AMEDAYG2:30 p.m. Oct. 9, 2010 South Carolina TV: CBS2:30 p.m. Oct. 9, 20102:30 p.m. Oct. 9, 2010 South Carolina TV: CBSSouth Carolina TV: CBS

Now that the Crimson Tide defense has shut down two top-10 SEC opponents, the team has proven it deserves its No. 1 ranking.

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NO MORE DOUBTING

2010 ALABAMA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 4 San Jose State Tuscaloosa, Ala. W 48-3

Sept. 11 Penn State Tuscaloosa, Ala. W 24-3

Sept. 18 Duke Durham, N.C. W 62-13

Sept. 25 Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. W 24-20

Oct. 2 Florida Tuscaloosa, Ala. W 31-6

Oct. 9 South Carolina Columbia, S.C.

Oct. 16 Mississippi Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Oct. 23 Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn.

Nov. 6 LSU Baton Rouge, La.

Nov. 13 Mississippi State Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Nov. 18 Georgia State Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Nov. 26 Auburn Tuscaloosa, Ala.

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AY October 7

GAMEDAY STAFF• Jason Galloway, GameDay editor• Laura Owens, assistant GameDay editor• Victor Luckerson, editor-in-chief• Jonathan Reed, managing editor• Brandee Easter, print-production editor• Emily Johnson, design editor• Chris Jackson, art director• Adam Greene, chief copy editor• Jerrod Seaton, photo editor• Drew Hoover, assistant photo editor

Keeping up with the hypeThe Tide defense have overcome scrutiny this season and now shows flashes of last year’s dominance. Page 4

INSIDE GameDay|

3 | XBOX 360 SIMULATION

Alabama proved the simulation wrong last week by dominating Florida. The Crimson Tide may

have to prove the Xbox wrong again this week against South

Carolina.By Lake Koelling

8 | RELIVING THE TRADITIONFormer Crimson Tide running back Shaun Alexander, one of the great-est players in Alabama history, sits down with GameDay to dis-cuss his college career, NFL career and video game covers.

By Jordan Eichenblatt

CW | Jerrod Seaton

8 | AROUND THE CONFERENCEWill Tennessee or Georgia get their first SEC win this week?

Will LSU be exposed by the Florida Gators? Check out our

around the conference section for previews of other SEC games.

By Tony Tsoukalas

GAME INFO SATURDAY,

OCT. 9

Cover photo: CW | Jerrod Seaton

• Field: Williams-Brice Stadium• Place: Columbia, S.C.• Time: 2:30 p.m.• TV: CBSAlabama

(5-0)

vsSouth Carolina

(3-1)

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2

GAM

EDAY October 7

“Yeah, we’re good enough that I don’t see their bye weeks hurting our chances of winning. It just makes us look better.”

Blake Williams Senior

political science

“We are the No. 1 team in the country, so teams need an extra week to prepare.”

Millie Fisher Freshman

business

“No, I don’t think it is fair, but I think we’ll be able to handle it well.”

Ely Jones Senior

operations management

AP POLL1. Alabama (58)2. Ohio State (1)3. Oregon4. Boise State (1)5. TCU6. Oklahoma7. Nebraska8. Auburn9. Arizona10. Utah11. Arkansas12. LSU13. Miami (FL)14. Florida15. Iowa16. Stanford17. Michigan State18. Michigan19. South Carolina20. Wisconsin21. Nevada22. Oklahoma State23. Florida State24. Missouri25. Air Force

COACHES’ POLL1. Alabama (57)2. Ohio State (1)3. Oregon4. Boise State5. TCU6. Nebraska7. Oklahoma8. Auburn9. LSU10. Utah11. Arizona12. Florida13. Arkansas14. Miami (FL)15. Iowa16. Michigan State17. Michigan18. Stanford19. Wisconsin20. South Carolina21. Oklahoma State22. Missouri23. Nevada24. Florida State25. Northwestern

SECTIONSECTIONstudentstudentwhat you’re saying...

CW | Jerrod Seaton

Every opponent remaining on Alabama’s schedule has a bye before they play the Tide. Is that unfair?

