It is the most memorable ending to a college football game — maybe ever.

It’s been played and replayed thousands of times. It won an ESPY Award. Verne Lundquist ranked it the best sporting event he’s ever called.

But a year removed from the now (in)famous Kick-Six Iron Bowl, Alabama is No. 1 again, and ready to rid itself of the specter of last year’s game.

This year’s Alabama team has many new faces in new places — at quarterback and offensive coordinator to name a couple — but they still remember the ending. How could they not?

However, if their comments to the media this week are any indication, most of the Tide won’t be watching the Kick-Six before game time, even for an extra dose motivation.

Quarterback Blake Sims says he turns it off any time it’s played. Cornerback Cyrus Jones claims to have never seen the replay of it — not even once. Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen doesn’t seek it out on purpose, but concedes he has used it to his advantage in the past.

“I just view it as more motivation for me throughout the whole offseason,” Allen said. “There is no more extra emphasis on this game than last game, but it’s definitely motivation for us.”

The teams are in different places than they were last season. With a win, Alabama is headed to the SEC Championship game. Auburn’s best hope to salvage its season is to play spoiler to its arch-rival’s title aspirations.

So every time they’re asked about last year’s game, the players quickly shift the focus to what’s ahead, rather then rehashing the past.

“I could care less about last year. It was a completely different team,” Alabama offensive lineman Austin Shepherd quipped. “It’s a new a team, and I think we have a great opportunity. We’ve set ourselves up for success, so we’ve just got to go out there and finish the season off.”

But it’s hard to fathom the Kick-Six not at least being in the back of their minds. Shepherd, for example, was on the field for the return and probably doesn’t need to see it to remember the shock. But going into his final Iron Bowl and final game in Bryant-Denny Stadium, he also doesn’t believe lightning will strike twice.

“A lot of people are lucky and they got lucky,” Shepherd said. “Luck happens.”

The week before Rivalry Week was mostly uneventful, and the College Football Playoff rankings showed that. But with many of the top teams playing in their most heated rivalry this weekend, this poll may look a lot different next Tuesday.

Alabama maintained its perch atop the rankings, with Oregon staying at second. Florida State was third and Mississippi State stayed at fourth. In fact, the top seven is identical to the rankings of last week with TCU, Ohio State and Baylor rounding out the first three out.

Auburn moved down one spot from No. 14 to 15, but is still another ranked opponent that Alabama can put on its resume if they win.

Non-Power 5 conference Marshall finally cracked the committee’s top 25 after its win over UAB on Saturday, and UCLA looks to be dangerous at No. 8 if it can pull the upset on Oregon in the Pac-12 title game.

Here are the complete rankings:

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida State
4. Mississippi State
5. TCU
6. Ohio State
7. Baylor
8. UCLA
9. Georgia
10. Michigan State
11. Arizona
12. Kansas State
13. Arizona State
14. Wisconsin
15. Auburn
16. Georgia Tech
17. Missouri
18. Minnesota
19. Ole Miss
20. Oklahoma
21. Clemson
22. Louisville
23. Boise State
24. Marshall
25. Utah

In his regular Monday press conference, Alabama head coach Nick Saban spoke about the different feeling surrounding the Iron Bowl game against Auburn.

“When you play in big games like this, that have a lot of meaning to a lot of people, you don’t compare it to anything,” Saban said. “You just know that there’s a special level of intensity that goes with playing in a game like this.

“Both sides are going to have it, and that’s what makes it a great football game.”

The storyline is different this year as Auburn’s season has taken a turn for the worse with consecutive losses against Texas A&M and Georgia before beating Samford over the weekend. But the Tigers can still ruin Alabama’s hopes at a national title in the game that Saban called one of the greatest rivalries in college football.

Alabama opened as a seven-point favorite over the Tigers, but that line has moved to 9.5 already. It’s still not as large as the 10-point point advantage Alabama had before last season’s game, but maybe the ending of last year’s game has sports oddsmakers a bit nervous.

Saban talked about last season’s game, and wasn’t sure if he would show his players the video of it as motivation.

“We all kinda remember what happened,” Saban said. “I think that it was very, very disappointing to all of us here. Not just the last play, but the last five minutes of the game that we never really ever finished the game like we needed to.

“It was a tough way to lose a game and I’m sure that everybody sort of has that in mind.”

Other than previewing the Auburn game, Saban also updated the team’s injury situation after the last game against Western Carolina ended with a half-dozen injured players.

The stretched knee ligament injuries to tight end Brian Vogler and wide receiver ArDarius Stewart will keep them questionable this week, with the decision to play them likely coming at game time. Vogler is a starter for Alabama and is a key blocker at tight end. Saban said backups Brandon Greene and Dakota Ball will help the other starting tight end, O.J. Howard, if Vogler is unable to play.

Wide receiver Amari Cooper, offensive lineman Cam Robinson, defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson and the other players injured against the Catamounts will be limited in practice initially, but should return against Auburn.

Saban also said running back T.J. Yeldon was “shut down” for seven days last week in an attempt to ease him back to health. Yeldon has apparently battled injuries for the second half of this season, and is one of Alabama’s most effective players in all facets of his game, according to Saban.

“We’re hopeful that just shutting him down for seven days like we did that it’s going to get him healthier, more ready to practice and be able to be better prepared to play in this game,” Saban said. “That was kind of the plan with the way we managed him last week and we’ll see how it works out.”

Anything related to the College Football Playoff is interesting, especially things that are quantifiable.

FiveThirtyEight editor and statistical oracle Nate Silver gives Alabama the highest chance to not only make the playoff, but to win the national championship.

