A few new photos for season album

Before the North Texas game

As I’ve stated before, I’m far from a professional photographer. But I get to go cool places, so my point-and-shoot comes in handy.

Check out the album below updated weekly after each Alabama football game. If you have a solid submission, email it to michael.casagrande@gmail.com and it could be added to the group.

Alabama football 2011

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Bryant-Denny empties again after half

Nick Saban made it clear on his Thursday radio show he wasn’t happy with the empty seats he saw at the end of the season-opening win over Kent State. The same complaint could be filed after last night’s 41-0 Crimson Tide win over North Texas.

Here is the student section a few minutes into the third quarter Saturday night.

Click to enlarge.

It thinned even further by the early stages of the fourth quarter.

Click to enlarge.

Not passing judgement here. I understand it was a blowout and there’s always a party to attend on a Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
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All about the big plays

Subtract the big plays, and Alabama’s 41-0 win over North Texas was more ho-hum that it turned out to be.

Do the math and 69 percent of Alabama’s rushing offense came on the four long touchdown runs from Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy. Both set personal bests with the big plays.

Lacy averaged a crazy 17.9 yards a carry (9 for 161) while Richardson came in right behind him at 15.2 yards a run (11 for 167).

The junior Richardson had touchdown runs of 58, 71 and four yards while Lacy sprinted to scores on 43 and 67 yarders.

Oh yeah, the defense had its first shutout of a Football Bowl Subdivision team since blanking Arkansas State in 2008. More later including video.

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Your weekly Duron Carter pregame update

This is tradition at this point. So, what’s the status for Alabama’s big-name junior college transfer Duron Carter?

Well, don’t expect to see his Alabama debut come this evening.

The son of NFL legend Cris Carter did not appear on the flip card with active rosters for the 6:30 p.m. kickoff with the winless Mean Green. An Alabama spokesman said he doesn’t expect Carter out there unless something changed in the last few hours.

Keep it here in case that Hail Mary came through.

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Let’s make a prediction

Do I need to remind everyone how accurate I’ve been through two weeks of score predictions? I was three points off the Kent State score and four points off last week’s. I should start charging for these.

That said, here’s what I’m thinking for today:

Like in the opener, it’s not about who wins and who loses. It’s a matter of by how much. Alabama will likely tinker with a few combinations at different positions, but not as much as it did against Kent State. The time has come to solidify starting jobs, so the mass substitutions won’t be as plentiful.

That means more points for the Tide and fewer for the Mean Green. The visitors from Denton haven been blown out by Florida International and Houston two weeks in a row. That streak no doubt hits three playing at the second-ranked team in the nation. Shutouts, though, are still hard to come by.

Alabama 52, North Texas 3

What do you think, post a prediction in the comments section.

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What makes Saturday’s game unique?

Of the 120 teams who play in the Football Bowl Subdivision, 12 have nicknames that don’t end in the letter “s.” It’s clearly one of my favorite sports trivia questions.

Of those 12, two will meet Saturday evening in Bryant-Denny Stadium when the Crimson Tide plays the Mean Green. Just a fun fact to keep in mind. If you want to stump your friends with this bit of useless trivia, here’s the complete listing:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Illinois Fighting Illini
3. Marshall Thundering Herd
4. Navy Midshipmen
5. Nevada Wolfpack
6. North Carolina State Wolfpack
7. North Texas Mean Green
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
9. Stanford Cardinal
10. Syracuse Orange
11. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
12. Tulane Green Wave

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Anything new with Duron Carter?

He’s been subject of questions all summer and now halfway through the month of September. So is there anything new with the eligibility of Alabama’s prized junior college transfer Duron Carter?

Well, no.

The school has not received the proper clearance for the son of NFL great Cris Carter to see the playing field. It could come at anytime, but as of midday Friday, it doesn’t look like he’ll be making his Crimson Tide debut Saturday against North Texas.

Of course if that changes, I’ll let you know ASAP.

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Statistically speaking, North Texas overmatched

I’m beginning to think Saturday’s game in Bryant-Denny Stadium could be a blowout. Well, I’ve been thinking it all week to be honest. Just take a look at the Mean Green’s statistical rankings after blowout losses to Florida International and Houston.

Click to enlarge

So how does that compare to Alabama’s rankings? I figured you were wondering. Here’s the same chart with the Tide’s numbers.

Click to enlarge.

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Is it hard to get excited for North Texas?

Shoehorned between Penn State and Arkansas sits North Texas. Winless with blowout losses to mid-majors Florida International and Houston, the Mean Green doesn’t exactly inspire enthusiasm by name alone.

Alabama coach Nick Saban challenged fans last night during his radio show. He noticed all the empty seats in the second half of the season-opening win over a similar Kent State team. He wasn’t happy. There were a few empty seats in the corners of the 101,821-seat Bryant-Denny Stadium from the beginning of that one.

So, what do you think about tomorrow?

 

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Alabama is favored by how much?

Apparently Las Vegas doesn’t have much faith in North Texas coming to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday and pulling the upset.

Odds makers  made the Mean Green the third-largest underdog (43.5 points) in the nation in Saturday’s action behind just Florida A&M (44 to South Florida) and Missouri State (47 to Oregon).

Here’s the composite of the major sports books.

Click to enlarge

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Checking your game day weather forecast

It’s always wise to know the weather forecast before making the trip to Tuscaloosa for Saturday evening’s matchup with North Texas.

Here’s what the fine folks at Weather.com say about the weekend prospects as of Thursday morning.

From weather.com

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Another game time set for fall

The kick off times for the coming season are leaking in slowly. Now, the first three games are set in stone with TV assignments and all.

The Week 3 game with North Texas will kick at 6:30 p.m. Central on Sept. 17  in Bryant-Denny Stadium. A rare appearance on FSN will also come that evening.

For the complete schedule can always be found right here.

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