{"id":17409,"date":"2023-09-22T13:37:30","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T18:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=17409"},"modified":"2023-09-22T13:37:30","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T18:37:30","slug":"greg-mcelroy-alabamas-national-perception-hangs-in-the-balance-vs-ole-miss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/greg-mcelroy-alabamas-national-perception-hangs-in-the-balance-vs-ole-miss\/","title":{"rendered":"Greg McElroy: Alabama\u2019s national perception hangs in the balance vs. Ole Miss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greg McElroy<\/strong> believes much more than a conference victory is at stake for Alabama<\/a><\/strong> against Ole Miss<\/a><\/strong> on Saturday.<\/p>\n

According to the former Crimson Tide quarterback, the aura of Nick Saban\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> team is on the line, and could quickly dissipate if Alabama falls to Lane Kiffin<\/a><\/strong> and the Rebels inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think perception is a big one,\u201d McElroy said, regarding what\u2019s at stake for Alabama on Saturday, via ESPN\u2019s Get Up<\/em>. \u201cObviously, Bama forever, most of the time, when people stepped on the field before they even kicked it off, because Bama had an intimidation factor over pretty much everybody that they played. Well that intimidation factor is right now kind of in the balance. Now they still have excellent players, but the margin for error is significantly smaller than it\u2019s been in the past. Partly because Bama isn\u2019t as deep as they once were because of the portal era, but also because of so many other teams, those teams that were way behind, have now caught up. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think it\u2019ll have a pretty big impact on just how Bama is perceived moving forward. I still think they can beat everyone on their schedule, but they\u2019ll have to play their A-game to do it. Where as back in the day, they could play their B-minus, C-plus game and still win comfortably against pretty much everyone they played.\u201d <\/p>\n

Alas, McElroy makes some fascinating points, and a ton of sense when you think about it. While Alabama\u2019s College Football Playoff hopes would likely be completely dashed with a loss to Ole Miss, a lot more than that is on the line for the Crimson Tide.<\/p>\n

History tells us that Nick Saban will have Alabama roaring and ready to rock, but these are different times in the college football world. Greg McElroy and many others will be waiting patiently to see how the Crimson Tide respond on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Desmond Howard: Alabama is on upset alert vs. Ole Miss<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, optimism around\u00a0Alabama<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0isn\u2019t as high as it was<\/a> after the last two weekends. That\u2019s why, with\u00a0another Top-25 matchup<\/a>\u00a0on deck,\u00a0Desmond Howard<\/a>\u00a0believes the Crimson Tide very well could, or will, lose to\u00a0Ole Miss<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on Saturday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Howard joined\u00a0\u2018Get Up\u2019<\/a>\u00a0on Friday and spoke briefly about Alabama\u2019s current state. Howard started by saying that\u00a0the quarterback spot<\/a>,\u00a0although it has been decided<\/a>, is still a concern for him. With that on top of the pressure of already having one loss, he sees the Rebels coming into Bryant-Denny and at least giving the Tide a scare.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a carousel of quarterbacks for Nick Saban,\u201d said Howard. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard him talk about quarterbacks and never heard him so depressed about a quarterback situation in my life. I think this game is huge for them<\/a>\u00a0and I think they should be on upset alert at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can never count out Alabama<\/a>\u00a0under Saban, especially at home. Still, as the Crimson Tide open conference play\u00a0tomorrow afternoon<\/a>, Ole Miss could end up sending their season into a real spiral if Howard is right about\u00a0the potential for an upset<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On3\u2019s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Greg McElroy: Alabama\u2019s national perception hangs in the balance vs. Ole Miss<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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