Alabama Crimson Tide
SEC
Until that ill-advised field goal attempt against Auburn, Alabama was cruising towards another BCS national championship. But despite all of the what-if’s and what could or should have been, this is a very good Alabama team that sports a stellar defense and a quarterback who rarely makes mistakes.
2013 Record: 11-1, 7-1
Coach: Nick Saban
Coach Bowl Record: 8-6
Big Wins: 9/14 at Texas A&M (49-42), 11/9 LSU (38-17)
Bad Losses: 11/30 at Auburn (28-34)
Strengths:
The defense does have trouble against teams that run the spread, but the team still boasts one of the best defenses in the nation. The only time they gave up more than ten points in a game was against Texas A&M, LSU and, of course, Auburn. No other team in the SEC had any luck cracking the Crimson Tide defense. Linebacker C.J. Mosley led the way with 102 tackles and totaled nine tackles-for-loss and eight quarterback hurries. This is not a team that will garner a ton of sacks, but A’Shawn Robinson, Denzel Devall and Mosley can cause havoc in the backfield even if they are not getting sacks. Landon Collins has had a great year in the secondary. He gets plenty of help from Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Cyrus Jones, Vinnie Sunseri and Deion Belue.
Weaknesses:
There really are not any weaknesses on this team. The offense is not the most potent in the country, but quarterback A.J. McCarron has had a Heisman worthy season. He threw for 26 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Receiver Amari Cooper emerged as the big play threat, catching 36 passes for 615 yards and four touchdowns. Kevin Norwood, Christion Jones and DeAndrew White are also quality targets for McCarron to work with. But Alabama wants to run the ball and control the clock as much as possible. T.J. Yeldon has done just that. The Crimson Tide workhorse totaled 1,163 rushing yards and 13 scores. Kenyan Drake showed off his big play ability as a change of pace back. While this Alabama squad does have more big play ability than some teams in the past, Alabama does not want to fall too far behind.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: T.J. Yeldon, RB, 1,163 yards
Passing: A.J. McCarron, QB, 2,676
Receiving: Amari Cooper, WR, 615 yards
Tackles: C.J. Mosley, LB, 102
Sacks: A’Shawn Robinson, DT, 5.5
Interceptions: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, 2; Cyrus Jones, CB, 2; Vinnie Sunseri, S, 2
2013 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 212.0 (23rd in nation, 3rd in conference)
Passing Offense: 236.9 (62, 8)
Total Offense: 448.9 (36, 8)
Scoring Offense: 38.8 (14, 2)
Rushing Defense: 108.3 (10, 1)
Pass Defense: 166.3 (6, 1)
Total Defense: 274.7 (5, 1)
Scoring Defense: 11.3 (2, 1)
Turnover Margin: 0.5 (28, 4)
Sacks: 1.75 (78, 9)
Sacks Allowed: 0.83 (7, 2)
Recent Bowl Appearances:
2012 BCS Championship Notre Dame (42-14)
2011 BCS Championship LSU (21-0)
2010 Capital One Bowl Michigan State (49-7)
2009 BCS Championship Texas (37-21)
2008 Sugar Bowl Utah (17-31)
2007 Independence Bowl Colorado (30-24)
*all team stats through 11/30
