FanHouse NickSaban

Alabama's offense has mellowed over the past three games.

The Crimson Tide has registered only a pair of rushing touchdowns in victories over Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Ten trips into the red zone have resulted in eight field goals. The passing game hasn't featured many deep throws, and Alabama's Wildcat offense, which started as a gimmick, has become more relevant.

Third-ranked Alabama realizes it will need a better all-around effort on Saturday to beat No. 9 LSU, the only remaining ranked team on the Crimson Tide's schedule. The Crimson Tide can clinch the SEC West title with a win and would then meet No. 1 Florida on Dec. 5 in the SEC title game.

From the "Totally Freaking Obvious" department: Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer, who has won two national championships in the past three seasons, told golfers at a Gainesville benefit tournament, "I'm not going to Notre Dame. Ever. I'm going to be the coach at Florida for a long time, as long as they want me."

In other news, gravity remains in effect and forks are still useful.

I don't know if the NCAA will officially release a statement acknowledging that their Web site overloaded this afternoon at 2 PM CT when the penalties against Alabama were posted, but for one hour around that time, it was impossible to access the site.

It would be fascinating to see the data of where the site traffic was coming from. My guess is the state of Alabama in first place, and the state of Tennessee in second place. Third place? The state of Louisiana. Followed by Mississippi and Georgia in fourth and fifth place. Seeing data on a day like this would serve to objectively catalog the relative hate and strength of rivalries in the Southland once and for all. But that's too much to ask, the NCAA can't even keep their Web site functioning. This was the message on the front page of the site:

NCAA.org is experiencing temporary technical problems. Please try again in a few minutes. Some services can still be accessed through the links below.

It's come to this, Alabama fans are tailgating outside of a new play based on Bear Bryant's life. Which is an improvement over what they would have been doing if Mike Shula was still coach, lighting themselves on fire with their red and white pom-pons in the parking lot. The play, entitled Bear Country, will be playing at Birmingham's Shakespeare Festival from August 6-20. It's already debuted to rave reviews and sellouts in Montgomery, Ala. In honor of the Bear, I decided that nothing would make more sense than a play about four fans tailgating before Bear's play begins. So here goes.

Characters:

Dale -- A 45-year old owner of an auto-body repair shop who fixes cars while wearing a houndstooth cap. His first child was named Bear, his second was named Bryant. He is now divorced.

The Sugar Bowl was a great night for those not in love with the college football establishment. Unbeaten Utah, getting no consideration for the national championship, blitzed former title favorite Alabama on a neutral field in New Orleans.

It wasn't cheap. It wasn't just dumb luck. The Utes whipped the Crimson Tide, and earned every bit of credit for a sound victory. Of course, if you're Alabama coach Nick Saban, it's easier to blame others than it is to give that credit.

The FanHouse Podcast: Because bloggers are much sexier on the phone.

We recently welcomed renowned lawyer turned author/blogger/athlete Clay Travis (read his new book!) to FanHouse. Naturally, we fired up the podcast machine. The result? Ye olde epic two-parter. The first half is after the jump and in it we answer the pressing questions: Is Tim Tebow a virgin? Is "fat-ass" an inappropriate term to use in intramural sports? Should you let your wife time your 40-yard dash? Is working at Deadspin fun? How many crazy pills did Lane Kiffin swallow? And, of course, who's more evil: Urban Meyer or Nick Saban? Do enjoy.

For some godforesaken reason, some Alabama fans and media think they have a shot at landing Michigan State's Tom Izzo as the replacement for Mark Gottfried. Apparently, just because their football coach, Nick Saban, is a former Michigan State coach, he can just extend a phone call and land Izzo at the drop of a hat.

There are two problems here. First of all, Izzo has already built a situation superior to one he could build at Alabama. He's worshipped on campus, and his family is settled in the area. You aren't going to uproot your entire life unless bowled over by money. How much more money does Alabama have to spend on a basketball coach than Michigan State? Not near enough, if any at all.

Following the success of an NFL team, it's fairly typical to see members of said team's coaching staff begin quickly departing, as jobs located higher in their professional spectrum begin to open up.

Given that the Carolina Panthers won 12 games this season, it would be unsurprising to see any of the coaches leave, if the right job presented itself. But for Sal Sunseri, Panthers defensive line coach, it's kind of hard to imagine that "University of Alabama linebackers coach" is a promotion. Still, that's where he's headed.

As we get ready for the Wild Card Weekend matchup of the Dolphins and Ravens, Brian Miller from PhinPhanatic and Tony Lombardi from ProFootball24x7 were nice enough to offer some insights on their teams for this week's Behind Enemy Lines feature.

Sportz Assassin: How do both of you feel about how your teams are playing heading into the playoffs?

Brian Miller (PhinPhanatic): I like the fact that no one is giving us any real credit for getting there. Jim Mora says on air that the best AFC East team is New England and there has been little "props" for winning the division as most of the kudos surrounds simply the turnaround. The Ravens are three-point favorites in this game and the Phins are getting tired of feeling second rate.

Tony Lombardi (ProFootball24x7): The Ravens are really beginning to gel in Cam Cameron's offense and now they are getting contributions from Mark Clayton and Willis McGahee. Joe Flacco has come on strong since the last meeting with the Dolphins and has the third highest road QB rating among NFL quarterbacks. And of course the team's defense is always dependable. The Ravens could be a dangerous post season participant.

Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana), which pits Utah against Alabama.

Overview/Matchup: Say what you want about Utah deserving to be in the BCS (and you might be correct) but they didn't do anything so wrong as to deserve a game at the hands of an angry and previously undefeated Alabama team. Nick Saban probably knows there is no real shot for the Crimson Tide to win the national title, but he won't let them overlook the Utes in this BCS affair, and if it's anything short of a blowout, it would be a tremendous surprise.

Hotels: The stadium is close enough to the center of New Orleans that you could stay anywhere in the French Quarter or central downtown and only be a short cab ride away. The Omni Royal Orleans Hotel features a rooftop pool that's open year round. Even if you're not much of a swimmer, the views are worth a trip topside. The Hilton New Orleans Riverside is located just across from the Harrah's and the Riverwalk Festival Marketplace. It offers the best all around value for bowl travelers. Budget-minded fans should consider the Chateau Dupre French Quarter. The Chateau has nice accommodations for the price and is adjacent to the House of Blues.