ROLL TIDE!

Well, another college football season is coming to an end, and once again THE University of ALABAMA is in contention for a title. This season, we'll be facing a solid, up-and-coming Clemson Tigers team coached by former BAMA player Dabo Swinney-- a member of the legendary 1992 TIDE Championship team. 

 Dabo is a fine fellow, a BAMA grad, and a great coach. Unfortunately, all of this won't be enough for his boys to win tonight's game. This will be a good contest, and Clemson is a great football team, but after the years of experience and last year's disappointing ending, The TIDE won't let THIS one get away.

The Tigers have some great athletes, but so does BAMA.

My game prediction...?
PAIN!

ALABAMA 31, CLEMSON 14

LATE GameDay Predictions

2015!

And it only took me A MONTH to start my pre-game predictions and comics!!

THE TIDE started out the season strong, but fumbled and slogged their way to a home loss against an opportunistic Ole Miss. The BlackBear Rebels took advantage of BAMA miscues and an incredibly unbelievable fortuitous bounce to top The TIDE in Tuscaloosa.
 After a disorganized victory over Louisiana-Monroe (featuring NUMEROUS dropped balls by our receivers!), BAMA will try to gain a badly-needed triumph in Stanford Stadium at Georgia. The Bulldogs are just a-rollin' along, with Grayson Lambert setting passing records and the seemingly-unstoppable Nick Chubb churning out yards.
 On what looks to be a sloppy, rain-drenched afternoon, look for BAMA to take one from the Bulldogs in classic, old-school fashion-- with a BIG twist. Kenyan Drake is a speedy, versatile back, just waiting to have a big showing after last year's injury. Derrick Henry is a huge, straight-up freight train who is hard to stop once he builds up a head of steam. The plot thickens with the addition of the highly-touted Bo Scarborough, who will see the first action of his career following a four-game suspension. Scarborough is as big as Henry, only thicker. And he can move.
 The TIDE will methodically play keep-away and eat clock as they slog up and down the field, leaving piles of sick puppies in the wake. (COMIC coming later...!)

PREDICTION: ALABAMA 35, GEORGIA 21

Elsewhere in the SEC:

Ole Miss and Florida look to be a good matchup.

OLE MISS 35, Florida 21

Aggies coming up, Bulldogs caught off-guard.

TEXAS A&M 31, Mississippi State 30

Spurrier's head will explode as Tigers prevail.

MISSOURI 28, South Carolina 21

WHO wants to win this game...?

TENNESSEE 21, Arkansas 20

LSU 49, Eastern Michigan 3

Around the Country:

OSU 45, Indiana 17

Baylor 49, Texas Tech 42

DUKE 31, Boston College 28

CLEMSON 31, Notre Dame 21

PLAYOFFS!! Sugar Bowl Comic! Prediction!

Well, here we are on the eve of a Sugar Bowl of historic proportions, as ALABAMA prepares to face off against OHIO State in a first-ever 'play-in' to a bona fide National Championship College Football Game.
The top-ranked, one-loss TIDE will clash with the 4th-ranked, one-loss Buckeyes in prime time-- the second playoff game of the day following the Oregon-Florida State Rose Bowl contest.

BRENTOONS BAMA Gameday Cover: BIG AL Nutcracker  prepares to crack open a Buckeye

   Urban Meyer brings a confident Buckeye squad into New Orleans with an underachieving chip on their shoulders to prove they belong. With a third-string quarterback and a string of victories against unimpressive foes, State wants desperately  to prove they belong in the Final Four.
 Coach Saban only has to remind his team of the importance of this game, the repercussions, and the total embarrassment from last season's Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma for motivation. The TIDE wants to rightly make history by advancing to the Championship Game, and will be focused on Ohio State Thursday night.

PREDICTION: 
ALABAMA 35, Ohio State 21

SEC Championship: More Tigers

Here we are again!
ALABAMA is in another SEC Championship Game, this time against the over-achieving Missouri Tigers.
Prediction: PAIN.

ALABAMA 35, Mizzou 17

ROLL TIDE!

