Crimson Red Sports

AL.com did a podcast this week discussing the Nick Saban era at Bama and which three non-championship games were most memorable.  Perhaps we should have our own informal poll:


It's really hard to cut the list to three, but here are mine:  Rocky Block, Georgia Blackout, and Michigan 2012 (OK, it helps that I was there for this one.  Awesome stadium,)

My List:

1. 2009 Tennessee
2. 2009 SEC Championship
3. 2012 LSU

2008 Alabama-Auburn 36-0: End of the losing streak & b***h slapped Tuberville.

2008 Alabama-Clemson 34-13: Beat down of Clemson on national TV proved Bama was Back

2010 Alabama-Mich. State 56-7: Michigan State was the Big Ten Co-Champions but 9-3 Alabama crushed them totally in a bowl game. Showed Alabama would be a force in 2011.

Per the link, which games NOT counting the SEC or National Championship games were the most important.

 :dunno:

Whew. Only three, huh? I got to go blackout game against Georgia, another from 2008, at LSU in overtime, and I guess Rocky Block from 2009.

 :facepalm:

Well one of the main games was his first year. We were playing Ole Miss and he made the Referee go back and look where Ole Miss player stepped out of bounds and came back in I believe. The CNS era started that day. The Process. RTR!

Wow! I forgot all about the 2008 LSU game. Good reminder.


 :clap:

Forgive me for not paying close enough attention.   :-[

Replace 2009 SEC Championship with 2008 LSU.

Gosh, this isn't so easy for there have been many games that shouldn't factor into this, being a big favorite or just didn't play well, but did.

1) 2008 Auburn 36-0.  Tuberville owned Bama up until this game and it completely changed the Iron Bowl momentum that Auburn had, plus it was a shutout.

2) 2009 Tennessee 12-10. This game had defeat written all over it but the blocked field goal saved the game and Bama's National Championship

3) 2013 LSU 21-17. Again Bama stole a game from the jaws of defeat but it was at LSU and highly publicized, everybody in the nation, other than Bama fans, wanted Bama to lose which should knock them out of N ational Championship contention.

Well yeah, the 2009 SEC Championship, making Tebow cry, no one will ever forget that game.  Nor the BCS games against Texas and ND.  Or the win this year vs. Georgia, one of the greatest SECCGs ever played.  But as MD says, it doesn't count.  I'll never forget that "loss" to LSU in 2011, then coming back to win it all, but to me, the two games go together, and I think more about how we played than that we lost one.

2008 was definitely a memorable year.    After a long drought, barely missed out on winning it all.  Those two games, punching Clemson in the mouth from the very first play, putting a beat down on Auburn.  Bama was back, baby.

LSU was the "defending national champs" in that game.  Here's an even better reminder:  (Watching the video, you see Bama didn't have quite the talent level that it has today, while there are some great players on the field, a few gaps here and there on D which LSU exploits, and while I like Coffee he's not quite as powerful as the RBs that followed.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAbn-nvMsqQ

There are so many it is hard to pick only three.

2009 Florida - Make CUM azz quite and Tebow cry

2008 barn - 36-0 and ended their streak

2012 LSU - We were outplayed but managed to win anyway

Looking back at that season, it is remarkable to see what that team accomplished. Like you said, the talent level wasn't what it is now, but that team was a few plays away from playing for a national title. I guess that is why the win against LSU that year stands out to me even more than the 2011 title game and last year's game (though that final TD to Yeldon was amazing).

My next three:

All from 2008 Clemson, UGA & LSU

Others: 2007 Arky, any LSU or barn win, 2009 UT, Mich St

That is the reason I consider 2008 to be Saban's greatest coaching effort and team of all time. He took a team with limited talent, speed, and ability and came close to winning the SEC and maybe even the National Championship. This was 2 years removed from the bumbling, stumbling, incompetent coaching of Shula.

The Georgia Blackout Game - because Georgia was all the rage before anyone snapped a football, and then they were properly Sabanated.

The Clemson Game - see above

The Michigan Game - because everyone in the big ten was thinking that this game would reveal that the best Big10 teams could be competitive with the best SEC teams, but then they were Sabanated.

For me what makes a top win is the domination/demoralization/"you thought you were gonna come in here and do what?" factor. For that reason the MichSt bowl game was a close call for my third place slot.

The first one that stands out to me is 2008 Clemson.  Ba-bye Tommy Bowden.
I guess the next one was 2008 UT.  Ba-bye Phillip Fulmer.
Then 2008 Auburn.  Ba-bye Tommy Tuberville.

Ba-bye now, thank you for flying Crimson Tide airlines.

 :lol:

07 Arky
09 Tenn
12 LSU

The Arky game was for the fans. It showed us what was possible. UT we were on our way to NC and LSU was a game the team needed to show it could come back after being out played.

Honorable mention would be the UGA blackout and O9 aubie

I can't argue with this. :clap:

I thought about including 07 Arkansas in my list.  That was when I knew Bama was on its way back to prominence. 

Aubren - 36-0, 42-14, 49-0.

:lol:

Can you tell me how you really feel about Awbarn.


 ???








 :eyeroll:

The Barn is never useless. If it wasn't for them, we would only have UT to make fun of.

 :lol: What was I thinking!