JASON GALLOWAYGameDay Editor

LAURA OWENSAsst. GameDay Editor

POLL OF THE WEEK

GameDay Picks LeaderboardSara Elizabeth Matthews — 64/72 (88.89%)

Alex Austin — 63/72 (87.5%)

Wes Hawkins — 63/72 (87.5%)

Alex Cotter — 62/72 (86.11%)

John McWilliams — 62/72 (86.11%)

Nathan Gilbert — 62/72 (86.11%)

61/72 (84.72%)

58/72 (80.56%)

—

—

Make picks before this week’s

games at

gameday.ua.edu.Leaders will have their

names published in GameDay.

> 1> 2> 2> 3> 3> 3

Zero (7%)

One (14%)

Two (36%)

Three (29%)

Four or more (14%)

How many times will the Alabama defense

pick off Stephen Garcia Saturday?

THIS WEEK’S WINNERS

J.D. Cousart — 16/17Marcus Bishop — 16/17

“None of these teams broke any rules, so it’s not exactly ‘unfair.’ It could play a factor in being better rested from inju-ries, but having a bye week isn’t neces-sarily good--if you’re on a winning streak, you could lose momentum before the best team in the country.”

Jasmin Bush Senior

general health sciences

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XBOX 360 SIMULATION

Xbox 360 screenshot

ALABAMAALABAMA 7 SOUTH CAROLINA 13CRIMSON TIDE StatisticsCRIMSON TIDE StatisticsTotal Yards: 359Passing: 254 ydsRushing: 105 ydsTurnovers: 3 (3 INTs)Passing: Greg McElroy: 16-of-30, 84 yds, 3 INTsTop Rusher: Mark Ingram: 21 rushes, 81 ydsTop Receiver: Marquis Maze: 3 receptions, 71 ydsTop defensive performer: Luther Davis: 6 tack-les (4 TFL), 3 sacks

GAMECOCK StatisticsTotal Yards: 178Passing: 179 ydsRushing: -1 ydsTurnovers: 2 (2 INTs)Passing: Stephen Garcia: 14-of-22, 179 yds, 2 INTsTop Rusher: Marcus Lattimore: 18 rushes, 18 ydsTop defensive performer: Shaq Wilson: 8 tackles (2 TFL), 1 INT (82-yd TD)

Compiled by Lake Koelling

Who’s

Who’s H O T

Alabama defense – Since getting jolted by Ryan Mallett in the fi rst half of the Arkansas game, the Tide has allowed just nine points and forced six turnovers.

Auburn – The Tigers are 5-0, and their only two challenging games before the Iron Bowl — Arkansas and LSU — are both at home.

N O TSEC East – The SEC East has just two ranked teams to the West’s four, and every East team except South Carolina, who was on a bye, lost last week.

H O T

N O T

APSouth Carolina linebacker Shaq Wilson intercepts a pass in the Gamecocks’ simulated victory over Alabama.

Kentucky – The Wildcats have lost their last two games after starting 3-0 — a 48-14 blowout to Florida and a seven-point loss to a struggling Ole Miss team.

=MORE PLAYLESS PAY

MOVE IN TODAY IMMEDIATE SPACES AVAILABLE

Growing to its potential

CW | Jerrod Seaton

Dre Kirkpatrick stares down Trey Burton after tackling him during Alabama’s 31-6 victory over Florida Saturday.

Looking at the first half of the Crimson Tide’s game against the Arkansas Razorbacks

two weeks ago, one could

understand why the

University of Alabama’s

defense was under serious scrutiny at the beginning of the season.

BY ZAC AL-KHATEEBSports Reporter

zialkhateeb@crimson.ua.edu

6

GAM

EDAY October 7

After a half of missed assign-ments and blown coverage the Tide’s defense appeared as if it would be the undoing of another undefeated season. Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett was on pace to shred the secondary for 500 yards through the air and the Razorbacks left the half with a 17-7 lead. Then something clicked. “I think it was an awakening,” said sophomore safety Robert Lester. “It made us realize that we can’t go in and just play half football against great teams. We have to show that we’re capable of coming out on the first play and playing great football to the last play.” From then on, the Tide’s defense has been spectacular. After that first half of football against Arkansas, the Tide defense has only given up nine points, with no touchdowns, in three halves since. Furthermore, the defense proved itself oppor-tunistic, forcing six turnovers in those 90 minutes. After its terrible first half against Arkansas, the Tide defense wanted to prove it was the real deal. It did that and more against the Florida Gators as the defense harassed quarterbacks John Brantley and Trey Burton. What’s more, the Tide defense held the Gator’s offense to less than 300 hundred total yards of offense while forcing three inter-ceptions and a fumble recovery. Despite only getting one sack in the game, the defense hound-ed Brantley all night, keeping him constantly pressured. The defense even held its own at the goal line twice. But Alabama’s defense has no

