[Chance Harper]

Saban has Alabama atop AP with Tennessee on deck

The calendar may not be spot on for this traditional 'Third Saturday in October' rivalry, but that will have little bearing on the intensity level down on the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium In Tuscaloosa this Saturday afternoon when the Crimson Tide hosts the Volunteers of Tennessee. This battle will be all about the two defenses, and in Alabama that unit starts with the big man in the middle on the line, Terrence Cody.


Forget SAT scores. If you want to succeed in college, the number you want to achieve is 350, as in the 350 pounds that Terrence Cody squeezes into his Alabama Crimson Tide uniform on Saturdays.

Cody plays nose tackle for the Tide, a position that’s overlooked far too often by fans and bettors alike. The closest a defensive lineman has ever come to winning the Heisman Trophy was 1980, when Pittsburgh DE Hugh Green finished second in the voting. Green went on to become a Pro Bowl linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at a svelte 225 pounds. When Cody was playing junior college at Mississippi Gulf Coast, he tipped the scales at 410 pounds – he actually had to slim down to draw scholarship offers.

It paid off. Cody is now considered the top defensive tackle in college by Rivals.com. His arrival on campus in 2008 made the Crimson Tide one of the toughest teams to run on in the FBS:

2007: 3.42 yards per carry against
2008: 2.65 yards
2009: 2.32 yards

Now let’s look at how Alabama did against the betting odds:

2007: 7-6 SU, 3-9 ATS
2008: 12-2 SU, 9-5 ATS
2009: 7-0 SU, 5-2 ATS

Full credit to coach Nick Saban, who took over the reins before the 2007 season after Mike Shula’s departure. It’s his 3-4 defense and his recruitment of “Mount Cody” that has made this success possible. Without Saban’s intervention, Cody might have taken that scholarship offer from the Tennessee Volunteers, who visit Alabama this Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

This is the annual “Third Saturday in October” rivalry game between these two SEC stalwarts. The Crimson Tide won last year’s matchup 29-9 in Knoxville, cashing in as 5-point road faves and doing so without the services of Cody, who was on the sidelines with a knee injury. Alabama goes in this year as a 15-point home fave with a total of 43.5. Early consensus reports had 55 percent action on the Tide.

These are interesting times for the Volunteers (3-3 SU and ATS). New head coach Lane Kiffin has watched his team play excellent defense, while the offense has been hot and cold with QB Jonathan Crompton (13 TDs, Nine INTs). He had little trouble against the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 6, throwing four TD passes in an eye-opening 45-19 victory as a 1-point puppy. But the Bulldogs have fallen from grace this year; they had the No. 50-ranked defense in the FBS according to Brian Fremeau’s efficiency stats following that Volunteer beating. Alabama’s defense was ranked No. 2, behind only USC.

Let’s do the prudent thing and break down each of Tennessee’s opponents by defensive ranking and Crompton’s subsequent performance. We only have numbers available through Week 6 at press time, but that suits us just fine, since the Volunteers had the bye in Week 6.

Western Kentucky (No. 120) 5 TD, 2 INT
UCLA (No. 35) 0 TD, 3 INT
Florida (No. 3) 0 TD, 2 INT
Ohio (No. 41) 2 TD, 1 INT
Auburn (No. 43) 2 TD, 0 INT
Georgia (No. 50) 4 TD, 1 INT

This is admittedly a quick and dirty evaluation, but there’s a clear distinction between Crompton’s performances against Florida and UCLA, the two best defensive teams he’s faced this year, and the rest of the bunch. The Tide are not going to be cutting him any slack. Not only are they brilliant against the run; they also had elite CB Javier Arenas (bruised ribs) back on the practice field Monday after he missed last week’s 20-6 win over South Carolina (+18). Arenas is officially day-to-day. Marquis Johnson filled in admirably in his place, keeping the Gamecocks out of the end zone and breaking up six passes, a school record. They’ll get their chances to take the ball the other way Saturday as Alabama’s giant defensive line puts the pressure on Crompton.

[HoulihansTX]

I say UNDER. Both teams with better Defenses than O's.

For a Prop Bet I would take Alabama's Defense -3 v Tenn O.

Crompton is garbage. He has to be the first 5th year senior QB to show no improvement, since walking on Campus