As it currently stands — of course this is before the Iron Bowl and SEC Championship — Silver’s data states Alabama has an 80.8 percent chance of making the playoff, a 48.6 percent chance of reaching the final game, and a 27.2 percent chance of being crowned champion. Alabama also has a 58.2 percent chance of being the No. 1 overall seed in the playoff bracket based on Silver’s simulations.

It isn’t a large statistical lead for the Crimson Tide, with Oregon holding a 24.5 percent chance of winning it all, but Alabama is in the lead and has been since beating Mississippi State.

Here’s the entire graph from FiveThirtyEight.

Silver rose to national fame by successfully predicting the results of the presidential race in every state in the country. Tide fans are no doubt rooting for Silver’s accuracy to continue.

For the second time in three weeks, ESPN’s traveling college football pregame show College Gameday will be live from the Walk of Champions in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The show most recently visited Alabama for the Mississippi State game, and is on its way back for this year’s Iron Bowl. Gameday was present at last year’s Iron Bowl as well.

#Breaking: GameDay is heading to Tuscaloosa for the #IronBowl! #GetUp4GameDay pic.twitter.com/4LjExavJoH

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 23, 2014

Many have questioned why College Gameday would return to Alabama after just being there, but the Iron Bowl is the best game on the schedule this weekend. Even with all of the rivalry games scheduled for the last weekend in November, Alabama vs. Auburn is the most competitive on paper, and has the most at stake.

Only a few weeks back, The Egg Bowl between Mississippi State and Ole Miss looked like it was shaping up to be the game to watch, but it lost its national relevance once the Rebels returned to winning the party, but losing their games. Oregon-Oregon State and Ohio State-Michigan should be blowouts. And as much as Florida State likes to play poorly against inferior opponents, betting on Florida is a long shot, to say the least.

With the show’s location settled, a guest picker must emerge. Melissa Joan Hart will probably remain the prohibitive favorite, though, two weeks ago, the show went off the board and went with former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. The inspiration behind “Lone Survivor” correctly picked Alabama, and also inspired the team with a stem-winder of a speech.

The intrigue over the show’s location was anticlimactic, but maybe the guest picker will be another interesting surprise.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.–Alabama beat Western Carolina 48-14 but it wasn’t pleasant.

In games like this when one team pays the other over $400,000 to play, the end result is usually a foregone conclusion. But the Catamounts came to play and became the first team all year to score a touchdown on the opening drive against Alabama.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban attributed the team’s slow start to a noticeable lack of energy.

“I don’t think that we started the game out the way we’d hoped to or how we planned,” Saban said. “It’s really up to me to make sure that the guys have the right psychological disposition when we come out and play a game.”

Western Carolina confused Alabama initially with some misdirection on offense, but the real problem for the Crimson Tide was the seemingly non-stop flow of injuries.

Alabama lost five players in the first half alone. Wide receiver Amari Cooper, defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson, and linebacker Reuben Foster all left the field limping or with help from trainers and never returned.

Then midway through the second quarter fullback Jalston Fowler and offensive lineman Cam Robinson went down on the same play, but Fowler later returned. Wide receiver ArDarius Stewart had to be helped off with an apparent leg injury, and tight end Brian Vogler followed that when he injured his left knee and limped straight into the locker room near the beginning of the second half.

At one point in the game it seemed more important to track who was in the locker room or the training table than to follow the actual game.

And all of those in-game injuries don’t even include the pre-game decision to leave running back T.J. Yeldon, wide receiver DeAndrew White and kicker Adam Griffith on the bench to help them heal nagging injuries.

Saban said Cooper has a bruised knee and both Cam and A’Shawn Robinson sprained their ankles and could have returned to the game but weren’t needed. Vogler and Stewart had stretched knee ligaments and their recovery will be monitored closely as the Iron Bowl approaches.

But even without Yeldon, the Tide’s run game finally took over, which was Saban’s goal. Derrick Henry had 92 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns, which was a career high. Tyren Jones was a sparkplug for the offense with 75 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The passing game also had its good moments, with quarterback Blake Sims having 222 yards and two touchdowns and backup Jake Coker slinging the ball for 115 yards and one touchdown through the air.

But Alabama came out flat today — “flat as a pancake” as Saban put it. All the energy Alabama had last week was gone. There was no bouncing to “Jump Around” on Alabama’s sideline today. Not even the song stylings of C-Murder could help the team, though, it definitely raised morale when it seemed like there was another Alabama player injured on every play.

The glorified bye week became a sloppy, injury riddled game. The “good little team from North Carolina” came to play, but it did ultimately provide a chance for inexperienced Alabama players to see the field once the Tide started to cruise.

“When guys fall out, the next guy’s got to be ready,” Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland said. “He has to go through the whole week preparing the way he should because he never knows when his turn is going to come.”

Of course, Saban would never say the upcoming game against Auburn had an effect on the team, but some of the players admitted it.

Now Alabama has to refocus and re-energize, as well as try to return the half-dozen of its injured players for next week’s game against the Tigers, which once again has huge SEC Championship and national title implications.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — With homecoming this weekend and the Iron Bowl next Saturday, Alabama’s seniors — a group that has experienced both championships and heartbreak on the football field — only have two home games left in their college careers.

This team is No. 1, like many Alabama teams have been in the past, but the rapport this year’s leaders have with younger players feels different than last season.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban and the seniors themselves acknowledged that.

“We have a very good group of seniors this year, we have a very good leadership group,” Saban said. “I think… the best thing about our seniors is they’re really well-liked by their teammates. I think that really starts with the fact that they care and they care about other people on the team and they’re willing to spend time to help the other people on the team…I think that’s made the team chemistry really good.”

