It's amazing- never seen a fan base so unable to accept a loss without an excuse. Just have to lay it out like it is:


1) AFTER A&M’s 3 touchdown outburst, Manziel completed 11 in a row until 50 seconds left in 3rd. Bama hardly shut him down. Ags only punted 3 times in their last 8 possessions.

2) Ags last 5 possessions were 63 yard drive with FG, 51 yard drive with Missed FG, 66yds with TD, 3 and out, 15 yards with possession game over. Bama only stopped Ags once in last 5 possessions.

3) A&M outscored Bama 9-7 in 4th, even with a missed FG from Bama 19 and going for 2.

4) Lacy rushed for 51 yards in his first 7 carries, but only 31 in his last 9, including only 11 yards in his last 5 carries. Yeldon averaged only 3.3ypc, and McCarron .2ypc. In 2nd half, Bama rushed 15 times for 38 yards total (2.5ypc) 1 fumble, yet one of their many excuses is that Saban messed up by throwing it and not running MORE. Fact is, as the game went on, their rushing attack became less and less effective.

5) In 2nd half, Bama passed 10/17 for 173 with 1TD and 1 INT; A&M passed 9/15 for 135 with 1 TD and 0 INT. Manziel basically played Bama to a draw while protecting a lead.

6) McCarron Passing in second half: he threw 15 passes totaling 64 yards and one INT (actually two counting the Everett INT that was wrongfully disallowed) and then two plays that netted 54 yds each on A&M blown coverage. Those two plays were the only reason Bama even had a chance to pull ahead at the end. (not win, since Manziel still would have had a couple of minutes and 3 timeouts to win it. A fact seldom acknowledged by Tide fans)

7) Favorite Excuse #1: Bama was coming off an emotional road win at LSU. FACT: A&M was playing its 10th straight game in a row, 3rd straight SEC road game, 5th road game in 6 weeks, with the only home game an emotional loss against LSU.

8) Favorite Excuse #2: Saban did not take A&M seriously enough. A&M was 7-2, ranked 15th, had won 5 straight road games, a Heisman candidate at QB, and was leading the SEC in offense. Saban and staff according to Bama fans are the best coaches in college football, yet for some reason they forgot to take A&M seriously, even though they were one of the last remaining obstacles to a national championship. FACT: Saban knew EXACTLY what he was facing, yet he couldn’t do anything about it- same as Bob Stoops.

9) Favorite Excuse #3: Bama made too many mistakes and A&M played a perfect game. FACT: A&M EARNED all 3 of its turnovers, and it was denied a 4th by a wrong call. The jump by Bama at the end was a called play- A&M showed more discipline and better coaching. A&M also missed a PAT, a gimme FG, and chose to go for 2 instead of another PAT, yet still outscored Bama in the 4th quarter. Ags also made some coverage blunders at the end of the game that allowed Bama back in it.

10) Favorite Excuse#4: Bama controlled/dominated A&M after the 1st quarter, and only lost because of an INT. FACT: As shown above, A&M controlled Bama’s running offense after the 2nd quarter and actually won the 4th quarter despite a missed FG. A&M’s offense continued to roll, and its defense never allowed Bama to get into a rhythm.


11) Favorite Excuse #5: Bama should have rushed more; Saban erred by throwing it. FACT: The only meaningful offense generated by Bama in the 2nd half was a result of throwing the ball. Even at the goal line at the end, the one rushing attempt by Bama netted 1 yard, and Lacy gained only 11 yards in his last 5 carries. Bama had no choice BUT to throw it, especially because A&M’s offense continued to be productive.

12) BOTTOM LINE: A&M played a better game than Alabama and coached a better game than Alabama, and every Alabama turnover was the result of a good play by A&M. Bama had no more excuse for its schedule than A&M.

Yeah man!

Agree 100%.

I'm mad too, Eddie!

Spanking that ass, man!

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I've seen 'em lose, I've seen 'em win, but I've never seen 'em quit...

Nice write up...the fact is that had A&M not given up two or three big pass plays...it would have been utter domination...controlled the line very well against the Bama offense. Let them make excuses...sign of a scared fanbase...

If we win the first and the fourth quarters again I like our odds. Start fast and finish strong.

Take it to the Facts board

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(actually two counting the Everett INT that was wrongfully disallowed

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Agree with everything but this part. That was the correct call. If your whole foot comes down, the whole foot has to be inbounds. NCAA Approved Ruling 7-3-6 XV: "Eligible A80 is airborne near the sideline when he receives a legal forward pass. As he comes to the ground facing the field of play, his toe (a) clearly drags the ground inbounds before he falls out of bounds; (b) touches the ground inbounds and then his heel comes down on the sideline in a continuous motion. He maintains firm control of the ball in both cases. Ruling: (a) Complete pass. (b) Incomplete pass. The continuous toe-heel touching is part of a single process and by interpretation he has landed out of bounds, thus not executing a catch."

Correct call but rule should be changed.

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Correct call but rule should be changed.

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I disagree. He stepped on the boundary line, therefore he was out of bounds. If a ball carrier steps on the line, it doesn't matter if half an inch of the side of his shoe touches the line, he's out. Same thing here.

