On Top with a 7/10 Split

Six years in the making and well worth the wait. I'm the first person to tell you that I hate trash talking when you're not the one who can control the outcome. So, trash talking about Alabama football is something I tend to do in my head but not outloud for the simple fact that I'm not the one strapping on the pads and running up and down the field. However, I am not above being excited about a win that is so gratifying I just have to beam!

I went into the weekend fully believing Alabama would show its true colors one way or the other on Saturday afternoon. Either we're going to show everyone that our 4-0 record so far was just a fluke or we're going to show that it was well deserved. I'm happy to say the latter was the answer. Really all I wanted from this weekend was for Alabama's defense to intercept Florida's Chris Leak before his 7th or 8th completed pass. He was trying to break Danny Wuerffel's record of completed passes without an interception. Going into Saturday's game, he was 8 completed passes away. I honestly don't care who you are...I just hate watching teams break records against us. (It's like being the pitcher who goes down in history as the one who pitched Hank Aaron his record breaking home run.) Thankfully, Alabama took care of this and incidentally picked him off right after the commentators started talking about the record...hmmm.

Saturday was a banner day complete with a 31-3 victory for the Crimson Tide that placed them at the top of both divisions in the SEC. We're the only team in the conference who has won 3 SEC games. It's pretty much because Georgia didn't play this weekend and Vanderbilt (I still can't believe I'm saying that) sadly lost but didn't play an SEC game. But, then, we got vindication from the sports writers and coaches around the country. With 1,150 votes in the AP Poll, Alabama is #7 and with 982 votes in the USA Today Poll, Alabama is #10. We haven't seen the top ten since 1999. (Well technically, we were pre-season ranked #3 for the 2000 season, but that didn't last long.) They haven't always played to their potential and talent, but I've always known it was there and Saturday they showed it. I always knew they could play that well. I just never expected Florida to basically lie down and take it without dishing it back out. Earlier in the week, Jerome Mincey (a defensive end for Florida) told the press that he didn't think Alabama was as talented as Tennessee (a team they beat by a mere 9 points) on either side of the ball. Part of me wanted the press to walk up to him after the game and say, so how do you feel about the talent of Alabama and Tennessee now...since Alabama obviously had Florida's number the entire game? I'm sure the media would have phrased it a little differently, but we all would have known what they meant. Granted, there's a little part of me that is waiting for the other shoe to drop. It may very well drop in 2 weeks when we play Ole Miss or 3 weeks when we play Tennessee, but I can bask in the glow of this win for at least 2 weeks (we have a bye this weekend).

Sadly, we'll be playing the rest of the season without the amazing receiver Tyrone Prothro after he broke his leg in two places in the 4th quarter on Saturday. Oh and let me address that right now (here's where Florida gets some kudos from me). There is some criticism out there that Shula should have pulled the 1st string in the 4th quarter thus possibly preventing the injury to Prothro. Definitely inaccurate. We were playing the #5 team in the nation who up until Saturday LOOKED like the #5 team in the nation in every game they'd played. With 8 minutes left in the game, you don't pull your 1st string and put in your 2nd string to play against the #5 team's 1st string. Are you nuts???? They would have walked all over us and we would have had a replay of the LSU/UT game from Monday night. Yes, it cost us Prothro, but he'll be there on the sidelines cheering his team on as an added inspiration factor. You'd be surprised how much that actually fuels the fire for Alabama. They'll want to win it not just for themselves, not just for the fans, but for their injured teammate who helped get them ROLLING in their first 5 games. They have a whole 2 weeks to figure out how to play without him, so get crackin' boys.

Incidentally, I read an article that said Florida fans were cheering when Prothro got injured. Now, I'm not like all Alabama fans. A lot of Alabama fans subscribe to the idea of booing when the opposing team comes on the field, trash talking, and cheering when someone gets injured. Bear Bryant (God Bless him) taught Alabama a few things when he was coaching there. He never believed in booing the opposing team when they came into Bryant-Denny Stadium. It was our home and we were to welcome them there. He taught us to be respectful of the other team in every way you could, to act like you'd been there before when you got to the end zone, and to let your actions speak louder than your words. How very disrespectful and rude can you be to cheer because someone got injured? Completely uncalled for...you can check that stuff at the door thank you.

P.S. In case no other team has said so, Welcome to the SEC Urban Meyer! See you next year in Gainesville.