MUSIC CITY BOWL
ALABAMA vs. MINNESOTA
Dec-31 NOON/ESPN
Alabama 6-5 (3-5) T3rd SEC-West
Minnesota 6-5 (3-5) 8th Big Ten
Another exciting match between 6-5 teams. These are the types of games that get people to point out that maybe we have too many bowls. Sadly they are probably right. Then again there really isn’t much else to do at noon on New Years’ Eve so if you like traditional running football and defence it may be a good way to prepare for the festivities latter that night.
Alabama has six wins but only one of those was against a bowl bound team and that team was Southern Mississippi. The Mike Shula era hasn’t exactly brought the riches some hoped for. Then again this is the first bowl game for the team in three years. Shula no doubt hopes that this game can give rise to future bowl appearances in upcoming years.
The Crimson Tide struggled this year on offence and are now starting their third-string quarterback Spencer Pennington. Do not get him mixed up with New York Jets starter Chad Pennington. This Pennington had three touchdown passes to eight interceptions. He did however have his best game in the last game of the season against state rival Auburn. Lucky for him Alabama does have a decent rushing attack led by 1000 yard rusher Kenneth Darby. Darby will need to have a big game to help Alabama maintain a positive balance in the time of possession battle.
Minnesota started off the season with a bang going 5-0. A disappointing loss to Michigan seemed to deflate the team who then finished losing five of their last six games. The loss to 3-8 Indiana showed just how far this team had fallen after its fast start. Can Minnesota bounce back and finish the season on a high note?
The Golden Gophers have a solid running attack. Running backs Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber III both ran for over 1000 yards this year. The team as a whole average over 255 yards a game on the ground. Minnesota’s offence did average 31 points a game this year. Its defence however was ranked 86th nationally. Minnesota will primarily rely on the ground game but if they can get the passing attack going it will stop Alabama from focusing solely on stopping the run. The best thing for Minnesota’s defence is to hope that the run attack of their offence will mean they can sit on the bench for the bulk of the game.
Players to watch:
Alabama: Linebackers Cornelius Wortham, Freddie Roach and DeMeco Ryans. This three-headed monster will be in charge of trying to stop the Golden Gophers rushing attack. They have proven that they can stop the run this year. If they can have a strong performance the Crimson Tide should come out on top.
Minnesota: Running backs Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber III. While Alabama has a three-headed monster, Minnesota has its own two-headed monster in its backfield. If this pair of running backs can have a big game against the solid defence of the Crimson Tide then perhaps they can salvage something from a season that started with so much promise.
Who will win?
Minnesota has beaten better teams then Alabama and has more talent at this point. Alabama’s defence will have to play a perfect game and cause some turnovers to help its offence create points. With all that said the Golden Gophers should be able to pull off the victory. They will keep pounding the ball up the ground and wear down the Crimson Tides defence.
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Game Recap
This game started off with a lot of sloppy play highlighted by 5 turnovers in the first quarter. Each team’s first touchdown was a result of a turnover.
It soon became evident that Minnesota would stick to the run and keep pounding away at the Alabama defence. By the second quarter this tactic was working and Minnesota was soon up 17-7 and looking like the game was going to be a rout.
Spencer Pennington led a lead second quarter touchdown drive that left the game 17-14 at the half and ‘Bama fans had hope.
The second half of the game featured more back and forth between the two teams but no teams defence broke. The ‘Bama defence allowed alot of rushing yards but managed to stop the Gophers in the red zone and the only two scoring attempts they had were field goals, one however was missed. With the score 20-14 ‘Bama still had a chance but a total lack of a rushing attack put too much pressure on Alabama QB Spencer Pennington. After Minnesota conceded a safety, making the score 20-16, and a great return by Tyrone Protho Alabama had one last chance.
Pennington missed an open Protho in the end zone on third down from about the 15 yard line. The fourth down throw was also incomplete essentially ending the game.
A solid game that featured some great running by both of Minnesota’s running backs rushed for over 100 yards against a Crimson Tide defence that had not allowed one player to run for over 100 yards in any other game this year.
For Alabama Spencer Pennington showed that he has some promise. If they can have an injury free season next year they should have a team capable of challenging for the SEC title game.