Saban has already talked about this team not having any “energy vampires,” which is Saban-speak for players that demand coaches’ attention and distract the team. The players are motivated and communicate well, and leaders have emerged, sometimes surprisingly.

“Some of the guys that are doing a really good job of that, without me mentioning any names, are actually guys that struggled maybe early on being able to do those types of things,” Saban said. “When it was their turn to take a leadership role, regardless of what their role was on the team, they really did it in a first-class way and that’s been very helpful with team chemistry.”

Alabama senior wide receiver Christion Jones said the atmosphere among players is similar to that of 2011 — a national title-winning season. Jones also mentioned Jalston Fowler, Blake Sims and DeAndrew White on the offensive side as guys who have really stepped up.

“Everybody is comfortable with each other from the seniors to the freshmen,” Jones said. “Everybody has a good vibe. We haven’t had any problems on the team amongst each other with dislike or any outcasts.”

This is a different story from a team that had a cloud of disarray around it following last season’s consecutive losses to Auburn and Oklahoma. Former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron repeatedly blamed the younger players on the team for not buying in and called some players on the team selfish. Even Saban said the team needed a hard restart after last season’s poor finish.

Teach chemistry was clearly a problem last year, and it become evident in post-season interviews. But Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones had only positive things to say about the Tide’s bond this season.

“This year everybody’s so tight; it’s a well-knit group,” Jones said. “There aren’t really cliques on the team, everybody pretty much hangs out with each other all the time, has each other’s backs. Once you have that cohesiveness — especially with the leaders — it just trickles down to everybody else. I think this team is on the right track.”

Before Alabama plays Auburn in the 2014 Iron Bowl, it has to play the Western Carolina Catamounts.

While Alabama head coach Nick Saban said, “This is a good little team we’re playing,” on his SEC coaches teleconference, the Catamounts are clearly not very good compared to the No. 1 Crimson Tide. But they are drastically improved from where they once were.

Western Carolina is a team from North Carolina — obviously — and it used to be “where football came to die.” The team hasn’t achieved a winning record since 2005 when the team finished 5-4 and hasn’t won more than five games since 2001. But this year’s squad currently sits at 7-4 and could advance to the FCS Playoffs with a win over the Crimson Tide. Stop laughing, it could happen.

This won’t be too much a problem for Alabama, who will take its starters out midway through the second quarter. So, other than getting to know Alabama’s future starters, intrigue must be found elsewhere, since it probably won’t be on the football field.

The most intriguing thing about this Southern Conference Carolina team is their mascot. Western Carolina is the purple and gold Catamounts. No, not a catapult or a mounted cat. I had no idea what that was so I figured we’d all learn together.

A catamount is defined as any wild cat, like a bobcat, cougar or lynx. The fearsome non-specific mascot was selected in 1933 when the school had an athletic rebranding.

While a catamount itself still doesn’t make much sense if it has to be explained to people, it sure beats the previous alternative.

“At the time, the school was called “Western Carolina Teachers College” and its teams were known as “the Teachers,” according to the school’s website.

Vermont University is the only other NCAA school to use the mascot, but it’s still unique. Western Carolina’s head coach at the time, C.C. Poindexter, preferred the catamount as the mascot over the second place finishing “Mountain Boomers, a small ground squirrel that scampers about the woods and is extremely difficult to catch.”

While Mountain Boomers would be even better and harder to explain, the catamount is a fine mascot for a football team on the rise. Also, how did a catamount win over Mountain Boomers? Maybe they would be better at football if they were a team of scampering ground squirrels.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s 25-20 win against Miss. State on Saturday was fueled by a dominant defense. That defense was fueled by the magnitude of the game, and some new music selections blaring from Bryant-Denny Stadium’s loud speakers.

The sellout crowd in Tuscaloosa was on its feet for the majority of the game and hung around for every second, but the updated playlist added a little extra boost.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban didn’t notice the change of soundtrack.

“I know nothing about it,” Saban said. “If it’s helping us win, I’m all for it.”

Saban said he never includes the team’s reactions to specific songs in their film sessions, but sarcastically admitted he might look into it.

“It may be something,” Saban said. “We need to probably put it on the film so we can analyze that when we look at the plays that we run and then we’ll probably have a better idea of how it’s working.”

There was a noticeably different atmosphere on the sideline Saturday. Players were jumping around throughout the game, and not just when “Jump Around” by House of Pain was played. Wiz Khalifa’s “We Dem Boyz” blared after the defense got a stop or forced a turnover, and “On To the Next One” by Jay-Z has become the team’s go-to anthem during warm-ups.

The typical AC/DC “Hells Bells” on third down accompanied by an elephant video was largely unheard, pushed aside in favor of a beat from a song by C-Murder featuring Snoop Dogg. Only the instrumental from this song was played because many of Bryant-Denny’s patrons would faint if they heard the lyrics.

Every time it was played, though, the defense — mostly the defensive line — would start pumping their fists and motioning to the crowd for some energy, which seemed to be contagious for the rest of the team.

“When they’re hyped and they’re jumping up and down and they’re putting pressure on the quarterback, it makes our job a lot easier,” Alabama safety Nick Perry said. “Whatever can get those guys hyped like that, whatever song they’re playing, they need to continue to play it.”

It wasn’t that the typical songs were left out — the band Alabama’s “Dixieland Delight,” a crowd favorite, was played three times — but the fans and players both seemed to enjoy a little musical diversification.

“We’re already a fired up team,” Alabama defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson said. “So, when you play music we like we just jam out to it and get fired up.”

Alabama’s sound system still has its difficulties, like not being able to produce audio of Bear Bryant that is understandable or not adjusting the levels to help make that particular clip of Bryant is more than loud grumbling. The Alabama Million Dollar Band had two microphones in front of it, causing a split-second delay, but ultimately raising the volume of the marching band for the better.

