Bama - what to look for

It's finally here. Our bonus gameday. The culmination of a long season. The reward at the end of a long, hard SEC road. So here's what I'm looking for starting at 4:00pm eastern.

Like last year, only bigger

• Poise. We were in the same spot (physically speaking) last year this time. Nothing is new to this team. The upperclassmen and their leadership has carried us down the stretch this season. We shouldn't need any miscues from the opponent to be in this game early. We should be ready to play football from the start.
• Deep looks. Or maybe not so deep looks. But how much does Bobo use the intermediate and long routes to open up their defensive front will go a long way toward answering some questions we have on the offensive side of the ball. Namely...
• Protection. If we can give Murray enough time to work through his checks, it will be a difficult day for Coach Smart. If we can even give Murray enough time to work the seams and the deep outs it will slow down their pass rush and help the offensive line immensely.
• Freshmen. We're deep and experienced at most skill positions. Gurley and Marshall have faced two top tier opponents' defenses this season. Their performance in this game could go a long way towards deciding the eventual outcome. Against South Carolina and Florida things weren't as sexy as against other opponents. But we still came away admiring their toughness and character. Let's ramp that up a notch.
• More poise. As mentioned earlier this week, we've just come around to having some confidence in our special teams. If we need them to cover a lot of kicks it will take discipline and poise to keep those plays from deciding the game. Nothing is going to come easy today. So it's not the time to give up anything easily either.

In the end, this game will be won or lost like most others - along the line of scrimmage. I like our chances because of that and not in spite of it. Which says a lot for how far we've come.

But win or lose this has been a fantastic season. As fans, let's not lose sight of that. Hope to see y'all at the Dome!

Go Dawgs!