IRON BOWL 2014

No more "Got a second...?".
That ship has sailed.
An entire year has passed, and 'the Big One' is upon us again. It's time for The IRON BOWL, the annual gridiron tilt between The UNIVERSITY of ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE and those other guys from across the state, the Auburn Tigers. ALABAMA has had a year to relive that last-second miracle, and you can bet they won't let anything like THAT happen again. As usual, here is my "GameDay Comic" and prediction of the outcome.

THE TIDE will be ready, and won't let any trick plays, bad bounces, or lucky breaks keep them from playing in the SEC Championship Game and the first-ever COLLEGE FOOTBALL DIVISION-1 PLAYOFF.

Prediction:

ALABAMA 35 Auburn 14

MSU GAMEDAY COMIC

BAMA-Mississippi State 2014

OKAY, then! It's not very often that there's a TOP-5 matchup in which The TIDE isn't the higher ranked team. It DOES happen, however. It's just unusual that it's MISSISSIPPI STATE that is The #1 Team.
Let's just let that sink in a minute, shall we...?

The Mississippi State Bulldogs, ALABAMA'S closest neighbor in the SEC is sitting atop the national college football rankings. The undefeated State is playing solid, mistake-free football and winning consistently. Although that IS a bit unusual, it's actually a GOOD thing for The TIDE. You see, it will bode better for ALABAMA the more highly-ranked teams we defeat. Not to take anything away from MSU, but BAMA has been on the biggest of big stages before. Numerous times. (The only thing that scares me is that Corso picked The TIDE to win, but I think we can overcome that ugly mojo...!)

I believe Coach Saban will have the men pumped, primed and ready to assume their rightful place in the top spot. If they can win this one, get by the cowpies/plainsmen/war-eagles/tigers or whatever and win the SEC Championship Game, their chances look pretty good.

GAMEDAY PREDICTION:

ALABAMA 31, MSU 20

BIG AL: GATOR Style...!

The UNIVERSITY of ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE overcame some early miscues to come alive and bury the Florida Gators in a nationally-televised (cbs) matchup, 45-21. BIG AL looked so snazzy after he skinned the pesky Gators and made an outfit out of the hide, SECQ Magazine put him on the cover! 

BAMA's BIG AL decked out in 'Gator Skin': Belts, Boots, Vest and Bag

ROLL TIDE! 

Freak Ending For Epic Iron Bowl

One second.
After a crazy, back-and-forth game frought with dropped passes, phantom penalties and missed kicks, The Iron Bowl-- the annual game between THE University of ALABAMA and auburn university --ended on the craziest of head-shaking, awe-inspiring plays.
 The only explanation is that those devil-worshipping, voodoo-wielding tigers/plainsmen/war-eagles or whatever hell-spawn must have utilized witchcraft or some type of black magic. I'll have to check the NCAA rulebook to see if this was even legal...!

 In honor of the improbable outcome, this Post-Iron Bowl cover features the cursed aubie running through jordan-hare stadium in his demonic jersey, wielding his arcane weapons: Salt thrown over his shoulder, wearing a four-leaf clover around his neck, and carrying both a horseshoe and a rabbit's foot as he steps around his home-made "Big Al" voodoo doll totem.
The ONLY logical explanation.

Now, the best BAMA can hope for is a repeat of history: an unlikely weekend of epic upsets, in which both Ohio State AND Florida State BOTH lose! The Buckeyes stand a VERY good chance of being upset by the more physical Michigan State Spartans, while the Seminoles are a lot less likely to lose to the Duke Blue Devils (who are seeing a resurgence under former Alabama qb David Cutcliffe).
Highly unlikely, but after seeing the ending to OUR game, it appears that in this last season of the BCS, ANYthing can happen!
ROLL TIDE ANYWAY!