But by most accounts Saturday’s music selection was a move in the right direction. The players and fans both enjoyed the playlist, and the energy level in the stadium got a significant boost.

But whatever you do, just don’t look up the lyrics to the C-Murder song.

There was some shifting in the college football landscape this weekend, with one key team losing and many just barely surviving. Alabama beat No. 1 Miss. State, which didn’t surprise too many people as the Crimson Tide was the clear favorite. Florida State continued to win, TCU almost lost to Kansas, and Auburn has lost two in a row.

Here are your power rankings for Week 13

Multiple funds have been established to help LSU Police Sgt. Chris Gresham with his recovery after he was hit by a car following the Alabama-LSU game.

Last week, Gresham was part of the motorcade leading cars with University of Alabama president Judy Bonner, athletic director Bill Battle and Alabama’s team doctors from the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center to their plane for the trip back to Tuscaloosa. The motorcade was only a few miles away from Tiger Stadium when Gresham was hit by a car and thrown off his motorcycle.

The 33-year-old Gresham suffered a broken leg, injured knee, fractured arm and multiple fractured ribs in the accident, and was stabilized by Alabama’s team doctors until local paramedics arrived.

Gresham has had three surgeries to date to repair the damage, and has another surgery planned for the near future.

Funds have been created to help Gresham’s wife and his two young children with these costs and to offset his loss of income. A “Go Fund Me” page has raised $2,250 of its intended $15,000 goal. Two other funds were established through the Campus Federal Credit Union and the LSU Foundation titled the “Chris Gresham Family Support Fund,” and donations can be made online or through mailed checks.

Gresham, an eight-year veteran of the LSU Police Department, is expected to make a full recovery and return to full duty, but that will take months.

After a disappointing 2012 season, Auburn had a problem selling its season tickets last year, but surprisingly, during the SEC championship run of 2013 it had an even tougher time finding buyers for its final two SEC games.

A report from the Wall Street Journal this week detailed the Auburn athletic department’s trouble filling seats after the season started. With season tickets unsold and many vacant seats in the hands of scalpers and the secondary market, the Auburn athletic department reached out to its largest boosters to request they purchase the tickets.

The boosters responded well, buying up the majority of the tickets and filling Jordan-Hare Stadium last season against Georgia and Alabama. They bought them in bulk, buying 20-50 seats at once. One booster purchased 180 tickets to the two games on top of the luxury box he already had for the season.

“We had thousands of unsold tickets as the 2013 season started,” Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said. “When supply exceeds demand, we have to move tickets. To that [end], we turned to our top donors, and they came through for us.”

But these tickets were sold to boosters at the face value of $95. Normally, season tickets require a donation and then the cost of tickets. By not charging market value for the seats at the optimum time – especially to the Iron Bowl, to which tickets were going for $1,000 a seat – the Wall Street Journal estimates that Auburn lost over $1 million.

Some schools — like Rutgers, Northwestern and LSU — have found success abandoning the “flat” ticket sales model in favor of a “dynamic” pricing system that allows the market to dictate ticket prices for different games. Under the new system, schools maintain control of the price of tickets and earn more than they would selling them at face value. Schools are also able to maintain control over who buys the tickets.

“Our goal is not to have empty seats at the stadium,” Auburn spokeswoman Cassie Arner said. “We especially don’t want any seats to be occupied by fans of other schools, including Georgia or Alabama fans.”

More than half of Auburn’s athletic department revenue comes from ticket sales, and the school earned $53 million from tickets alone. But even with this revenue, Auburn still finished 2013 with a deficit of $866,000.

While Auburn presumably had no issue selling its season tickets after last year’s title appearance, it appears that they could have been much more profitable by making a change in the way they sell tickets during the season.

For more details, check out the WSJ piece.

The No. 1 team in the nation is playing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Saturday, and for once it isn’t the Crimson Tide.

The team that is so accustomed to success and respect has to prove itself this weekend when Mississippi State, its Heisman hopeful quarterback and its undefeated record come to town. The past glory is thrown out, and all that matters is this game.

“What’s happened in the past, it really doesn’t matter. Nothing matters,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “What matters is they have a very good team, they’ve played very well. They have a very significant amount of things that they’ve been able to accomplish this year so far in going 9-0 and beating some good teams.”

Following an arduous overtime win against LSU, Alabama will have to quickly recover to face the top-ranked Bulldogs. Typically, Alabama starts slowly in the week following LSU, losing to Johnny Manziel’s Texas A&M two seasons ago, and playing poorly against Miss. State last season. Alabama under Saban hasn’t scored a first quarter touchdown in the game following LSU, and usually averages fewer points in the post-LSU game than the rest of the season.

Normally, Miss. State is a reprieve for Alabama to get rested up before it plays Auburn, but not this season. The Bulldogs and their quarterback Dak Prescott are the team to beat in the SEC, and in the entire country for that matter.

Alabama gave up some crucial yardage on the ground, especially on third downs, to LSU’s quarterback Anthony Jennings, and Prescott is similarly prone to run. Alabama’s defense has specifically planned for that this week in practice, using scout team quarterback Cooper Bateman in Prescott’s place.

“Cooper Bateman is very athletic, very fast,” Saban said. “Probably runs less than 4.6 and does a really, really good job. He’s been the scout team player of the week several times this year and certainly has done a really good job this week. You have to have someone who can be that type of guy or you really can’t prepare your defense for what they’re going to see.”

Saban attributed LSU’s running quarterback success to the defense not doing its job up front. Saban said the front should be more disciplined when it rushes the passer and not necessarily worry about hitting the quarterback.

