DRINK THE KOOL-AID! Thx Yahoo Sports For This

Inside Slant

See the Kool-Aid. Take the Kool-Aid. Drink the Kool-Aid.

Alabama (5-0) rolled into Georgia Saturday night and dominated, rolling out with a 41-30 victory over a Bulldogs team (4-1) many thought was playing for the No. 1 spot in this week’s poll.

The Tide played near flawless football in the first half, scoring on five consecutive possessions, and led 31-0 by halftime. Quarterback John Parker Wilson had only one incompletion in the first half, hitting 10-of-11 passes.

Afterward, head coach Nick Saban played the role of Scrooge, insisting there were enough bad things in the second half to enable him to keep after his team even after a big win.

“If you want to drink the Kool-Aid (about how good the Tide is) …” Saban started, then stopped. “It happens every week. I’m just the only person that talks about it, and then you guys beat me up about it, which is all right. I don’t mind. Then the next week they say, ‘He’s right. By God, he was right.’ “

No one is arguing with Saban, who has put his stamp on this program in one year. But the fans can’t help themselves. They are ecstatic.

And the players are pretty happy too—but not in the presence of their coach.

“He smiled and told us he loved us,” said linebacker Cory Reamer.

Saban is paid to coach, and to worry. But right now, he’s got a defense that shut down all the weapons of Georgia’s offense, and an offense that is playing ball-control football and executing as carefully as a jeweler cutting a diamond.

“Can we finish games when we didn’t do it tonight?” Saban asked. “Can we finish a season? Can we play with consistency?”

Through five games, the answer is yes. The offense seems prepared, the defense dominating, and the team responded when Georgia came back with 17 third-quarter points to cut the lead to 31-17. Who knows what will happen from here on. But no matter what, Alabama fans are happy and excited.

They’ll let their coach do all the worrying.

Season Recap:

#24 Alabama 34, #9 Clemson 10: The Tide blended its highly touted recruiting class in with veterans nicely, resulting in a complete domination of the preseason ninth-ranked Tigers. Senior John Parker Wilson was particularly effective in running the offense, and freshman tailback Mark Ingram burst into the spotlight with 97 yards rushing.

#13 Alabama 20, Tulane 6: Alabama struggled on offense, but special teams provided two touchdowns and the defense kept the Green Wave away from the end zone. Punt returner Javier Arenas set a school record with 147 yards on five returns, with one touchdown.

#11 Alabama 41, Western Kentucky 7: A perfect tune up heading into a two-game stretch against SEC competition. Alabama overwhelmed the Hilltoppers with 557 yards of offense, and limited Western Kentucky to 48 offensive plays for the game.

#9 Alabama 49, Arkansas 14: Alabama goes on the road and dominates the Hogs, averaging 8.0 yards per play on only 50 plays. The Tide got two defensive touchdowns on interception returns, and scored on long runs of 87 and 62 yards.

#8 Alabama 41, #3 Georgia 30: The Tide scored on its first five possessions, jumping to a 31-0 first half lead, then held on to upset the No 3 team in the nation. Alabama has yet to trail in a game this season, and seems to just keep going, and going, and going…

RANKINGS AS OF 9/29/08 - University of Alabama (5-0/2-0 Conf.)

AP TOP 25 - Ranked #2 with 21 1st Place Votes!

USA TODAY - Ranked #4 with 2 1st Place Votes!

YAHOO USERS POLL - Ranked #1!!!!!!!!!

Notes, Quotes

• Rather than open the 2010 season in Atlanta against Alabama, Duke has decided to keep its season opener on campus, according to Atlanta Sports Council President Gary Stokan. There were negotiations for Alabama and Duke to play the opener in The Georgia Dome, but Duke’s new athletic director, Kevin White, and new football coach David Cutcliffe, prefer to keep the game against the Tide at home. The Sports Council still hopes to see Alabama open the 2009 season in Atlanta against Virginia Tech, according to Stokan, but nothing has been finalized.

Game Ball Goes To: QB John Parker Wilson, who outplayed the more highly regarded Matthew Stafford. Wilson completed 13-of-16 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown and was near flawless in his direction of the offense.

Keep An Eye On: WR Julio Jones. Again, in a head-to-head matchup with another highly rated freshman receiver (Georgia’s A.J. Green), Jones came out ahead with five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. His four touchdown receptions are a freshman record at Alabama. He just gets better and better.

Quote To Note: “We probably played the best half of football we’ve played all season. It couldn’t have come at a better time.”—Alabama coach Nick Saban on his club’s 31-0 lead at halftime.

Strategy And Personnel

Looking Good: RB Glen Coffee continues to be the workhorse on offense, with 23 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

• DB Justin Woodall picked off his third interception of the season and led the team with five tackles and forced a fumble.

• The defense limited Heisman favorite Knowshon Mareno to 34 yards on 11 carries, while the offense held the ball for 20:32 of the first 30 minutes of the game.

• CB Javier Arenas added an interception return for a touchdown to his punt return scores. Arenas picked off a Casey Dick pass and went 63 yards for a score. It was one of four interceptions for the Tide on the day.

Still Needs Work: Alabama’s special teams are still susceptible to big plays. The Tide allowed Georgia’s Prince Miller to return a punt 92 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter as the Bulldogs scored 17 points to briefly get back in the game.

Roster Report:

• No injuries were reported after this game.