false illusions of grandeur. The play-ers know they’re still growing, and that they still have plenty of work left to do. Head coach Nick Saban noted how well his team competed against Florida. “You have to be really pleased and proud, watching film, with the intensity they had,” Saban said. “This last game was a real team win.” Naturally, Saban found areas of improvement, not just for his defense but for his entire team. “Teams at this time of the year

need to be aware of what their weak-nesses are,” Saban said. “That’s where you start getting exposed if you don’t correct it. The biggest thing is to continue to challenge yourself and challenge others.” Indeed, the defense has taken that lesson to heart, as the Tide ranks third in the nation in contain-ing its opponent’s passing efficien-cy. Lester himself leads the Tide in interceptions with four, which ties for third in the nation. “Before the season started, I had a goal that any ball that I touch, I was gonna make mine, and if there’s

a ball in the air, we’re going to go get it,” Lester said. “Our DBs, we’re hungry for interceptions, that’s why we have 11. So, I’m pretty sure if the ball goes deep, our DBs and linebackers are going to come down with it.” Of course, the Tide’s growth and maturity has been noticed on the other side of the ball as well. Junior running back Mark Ingram noted how Alabama’s defense contribut-ed to the win on a night where the offense struggled, at least statisti-cally. “They were swarming out there

CW | Drew Hoover

Sophomore linebacker Courtney Upshaw sacks Florida quarterback John Brantley during Alabama’s 31-6 victory over the Gators last week.

Your exclusive source for official GameDay updates.

The Mi l l ion Dol lar Band. Sweet Home Alabama. Rammer Jammer. Dix ieland Del ight . We Wil l Rock You. and more. . .

Hear Alabama’s sports anthems played on game day Saturdays till midnight.

7G

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AY October 7 game, despite taking a hit in num-bers, is still one of the nation’s best: they rank No. 19 nation-ally, giving up an average of 102 yards per game. The Tide’s total defense is ranked 20th nationally, only yielding an average of 292 yards a game. Another huge aspect of the defense is its superb red zone defense. For the year, Alabama’s defense has only allowed 14 trips to the red zone, and they’ve only given up eight scores. This ranks the Tide third in the nation in red zone scoring percentage at 57 percent. Even more astound-ing is its touchdown percentage allowed in the red zone. On 14 attempts, opponents have only scored a touchdown twice, the nation’s best percentage. Lester noted the toughness of his team when backed up against the wall. “That’s the mentality,” Lester said. “The defense never wants an opponent to score on us. We want to keep them off the board as much as possible, because if the offense doesn’t score a point, and the defense doesn’t give up a point, then it’s a tie game, and no

one can win. That’s the mentality going in.” The Tide’s newest challenge will take the form of the No. 19 South Carolina Gamecocks, who host the Tide Saturday in Columbia, S.C. Perhaps the big-gest test Saturday will come from South Carolina freshman running back Marcus Lattimore, though Saban noted the physicality of the entire Gamecock team. “We had a tough, physical game with this team last year,” Saban said. “They run the ball well offen-sively. Steve [Spurrier] always does a good job. Lattimore’s really an outstanding player. This’ll be a very challenging game for us.” As Alabama’s defense contin-ues to grow in confidence and experience, however, the Tide looks to start dominating its opponents on a whole new level. The defense has already started the process and can only grow from here on out. “I think they’ve grown up a lot from week one to now,” Ingram said. “They still have lots of room to continue to improve, so it should be a treat to see what they develop into.”