“I think what’s really critical in games like this is guys want to get sacks so bad, and that’s why sacks have nothing to with being successful as a defensive team,” Saban said. “It’s pushing the pocket and making the quarterback throw the ball in the pocket. When you press the pocket against him so he can’t step up and attack the middle of the field or step up and run.”

Prescott is 6-foot-2, 235 pounds and has 2,231 yards passing with 18 touchdowns, and 739 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. He is a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy and poses a serious threat to Alabama’s playoff hopes.

“[Prescott’s] an all-around athlete, a big guy who can run, has a great arm, and manages their offense well,” Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones said. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us as a defense, but I think with our preparation as a defense, we’re going to be ready.”

Alabama, under Saban’s tutelage, is 3-1 against No. 1 teams, but the team doesn’t see a number in front of the opponent. (Jones had to ask reporters where Alabama was ranked in the playoff poll, though, him not knowing may be a ruse.) The players only focus is on the opponent at hand and they let the rest take care of itself.

“We try not to worry about what the rankings are,” Jones said. “We understand it’s definitely a big game, and it’s going to take a valiant effort for us to come out with the win. It’s going to be a tough SEC-type game, but rankings really don’t matter once you step on the field.”

With Auburn losing, a hole was left vacant in the College Football Playoff top four. The top two shifted, with Miss. State and Oregon at first and second, respectively. The Ducks jumped Florida State for the second slot, with the Seminoles coming in third. TCU came in at No. 4, leaving Alabama static in fifth. Auburn fell out of the bracket all the way to No. 9.

Alabama is still on the outside looking in this week, but that could quickly change with a win over No. 1 Miss. State on Saturday.

Numerous teams can still dictate where they finish if they win out, and it’s interesting to watch what the selection committee regards as the most important criteria. Baylor beat TCU but the Horned Frogs still rank ahead of the Bears. Maybe head-to-head isn’t as much of a factor as strength of schedule.

Here are this week’s College Football Playoff rankings:

1. Mississippi State

2. Oregon

3. Florida State

4. TCU

5. Alabama

6. Arizona State

7. Baylor

8. Ohio State

9. Auburn

10. Mississippi

11. UCLA

12. Michigan State

13. Kansas State

14. Arizona

15. Georgia

16. Nebraska

17. LSU

18. Notre Dame

19. Clemson

20. Wisconsin

21. Duke

22. Georgia Tech

23. Utah

24. Texas A&M

25. Minnesota

After the drama of Alabama’s win over LSU Saturday, the Crimson Tide’s team doctors were called to action on the way home.

Following the game, Alabama’s team doctors were leaving Tiger Stadium in a multiple car motorcade led by LSU police. A few miles from the stadium, one officer on a motorcycle was struck by a car. The doctors who had recently attended to Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon’s twisted ankle on the field had to revert to their trauma training on the side of the road.

The officer was lying on his side, unresponsive and obviously hurt.

“Fortunately for him there were three physicians who had taken care of trauma before,” Dr. Norman Waldrop said. “As an orthopedic surgeon you’ve seen lots of trauma. It’s not a part of my everyday practice now but I remember thinking it was coming back to me pretty quickly about what to do.”

Dr. Lyle Cain is the head team doctor for Alabama, Waldrop handles foot and ankle injuries for the team, and Dr. Benton Emblom covers shoulders, hips and knees. The doctors are a part of the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama, but travel with the Crimson Tide wherever they go.

When the doctors arrived at the scene, Cain took over and led the team as they attended to the officer on the side of the road, who ended up having a broken leg, broken arm and fractured ribs. The doctors were without any of their equipment — it was on the plane with the football team — but did what they could given the circumstances.

“I think he probably would’ve been ok but you would like to think that we had a small part in stabilizing him,” Waldrop said. “I do remember thinking that between Dr. Cain, myself and Dr. Emblom, that the communication was very good, we all knew what we were doing and it certainly helped smooth things out and helped keep everyone around it calm.”

The difference between a football injury and a traumatic automotive accident can be drastic, but Cain said the doctors handled the roadside scene like they would on a football field after a serious injury.

“It’s really similar to to the checklist we do with athletes,” Cain said. “You have to stay organized in that situation or it turns into a fire drill.”

The officer had surgery that night to repair some of the injuries, and is recovering in stable condition.

Making it back to Birmingham without any other excitement, Waldrop called it the wildest two hours he’s experienced as a team doctor for Alabama.

“We were an hour out of a huge win in front of 100,000 people and you immediately forget about that when you’re trying to save someone’s life,” Waldrop said. “That’s a whole lot more important than a football game.”

With each passing week in college football, a team or two is eliminated from Playoff contention. These highly ranked teams all happen to play each other, which helps prevent outright chaos and keeps the fans of those teams truly in contention a little calmer. Alabama survived its trip to Death Valley, Auburn fumbled away a game to a downtrodden Texas A&M, and Ohio State is the best team in the Big Ten.

Here are your power rankings for Week 12.

The Bulldogs did what they had to do against UT-Martin in what was a glorified bye week before their trip to Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Tide showed championship-level resilience at LSU. The offensive play on the road still needs some serious work, but the defense kept Alabama in the game. Miss. State is undefeated and has been steady all season, but it hasn’t faced Alabama yet.

Oregon keeps mowing down the Pac-12. While the Ducks were fortunate that Utah committed one of the worst fumbles in recent memory, it ultimately didn’t matter with Oregon winning 51-27. Other than the Pac-12 title game, Oregon should cruise through its remaining schedule of Oregon State and Colorado.

The Horned Frogs are on a roll with consecutive wins against West Virginia and Kansas State, and look like the best team in the Big 12. But their one loss against Baylor may hinder their playoff run with the Bears still playing well and beating Oklahoma.