2013: Pain For The Plainsmen

Wow!
THIS football season has really flown by, and these two teams have both certainly been the story!
THE TIDE, as expected, has sailed through and is poised to have a chance for a berth in the SEC Title Game AND a shot at an unprecedented 3rd Straight BCS Championship. The tigers, surprisingly, are still in the hunt and can both derail The CRIMSON TIDE's season AND put themselves in that very same SEC spot with a win. This is the most relevant IRON BOWL for BOTH teams in recent memory.
Gus Malzahn has done a fine job in motivating this tiger/plainsmen/war-eagle team and giving them focus. He has this team playing at a higher level than in the past, and has taken advantage of some VERY lucky breaks. He is certainly a lock for SEC (and possibly National) Coach of the Year.

Cowpie's End 

All of this will be for naught, though, as auburn's 'Cinderella Season' comes crashing to to a halt as BAMA overpowers them and eventually buries them in their own cowpie-filled pasture. On the downside, the game is on CBS, so we have to listen to Verne & Gary.

IRON BOWL GameDay Pick:
ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE      31
auburn                                   17

Barn Week

Well, it's "IRON BOWL" week again. The undefeated, top-ranked UNIVERSITY of ALABAMA will be facing a 1-Loss 4th-Ranked auburn. Looks to be a goodie up on the plains, so I'll have a few comics about this matchup this week-- starting with THIS one:

Topple the Tigers!

I'll be making my customary prediction later in the week, probably Friday.
ROLL TIDE!

MUCH Craziness!

With the level that THe UNIVERSITY of ALABAMA has been playing as of late, it's starting to look like EVERYbody wants to get in on the act...
This is starting to get a little out of hand...

NFL Chiefs fans want in on the action

Seattle Silliness

GAMEDAY Comic: LSU

ROLL TIDE!!

Yep... It's LSU Week Again...!

Apologies, again, for the sparse posts. Health and family-related issues have kept  me preoccupied.
Not surprisingly, The TIDE is rolling along this year as expected. These fine young men are buying into "The Process" and are on the verge of achieving something NO OTHER team has done in the modern era: A possible THREE-PEAT Championship, if they stay the course.

Coach NICK SABAN has done a mighty fine job of brushing away the distractions to mold this team into a methodical machine. Pounding rushing offense. Maybe pounding isn't strong enough... Punishing, maybe...?
A fast fleet of receivers. A smothering defense. Attention to detail and minimal mistakes.
As Coach so eloquently describes it: "Imposing our will...!"

On that note, HERE's this week's LSU Gameday Comic:

BIG AL stars in his own "Crimson Tide Comics", and literally kicks the corndogs out of the Bayou Bengals

The Bayou Bengals are battered, but still VERY dangerous. They ALWAYS play THE TIDE tough, and this year is no exception. Look for BAMA to eventually dominate, though.

Prediction: ALABAMA 31, LSU 17

BCS Title Game Thoughts

Well, here we are again. Another college football season winding down, another CRIMSON TIDE  appearance in the BCS Championship Game. Once again, all the haters can come out. Sadly, though, I didn't get to see their heads explode at the prospect of another all-SEC title game again.
 Sure-- just like last year, BAMA needed some help after a mid-season loss to get back in the picture, and just like last year-- they got it. Like I had said all year, Johnny 'Football' Manziel was the real deal, and dangerous. He made the plays, and Texas A&M's defense stepped up to the plate. Luckily, The TIDE fought their way back, teams ahead of them lost, and BAMA's back in the game-- this time as SEC Champs...!
 With SIX teams in the Top Ten, it's a shame that the Georgia Bulldogs didn't even get a BCS Bowl bid. After that SEC Championship Game slugfest with BAMA, they deserved it. With Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M, this was a pretty impressive showing. The Gators get the Sugar Bowl bid as next highest-ranked, and The Bulldogs are relegated to a lesser-tier bowl.

  VS  

ON to THIS year's CHAMPIONSHIP Game. I remember learning to hate Notre Dame early on. As a child, I had perfectly good Christmas Holiday vacations RUINED-- two years in a ROW-- by the Fighting Irish. Two weeks out of school, Christmas gifts, fun-fun-fun. All wiped away by soul-crushing losses by BAMA to Notre Dame. The first time in the Orange Bowl, 24-23. The very next year was a repeat in the Sugar Bowl, 13-11.