^

Didn't he stick his toes and then the heel came down on the white. I don't know if I want the rule changed or not.

I thought it was a pretty clear interception on the replay. He caught it, got a toe down, and then the rest of his foot was on the line.

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I thought it was a pretty clear interception on the replay. He caught it, got a toe down, and then the rest of his foot was on the line.

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You're exactly right, he got a toe down, but the rest of his foot was on the line. Therefore he was out of bounds. Here is the broadcast cued up at the play. It includes the booth review and the broadcast guys do a good job talking about it. If he would have drug his toe, he would have been in, but because he completed his step, he was out. Think of it the other way, if a guy is running toward the sideline and his heel is in but his toe hits out, he's obviously out. It's the same thing, no part of his foot can hit the line.

Edit: If it's not cued up when you click, it's at 2:15:53.

[This message has been edited by BQBass13 (edited 7/6/2013 1:45a).]

where's bamaoldtimer when you need him?

oh yeah, and this thread.

We saw it from the cheap seats at the top of the stadium and thought it the best game we ever saw. As time went on I thought we beat'em pretty good but as i watched the replay last week i daw how close it really was. I think that was the best team I ever saw us beat! Auburn and Miss St quit but Bama didn't. After the game their fans were extremely nice and complementary and all said to us the best team won! Southern charm and manners. They were very impressed with A&M on the field and in the stands. They were particularly glad we weren't like the LSU fans! Ha... True. That was said a bunch!

Yes.

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I thought it was a pretty clear interception on the replay. He caught it, got a toe down, and then the rest of his foot was on the line.

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You're exactly right, he got a toe down, but the rest of his foot was on the line. Therefore he was out of bounds. Here is the broadcast cued up at the play. It includes the booth review and the broadcast guys do a good job talking about it. If he would have drug his toe, he would have been in, but because he completed his step, he was out. Think of it the other way, if a guy is running toward the sideline and his heel is in but his toe hits out, he's obviously out. It's the same thing, no part of his foot can hit the line.

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Interesting rule. I guess my take on it was that if you can see a single frame where he clearly has possession of the football and a part of his body is inbounds while no part of his body touches out of bounds, such as this screen shot:



Then it would seem to be okay. It's interesting that you can score touchdowns or get first downs without any body part actually touching a blade of endzone grass or grass past the first down marker and yet a highly skilled play like this gets unrewarded. You can also catch a ball that is clearly out of bounds as long as you have a foot down inbounds at the time of the catch. Deshazor got possession of the ball inbounds, then got a toe down inbounds, and a split second later the rest of his foot went out of bounds. I'm not a big fan of this particular ruling, but whatever, it made the end of the game that much more awesome.

Im just drinking a few beers and spitballing though

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Then it would seem to be okay. It's interesting that you can score touchdowns or get first downs without any body part actually touching a blade of endzone grass or grass past the first down marker and yet a highly skilled play like this gets unrewarded.

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The difference on those is that the touchdown or first down is determined by where the ball is, not where the player is. And to get a TD or first down you have to already be in bounds.

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You can also catch a ball that is clearly out of bounds as long as you have a foot down inbounds at the time of the catch.

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This is because the ball is not considered out of bounds until it touches something that is out of bounds. In this case, that "something" was Deshazor. But, yes, it definitely made the end of the game even better.

BQ, not only have you pwnd me once, but you have pwnd me again. Much respect to you, good sir.

[This message has been edited by jdls210 (edited 7/6/2013 2:51a).]

Great writeup

Dude I thought your username said AnalorgyAg...

A receiver on offense is allowed to drag a toe or touch a toe in bounds for a reception. If this was an offensive play and the receiver caught the ball it would have been ruled a catch. Are you saying a defensive reception (or interception) should not be ruled the same?

IMO; the rule in both circumstances should be the same.

Nice work.

Good OP. A couple of more things to ponder.

In the first quarter, we ran the ball inside the 5 yard line for 2 touchdowns. No finese. Mano a mano, imposing our will & dispelling the general perception that A&M was a finese team.

Also, our defense had a goal line stand from the 6 yard line holding them on 4 plays after "an emotional" (there's that phrase again) letdown of the long reception to the 6 yard line. This goal line stand ranks up there with stopping Bo in the Cotton Bowl.

Head shot

Only one disagreement with OP, Everett was out of bounds and the Official got it right. Other than that, damm good post.

Bass- Thanks for that info. I always wanted to look that up but never got around to it- I had assumed a toe was a toe, whether going forward or backward. I also believe that rule should be changed to reward the receiver- they are becoming very skilled at those kind of plays.

That said, it is debatable that he got his RIGHT heel down before his left came down. It's tough to see just when the left made contact w/ ground compared to the right.


PFO- Yes, the fans were polite after the game and I was impressed. As the rematch draws near though, I can't believe the misinfo/excuses I'm hearing. Funny thread is one from yesterday where the guy says great win, no excuses. Then proceeds to give us a list of excuses. It's probably just a vocal few, but it seems like I'm hearing more and more.


[This message has been edited by AnalogyAg (edited 7/6/2013 7:03a).]

Didn't they get a touchdown that wasn't really a touchdown? I seem to recall a TD that wasn't.

For the thread and BQ. It's amazing how many people don't understand that rule