Happy Friday, everyone. Alabama baseball kicks off NCAA Regional play in Hattiesburg today at 2pm CT on ESPN2.
Hattiesburg is the latest stop for the No. 2 seed Crimson Tide, which will meet the No. 3 seed Miami Hurricanes to kick off its weekend in Mississippi.
Both teams look to get back in the win column after disappointing finishes at their respective conference tournaments. A run-rule from Cal bounced Miami from the ACC Tournament while Alabama (41-16) made it to the second day of play in Hoover, but ultimately gave up 20 hits and its SEC championship hopes to No. 14 overall seed Tennessee.
Roger will be there, as usual. And guess who got himself a feature story in the Tuscaloosa News?
“Well, you know, anytime you go to LSU, you’re gonna see something,” Myers said.
From fall to spring, a Tigers tailgate often exudes an aroma of hard liquor and cajun spices, and typically comes with an offering of jambalaya for passersby.
The 10-hour drive to College Station brought a sweep of Texas A&M and a dousing by “Whammy” the bubble machine, an Aggie tradition inspired by a dugout joke that’s been running since 2015.
“There’s going to Vanderbilt and having to listen to the ‘Whistler,’” Myers continued, describing the whistling Commodores fan as “a thing around the SEC that everybody hates,” not just in the 3,000 seats of “The Hawk,” but especially if he’s in your section.
What a fan. What a man.
We now know when the first three Alabama games will be played. Wisconsin will be visiting for breakfast.
The Crimson Tide’s season opener against Florida State did not change, and will be on ABC at 2:30 p.m. CT on Aug. 30 as previously announced. Alabama’s first home game of 2025 is scheduled for Sept. 6, when ULM comes to Tuscaloosa.
That game will kick off in prime time, beginning at 6:45 p.m. CT in Bryant-Denny Stadium. It will be aired on the SEC Network, according to Thursday’s release.
Alabama traveled to Wisconsin last year, blowing out the Badgers in Madison in Kalen DeBoer’s first road game as UA’s head coach. This season, UW will make the return trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 13.
Alabama and Wisconsin drew the early kickoff time, according to Thursday’s schedule release, and will begin at 11 a.m. CT in Tuscaloosa.
The way-too-early point spread on the season opener is sizable.
“One of the more low-key big-time matchups of Week 1 of the college football season. You got Alabama going to Tallahassee to play Florida State. Right now, Alabama is a 12.5-point favorite. I get Florida State was not good last year, to put it simply. 12 and a half? 12 and a half at the crib? We’ll see,” began PicKell.
Later on, the CFB analyst mentioned that FSU could match up well with the Tide, especially at the quarterback position.
“It’s funny when you look at this matchup, because the kind of quarterback that gave Alabama trouble a year ago is exactly the same kind of quarterback that Florida State is rolling with here with Tommy Castellanos,” PicKell said. “Now, that’s not me telling you that Florida State has a quarterback advantage. That’s not me telling you that I’m buying all the Tommy Castellanos stock I can find. I like the way he fits the system. I like Gus Malzahn. I like a lot about this. He still has to go out there and prove it, though, still has to go out there and cut up on an Alabama defense.”
Michael Carroll will be a freshman to watch this fall.
Moosbrugger remembers that exact moment when the “man on a mission” became the man who caught Alabama football’s attention.
In a rivalry game against Central Bucks West, Central Bucks East needed momentum. The team had just finished an offensive drive, and Michael Carroll was taking the field to play defensive line. Moosbrugger got in his face. While he doesn’t remember the exact words he used, he remembers the message.
‘“Look, you’re going to be an All-American,’” Moosbrugger said. “‘Act like it.’”
On the very next play, Michael Carroll took one hand and threw the Central Bucks West tackle 4 yards into the backfield. He sacked the quarterback and ran halfway to the opposing sideline, pumping his chest.
We need that man to reach his full beast potential.
Last, because everything sucks, Alabama will probably lose the Tennessee rivalry at some point soon.
“In reality, when we went to as many teams as we have now in the SEC, one of those will probably suffer if we stay to eight,” Byrne said. “If you go to nine, you have some more flexibility with what that looks like.”
Alabama has played Tennessee each football season since 1944. It’s a rivalry Byrne said that means “a lot to all the institutions involved.”
“I wouldn’t like to see it, but I also realize that things are going to continue to evolve and change,” Byrne said. “It would be a sad time if that were to happen, but you also have to deal with reality.”
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.