NCAA FOOTBALL WAGERING PREVIEW

NCAA Gameday: The Tide Needs Touchdowns

With a pivotal conference showdown against LSU, the stingy Crimson Tide know victory lies in the end zone

Nov. 10, 2005

By Carlisle Richards
BodogNation Contributing Writer

No. 5 LSU (7-1) at No. 4 Alabama (9-0)

The 9-0 Alabama Crimson Tide have one of the nastiest, rough n' rugged defenses in the nation. Low scores are common, yards against are not, but how long can they stay unbeaten without an offense to match the not-in-our-house attitude of their defense?

"Our defense is good enough to win the national championship," quarterback Brodie Croyle said to The Crimson White. "We just aren't playing up to their standards."

The word broke comes to mind when talking about the Alabama offense, which has gone 13 quarters with only one touchdown in conference play. That instability on offense makes the Tide the shakiest team in the Associated Press Top 5, and their perfect record never has been in more peril. They're underdogs at home against a balanced, talented LSU squad that's surrendered three points in its past two games.

Despite the dominance of its defense - which is averaging a scary 8.2 points against - Alabama can't continue to shoot blanks into the end zone if it expects to contend for the national crown. In last week's 17-0 victory at Mississippi State, Croyle was a frustrating 14-for-22 for 116 yards and two interceptions as the offense mustered only a field goal against a defense that has given up an average of 30 points to Top 25 squads. Even worse, 14 of the 17 points 'Bama scored were put up while the offense was sipping Gatorade on the sidelines.

The first TD came from a Mississippi State fumble when 'Bama receiver Matt Miller picked up the ball and rumbled into the end zone. The second was a 17-yard interception from defensive lineman Rudy Griffin.

The Tide stayed undefeated, but appear far from unbeatable.

"If we play the way we played [against Mississippi State] against a team like LSU, we will lose," coach Mike Shula told the Associated Press this week.

The Top 50 offensive performance from a Top 5 squad has put pressure on Croyle. He must find a way to get his team to pay dirt otherwise LSU will likely claim victory on national television. The Tide offense has been searching for someone with gamebreaker skills since wide receiver Tyrone Prothro broke his leg against Florida. Without the speedy Prothro, Croyle has put up mediocre averages of 180 passing yards and zero touchdowns against SEC opponents. Junior running back Kenneth Darby has given them a steady 5.7 yards per carry, but the running game can't be your only dimension when you're in the red zone.

"It's frustrating, definitely frustrating, that we can't get into the end zone," Croyle told AP. "It seems like if we could do it one time, things could kind of escalate from there. But I don't know what the deal is. ... We're not scoring, we're not doing good on offense and it's my fault. I'm the guy who's responsible."

With Croyle clearly feeling the heat, 'Bama supporters are chanting the old adage "defense wins championships" as if it were a prayer. But don't forget, defense may win championships, but offense wins games. Come Saturday, 'Bama's fate will be in the hands of Croyle and his unit.

No. 15 Auburn (7-2) at No. 9 Georgia (7-1)

Timing is everything in sports, and college football isn't the exception to the rule.

Approaching the biggest game of their season the Georgia Bulldogs had to put their biggest dog, quarterback D.J. Shockley, on a leash. They subsequently watched his replacement prove he deserves to remain a backup.

Without the injured Shockley, Georgia lost 14-10 to Florida last week at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. The outcome knocked them out of national title contention. But Shockley is recovered from his knee sprain and has his eyes set on the conference title.

"Myself and a couple of seniors on this team are going to have to really step up and make it known to our teammates that we still have a whole lot more to play for. The SEC is one of our biggest goals and that's still in our hands and we have to play for that," Shockley told AP.

To bring home the SEC East, Shockley and the Bulldogs need to win two games in a row. And will be put to the test against an Auburn team that found its offense in blowouts of Mississippi (27-3) and Kentucky (49-27), and opened as a respectable 4-point underdog.

No. 1 USC (9-0) at California (6-3)

Trivia question: Who was the last team to defeat the USC Trojans?

Answer: The California Golden Bears - who won 34-31 in triple-overtime on Sept. 27, 2003.

Although the large spread for Saturday's game proves that this may be another notch in Matt Leinart's belt, one can't help but look at history and think if anyone has a chance down the stretch to give coach Pete Carroll another heart attack (like the Fighting Irish did) it's the Bears.

"Last time we were up there, we all know what happened," Leinart told AP after a 51-21 rout of Stanford.

And with another national title relying on a perfect season, the Trojans will be sure to remember the past when they face the Golden Bears on Saturday.

For those hangin' at the game, the Bodog.com Street Team is going back to Cali. After rollin' through Memorial Stadium in Los Angeles last week, the Bodog Hummer and legion of Bodog Girls will be bringing their parties and prizes to Berkley, Calif. Don't miss 'em.

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