By outreach@cw.ua.edu (Matthew Speakman)

1. Georgia Southern at Alabama, Nov. 20, 2011

Result: Alabama won, 45-21

It’s the “tin horn” game! This one seemed to become extremely famous last season when Alabama coach Nick Saban used a series of expletives and a simile that made absolutely no sense to describe it. He wasn’t wrong in saying that Georgia Southern absolutely ran all over Alabama. The Eagles really had the most success out of any team all season against the Crimson Tide defense. Georgia Southern ran the triple option, which, if you have ever watched a Georgia Tech game, can either be a really good thing or a really bad thing. In this game, it was a good thing. The Eagles ran for 302 yards, and they were the only team to score 20 points all year against Alabama. A defense filled with first-round NFL draft picks (Mark Barron, Dre Kirkpatrick and Dont’a Hightower) was absolutely dismantled by a bunch of guys faking handoffs and throwing pitches. Isn’t that awesome? Georgia Southern threw five passes all game and had one completion that went for a 39-yard touchdown pass.

I’m almost convinced that Saban is glad that this game happened. The reason I believe that is because now any time reporters, like me, ask a question about younger guys getting playing time, he can go to town on them. Everybody loves a good Saban tirade, and if this game did not happen, then there would be no “tin horn” rant. I think we can all agree that would be a bad thing.

2. Louisiana-Monroe at Alabama, Nov. 17, 2007.

Result: Louisiana-Monroe won, 21-14

Remember Saban’s first season? Me neither. The 2007 season is basically like season nine of How I Met Your Mother. The ending is just so bad that it hurts to even talk about the entire show sometimes. After losing to LSU and Mississippi State in back-to-back weeks, Alabama had absolutely no confidence when the traditional juggernaut, Louisiana-Monroe, came to town. These mighty titans dressed in maroon and black gave Alabama a show. Alabama fans wanted to just push this game aside and play Auburn to try and end a losing streak to the Tigers. Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, Louisiana-Monroe had other plans. The Warhawks, which is an incredible name for a team, managed to match both of Alabama’s touchdowns in the first half. The Warhawks then took the lead in the third quarter and held on to win, 21-14.

The thing that makes this so great is the fact that Alabama is such a powerhouse now. It’s almost as if the Crimson Tide had to go through utter despair to finally reach the top of the NCAA. Let’s get this straight: Alabama lost, but this was a really awful game of college football. It’s like when you watch a one-on-one game between two terrible guys at the rec, and the score just stays at 7-7 for like 20 minutes because they keep trying to take step-back threes but neither of them can even make a layup. So, the game just lasts forever. That was this game. It was awful.

3. Louisiana-Monroe at Alabama, Sep. 26, 2015.

Result: Alabama won, 34-0

Normally, the game after a loss for Alabama fans feels like the end of the world. The dynasty is over. Everyone said it was. Just believe them. Do not have hope that Alabama will do what it always does, which is regroup and continue to be a ruthless death machine. This game seemed to be different. Although Alabama lost to Ole Miss the previous week, revenge was on the horizon. Alabama fans spent every waking moment of the previous eight years wallowing in self-pity, but never giving up the blood thirst for the titans in maroon and black. Crimson Tide fans wanted revenge and they wanted it badly. Louisiana-Monroe went into this game with a 1-0 series lead over Alabama (man, that is just an incredible thing to write), but this Alabama team was a little different. Saban built a powerhouse, but all of that pales in comparison to the giants of Louisiana-Monroe.

Alabama players and fans headed into the stadium with the mentality of a lion coming across a lonely zebra in the wild. Just think about it: a David (Alabama) vs. Goliath (Louisiana-Monroe, obviously) matchup. Louisiana-Monroe had been Alabama’s school bully. The Warhawks pushed the Crimson Tide around. They were the team that had the one-up. So what happened? Alabama destroyed them, 34-0, but it was not as pretty as the score indicates. We will have to wait another eight years for the next tale in this historic rivalry.

4. Charleston-Southern at Alabama, Nov. 21, 2015.

Result: Alabama won, 56-6

This was the Cyrus Jones swag game. The cornerback is such a great story for Alabama. He started multiple years for the Crimson Tide, but got criticized a lot for giving up big plays every now and then. The best thing about this is that Jones never backed down from responding to such criticisms. So, when he became one of the best players for Alabama in the 2015 season, it made it that much sweeter. Much like the rest of his teammates, Jones played immensely better in the back half of the 2015 season. When Charleston-Southern came to town, Jones had a game that is one of my favorite performances by a player against a lesser opponent. He took two punts back for a touchdown and intercepted a pitch on an option play. He balled out and definitely let Charleston-Southern know about it.

Charleston-Southern was undefeated heading into this game. The swashbuckling Buccaneers led by Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa and Will Turner were determined to send Alabama to Davy Jones’ locker if it meant they could get their hands on that treasure. Luckily for them, the scallywags were promised plentiful amounts of booty regardless of win or loss. So when the mateys saw their ship get sunk by a flurry of cannonballs, the only thing they could do was walk the plank themselves and be gone with whatever treasure they could grab in …read more

Source:: The Crimson White Sports