New Orleans » Alabama's history against a New Orleans school with All-America offensive tackle Andre Smith missing has the Crimson Tide's followers understandably worried about what will take place in Friday's Sugar Bowl.
The Tide offense struggled in a 20-6 victory over Tulane in the second game of the season, when Smith was injured. Smith is suspended for the Sugar Bowl against Utah, apparently for improper contact with an agent. Coach Nick Saban said the disciplinary action was handled by the school, not the NCAA.
Alabama will handle Smith's absence the same way as in September, by moving left guard Mike Johnson to tackle and promoting David Ross at guard. The Tide gained only 172 total yards against Tulane, while allowing four sacks.
Right guard Marlon Davis was sidelined by a hamstring injury after the first series of that game, causing more complications. "We shuffled a lot of guys around," Johnson said Wednesday. "We've come a long way since then as an offensive line, as a team. Hopefully, we can adjust a little bit better."
Playing for third
The way this season played out, Alabama's loss to Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game served as a semifinal contest for Bowl Championship Series purposes. In essence, the Tide are now playing a consolation game, which suggests they will lack incentive.
"There's no chance of that all," said linebacker Cory Reamer . "We've moved on, though we're not in the national championship. It would have been nice to be there, but we're in the Sugar Bowl, which is a BCS game, and it was our goal at the beginning of the season to be where we are now, and everybody's ready for it. Nobody's going to be not motivated for this game at all."
Tebow II
Alabama's defensive players would like to believe that having faced Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in the SEC title game is good preparation for the Sugar Bowl. That has more to do with Utah running back Matt Asiata than quarterback Brian Johnson .
Asiata frequently takes a shotgun snap and runs, much as Tebow does. The difference is that while Asiata throws the ball once in a while, including a touchdown toss against Brigham Young, he's not the same passing threat as Tebow.
"The biggest thing is he won't pull up and throw," said defensive end Bobby Greenwood . "We just have to stay low at the line of scrimmage and not let them penetrate."
