I know there are a few games that stand out. The first one probably being the 2007 Arkansas game. But then the team went on to lose to UL-Monroe and MSU. So I wouldn't really say that Bama had turned the corner. Then there is the 2008 Clemson game, which is hard to argue against. I mean, they were a top 10 team expecting to compete for a national title; with a great deal of experience returning from the previous year's team. And quite honestly, not many people knew what to expect from the Tide that year. However, we all know how Clemson tends to fold under expectations; and that year was no exception. To me the game that really stands out to me is the Georgia (blackout) game. Both teams went into the game undefeated, and UGA is typically considered a top tier SEC team. To me it was that point that the Crimson Tide program turned the corner, and never really looked back. What are your thoughts..........
What game do you think the program really turned the corner under Coach Saban?
- Thread starter deltatider
- Start date
UGA 2008. That first half was one I'll never forget- a woodshed clinic. I still remember all the long faces from the UGA fans dressed in black:biggrin2:
I agree with you on the UL-Monroe game, but want to add one more reason. When it was apparent we were going to lose the game (I was at it), I remember seeing Coach Saban still fired up on the sidelines. His predecessor would almost certainly have had the "deer in the headlights" look. After I got over the shock of the loss, I looked back at that and thought to myself "We're going to be alright with this man at the helm". I was right. :wink:
I agree with the 2008 game at Georgia. We went from 'a pretty good, top 25 team' to a team everyone clearly recognized as a force to be reckoned with. I didn't expect us to do anything like what we did to them. I thought we had a chance to win, but that...it was impressive. And since then we haven't looked back. After Clemson people paid attention to us, but after Georgia we had universal national respect once again, and we have stayed up there ever since.
...and I was at the game. That might sway my opinion a little bit too :biggrin2:
...and I was at the game. That might sway my opinion a little bit too :biggrin2:
If you Google up "The Chess Games of Paul Morphy," and then you work through his most outstanding games, you may come upon something similar to what this Threadstarter has asked here.
A poster asks regarding Morphy's demolishing of one of his many European opponents in a particular game during the 1850's, "At what point do you think the opponent lost the match to Morphy?
One poster answers, "When he sat down across the chessboard from Paul Morphy."
I think that it was such a foregone conclusion that Nick Saban was going to win if Alabama got him to come here, that the point at which the program turned around was when Saban agreed to leave Miami to come here.
In the article by Peter Finney, which was discussed here yesterday, Finney told of how Saban, when he was interviewed for the LSU job, matter-of-factly told the LSU officials something like "I will win a national championship at LSU in five years." And, Saban said, "I can't win a national championship at Michigan State."
That tells me that when Saban was offered the Alabama job by Mal Moore, it clicked in Saban's head, something like, "I can win X-number of national championships at Alabama." Or, maybe, "I can win a national championship in three years at Alabama."
Saban may have meant that because of the University of Michigan's presence, he could never recruit well enough at Michigan State to win a national championship. And when he took the Alabama job, he must have thought that he could recruit at least as well at Alabama as he had done at LSU.
We would probably all agree that, in the history of college football, you could count on one hand the number of coaches who have had such confidence in their ability that they honestly believed they could win a national championship within three to five years after they got to a place, particularly when the program was in the shape it was at either LSU OR Alabama.
Remember what Paul Bryant said when he first talked with his first class of recruits at Alabama -- the Pat Trammell, Charley Pell group? "I could tell by looking at them that they would win the national championship. That was in 1958. They won it in 1961.
Coach Bryant and Coach Saban both have said something to the effect that winning, or success, comes from the PREPARATION to win, to succeed. Mal Moore PREPARED for the turnaround at Alabama when he went off down to Miami to hire Nick Saban.
A poster asks regarding Morphy's demolishing of one of his many European opponents in a particular game during the 1850's, "At what point do you think the opponent lost the match to Morphy?
One poster answers, "When he sat down across the chessboard from Paul Morphy."
I think that it was such a foregone conclusion that Nick Saban was going to win if Alabama got him to come here, that the point at which the program turned around was when Saban agreed to leave Miami to come here.
In the article by Peter Finney, which was discussed here yesterday, Finney told of how Saban, when he was interviewed for the LSU job, matter-of-factly told the LSU officials something like "I will win a national championship at LSU in five years." And, Saban said, "I can't win a national championship at Michigan State."
That tells me that when Saban was offered the Alabama job by Mal Moore, it clicked in Saban's head, something like, "I can win X-number of national championships at Alabama." Or, maybe, "I can win a national championship in three years at Alabama."
Saban may have meant that because of the University of Michigan's presence, he could never recruit well enough at Michigan State to win a national championship. And when he took the Alabama job, he must have thought that he could recruit at least as well at Alabama as he had done at LSU.
We would probably all agree that, in the history of college football, you could count on one hand the number of coaches who have had such confidence in their ability that they honestly believed they could win a national championship within three to five years after they got to a place, particularly when the program was in the shape it was at either LSU OR Alabama.
Remember what Paul Bryant said when he first talked with his first class of recruits at Alabama -- the Pat Trammell, Charley Pell group? "I could tell by looking at them that they would win the national championship. That was in 1958. They won it in 1961.
