passing game has accounted for seven touchdowns in three games. Backup quarterback Brandon Mitchell has accounted for two of the scores.

Junior Chris Gragg has stepped in for D.J. Williams, who matriculated to the NFL after a stellar career at tight end for the Hogs. Gragg has eight receptions for 86 yards and one TD on the season. The Razorbacks are more likely to line up with only one tight end on passing downs, rarely using the two tight end set except on the goal line. 

Joe Adams is the most talented return specialist in the SEC, posting two touchdowns on punt returns in the opening contest of the season. In nine punt returns, Adams has gained 176 yards, averaging 19.6 yards per return. His longest return on the season was for 69 yards and a score. His plays are game changers. Alabama will have their hands full trying to contain this jitterbug.

Ronnie Wingo, Kody Walker and De'Anthony Curtis have stepped in to fill the running back position by committee after Heisman hopeful Knile Davis went down with an injury during fall camp. Dennis Johnson has been nursing a hamstring injury and is not expected to start or play against Alabama.

Wingo has 43 carries for 225 yards, averaging 5.2 yard per carry and has crossed the end zone twice with the pigskin. Walker has 20 carries for 68 yards and five touchdowns, the back of choice in short-yardage situations. Curtis has 14 carries for 60 yards and no touchdowns. They are playing behind an offensive line that has yet to mature, but make no mistake, each of these backs are a threat to break for a long score in the right situation.

Wingo and Curtis are double threats on the offense, both demonstrating good hands out of the backfield and discipline in pass blocking. Despite their efforts, the offensive line breakdowns have allowed for six sacks in three games, against less than averages defenses. This is a definite vulnerability in the offense and one that will have to be exploited by the Alabama defense.

The Alabama defense will contribute much to a win against Arkansas. If not, it will be a long day in Tuscaloosa, and a long drive home for a disappointed fan base. The defense has not faced an offense with as much maturity and composure as the Hogs possess. Moreover, offense is the specialty for Petrino and he will pull out all the stops in the must-win game.

If you know this Alabama defense, you know that they are more than capable of victory against the Hogs. But this is their first true test of the 2011 season and it will be a very even matchup in skill players, man for man. Advantage to Alabama in the trenches.

But more importantly, the linebackers must have a career day in quarterback pressures and sacks if they are going to win on Saturday. If Wilson has time to find the open receiver, victory becomes much more difficult and the Tide will have to rely on the offense to keep up with the Razorbacks, score for score. Alabama is not yet the kind of team to get into a shootout with a skilled offensive opponent. Let's hope it doesn't come down to that, in the end.

More than 40,000 Arkansas fans are expected to make the trip to Tuscaloosa. They are behind this team and hope to call the hogs on more than one occasion, Saturday afternoon. Bryant-Denny is no place for visitors, particularly ones with a penchant for hollering "Woo Pig Sooie."

Let's hope it's Sweet Home Alabama, all night long. And the refreshing sound of Roll Tide Roll rising over the visitors call as the Crimson Tide rises to the occasion. It's time for Alabama to bring home the bacon and the brisket, and get this championship run started.