As a child, I had become accustomed to The CRIMSON TIDE always winning. When they lost-- on a national stage, no less-- I was emotionally confused. Back then, there were only a few games televised every year. If you were lucky, you could see The TIDE twice, maybe three times in a season. Usually, you listened to games on the radio. TV games were a rare treat, but better when the outcome was a win. 

Throughout the years, I've always harbored ill feelings for those bitter memories, as I'm sure thousands of fans have, as well.

 I was never "over-the-top" like SOME, though. I remember that there was a gas station on Schillinger Road that was obviously owned by auburn fans. After every TIDE  loss, they always would post something 'clever' and derogatory about The CRIMSON TIDE. After the '74 season, following the Sugar Bowl loss, they posted "THE TIDE GOT ROLLED" on their marquis. I knew it was a bad idea for them when I saw it. After the first day or so, someone broke (vandalized) their sign, but inexplicably THEY PUT IT UP AGAIN!

 The following weekend, some bitter redneck burned the gas station to the ground! These lunatics took that stuff seriously even way back then...!

 I will post my thoughts and prediction for the upcoming game in a week or so. In the meantime.....

ROLL TIDE!!

ONCE Upon a Time.... SAD CORNDOGS!

WHAT IF "BIG AL" and his travels throughout the SEC were put into picture-books? Here's a page from a possible collection of children's stories......

SOOEY, PIG..!! TIDE ROLLS INTO FAYETTEVILLE TO SLAUGHTER HAWGS!!

Well, the Arkansas Razorbacks lost last week to an unranked Louisiana-Monroe, dropping out of the Top25 and KILLING BAMA's power rankings. ESPN Gameday was scheduled to broadcast from Fayetteville, but Arkansas ruined their opportunity to be the center of the 'College Football Universe'. Tyler Wilson will mercifully be held out to save him another beating.

Prediction: ALABAMA 35, Arkansas 14

auburn 28, ULM 27.... plainsmen/war-eagles/tigers get lucky. It would be great if they lost, as it would put Louisiana-Monroe 2-0 and in first place in the SEC West. The TIDE needs cow college to win for our strength-o-schedule ratings.

tennessee 31, Florida 24.... I hate orange, but we need the Viles to win for OUR power rankings. I think they just might be a little more explosive than the seemingly plodding gators.

South Carolina 28, UAB 10..... meh... spurrier... who cares anymore.....
LSU 31, Idaho 10...... Mmmmmm..... taters...... Corndogs should handle them easily..
Georgia 45, Florida Atlantic 24..... Bulldogs secondary exposed, but they still win easily
Vanderbilt 28, Presbyterian 10.... meh
I hope Mississippi State can beat Troy, and that Ole Miss can get by Texas, but I'm afraid to make those two picks. I don't know enough about Missouri or Texas A&M yet to predict those.
I just hope they ALL win their out-of-conference match-ups.

ROLL TIDE!

ALLSTATE Premier Sponsor of BAMA's Upcoming Beatdown of Michigan

Allstate Insurance Announced as The Premier Partner of

Cowboys Classic on College Football Opening Weekend

Alabama-Michigan game at Cowboys Stadium on Sept.1 will feature the Allstate Tailgate Tour, halftime kick promotion and appearance by Cowboys legend Jay Novacek

NORTHBROOK, Ill. – Allstate Insurance Company today announced it has become The Premier Partner of the Cowboys Classic to be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sept. 1. As part of the deal with the Dallas Cowboys, Allstate will receive signage and activation rights around the game between the University of Alabama and the University of Michigan on college football’s opening weekend.

The agreement will allow the company to raise its Allstate “Good Hands^®” field goal net behind the stadium goalposts and engage fans with the traveling Allstate Tailgate Tour located at the ESPN Fan Fest outside of Cowboys Stadium.  At the Allstate Tailgate Tour, a unique and interactive fan experience, fans can participate in college football-themed games and activities and receive an autograph from Dallas Cowboys legend Jay Novacek.

