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Just a sliver of silver liningBOB HOLTARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- It was a long bus ride back to campus for Alabama's football team after losing to Southern Miss 21-0 last Saturday night in Birmingham. "Obviously, it was a heart-breaker and everybody was down," Crimson Tide senior guard Griff Redmill said. "Just like we felt when we rode from Birmingham back to Tuscaloosa after we lost to Louisiana Tech last year." For the second year in a row, Alabama is preparing for Arkansas coming off a shocking loss at Legion Field. This year it's Southern Miss. Last year it was Louisiana Tech, which beat Alabama 29-28 on a last-second pass. Maybe the scores weren't the same -- and Southern Miss is ranked No. 22 -- but the embarrassment the Tide players and coaches felt is reminiscent. Now Alabama hopes it can respond as it did last year, when the Tide began its turnaround to an SEC championship season and 10-3 record by beating Arkansas 35-28. "I said it last year and I'm sorry I have to say it again, but I do, because we've been in this situation before, and one of two things is going to happen," Alabama Coach Mike DuBose said. "If we're made out of the right kind of stuff, and I think we are, then it will pull us together. "If we're not, then we'll separate, and a house divided falls." While the Tide is 1-2 overall, it is 1-0 in the SEC with a 28-10 victory over Vanderbilt. "We've got to have a sense of urgency," Redmill said. "But we're not out of it yet, we know we've got a lot of football left to play. "We're all saying we were in this same boat last year, everybody was down on us at this point, and look where we ended up. We believe we can do it again." To have a similar turnaround, Alabama has to get untracked on offense. The Tide ranks 93rd nationally in total offense, averaging 277 yards, and 87th in scoring offense, averaging 17.6 points. But of Alabama's 47 points, 14 came on punt and interception returns in a 35-24 loss at UCLA. That means Alabama's offense has produced 34 points in three games. "We have confidence," Tide sophomore quarterback Tyler Watts said. "But for whatever reason ... I don't want to say the wrong thing here. ... We know we can do it. There's no question about that, because we've done it before. "We just have to do it. It's nothing deep or anything like that. We're just not doing it." Watts said the Tide has "no choice" but to rally together as it did last season. "Everybody is ready for it," he said. "We're sick of this losing. ... We despise it, can't stand it, and we're going to do whatever it takes to bounce back and make sure that we don't have this feeling again." DuBose has made the decision to have offensive line coach Neil Callaway -- who also has the title of offensive coordinator -- leave the sideline and be up in the press box with quarterbacks coach Charlie Stubbs -- who calls the plays. "I just think we need a different set of eyes up there," DuBose said. "I think we need somebody that's looking at the front, and somebody that's looking at the secondary and coverage. "And we put the two together collectively and be able to come up with a better plan and be able to set things up better two or three plays." The joke in Alabama is whether Callaway or Stubbs will throw the other out of the press box with the perception being they're not in agreement on which direction the offense should take. DuBose said the game plan and play-calling ultimately is his responsibility, then rattled off a group of assistants with input. "You get mixed feelings when things aren't going right," said Alabama junior quarterback Andrew Zow, who started the first two games this season. "The problem could be coaching, it could be players. I think it's a situation where we just need to get it together." The Tide's defense gave up just one touchdown to Southern Miss, with the Golden Eagles' other two scores coming on an interception return on a halfback pass by Arvin Richard and a fumbled kickoff return by Michael James. "The defense is going out there and playing their butts off," . Zow said. "Offensively, we've just got to get some continuity or something, just believe in ourselves. "Once we start believing in each other, we'll be fine. We just need full belief in whatever we're doing. We've got to completely believe it's going to work and not have any doubt." Alabama lost two first-round draft choices from last year's team -- offensive tackle Chris Samuels and tailback Shaun Alexander -- and perhaps their departures were underestimated when the Tide was ranked No. 3 in The Associated Press preseason poll and an overwhelming pick to repeat as SEC champions. Samuels won the Outland Trophy and Alexander is Alabama's all-time leading rusher with 3,565 yards. "I'd definitely like to have them back," Redmill said. "I loved those guys, and I loved that team last year. "But I feel like that was their team, and now this is our team. We want to give this team its own identity. That's something we're searching for right now. "At this time last year the offense wasn't exactly shining, either. We've got a lot of players who can get the job done, and I think we're going to start showing people some things pretty soon." Sunday normally is an off day for the Tide, but the coaches decided to meet with the players and go over the Southern Miss film. "Of course, people thought it was punishment and were wondering, 'What are we doing here on Sunday?' " Alabama senior safety Tony Dixon said. "I don't think the attitude was right when we came to the meeting, but when we left, we definitely were in the right frame of mind." The purpose of the change in schedule, Watts said, was to get the Southern Miss game behind the Tide and get a jump on preparing for Arkansas. "We're done with last week completely," Watts said. "We're concentrating on nothing but Arkansas now." And which team should Arkansas be concentrating on this week? The nation's preseason No. 3 team or the Tide that was shut out at home last week? "This team is hard to pinpoint," Zow said. "I don't know which team is going to show up sometimes. "Hopefully, we'll get our A game going and start putting it all together."
This article was published on Tuesday, September 19, 2000RETURN to main pageCopyright and permissions Copyright © 2000, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
