Tag: roll tide wire

‘Jalen (Milroe) is a different player from last season.’ Aggies Wire goes ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ with Roll Tide Wire

Roll Tide Wire’s Stacey Blackwood preview’s Alabama’s pivotal road trip to face Texas A&M inside a packed Kyle Field.

Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0 SEC) will face its biggest challenge yet this season, as Alabama (4-1, 2-0 SEC) will travel to College Station, as both teams share a perfect record in the SEC West.

In his first full game after Conner Weigman’s season-ending injury was announced late last week, veteran southpaw Max Johnson has more than proven his incredible value, throwing for two touchdowns in the Aggies 34-22 win over Arkansas in the Southwest Classic last weekend.

While Johnson has certainly kept things rolling, it’s been the Aggies’ surging defense, specifically the play of the defensive line, who have now accounted for 14 sacks and 30 tackles for loss in their last two outings, as sophomore standout defensive tackle Walter Nolen leads all DTs with five sacks after five games played.

For Alabama, head coach Nick Saban is hoping that the Week 2 home loss to Texas has taken its toll, and after three straight victories, it looks like this team has finally found an identity. Led by quarterback Jalen Milroe, a solid run game, and a borderline elite defense, the trip to what is expected to be a sold-out Kyle Field remains the biggest challenge standing in their way.

This week, we went behind enemy lines with Roll Tide Wire’s Stacey Blackwood to get his valuable input on Alabama’s strengths and weaknesses ahead of Saturday’s festivities.

Behind Enemy Lines: Roll Tide Wire previews ‘Bama and Texas

Roll Tide Wire’s Stacey Blackwood gives insight into Saturday’s game.

We are over halfway through ’Bama week. With that, anticipation builds towards what could be ESPN’s biggest regular season event of 2023.

The game features arguably the two biggest brands in college football. The Tide have done more to earn that distinction on the field in recent seasons. Albeit, plenty of viewers will tune in to watch Texas play in the prime time showdown.

There are several storylines heading into the matchup. Most notably, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe gets his shot against the team that showed preferential treatment to another quarterback. That quarterback lines up on the other side for Texas in Quinn Ewers.

We talked with Roll Tide Wire’s Stacey Blackwood to get insight into the Alabama side of the game. He shared the following thoughts on the monumental event.

Roll Tide Wire’s AJ Spurr lists Alabama’s road trip to Texas A&M as a potential upset bid for the Crimson Tide

According to Roll Tide Wire’s AJ Spurr, Alabama’s Oct. 7 visit to College Station could pose a problem for a revamped Crimson Tide team.

If it weren’t for Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban’s highly publicized verbal barrage this time last year, Texas A&M’s 2022 trip to Tuscaloosa would not have received the coverage it did, even though the game ended up being one of the more exciting matchups of the season.

Going into 2023, The Aggies are still reeling from their miserable 5-7 campaign while maintaining their usual high expectations, knowing it can’t get any lower than last season’s results.

For Alabama, Saban has once again signed one of the best recruiting classes in history for 2023. While the roster remains elite, the quarterback depth chart is crowded, as redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe is expected to start, but the competition will be fierce heading into fall camp.

Last week, Roll Tide Wire Managing Editor AJ Spurr released his annual “AJ’s Hot & Cold” list predicting what 2023 opponent has the best chance of upsetting the Tide. Even though Texas A&M wasn’t selected as a “Hot” choice, their “Cold (like some leftovers)” is synonymous with the high potential territory. In what will likely be a mid-afternoon or night game, which can always change in season, Spurr’s reasoning for questioning the matchup’s upset potential is understandably based on the Aggie’s shortcomings last season.

“There’s a reason I added “like some leftovers.” Currently, it’s cold, but it could heat back up real quick. After upsetting Alabama in College Station in 2021, Aggies fans were on top of the world. Then, 2022 was an extreme disappointment, as Texas A&M went 5-7. The Aggies did get a chance to face potential starting quarterback Jalen Milroe last season and made it an extremely close game that went down to the wire, but ultimately resulted in an Alabama win. We all know about the Jimbo Fisher-Saban feud, and this contest takes place in the daunting environment of Kyle Field. I don’t think the Aggies are currently able to upset the Tide, but things could change quickly depending on which version of Texas A&M show sup to start the 2023 season.”

This is one of the more accurate takes you’ll see this offseason surrounding the impending matchup, as A&M’s inability to find consistency that lasts throughout the entire season has been a stark issue under Jimbo Fisher, who finally rolled the dice and hired offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. Time will tell just how willing Fisher will be to change, but to get everything they can out of their highly talented roster game to game. But ever since upsetting the Crimson Tide in 2021, this has become one of the most exciting rivalries in college football.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

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On3 Sports: Alabama starting QB vs. Texas might not be on their roster

Alabama might not start Milroe or Simpson against Texas this year.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban and his coaching staff do not appear satisfied with the quarterback room. Saban could be looking for an upgrade according to one college football analyst.

Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports wrote the following about the Crimson Tide quarterback battle.

It seems like Alabama could still have interest in adding another QB if a certain caliber of player hits the transfer portal market in the coming weeks.

That quote should give Texas fans pause after how strongly Maalik Murphy performed at quarterback in the spring game. Aside from that, it speaks to the level of uncertainty and urgency in Tuscaloosa after losing one of the school’s best ever quarterbacks in Bryce Young.