Florida State hasn’t won many games resoundingly, but they remain undefeated. Now all the Seminoles have to do is beat Boston College and two other schools from their state. Miami and Florida won’t be easy wins, but they shouldn’t give FSU too much trouble.

The Buckeyes got a seriously high-quality win at Michigan State on Saturday. They may be the hottest team in the country, but it probably won’t matter. Basically, if Ohio State had beaten Virginia Tech at home in Week 2, it would be a lock for a playoff spot. They didn’t, so they’re not.

Arizona State got a big lead, lost it, then got it back on Saturday against Notre Dame. The Sun Devils look like Oregon’s only risky game between now and the playoff, which would be in the Pac-12 title game.

Auburn fumbled away the game on Saturday against Texas A&M. While it appeared the Tigers would come back, as they normally do, they magic finally ran out. Auburn still has games against Georgia and, of course, the Iron Bowl against Alabama, but it needs a lot of help to get into the final four.

Baylor beat TCU, but its non-conference schedule’s strength — or lack thereof — hurts them. Even though the Bears trounced Oklahoma this weekend, they really needed to go undefeated with their strength of schedule.

The Rebels would have to win out and hope for a lot of help to force a tie in the SEC West. They are still a good team, but the playoff may now be out of reach.

Alabama’s dramatic win over LSU means it still controls its place in the Playoff chase, but it also gives even more importance to Saturday’s game against Mississippi State.

With a top four showdown coming, ESPN will set up its traveling tentpole show College Gameday in front of the Walk of Champions at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

#Breaking: College GameDay is heading to Tuscaloosa for Mississippi State vs Alabama! #GetUp4GameDay pic.twitter.com/Z3JjECpCB3

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 9, 2014

It is the first time the show will visit Alabama this year, and the second time the Crimson Tide will be involved after Gameday went to Oxford for Ole Miss-Alabama. It starts bright and early at 8 a.m. Central and Alabama’s crowd turnout will be measured against the massive turnouts at the Grove or Miss. State’s Junction, and especially against North Dakota State.

While Alabama usually has a drop-off in the week following LSU, the Crimson Tide are 9-3 in the past five years when Gameday is in town, per AL.com.

No game time has been announced yet but it will most likely be 2:30 p.m. Central on CBS.

Now all we need to know is who the guest picker will be. Last season against LSU, MLB pitcher Jake Peavy was the picker, but this season will hopefully be more exciting. Maybe they’ll finally convince Joe Namath to do it.

Who would you like to see as Alabama’s guest picker?

“Death Valley: where dreams go to die.” – LSU Coach Les Miles

Alabama delivered a forgettable performance for just under four quarters of play Saturday night in Baton Rouge, but the 20-13 overtime win ended up being a victory that Crimson Tide fans will always remember.

T.J. Yeldon fumbled the ball on the Alabama 5-yard line late in the fourth quarter. LSU recovered it and kicked a field goal, taking a 13-10 lead with 50 seconds remaining. The game should have ended there, but it didn’t.

The Alabama offense that had been out of sorts all night finally clicked into gear, driving 55 yards and sending the game to overtime thanks to an Adam Griffith field goal, which felt like a miracle in and of itself. As a matter of fact, Griffith missed the exact same field goal — same distance, same direction — earlier in the game, adding to Alabama’s season-long struggle on the kicking team.

But after the tying field goal went through the uprights to close out regulation, it was Alabama’s game. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin’s playbook flung open, converting offensive lineman Brandon Greene into a receiver for his first reception ever and bringing the Crimson Tide to the goal line. Quarterback Blake Sims hit DeAndrew White in the end zone on second down and Alabama took a lead it would not give back.

“Playing here, it’s always this way,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “This is where you show you know how to win.”

Before the last-ditch effort at the end of regulation, Alabama’s offense was a miserable mess for the majority of the game. Death Valley is an imposing stadium and Alabama hasn’t been great on the road this season, but this was bizarre, almost like the Tide’s offensive unit had forgotten how to play ball during the bye week. Pass plays uncharacteristically far outnumbered runs 46-29. Sims overthrew his receivers, Amari Cooper had some uncharacteristic dropped passes, and T.J. Yeldon was held under 100 yards rushing. The all-caps Tweets demanding Lane Kiffin “run the dang ball” — or some variation thereof — fell on deaf ears.

“There’s a lot of things we need to do better,” Saban said. “It was tough down there and I’m really, really proud of our players for finishing the way they did.”

The Alabama offense only managed three plays in the third quarter and didn’t achieve a first down in the second half until midway through the fourth. Other than the final drive and overtime for Alabama’s offense, it was the defense that should receive the accolades.

Alabama’s defense gave up some big third down runs to LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings, but were stout against the Tigers’ downhill rushing attack. Defensive lineman Jarran Reed had 15 tackles, linebacker Reggie Ragland had 13, cornerback Eddie Jackson had an interception, and the secondary stood tall in overtime as LSU took repeated shots at the end zone.

This game was exactly what everyone expected it to be: a fiercely competitive battle between rival football powers who absolutely cannot stand each other. LSU played a near-perfect game to beat Alabama for nearly 60 minutes, but it was the final 50 seconds of regulation that made the difference.

With No. 1 Mississippi State coming to Tuscaloosa on Saturday, the Crimson Tide can’t rest on their laurels for too long. But this win showed the team’s character and resiliency. No matter how bad the game was — and it was cringeworthy at times — Alabama survived and advanced.

Earlier this week, Auburn wide receiver Sammie Coates was seen wearing a shirt that read “State of Auburn,” depicting the state of Alabama outline, filled in with blue and striped with blue and orange. The shirt was only available to football players at the time, but was an instant hit. This, of course, did not go over very well with Alabama fans, so Auburn capitalized on the mass marketing opportunity.