“For Allstate, joining hands with the Dallas Cowboys as The Premier Partner of the Cowboys Classic is a great way to celebrate the kickoff of the 2012 college football season,” said Lisa Cochrane, Allstate’s senior vice president of marketing.  “We are thrilled to help Cowboys Stadium host Alabama, reigning champions of the 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship™, and Michigan, defending champions of the 2012 Allstate^® Sugar Bowl^®, and their fans in a great environment for college football.”

A three-time Super Bowl champion as a tight end with the Cowboys, Novacek will be on the field at halftime when two lucky fans – one representing Alabama and the other Michigan – compete to see who can convert the most successful field goals from the 15-yard line in 60 seconds.  Allstate will present the winner with $4,000 and tickets to either the 2012 Southeastern Conference or Big Ten Conference championship game.

“We are proud to welcome Allstate, a company that has shown great commitment to the sport of college football and to enhancing the overall experience for its fans, as The Premier Partner of the Cowboys Classic,” said Jerry Jones Jr., Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer.

The 2012 Cowboys Classic will be broadcast live on ABC at 7 p.m. CDT on Sept. 1

Alabama fans can stop by the Allstate Tailgate Tour located at the ESPN Fan Fest outside of Cowboys Stadium to participate in college football-themed games and activities and receive an autograph from Dallas Cowboys legend Jay Novacek. The three-time Super Bowl champion will be on the field at halftime when two lucky fans – one representing Alabama and the other Michigan – compete to see who can convert the most successful field goals from the 15-yard line in 60 seconds. Allstate will present the winner with $4,000 and tickets to either the 2012 Southeastern Conference or Big Ten Conference championship game.
Courtesy of Katy Sparrow--TAYLOR Strategy

BAMA Had Game Won Before Kickoff

The beatdown of LSU by THE University of ALABAMA Crimson Tide was inevitable. The BCS National Championship Game was literally won before the first snap.
The Bayou Bengals, despite their dirty play, domination of OTHER opponents, and undefeated record KNEW they were lucky to be in their position. If not for BAMA's special-teams missed-kick miscues, LSU would have lost in Tuscaloosa in November. The TIDE was ready, motivated and hungry.
I had a feeling that BAMA would probably win big, and my suspicions were verified about 6 hours before kickoff. That's right. Coach Nick Saban got so far up in the head of Les Miles that any doubts I had were gone. Erased. Kaput.
 Early gameday afternoon, Coach Miles is out at midfield of The Superdome, posing for photos with family, boosters, whoever. Coach Saban walks out of the locker room, across the field, circles their perimeter in close proximity, yet never looks their direction or acknowledges Miles in any way.
 The expressions were priceless. But don't take my word for it. Look HERE:
http://youtu.be/nznM-BMJvSU

ROLL TIDE, brothers and sisters.

New TIDE Cartoon

Sorry for the delay.

As I was up in D.C. for the birth of my first grandson, Preston Daniel Hundley, I was too busy to crank out some National Championship drawings commemorating The TIDE's 21-0 shutout of LSU in the BCS Title Game.

This Week's GAME Of The CENTURY

 Alrighty, kids! Armageddon has arrived!
The Mighty Top-Ranked Louisiana State Tigers waltz into town to face THE Second-ranked UNIVERSITY of ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE in a game that is being set up by media pundits and 'talking heads' as one for the ages!
The frenzied build-up will rise to a crescendo this evening as all eyes in the college football world will be on Tuscaloosa's BRYANT-Denny Stadium in a universally-televised (CBS) matchup of SEC West Titans.
 I imagine that immediately after kickoff, it will sound like the opening day of dove hunting season:

BAM! BAM! BAM-BAM! BAM!

  These are two of the hardest-hitting teams in college football, and it'll show-- and be heard. The consensus is that the squads are pretty evenly-matched, but I think the difference will be our defense. The Tigers have been successful against lesser competition, but I think The TIDE will bring a little bit more to the fight.

 Look for quarterback AJ McCarron to have a modest, yet workman-like night, and for Trent Richardson and his gang to eventually plow through the bayou bengals defense late.

Brentoons's Pick: ALABAMA 24, LSU 14