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2007 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

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{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]

The 2007 Alabama Crimson Tide will attempt to improve from a disappointing 6-7 record in the 2006 season. The Tide will be led by its new head Coach Nick Saban, who recently left the Miami Dolphins to take over the Alabama job.

Returning Starters

Offense

The Crimson Tide offense returns nine starters from 2006. Returning are all three quarterbacks at the top of the depth chart, including starter John Parker Wilson. The entire starting offensive line returns, anchored by freshman All-American Andre Smith, along with reinforcements brought by the top four tight ends from the 2006 depth chart. Alabama's deepest and most experienced unit is its wide receivers led by DJ Hall, who broke nearly every Alabama-receiving record in school history in 2006. Alabama must find a replacement for Kenneth Darby at tailback from its young running backs. With the offensive line, quarterbacks, and receivers being regarded as strengths for the Tide, Alabama hopes to find an effective running game with its young running backs as opposing defenses will be forced to respect Alabama's vertical passing game. The Tide will have to adapt to the new offense installed by new offensive coordinator Major Applewhite. Head coach Nick Saban has stated this will be a unique offense that no other team in America will be running[citation needed], and will simply be titled the "Alabama" because of its solitude. All told, the Tide returns nine starters on offense.

Defense

The Alabama defense will return six starters in 2007, based on the 3-3-5 scheme that was run in 2006. The Tide in 2007 will have a new nose tackle, a new outside linebacker and strongside linebacker, and also a new starting cornerback and a starting safety.

Schedule

The schedule was ranked as the #7 toughest home schedule.[1]

September 16:07 pmWestern Carolina*

PPVW 52-6 September 811:45 amat Vanderbilt

LFSW 24-10 September 155:45 pmNo. 16 Arkansas

  • Bryant-Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL

ESPNW 41-38 September 226:45 pmNo. 21 GeorgiaNo. 16

  • Bryant-Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL

ESPNL 23-26 OT September 294:00 pmat Florida State*No. 24

CBSL 21-14 October 62:07 pmHouston*dagger

  • Bryant-Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL

PPVW 30-24 October 1311:30 amat Ole Miss

LFS [2]W 27-24 October 20Tennessee

November 3LSU

  • Bryant-Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL

November 10at Mississippi State

November 17Louisiana-Monroe*

  • Bryant-Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL

November 24at Auburn

Template:CFB Schedule End

Schedule Notes

The Alabama vs. Florida State game on September 29 will be played in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The match-up is a one-time only contest, and the tickets for the event will be split 50 / 50 between the two fan bases.

The Alabama vs. LSU game on November 3 will mark the second time that Alabama head coach Nick Saban will compete against LSU. The first time came in the 1995 Independence Bowl while Saban was the head coach of Michigan State. The game will be the first time Saban will compete against LSU after his tenure as head coach at that school.

The Alabama vs. Auburn game on November 24 will see the Tide attempting to end a current five-game losing streak to the Tigers.

Of the twelve teams on the 2007 schedule, eight made bowl games in 2006.

Game Notes

Western Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total
Catamounts 0 3 0 3 6
Crimson Tide 14 24 0 14 52

The Nick Saban era commenced before a sold-out, home crowd of 92,138 by defeating the Catamounts of Western Carolina 52-6. This marks both Nick Saban's first regular season game and victory as Alabama's head coach.

Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson was 17-of-25 for 189 yards. Redshirt freshman running back Terry Grant had a coming-out party with 134 yards rushing on 18 attempts and three of Alabama's touchdowns. [3]

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total
Crimson Tide 10 6 0 8 24
Commodores 3 0 0 7 10

For the 19th time in a row stretching back to 1984, Alabama defeated Vanderbilt before a sold-out crowd of 39,773 at Vanderbilt Stadium. This marks Nick Saban's first conference victory as Alabama's head coach.

Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson was 14-of-28 for 150 yards. Redshirt freshman running back Terry Grant, for a second week rushed for over 100 yards, with 173 yards rushing on 24 attempts and both of Alabama's touchdowns. Leigh Tiffin would account for the remainder of the scoring in hitting field goals of 20, 40 and 29 yards.[4]

Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total
#16 Razorbacks 0 10 7 21 38
Crimson Tide 21 0 10 10 41

In what was considered its first true test of the season, Alabama built an early 21-point lead but had to mount a come-from-behind drive in the final two minutes of the game in order to capture a 41–38 victory.[5] The upset win placed Alabama in the top 25 in both the AP and Coaches' polls.