Points allowedPassing yards allowedTotal yards allowedTurnovers forcedOpponent red zone chances/TDS

17250301

12/4

9309401

60/4

First half Arkansas Three halves since

COMPARISON OF DEFENSIVE STATS FROM ARKANSAS TO FLORIDA

last game,” Ingram said. “They were relentless. They created a lot of turnovers and helped the offense out a whole lot when we weren’t doing too well.” Despite the maturation of the Tide defense, Saban said they still have to keep challenging them-selves and compete at a high level more consistently. “I think our team’s progressing, but each week presents a new chal-lenge,” Saban said. “Are we going to be able to challenge ourselves to continue to compete at a high standard? So far we’ve responded fairly well, but not consistently. “People need to challenge each other every day. I do think there are more players playing with more confidence. But we need to build off that.” Of course, things don’t seem as

bad as Saban makes them out to be. While Alabama’s defense still isn’t where it wants to be in terms of competitiveness, the Tide leads the nation in scoring defense, only allowing opponents an average of nine points per game. The ground

CW | Drew Hoover

Linebacker Chavis Williams takes a dive in his attempt to sack Florida quarter-back John Brantley.

8

GAM

EDAY October 7

Ar undthe

# 14 FLORIDA# 14 FLORIDA

#12 #12 LSULSUGAME OF THE WEEK

CW | Drew Hoover

Florida quarterback John Brantley throws the ball in a 31-6 loss to Alabama last week. Brantley will try to bounce back against LSU this week after throwing three interceptions against the Crimson Tide.

LSU comes into the Swamp after barely surviving an upset last week against Tennes-see. LSU has yet to show up on offense this season as the undefeated Tigers have relied heavily on junior cornerback Patrick Peterson on both defense and special teams. The Gators come into the game hungry for a win after they were outplayed mightily by Alabama. Both teams will look at this game as an opportunity to prove that they belong at the top of the SEC pack.

Something has to give as both teams come into the game looking for their fi rst SEC win.

Cam Newton looks to build on his Heisman candidacy as the Tigers face a Kentucky team that gave up 42 points to Ole Miss.

SECSEC

KENTUCKY

@

Time:6:30 p.m. on ESPN

Series:Florida leads

30-23-3

GEORGIAGEORGIA

#8 AUBURN

TENNESSEE

mething has t

Q&AReliving the tradition withShaun Alexander

GameDay: How were you recruited to the University of Alabama?

Shaun Alexander: I was recruited by the greatest run-ning back coach in history, Ivy Williams. We were a proba-tion class and had 14 students with scholarships, among them two of my closest friends: Fernando Bryant and Chris Samuels. Three of us among the 14 became first-round draft picks. I picked Alabama over Notre Dame, USC and Michigan.

By Jordan EichenblattContributing Writer

As the all-time Alabama leader in rushing yards (3,565) and rushing touchdowns (41), Shaun Alexander is undoubt-edly one of the greatest Crimson Tide players of all time. The former NFL MVP sat down with GameDay to discuss his career at Alabama from 1996-99.

GD: What did it mean to you as a team to beat Florida twice like you did in 1999?

SA: Every team that puts on the crimson jersey wants to leave their mark. Our mark was beating Florida and breaking their home streak of winning 30-some home games in a row. Then, Alabama winning the SEC championship was a mark for all the players and our legacy with Alabama.

Former Alabama running back Shaun Alexander breaks a tackle against Florida. He is the school record holder in career rushing yards and touchdowns.

Bryant Museum

GD: What was your favorite memory of playing for the Tide?

SA: I had many great memories with each season but a few that stand out are the LSU game my freshman year, senior year the overtime run versus Florida, the whole fourth quarter of my senior game against Auburn and – of course – the SEC championship.

GD: Better feeling: running out of the tunnel for the NFL or at Bryant-Denny Stadium?

SA: I had a funny experience in that my first preseason game with the Seattle Seahawks. Only 30,000 people were in the stands. I asked back-up quarterback

GD: You have been on the cover of the Madden video game and the NCAA video game. Which one do you like seeing yourself on the cover and why?

Brock Huard, “Where is every-one?” We had 60,000 people show up to our practices at Alabama. It took a couple of years with the Seahawks, but we got the big-ger crowds. There is nothing like playing before Alabama fans in Alabama.

SA : I felt like the col-lege video was the big one because I never imagined I would have a [video game cover] as a 22-year-old college kid. It was a shock and awe kind of feeling. The Madden game was very special and cool, but I could kind of see it com-ing. I had just won the MVP and the people from Madden started whispering to me that I would be the next cover boy. So, that made the playoffs super fun. It was a great honor to be on the game.

Cam Newton loo

Get your game face on.And your game hat. And your game shirt.

And your game shorts. . .