Coach Bryant and Coach Saban both have said something to the effect that winning, or success, comes from the PREPARATION to win, to succeed. Mal Moore PREPARED for the turnaround at Alabama when he went off down to Miami to hire Nick Saban.
I'm as proud of a BAMA fan as anyone, just ask my Texas neighbors that are tired of seeing my tag, my flag, my t-shirta' my caps, etc... But we can talk about BAMA turning the corner 90 years ago, CNS turning the corner when he started, etc... and never touch on the truth. The truth is that when CNS arrived it wasn't your fathers Alabama anymore. We were soft, weak physically and mentally, we lacked talent, discipline and anything else you can name that creates winning teams. So the real question is when did the team turn the corner. When did they buy into what coach Saban was selling? Personally I think they bought in after they had a chance to look back at what not buying in cost them at the end of the 2007 season. They looked at what some of them doing it the same old way got them. That to me is when the team turned the corner. When they saw they couldn't accomplish it their way and decided to buy into what CNS was teaching them.
If you mean what game did we see the results of the buy in? Clemson. As coach said in response to a reporters question after the game, "I didn't see anybody scared out there. Did you?". That was when I knew they had bought into what coach had told them about everyone go out and do your job. Dominate your opponent one snap at a time and trust the guy next to you to do the same. Don't let the score on the board dictate the way you play the game. Know your assignments, play winning football and no one can beat you. The results will come.
None of that may have happened so quickly without that embarrassing end of season slide in 2007. CNS knew he had something special after that game. The way he tore into the reporters who were ready to proclaim us SEC champs or something told me he knew if he could keep control of the team mentally they could accomplish a lot. He was so right.
Posted via Mobile Device
If you mean what game did we see the results of the buy in? Clemson. As coach said in response to a reporters question after the game, "I didn't see anybody scared out there. Did you?". That was when I knew they had bought into what coach had told them about everyone go out and do your job. Dominate your opponent one snap at a time and trust the guy next to you to do the same. Don't let the score on the board dictate the way you play the game. Know your assignments, play winning football and no one can beat you. The results will come.
None of that may have happened so quickly without that embarrassing end of season slide in 2007. CNS knew he had something special after that game. The way he tore into the reporters who were ready to proclaim us SEC champs or something told me he knew if he could keep control of the team mentally they could accomplish a lot. He was so right.
Posted via Mobile Device
It might have been pretty soon after leaving the field following the Sugar Bowl loss to Utah. I think the kids were pretty well on board with Coach Saban until the 4th quarter of the SECCG loss to the Gators. I think that loss hurt so much that they backslid a little and the Utes got us. Evidently, that loss drove home the point about finishing that Coach Saban had been preaching to them because they've been relentless ever since. It's pretty apparent that they all worked their butts off in the off season between the Sugar Bowl and the start of the 2009 season.
Judging by the A-Day game, they haven't let up a bit. :BigA::BigA::BigA:
Judging by the A-Day game, they haven't let up a bit. :BigA::BigA::BigA:
^^^^ This game sent the message that Bama was going to be a force to contend with. The Georgia game was the exclamation point.
If you were at the Clemson game, you could feel that there was something very different happening...and we were about to return to our glory days. I've never seen a team get physically dominated on the line of scrimmage like Clemson did in the GA Dome that night. Well...until the first half of the Blackout game that is...
It wasn't the turning point of the Saban regime, but it was, in my opinion, the turning point of the 2009 season. I'm talking about the dump-off pass to Julio Jones that went 70+ yards for a touchdown against LSU. I think everyone knew at that point that this team had a clean shot at the NC.
I think it was actually two games- The win over Colorado that stopped the four game losing streak and negative momentum, followed by the huge momentum building win over Clemson to kick off 2008. Those games got us rolling in the right direction and it hasn't slowed down since.
RTR!
sip
RTR!
sip
I agree, I was in the dome and when the Tide took the field even for warm ups you could tell it was a different team. The way they walked and held themselves was something I hadn't seen in years.
I also agree that the loss to the Utes was a real wake up call. You might call it a rebirth or something because I feel they had bought in, but maybe hadn't developed the mental toughness part. That just took some time.
Posted via Mobile Device
IMO it was a combination of 2 games.. the miss state game where they ran clock while our defensive front 7 showed no aggression or attitude and couldnt make a tkl for anything. The passion shown by Saban on one of those plays gave us a glimpse of exactly what he expected out of his players..The 2nd was the Colorado game which carried over into the next season....
I would say the 2008 Clemson game. We were coming off another mediocre season with an embarrassing loss to UL Monroe. This game proved to me that Alabama was on the right track and things were changing quickly for our Crimson Tide team.
And they changed very quickly as we all know.
And they changed very quickly as we all know.
If I had to say one game turned it around for the team as a whole, I'd have to say the 07 Arkansas game. Alabama did something as a team in that game that it seemed they couldn't do at all under Shula.
For Saban, probably the first game in 08 against Clemson.
For Saban, probably the first game in 08 against Clemson.
Latest threads
-
In N Out Burger leaving blue state- Started by bamamc1
- Replies: 2
-
BREAKING Philip Rivers officially retires as a Charger today. Great video.- Started by BamaNation
- Replies: 0
-
-