Happy Friday everyone. The Gym Tide face a tough task tonight as they take on No. 1 ranked powerhouse Oklahoma in Norman. The Sooners are defending their third national title in four seasons.
We will keep you updated on Charles Bediako’s condition. He will learn today whether he will be granted a ban to keep him eligible for the remainder of the season. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey signed an affidavit opposing its ban. We’ll see how the judge decides.
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The women’s basketball team survived a close game last night.
The No. 23 Crimson Tide (20-4, 6-4 SEC) defeated No. 14 Ole Miss (19-5, 6-3 SEC) on Thursday at Coleman Coliseum. The win gave Alabama its fifth consecutive 20-win season.
Alabama led by four points after the first quarter and took the lead heading into the final quarter on ace Austin’s late 3-pointer. Diana Collins gave Alabama the lead on a layup with less than 20 seconds left, then Jessica Timmons charged to give the ball back to Alabama.
It was another poor shooting game for the Crimson Tide, which shot 30 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from the field against LSU on Sunday. Alabama’s defense kept them in the game in this game, holding Mississippi State to less than 40 percent shooting for much of the game.
It’s a big accomplishment for the SEC standings, but with a 20-4 record, the ladies should be firmly in the NCAA field again.
We now know that Alabama will play the Homecoming Players.
Alabama football announced Thursday that its annual homecoming game is scheduled for Oct. 24 when the Tide hosts Texas A&M.
The Crimson Tide and Aggies will meet in Game 17th For the first time in series history, UA holds a 13-3 (.813) advantage in the series. Alabama owns an 89-14-1 (.861) all-time homecoming record and has won 22 of its past 25 homecoming games since 2000.
Start times and network designations will be announced at a later date. Additionally, more information about Homecoming, including additional events, transportation and parking information, will be posted on RollTide.com.
There aren’t many easy options on the schedule for this game these days.
Guess what’s the biggest unknown for Alabama this season? I bet you know.
Any time you replace a starting quarterback with an inexperienced option, there’s bound to be some uncertainty. It’s no different here.
Austin Mack has been playing college football since 2023 and Keelon Russell is entering his second season. But neither got enough playing time. Mack has the most, which really only includes the first half of the series against Louisiana-Monroe, with the rest coming in the Rose Bowl after Ty Simpson left with an injury.
Russell, meanwhile, won’t take on cleanup duties until his freshman season in 2025.
Both are interesting and talented choices. Both are unproven and unknown unless proven otherwise.
The offensive line is there as well and will contribute to the success at the quarterback position, but there is a wide range of possibilities for quarterback play this season. Hopefully Kieron Russell is ready to be Bryce in the second year, because that would be the best-case scenario.
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Amari Sabb talks about why he chose Alabama.
“I’ve known Alabama since I was younger and they were a strong program,” Amari Sabu said. “But when you actually get up there and see these things firsthand, you think, how could you not come to this school? A rich history, a rich program, always going to be a good team. How could you not go there?”
Sabu saw an opportunity at Alabama, an opportunity he had been working toward since he first picked up football at age 5 when he received offers from Penn State, the University of Mississippi and the University of Georgia in seventh grade, scoring his first four touchdowns in a game.
“Amari never shied away from the bright lights,” Glassboro High School football coach Timmy Breaker said. “He actually likes bright lights.”
Finally, Reggie Ragland had something to say about last season’s team.
“At times, I felt like the guys couldn’t control the point of attack,” said Ragland, now West Alabama’s director of player personnel under Scott Cochran. “Guys would be thrown around the clubhouse. Sometimes defenders wouldn’t come up and make tackles.”
In other words, soft.
This is not new. Follow Ragland on Twitter back in the day and you’ll know those complaints were consistent during a difficult stretch last season.
“I feel like you guys haven’t had a lot of physicality throughout the year because of this Indiana game, I’m like, what the hell happened? Even, even if you work your ass off and miss games, at least you can be physical on the field and let them know you’re still there.
A little more toughness would be a good thing, but all the players in the Saban era who constantly complained publicly were going to become unproductive at some point.
That’s it for today. have a good weekend.
Curly tide.