We are open on Game Day:

Ferguson CenterTutwiler Hall

Bryant MuseumTent on the Quad

Tent at Soccer Lot

ALABAMAALABAMA SOUTH CAROLINASOUTH CAROLINAKEY PLAYERS

LTLGC

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James Carpenter (Sr.)Chance Warmack (So.)William Vlachos (Jr.)Barrett Jones (So.)D.J. Fluker (So.)Michael Williams (R-Fr.)Preston Dial (Sr.)Greg McElroy (Sr.)Mark Ingram (Jr.)Julio Jones (Jr.)Marquis Maze (Jr.)

Jarriel King (Sr.)Garrett Chisolm (Sr.)T.J. Johnson (So.)Rokevious Watkins (Jr.)Kyle Nunn (Jr.)Patrick DiMarco (Sr.)Stephen Garcia (Jr.)Marcus Lattimore (Fr.)Alshon Jeffery (So.)Tori Gurley (So.)D.L. Moore (So.)

Marcell Dareus (Jr.)Josh Chapman (Jr.)Damion Square (Sr.)Courtney Upshaw (Jr.)Dontʼa Hightower (So.)Nico Johnson (So.)Jerrell Harris (Jr.)Dre Kirkpatrick (So.)Robert Lester (So.)Mark Barron (Jr.)DeQuan Menzie (Jr.)

OFFENSIVE STARTERS DEFENSIVE STARTERSDEDTDE

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OFFENSIVE STARTERSLTLGC

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DEFENSIVE STARTERSDEDTDTDE

WLBMLBSPUR

CBCBSS

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Devin Taylor (So.)Travian Robertson (Jr.)Ladi Ajiboye (Sr.)Cliff Matthews (Sr.)Shaq Wilson (Jr.)Josh Dickerson (Sr.)Antonio Allen (Jr.)Stephon Gilmore (So.)Chris Culliver (Sr.)D.J. Swearinger (So.)DeVonte Holloman (So.)

KP

PRKR

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Cade Foster (Fr.)Cody Mandell (Fr.) and Jeremy Shelley (So.)Julio Jones (Jr.)Trent Richardson (So.)Julio Jones (Jr.)

SPECIAL TEAMS STARTERSKP

PRKR

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Jay Wooten (Jr.)Spencer Lanning (Sr.)Stephon Gilmore (So.)Chris Culliver (Sr.)Bryce Sherman (So.)

SPECIAL TEAMS STARTERS

Courtney Upshaw, LB

After a breakout game last week with seven tackles and four tackles for loss, Upshaw has fully recovered from his inju-ry and is clearly ready to make his state-ment. Gamecock running back Marcus Lattimore averages 91.5 yards per game, so Upshaw will have to keep up the inten-sity and keep Lattimore in the backfield.

Julio Jones, WR

Aside from receiving, Jones is incredibly talented at blocking downfield for the running backs and other wide receiv-ers. The top three tacklers on the South Carolina team are all defenive backs, meaning for this game, Jones will need to keep them tied up downfield in order to help our offense make more explosive plays. And of course on the receiving side, he can make a big impact to open up the field.

Dre Kirkpatrick, DB

Kirkpatrick has had an interception in each of the last three games, and he’ll need to keep his eyes open for more opportunities, especially while defend-ing Alshon Jeffery. Because Jeffrey is the leading receiver in the SEC, Kirkpatrick, along with the rest of the secondary, will have to keep him cov-ered.

Marcus Lattimore, RB

Lattimore was the No. 2 running back of this past year’s recruiting class. So far this season, he’s man-aged to rack up 366 yards, with almost 100 per game. He’s also in the stats book for six touchdowns with the Gamecocks. He’s currently the No. 5 running back in the con-ference in terms of yards per game, and if South Carolina wants a shot at winning, it needs to open up their offense with the running game.

DeVonte Holloman, S

Holloman is the leading tackler for South Carolina, playing at the position of strong safety. This sea-son, he’s had 26 tackles and one interception. He’ll need to step up and be a defensive leader for the Gamecocks if the team is going to control Alabama’s dominant offense.

Alshon Jeffery, WR

Jeffery is the No. 1 wide receiver in the SEC, with 498 yards so far this season through only four games. The No. 2 wide receiver has more than 100 yards fewer than Jeffery. He averages almost seven yards per catch and has two touchdowns in the 2010 season. He’ll be a major threat to this Alabama secondary and could be a major game changer in Alabama’s road SEC challenge.