Terrance Green’s return for the Tide could be a game-changer against LSU

Getting TG back changes the entire complexion of Bama’s rushing defense

Rejoice, for this is the day that we Gump. Last night was quite an eventful one, between the election, the start of the basketball season, and the first CFP rankings. So, let’s take stock this morning.

Alabama has been two football teams this year. There is the Crimson Tide that is playing with backups at the heart of both lines, the team we have seen the last 2-3 weeks, and the one with a healthy Race Delgatty and Terrance Green. Without TG at nose, teams have been able to target Simmons, get a double on Devan, and capture a lot of real estate on the ground.

That part of the equation may be solving itself, though, if Yhonzae is to be believed.

Oregon transfer DT Terrance Green got knocked out of the Georgia game in the second quarter. Green has been the Tide’s best interior defensive lineman this season, and his loss was much, much bigger than anyone initially realized.

It sounds like the Crimson Tide is on the verge of getting him back before making the trip to Baton Rouge to face LSU this weekend, at least according to star edge rusher Yhonzae Pierre.

“We got TG coming back, Terrance Green,” Pierre said to reporters on Tuesday, via 247’s Mike Rodak. “We’ve been working on schemes for the defense and for them, so it’s going to be amazing to see what we do Saturday.”

That would be a game-changer for the Tide. As of now, the LSU Tigers enjoy a tremendous matchup advantage between their running game, third in the SEC, and ‘Bama’s defensive line. The Tigers tailbacks are especially dangerous when real estate is scarce; they lead the conference in rushing TDs (22), and red zone rushing TDs (16). Let’s hope Pierre wasn’t mistaken or being overly optimistic on this one.

Now, we just need to get Race back…

Yhonzae Pierre just dropped a big hint on Terrance Green's return for Alabama vs. LSU

Alabama's run defense was dominant early in the season, but struggled in the second half against Georgia and again against Tennessee before having a solid day a

Bama Hammer

I wondered if it was going to happen, and yup, it did: Ohio State headed to South Carolina flashing huge stacks of cash, and RB Nigel Newkirk immediately reopened his recruiting:

Last week was a busy one for three-star running back commit Nigel Newkirk. 

The 2027 Alabama commit took the field Friday night in Gainesville’s victory over Lanier, returning from an ACL injury he suffered last year during the Red Elephants’ playoff run. 

The same week, he officially reopened his recruitment, inviting teams like Ohio State back into the mix. 

Just go ahead and mark him off your list, my fellow Gumps. He’s bag-chasing, and this staff isn’t going to play the game of making millionaires of untested three-star depth players. Let someone with far deeper pockets, and far less good sense, make that gamble.

Besides, in the famous words of Nick Saban, “you shop, we shop.” It’s not like ‘Bama is hurting for young backs in any case: Trae Brown does exactly the same things that Newkirk was going to bring to the table.

Man, last night was hella‘ ugly in the Coleman Mausoleum, and the first half was especially bad. The Crimson Tide offense never truly found its footing, and surely not from the perimeter. Cole Cloer was a disaster. Amari Allen was a ball-hog playing hero ball. And no one seemed very committed to rebounding.

There were some bright spots, for sure; in that kind of route (96-74), there would have to be: Fielder was fantastic for the most part. Qayden Samuels had a superb all-around game filling in at PG. Tarris Bouie continued to impress. And the defense in general was fantastic, using their length and athleticism. They swatted a dozen shots and forced 16 steals. That will make Nate happy. The rebounding effort? Not so much. Nor will the perimeter defensive effort find a lot of fans on the Bama coaching staff:

After going 5 of 15 (33.3 percent) from behind the arc in the first half, Sam Houston went 10-for-18 (55.6) in the second period.

Guarding the three-point line was an issue for Alabama against Furman, which made 18 in October, and the Crimson Tide got exposed again on Tuesday night. As previously stated, Alabama made a ton of defensive plays, but this is something that’ll need to be fixed quickly.

“I think we have a lot of guys who can make shots,” Sam Houston head coach Chris Mudge said. “I think when we share the ball and get paint touch assisted threes, I think it’s one of our superpowers. I think that at times in the first half we were shooting it a little bit early instead of running our offense.