This is some high-quality jabbing from Auburn to Alabama fans, eclipsed only by printing the clock of the 2013 Iron Bowl — “0:01” — on any piece of merchandising imaginable.

The trolling opportunity was just too good to pass up.

Acting quickly, Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs thought they should make more because they’re so hot right now. The shirts are now available in the bookstore, and every fan will receive a sticker at this weekend’s game against Texas A&M.

This design seems hot right now. I hope all students will put this on their car. You'll get one at the game Saturday! pic.twitter.com/IJAsqRC2hh

— Jay Jacobs (@jayjacobsauad) November 7, 2014

It’s a cool design with a message that will undoubtedly make Alabama fans’ blood boil. The teams are both currently on a path to the inaugural College Football Playoff, and the 2014 Iron Bowl may once again be the most important game of the year.

But before bragging rights can be switched to Alabama’s side or remain in the Plains for another year, plan on seeing these stickers and shirts all around the state. The state of Auburn.

[AL.com]

Alabama and Auburn both control their own destiny into the Final Four of the College Football Playoff. All they have to do is win the rest of their games. Easy enough, right?

Alabama moved up one spot in the poll from sixth to fifth as it heads to No. 16 LSU this weekend. But even with the bye week rankings boost, Nick Saban still doesn’t care.

“This is the game we play this week, and that’s where our total focus is — on this one game, because that’s the most important thing to us right now this week,” Saban said Monday. “Be where your feet are. This is where we are right now, this is the most important thing to us.

“Rankings really mean nothing right now at all to our team, but if we’re going to have a chance to end up where we have any opportunities at the end of the season, whether it’s SEC or Playoff or anything like that, then we have to care of business today.”

But just in case you are not Saban and would like to know where the teams sit in this second week of the committee ranking, here it is.

1. Mississippi State

2. Florida State

3. Auburn

4. Oregon

5. Alabama

6. TCU

7. Kansas State

8. Michigan State

9. Arizona State

10. Notre Dame

11. Mississippi

12. Baylor

13. Nebraska

14. Ohio State

15. Oklahoma

16. LSU

17. Utah

18. UCLA

19. Arizona

20. Georgia

21. Clemson

22. Duke

23. West Virginia

24. Georgia Tech

25. Wisconsin

The midterm elections are upon us, and with some SEC fans feeling a bit unsatisfied with the options they were given on the ballot, they have decided to write in some more preferable options.

And we’re not just talking about Nick Saban receiving hundreds of votes, which he typically does every election cycle. This is the SEC faithful digging deep and searching for the right candidate, even on down-ballot races.

First, Amari Cooper is already in the running for the Heisman, but at least one Alabamian believes he should be angling for an even higher prize — the governor’s office.

I did my part. pic.twitter.com/hlM55H3Qok

— David Ikard (@davidikard) November 4, 2014

But it looks like Cooper’s going to have to beat out a certain Alabama native and former Auburn basketball star if he’s going to take the state’s highest office.

I hope the rest of you did your civic duty and submitted your ballots with Charles Barkley as the write-in for Governor. #ALPolitics

— Chief (@AUChief) November 4, 2014

Next, Lane Kiffin is no stranger to new jobs, although he seems to have really found a home as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. But at least one Floridian couldn’t cast a ballot without voting for Kiffin for, well, something. And no, it wasn’t for Will Muschamp’s job at UF, although the Gators would probably welcome that possibility at this point.

You’re welcome, Florida. #Kiffin4Everything pic.twitter.com/qvbLNxC4tZ

— Morgan Moriarty (@Morgan_Moriarty) November 4, 2014

Suspended Georgia running back Todd Gurley got some votes, too, as did Muschamp, in Georgia.

.@SethEmerson @ChipTowersAJC The NCAA demanded public service… #FreeGurley pic.twitter.com/qjRqfjzsFx

— Mondo (@mondilator) November 4, 2014

So, whoever you’re voting for, make it count, even if it’s for a junior wide receiver from Florida who happens to play in Alabama.

There’s very little drama at the top of the ticket this year in Alabama, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a storyline worth watching.

That storyline is math, simple math. And no, believe it or not, it has nothing to do with Common Core.

Here are a few reasons why math is the storyline worth following when it comes to Alabama’s 2014 General Elections.

There’s no doubt there will be Republican supermajorities in both chambers of the Alabama legislature once all the votes are totaled Tuesday night. However, you can bet your bottom dollar Republican leaders are keeping a close watch on the final tally, and not just because they want to run up the score for bragging rights.

Although the Republican primaries held earlier this year were an unmitigated disaster for The Alabama Education Association (AEA) — the state’s de facto Democratic Party — they did manage to get a handful of their choice candidates elected. In fact, some of them have already been meeting separately from the full GOP caucus.

If Democrats manage to peel off a couple more Republican candidates in the General Election, the AEA could be positioned to block some of the “heavier lifts” Republicans try to make by combining the AEA-aligned Republicans with their Democratic allies to erode the GOP’s filibuster-proof majority.

A few races to watch where Democrats are hoping to take out a Republican incumbent include House District 7 (Ken Johnson), HD 8 (Terri Collins), HD 89 (Alan Boothe), Senate District 10 (Phil Williams) and Senate District 13 (Gerald Dial).

The open seats the two parties are battling over are HD24 (Republican Nathaniel Ledbetter vs. Democrat David Beddingfield) and HD37 (Republican Bob Fincher vs. Democrat Josh Burns).

