Scribblin’ on the Bowls . . .
Although Christmas is hardly over, thoughts are turning from presents and holiday goodies to a more manly subject; that of football. This afternoon members of the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide will report to their respective team headquarters in Orlando and Dallas.
There will be team meetings tonight, then practice will resume tomorrow.
Before the teams broke camp on campus last week Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville reported that all of his players were in good health. Pre-Christmas practices had gone so well that he surprised the players by cutting the final session to about 30 minutes before sending them home.
Alabama practiced a little more than the Tigers before they broke for the holidays.
Perhaps it had to do with finding a replacement for Simeon Castille, who is academically ineligible for the bowl game.
Tide coach Mike Shula has also expressed satisfactory with the team’s practices. He says he feels a lot better about the work than he did a year ago.
• Auburn will play Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando in a game that is somewhat of a rematch of the Music City Bowl two years ago. Auburn won that game.
Tuberville says there isn’t a lot of difference between the SEC and the Big 10.
“If you look at their conference, you will see that they had some good teams, just as we did,” he said. “If you look down the line, their conference was probably a little bit more offense. That is a little different than what we saw the last time we played a Big 10 team in the Capital One Bowl.”
That was three years ago, when Auburn defeated Penn State in Orlando.
“It’s up and down; and both conferences are similar in that,” the Auburn coach continued.
“The Big 10 usually has bigger offensive linemen, but we’re used to seeing that. We played Michigan one year in the Citrus Bowl and they all looked like Marcus McNeill. And he is the only guy we have who looks like that.
“Wisconsin is the same. They have big offensive players who are very physical. It is a misnomer that they are big and slow. They have a lot of speed, as much as anybody. Their wide receivers can run; their running back is very quick. That is about the same as the teams we played in the SEC.
“The difference is they do some things different philosophy-wise, both on offense and defense. But player-wise, it is going to be very similar.”
The Crimson Tide
Alabama is a slight underdog to Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl. Head coach Mike Shula said the Crimson Tide has a lot of work to get ready for a very explosive football.
He said that Texas Tech is especially good on offense; that it has a lot of momentum right now.
All of this may change the way Alabama plans for the game. During the season the Tide relied heavily on its defense. The feeling was that Alabama could win if it scored a couple of touchdowns and kicked a field goal; or scored three touchdowns. But that philosophy may not hold up against a team capable of scoring a lot of points.
Shula said, however, he thinks finding ways to attack their defense may be as important as thinking about the Texas Tech offense.
“Their defense is solid, they don’t give up a lot of big plays,” he said. “They pick and choose their times to be aggressive and when they do that, they’re very effective.”
Obviously, the Tech defense has usually had a little lead so that makes it more effective, the same as it would any defense.
“It’s got to be something a little more so, the way we want to attack their defense,” Shula said.
Just as Alabama thinks its defense is one of the best in the country, so does Texas Tech.
“It’s probably better than what the numbers show and the numbers are good,” said head coach Mike Leach. “It’s just hard to put up good defensive numbers (statistics) with the level of offense in the Big 12.”
The Tech coach has also complimented Alabama’s level of defensive play. He said it was a good defense that goes about it impressive and gives a good performance.
However, Alabama has a different kind of defense than Texas Tech is used to seeing in that the defensive front isn’t very large but is extremely fast. Although Leach said that could present problems for his offense, he noted that when playing against a defense such as Alabama has, Texas Tech’s margin of error is much smaller.
That could present problems for the Tide, which has cashed in on turnovers during the season — such as Tennessee’s fumble at the goal line.
• Coach Leach said he has a picture of Coach Bryant in his office and has read a lot of books about him.
“Some of the most interesting things about him are his ability to handle a staff and a team. He had a great presence and a John Wayne-type of quality. There is a lot to be learned from him,” he noted.
http://gadsdentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051226/NEWS/51226001/1009
Although Christmas is hardly over, thoughts are turning from presents and holiday goodies to a more manly subject; that of football. This afternoon members of the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide will report to their respective team headquarters in Orlando and Dallas.
There will be team meetings tonight, then practice will resume tomorrow.
Before the teams broke camp on campus last week Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville reported that all of his players were in good health. Pre-Christmas practices had gone so well that he surprised the players by cutting the final session to about 30 minutes before sending them home.
Alabama practiced a little more than the Tigers before they broke for the holidays.
Perhaps it had to do with finding a replacement for Simeon Castille, who is academically ineligible for the bowl game.
Tide coach Mike Shula has also expressed satisfactory with the team’s practices. He says he feels a lot better about the work than he did a year ago.
• Auburn will play Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando in a game that is somewhat of a rematch of the Music City Bowl two years ago. Auburn won that game.
Tuberville says there isn’t a lot of difference between the SEC and the Big 10.
“If you look at their conference, you will see that they had some good teams, just as we did,” he said. “If you look down the line, their conference was probably a little bit more offense. That is a little different than what we saw the last time we played a Big 10 team in the Capital One Bowl.”
That was three years ago, when Auburn defeated Penn State in Orlando.
“It’s up and down; and both conferences are similar in that,” the Auburn coach continued.
“The Big 10 usually has bigger offensive linemen, but we’re used to seeing that. We played Michigan one year in the Citrus Bowl and they all looked like Marcus McNeill. And he is the only guy we have who looks like that.
“Wisconsin is the same. They have big offensive players who are very physical. It is a misnomer that they are big and slow. They have a lot of speed, as much as anybody. Their wide receivers can run; their running back is very quick. That is about the same as the teams we played in the SEC.
“The difference is they do some things different philosophy-wise, both on offense and defense. But player-wise, it is going to be very similar.”
The Crimson Tide
Alabama is a slight underdog to Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl. Head coach Mike Shula said the Crimson Tide has a lot of work to get ready for a very explosive football.
He said that Texas Tech is especially good on offense; that it has a lot of momentum right now.
All of this may change the way Alabama plans for the game. During the season the Tide relied heavily on its defense. The feeling was that Alabama could win if it scored a couple of touchdowns and kicked a field goal; or scored three touchdowns. But that philosophy may not hold up against a team capable of scoring a lot of points.
Shula said, however, he thinks finding ways to attack their defense may be as important as thinking about the Texas Tech offense.
“Their defense is solid, they don’t give up a lot of big plays,” he said. “They pick and choose their times to be aggressive and when they do that, they’re very effective.”
Obviously, the Tech defense has usually had a little lead so that makes it more effective, the same as it would any defense.
“It’s got to be something a little more so, the way we want to attack their defense,” Shula said.
Just as Alabama thinks its defense is one of the best in the country, so does Texas Tech.
“It’s probably better than what the numbers show and the numbers are good,” said head coach Mike Leach. “It’s just hard to put up good defensive numbers (statistics) with the level of offense in the Big 12.”
The Tech coach has also complimented Alabama’s level of defensive play. He said it was a good defense that goes about it impressive and gives a good performance.
However, Alabama has a different kind of defense than Texas Tech is used to seeing in that the defensive front isn’t very large but is extremely fast. Although Leach said that could present problems for his offense, he noted that when playing against a defense such as Alabama has, Texas Tech’s margin of error is much smaller.
That could present problems for the Tide, which has cashed in on turnovers during the season — such as Tennessee’s fumble at the goal line.
• Coach Leach said he has a picture of Coach Bryant in his office and has read a lot of books about him.
“Some of the most interesting things about him are his ability to handle a staff and a team. He had a great presence and a John Wayne-type of quality. There is a lot to be learned from him,” he noted.
http://gadsdentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051226/NEWS/51226001/1009
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