“But I do think in the second half you saw some possessions where we really shared the ball well. And when we do, and when we get open looks, we’ve got usually 3-4 guys on the court who can really shoot.”

Said Nate Oats about the rebounding:

Alabama’s defense earned plenty of praise after the matchup, but there is still one key area Oats would like the group to improve upon. 

In fact, it only took him one minute and five seconds to bring up rebounding in his postgame press conference. 

“We’ve been emphasizing the rebounding,” Oats said. “And we just still, for whatever reason, we’re not doing a very good job of it.”

Alabama lost the battle of the boards, with Sam Houston outrebounding it 45-to-42. The Crimson Tide tallied 13 offensive rebounds and 29 from their defense.  

“We’ve just got to go all in on it,” said senior forward Drew Fielder, who co-led the team with 15 points while grabbing six rebounds. “We had good moments, but we’re still not close to our standard.”

Alabama turned it on in the second half, and committed to scoring in the post. But don’t let the final score fool you: This team has a lot to work on in practice this week.

More coverage here, and at the link below.

Tide Up, Tide Down from Alabama's Season-Opening Victory Over Sam Houston

The positives and negatives from the Crimson Tide's dominant home win against the Bearkats.

Alabama Crimson Tide On SI

Last night the Crimson Tide debuted at No. 5 in the CFP Rankings, a spot that sent the media talking heads into a tizzy. There were also meltdowns galore to be had from beat writers in other camps, as well from fans of other teams (like the Irish and Buckeyes).

CFP Committee Chair (and Arkansas AD) Hunter Yurachek explained ‘Bama’s ranking like this:

“I think you look first at Alabama went on the road and beat the team that we have ranked sixth this week in Kentucky,” Yurachek said on ESPN. “They also beat South Carolina, who’s ranked in our top 25. And I think many forget that they went on the road and beat Mississippi State when Mississippi State was undefeated and at full strength. We really valued that as a strong win for Alabama back there in the early part of the season when Mississippi [State], again, they had that quarterback, Kamario Taylor, that was very, very good, and Mississippi State was on a roll at that time.

“So, with those, we see those as three quality wins. Yes, they had a loss to Tennessee. Tennessee doesn’t have the same level of quality wins. They do have the win against Alabama, but you have to go a little bit deeper to see Tennessee with another quality win on their schedule.”

CFP Chair Hunter Yurachek Explains Why Alabama is Ranked so High in Initial CFP Rankings

The college football world had one major reaction to the initial CFP rankings: Why the hell is Alabama ranked so high? CFP chair Hunter Yurachek explains.

Tide 100.9

But, I think it is a much simpler matter, as I explained on Twitter and in the Gumpstream last night:

Now, throw a hypothetic three-loss Texas in there, with the nation’s No. 1 SOV, and who are you leaving out, if at all? This was insurance for Saturday, nothing more or less, and the committee will let the SEC schedule sort itself out for as long as they can…only with some wiggle room for the lose of Saturday’s Tide/Tiger clash.

And Yurachek was also very explicit that the Committee realizes the Tide beat a different Mississippi State team than the wounded Kamario-less group we see limping now from week-to-week…and will always be given credit for it:

“They were 4-0,” Yurachek said on a teleconference about Mississippi State. “They had gone on the road and really dismantled a Minnesota team and looked very good doing so. I think maybe ‘GameDay’ had gone to that. It was a big game to play Alabama at home, and Alabama went in there and really took care of business and dominated that game. The committee, I think, will always view that as a quality game regardless of what the computer may say about the strength of that game.”

Cope, crybabies.

CFP Rankings winners and losers: Alabama playoff path widens, Notre Dame outlook takes a hit

The College Football Playoff committee's first rankings sparked confusion, elevating some resumes while penalizing others with seemingly inconsistent logic

CBS Sports

And, now, for your moment of levity…Not generally a Shane Gillis fan, but his standup work is solid.

That’s it for this morning. I’m wiped, y’all. Cranked out four articles yesterday, had maintenance chemo this morning, cranked out a huge season preview for Hoops (below), and covered the CFP rankings and Bama basketball game last night.

But, we’ll be back in a few hours with our weekly edition of Giving Away Money. Until then, thanks for dropping by and take care.

Roll Tide.