The urgency will certainly be there for the Crimson Tide’s heavyweight bout with the Longhorns in Week 2. The only question is, who will the Tide lean on to score points in new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ offense?

Last season, Texas felt uneasy about its quarterback room even into its fall camp position battle before righting the ship for Alabama. Nick Saban will hope to do the same in the upcoming months.

Texas vs ‘Bama: Roll Tide Wire talks Jalen Milroe, expectations for Week 2

Alabama writer shares thoughts on Jalen Milroe, Alabama in 2023 and Week 2 matchup with Texas.

The Alabama Crimson Tide plays host to the Texas Longhorns in 2023. It has potential to be the game of the year.

Last season, each team traded punches until the final whistle with the Crimson Tide leaving victorious. Alabama’s 20-19 win was one of the more confounding performances of the year for both teams. It led many to conclude either the Tide was falling off a cliff or Quinn Ewers was leading Texas to prominence.

In reality, neither of those things happened. The game stood alone as a singular performance that had little bearing on the remainder of the season.

To get a fuller picture on this year’s pivotal matchup, I talked with Stacey Blackwood of Roll Tide Wire to get more insight into the matchup.

Behind Enemy Lines: Roll Tide Wire previews LSU-Alabama in Week 10

Roll Tide Wire’s Stacey Blackwood helps us preview this weekend’s pivotal SEC West matchup.

Saturday marks the biggest game of the [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] era so far as LSU will host the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide in a battle between top 10 teams.

Alabama enters this one looking a bit more vulnerable than it generally does. The Tide already have one loss on the year to Tennessee, and it has had close calls against Texas and Texas A&M despite both primarily utilizing backup quarterbacks.

If LSU can win this game, it would take complete control of first place in the SEC West and would likely be heading to the title game in Atlanta. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we checked in with Stacey Blackwood from Roll Tide Wire to preview this year’s Alabama team as LSU looks for just its second win in the series since 2011.

Bryce Young is Roll Tide Wire’s Player of the Week against Tennessee

Bryce Young is Roll Tide Wire’s Player of the Week for efforts against Tennessee

The unthinkable finally happened, the Tennessee Volunteers snapped their 15-year losing streak against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Volunteers knocked off the Tide, 52-49, in what was arguably the game of the year.

Despite a heroic performance from Bryce Young, the offense couldn’t convert when the game was on the line. Young finished 35 of 52 for 455 yards and two touchdowns. However, his stats don’t truly tell the story of how good he was. Whether buying more time in the pocket, lining receivers up or extending plays, he showed why he will be a top pick in the 2023 NFL draft. If not for Young, this game could have really gotten away from the Tide.

The Tide committed 17 penalties for 130 yards. Despite that, they still had plenty of chances to win. Will Reichard had a shot to put the Tide up 3 with 20 seconds left and missed it leading to the Volunteer’s walk-off field goal.

Despite the loss, Alabama’s hopes of a national title are very much alive. They have some tough tests in the following weeks, but the path to the SEC Championship game runs through Tuscaloosa.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Behind enemy lines: Roll Tide Wire previews Tennessee-Alabama game

Behind enemy lines: Roll Tide Wire previews the Tennessee-Alabama football game

No. 8 Tennessee (5-0, 2-0 SEC) will host No. 1 Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC) Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Week 7.

Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. EDT. CBS will televise the Southeastern Conference matchup.

Tennessee enters the annual Southeastern Conference rivalry looking to end a 15-game losing streak to Alabama. The Vols’ last win in the series came in 2006. Alabama holds a 59-38-7 advantage in the series.

Analysis: Breaking down Alabama’s defensive personnel against Josh Heupel’s scheme

Josh Heupel’s offense on pace for historic performance against Alabama

Ahead of the Tennessee-Alabama matchup in Week 7, Roll Tide Wire managing editor AJ Spurr previewed the contest. Spurr’s Tennessee-Alabama preview is listed below.

Roll Tide Wire Player of the Game: Ja’Corey Brooks

Ja’Corey Brooks selected as Roll Tide Wire player of the week!

The Crimson Tide took care of business in their SEC opener against Vanderbilt with a convincing 55-3 victory. The loss extends Vanderbilt’s SEC losing streak to 22 games while Alabama is 4-0 headed to Top-10 Arkansas next week.

Bryce Young dazzled with four first-half touchdowns and Will Anderson Jr. did his thing with 2.5 sacks, however, the player that really stepped up this week was Ja’Corey Brooks. The Crimson Tide really wanted to get their receivers more involved headed into today and they achieved that. Brooks lead the way with six receptions for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Alabama has one of the most talented receiving cores in college football and it is great to see Bill O’Brien let the guys loose a little bit. Brooks was the hero in Auburn last year with his touchdown that forced overtime, so it is really great to see him find his stride again!

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Behind Enemy Lines: Talking with Roll Tide Wire ahead of SEC championship

We spoke with @RollTideWire about the upcoming #SECChampionship

We are one day away from the 2021 SEC Championship Game in which the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs (12-0) will take on the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1) from Atlanta.

This is the game of the year in college football to this point and should be another classic between the two programs.

We caught up with Stacey Blackwood from Roll Tide Wire to get his thoughts on the upcoming game between the Dawgs and the Tide.