Georgia

1 2 3 4OT Total
#22 Bulldogs 7 3 7 36 26
#16 Crimson Tide 0 3 7 103 23

In their second straight test at home, the Crimson Tide found themselves trailing early in the first quarter via a 10-yard pass from Matthew Stafford to Thomas Brown. Brandon Coutu and Leigh Tiffin each added a field goal in the 2nd quarter for their respective teams as the Bulldogs lead 10-3 at halftime. In the third quarter, Alabama QB John Parker Wilson scrambled for a 1-yard touchdown run, but the Bulldogs immediately answered on their next drive with a 6-yard rushing touchdown from Knowshon Moreno. Coutu connected on a 47-yard field goal, as the Bulldogs extended their lead in the fourth quarter. Alabama scored on a 22-yard field goal from Leigh Tiffin and another rushing touchdown from John Parker Wilson, forcing the game into overtime. On their first possession of overtime, Alabama failed to move the football and Leigh Tiffin connected on a 42-yard field goal. As for Georgia, QB Matthew Stafford connected on a 25-yard pass to Mikey Henderson and the Georgia Bulldogs left Tuscaloosa 26-23 overtime winners.[6]

Florida State

1 2 3 4 Total
#22 Crimson Tide 0 0 0 14 14
Seminoles 0 0 7 14 21

The Tide suffered another upset loss in Jacksonville, Florida to Florida State. It was the first time the teams had met since 1974, and it was the first meeting since Birmingham, Alabama native Bobby Bowden took over as head coach of the Seminoles. Bowden had dreamed of playing for the Tide as a child, and he almost left Florida State to coach Alabama in December 1986. However, this game marked his first time to ever be on the field with Alabama. State's backup quarterback Xavier Lee, who took the field in the second quarter, was the star of the show with a pair of touchdown passes to De'Cody Fagg. The game was scoreless through the first half. Then the Seminoles scored on their first play of the second half on the first of those Lee to Fagg passes. They scored again on a run by Antone Smith in the fourth quarter after a fumble by John Parker Wilson on Alabama's 5-yard line. The Tide showed some life late in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdowns, but a 70-yard touchdown pass wit 4:46 left on the clock clinched it for Florida State. After Alabama scored their second touchdown on a Keith Brown reception with 1:06 left in the game, they then recovered an onside kick in an attempt to force the game into overtime. However, Alabama was charged with illegal touching, and the play was ruled invalid, sealing the Tide's fate. The 85,412 fans at the game set the attendance record for Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, exceeding numbers of Super Bowl XXXIX or any of the annual Geogia-Florida rivalry games. The following day, Alabama dropped from the rankings in the AP and Coaches' polls.

Houston

1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 7 3 14 24
Crimson Tide 23 0 7 0 30

After the first quarter, Alabama led Houston 23-0, and it appeared that the 2007 homecoming game would be a blowout victory. However, the Tide's offense shut down for the other three quarters scoring only one more touchdown in the third quarter. Right before halftime, the Cougars managed to score their first touchdown on a 68 yard Blake Joseph pass to Donnie Avery. A Houston field goal in the third quarter made the score 23-10 before Alabama scored its final touchdown to make it 30-10. The game appeared over going into the fourth quarter, but Houston attempted a comeback by scoring two touchdowns to come within 6 points of the Tide. On the last play of the game, Houston almost scored another touchdown to win the game, but an interception in the endzone by Simeon Castille sealed the victory for Bama.

Ole Miss

1 2 3 4 Total
Crimson Tide 3 14 0 10 27
Rebels 7 3 14 0 24

Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total
Volunteers 0
Crimson Tide 0

Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 0
Crimson Tide 0

LSU

1 2 3 4 Total
Crimson Tide 0
Tigers 0

Louisiana-Monroe

1 2 3 4 Total
Warhawks 0
Crimson Tide 0

Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total
Crimson Tide 0
Tigers 0

Personnel

Roster

Template:2007 Alabama Crimson Tide football roster

Coaching Staff

References

  1. ^ Steve Megargee. "Road to glory will be tough one for Seminoles". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
  2. ^ http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=40673&SPID=3571&DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=1253223
  3. ^ "Western Carolina vs Alabama Crimson Tide". UA Media Relations. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  4. ^ Scott Latta. "Hall Surpasses 2,000-yard Mark, Tide Downs Commodores 24-10". UA Media Relations. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  5. ^ "Caddell TD caps wild finish as Bama upsets Arkansas". ESPNU.com. The Disney Company. September 15 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Georgia 26, Alabama 23". Yahoo! Sports. September 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

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