The AEA has also spent well over a million dollars against each of the GOP’s top legislative leaders, House Speaker Mike Hubbard (HD79) and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh (SD12). They should be able to hold off their challengers, but they’ve had to fight, and it’s worth watching any time a group spends that much money in a state legislative race.

But while a lot of the attention is being paid to whether Republicans can hold on, there are a few Democrats who are fighting for their political lives, as well, most notably state representatives Daniel Boman (HD16) and Greg Burdine (HD1).

The electoral math is heavily stacked against any Democrat runnings statewide in Alabama, but is $1.5 million spent on a scorched earth campaign enough to make a Democrat viable? Probably not, but the Poarch Band of Creek Indians has donated that stunning sum to Democrat Joe Hubbard, basically single-handedly funding his effort to unseat Republican Attorney General Luther Strange.

The Cook Partisan Voting Index rates Alabama as a “R+14” state, meaning a generic Republican running statewide starts with a 14-point lead against a generic Democrat. The deluge of negative ads might make this one closer than it should be, but it’s still hard to imagine Hubbard pulling off the upset.

Since we’re already having so much fun with math, how about a word problem?

Combine the $10+ million of teachers’ dues AEA has spent directly with the $4 million in loans they’ve taken out from Regions Bank and the untold millions they are widely believed to have funneled into so called “dark money” groups not required to disclose their donors, and what do you get?

That’s the question the AEA’s board will get an answer to on Tuesday night. Their total expenditures on this election cycle are so obscene that one would expect them to regain their stranglehold on the state. Yet, even in the AEA’s best case scenario, they only stand a chance at picking up a handful of legislative seats.

We’ll have more on this in our election postmortem, but a lot of folks in Montgomery are watching this one closely.

The perceived rift between Gov. Bentley and the so called “Riley” faction of the Alabama Republican Party has been overblown a lot over the last few years, especially when it comes to the governor’s relationship with GOP legislative leadership. However, don’t think for a second that Bentley’s camp isn’t trying to eclipse former Gov. Bob Riley’s performance in his 2006 re-election bid.

Riley bested Democrat Lucy Baxley with 57.45% of the vote that year, which was a disastrous cyle for Republicans around the country. The electoral dynamics are reversed this year, which looks like it might be a banner year for the GOP.

Most projections suggest Bentley will outperform Riley in his bid for a second term. With the results of the gubernatorial race a forgone conclusion, this is the closest thing Alabama’s got to drama at the top of the ticket in 2014.

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Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

There wasn’t as much upheaval in college football over weekend as there has been in recent weeks, but don’t worry, things are probably about to get wild as the days get shorter and the games get better. Florida State survived its Thursday night contest, Auburn outlasted Ole Miss, Oregon squashed Stanford, and Alabama didn’t play.

Here are this week’s power rankings

Like Alabama, Miss. State had to hang on against Arkansas on Saturday, proving that the Bulldogs are resilient and the Razorbacks will be a very annoying team in the years to come.

Auburn keeps doing what Auburn does. It is rarely pretty, but they continue to find ways to win. They traveled to Ole Miss and emerged with a victory — something Alabama failed to do.

The Crimson Tide took a week off to heal up and get ready for their trip to LSU on Saturday. Alabama has Miss. State and Auburn at home this season, but surviving a trip to Baton Rouge comes first.

So, Stanford is no longer an issue for Oregon, as the Ducks trounced their usual conference rival and looked as dominant as ever.

Its opponents are not highly ranked, nor are they very imposing, but Florida State keeps winning. The Seminoles’ victories have been unconvincing this season. They struggled mightily against Louisville on Thursday, but to their credit, they continue to fight back and tear down deficits against inferior opponents.

TCU survived its trip to West Virginia on Saturday, winning 31-30. While their wins haven’t been by large margins — except for last week’s 82-27 win over Texas Tech — the Horned Frogs are playing well. The true test of Big 12 powers will be this weekend as TCU takes on Kansas State.

Ohio State would be in the thick of the playoff hunt if it had not lost to Virginia Tech in Week 2. But this week’s monumental matchup with Michigan State could be the surge the Buckeyes need to get back into the conversation.

36 states will hold gubernatorial elections on Tuesday, and according to the famed election prognosticators at FiveThirtyEight, Alabama’s incumbent governor Robert Bentley is the surest bet of them all. His chances of getting re-elected currently stand at over 99 percent, and the margin of victory is expected to be substantial.

FiveThirtyEight’s founder Nate Silver explains how they reached that conclusion:

1. We take polls and weight them based on recency, sample size and the FiveThirtyEight pollster ratings.
2. We adjust polls for house effects, and we adjust registered voter polls to make them comparable to likely voter surveys.
3. We estimate the uncertainty in each projection based on the volume and quality of polling, the number of undecided and third-party voters, the amount of variation in the polling and the number of days until the election.

After doing that, Silver’s team produced a graph, which shows the projections for all 36 races, from Connecticut, which is a true “toss up,” to Alabama, which polling indicates will be a blowout.

.@GovernorBentley is more likely to get re-elected than literally any other governor in America. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/jCBmZXi3vN

— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) November 1, 2014

FiveThirtyEight isn’t the first publication to point out that Bentley is performing exceptionally well in the polls.

The Washington Post recently produced a map showing which governors around the country are outperforming where the election models predict they “should” be in the polls. Bentley was found to be outperforming the projections by the second largest margin of any incumbent governor in the country.

Mitt Romney bested Barack Obama 60.55 percent to 38.36 percent in Alabama in 2012. Former Republican governor Bob Riley beat Democratic challenger Lucy Baxley 57.45 percent to 41.57 percent in 2006.

The question on Tuesday will not be whether Gov. Bentley wins a second term, but rather, will he outperform other Republicans who appeared at the top of the ticket in recent years.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims