Here are the givens in this series:
1. Alabama has dominated Ole Miss since college football began. Ole Miss has won just 1 time in Tuscaloosa in history.
2. Alabama has been quietly clamoring for this game since last season. The fact that the Tide can't wait for the rematch has "leaked" out from several news media outlets. Make no mistake about it, Bryant-Denny will be raucous Saturday night.
3. Alabama has had unmatched success on the recruiting trail since Nick Saban became the head coach in Tuscaloosa in 2007. The Tide has a roster full of 4 and 5 star recruits. Nobody has sent more players to the league than Alabama in the last several years.
4. Nick Saban has an incredibly good record against teams that beat his team the year before. LSU in 2010 and 2011 is the only team to best the Crimson Tide 2 times in a row on Saban's watch, and Alabama managed to get a 2nd shot at LSU in 2011 in the BCS championship game and completely dominated the Tigers.
5. Alabama as a state has historically dominated Mississippi as a state in football. Alabama and Auburn claim 31 SEC Championships and 24 national championships between them, Ole Miss and MSU claim 7 SEC Championships, 6 by Ole Miss, and 3 National Championships, all by Ole Miss. The annual Mississippi-Alabama High School All-Star football game has been dominated by Alabama since its inception.
What does all of this information have to do with Saturday night?
NOTHING
This game is between two teams that had absolutely NOTHING to do with almost all of the givens mentioned above, with the obvious exception of #2. There is absolutely no reason for Alabama to think that they have any advantage because of history or for us to think we have any disadvantage because of the past.
EVERYTHING
The Tide will do everything in its power to get inside the head of Ole Miss. Do not think for one second that the history card, the "we are just better than you because we are Alabama and your not", won't be played early and often. The environment at Bryant-Denny will be frenzied and the effort to establish a mental edge on Ole Miss will be pointed and total by all parties.
What does this all mean?
From a historical standpoint, this game has incredible possibilities for Ole Miss, and for the state of Mississippi as a whole. I won't list them all, but the opportunity to firmly secure a place at "The Big Boy Table" is something that Ole Miss hasn't had in my lifetime. Here are a few.
Win this game and:
1. The road to Atlanta will run through Oxford, Mississippi.
2. The program takes another huge step towards establishing the national brand that Coach Freeze, Mr. Bjork, and others have worked so hard to build from the ashes of the dumpster fire left by HDN and Pete Boone.
3. The perceived superiority of Alabama's program by the national media in general and the entire state of Alabama in particular will take a serious blow that could signal a fall similar to what we have witnessed with the University of Texas. I will add these two things in addition:
A. An Ole Miss win will not be the only loss Alabama will suffer
B. An Ole Miss win will ignite Saban to the NFL (or Texas) rumors again.
4. Our ability to go head to head with Alabama in recruiting for instate players will continue to swing more and more towards the Red and Blue. Nick Saban focuses on cherry picking our state for top talent, not just because the kids he is recruiting in Mississippi can play, but also because every big time player he cherry picks out of Mississippi is one less player he has to compete against in the SEC West. A weak Ole Miss (and MSU) allows more resources and efforts to be focused on LSU, Auburn, Texas A& M, etc. Believe me when I say that Alabama consistently plays the "If you go to Ole Miss you will NEVER beat Alabama" card in recruiting. Proving to people that we can CONSISTENTLY compete with Alabama on the field will only reap positive benefits for our program on the recruiting trail.
Make no mistake about it, this game Saturday night in Tuscaloosa is going to have big time consequences and repercussions, for Ole Miss, the State of Mississippi, and Alabama, one way or another, for a long time to come.
1. Alabama has dominated Ole Miss since college football began. Ole Miss has won just 1 time in Tuscaloosa in history.
2. Alabama has been quietly clamoring for this game since last season. The fact that the Tide can't wait for the rematch has "leaked" out from several news media outlets. Make no mistake about it, Bryant-Denny will be raucous Saturday night.
3. Alabama has had unmatched success on the recruiting trail since Nick Saban became the head coach in Tuscaloosa in 2007. The Tide has a roster full of 4 and 5 star recruits. Nobody has sent more players to the league than Alabama in the last several years.
4. Nick Saban has an incredibly good record against teams that beat his team the year before. LSU in 2010 and 2011 is the only team to best the Crimson Tide 2 times in a row on Saban's watch, and Alabama managed to get a 2nd shot at LSU in 2011 in the BCS championship game and completely dominated the Tigers.
5. Alabama as a state has historically dominated Mississippi as a state in football. Alabama and Auburn claim 31 SEC Championships and 24 national championships between them, Ole Miss and MSU claim 7 SEC Championships, 6 by Ole Miss, and 3 National Championships, all by Ole Miss. The annual Mississippi-Alabama High School All-Star football game has been dominated by Alabama since its inception.
What does all of this information have to do with Saturday night?
NOTHING
This game is between two teams that had absolutely NOTHING to do with almost all of the givens mentioned above, with the obvious exception of #2. There is absolutely no reason for Alabama to think that they have any advantage because of history or for us to think we have any disadvantage because of the past.
EVERYTHING
The Tide will do everything in its power to get inside the head of Ole Miss. Do not think for one second that the history card, the "we are just better than you because we are Alabama and your not", won't be played early and often. The environment at Bryant-Denny will be frenzied and the effort to establish a mental edge on Ole Miss will be pointed and total by all parties.
What does this all mean?
From a historical standpoint, this game has incredible possibilities for Ole Miss, and for the state of Mississippi as a whole. I won't list them all, but the opportunity to firmly secure a place at "The Big Boy Table" is something that Ole Miss hasn't had in my lifetime. Here are a few.
Win this game and:
1. The road to Atlanta will run through Oxford, Mississippi.
2. The program takes another huge step towards establishing the national brand that Coach Freeze, Mr. Bjork, and others have worked so hard to build from the ashes of the dumpster fire left by HDN and Pete Boone.
3. The perceived superiority of Alabama's program by the national media in general and the entire state of Alabama in particular will take a serious blow that could signal a fall similar to what we have witnessed with the University of Texas. I will add these two things in addition:
A. An Ole Miss win will not be the only loss Alabama will suffer
B. An Ole Miss win will ignite Saban to the NFL (or Texas) rumors again.
4. Our ability to go head to head with Alabama in recruiting for instate players will continue to swing more and more towards the Red and Blue. Nick Saban focuses on cherry picking our state for top talent, not just because the kids he is recruiting in Mississippi can play, but also because every big time player he cherry picks out of Mississippi is one less player he has to compete against in the SEC West. A weak Ole Miss (and MSU) allows more resources and efforts to be focused on LSU, Auburn, Texas A& M, etc. Believe me when I say that Alabama consistently plays the "If you go to Ole Miss you will NEVER beat Alabama" card in recruiting. Proving to people that we can CONSISTENTLY compete with Alabama on the field will only reap positive benefits for our program on the recruiting trail.
Make no mistake about it, this game Saturday night in Tuscaloosa is going to have big time consequences and repercussions, for Ole Miss, the State of Mississippi, and Alabama, one way or another, for a long time to come.
