The B'ham Blitz

09/21/2024

09/21/2024

The rest of the knowing these auburn receivers bout to be in the portal at the end of the year. . .

01/13/2024

In case you're wondering about Kalen DeBoer, here is his coaching record: 👇

11/07/2023

08/05/2023

🤔

Follow the BhamBlitz

12/13/2022

RIP Coach Leach. From all of us here at the Bham Blitz, we send our thoughts and prayers to the Leach family. We also send our condolences to the Mississippi State players, coaches, and the fans

11/06/2022

It looks like getting humiliated by Tennessee was the best thing that ever happened to LSU. If they win out, and win the SEC Championship Game, y’all might be looking at the first 2 loss team to make the CFP

Georgia is still the team to beat in the SEC East. It looked like Tennessee just wasn’t ready to play between the hedges

Alabama is finished as a national championship contender this year. It’s time for Coach Saban to make some serious staff changes in the off-season

I haven’t seen a Clemson team play that badly in years, until last night. Allowing 21 points off of turnovers and special teams mistakes is impossible to recover from

TCU got off to a slow start, but eventually finished the job. However, I don’t expect to see them in the CFP rankings this week. And Oklahoma State was badly overrated coming into the season

10/16/2022

And now, here comes part 6 of the Southeastern Conference Champions Celebration 1977-2022, featuring the 1981 Co-Southeastern Conference Champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide

1981 Alabama Crimson Tide (9-2-1, 6-0 SEC)

HEAD COACH: Paul “Bear” Bryant (24th year)
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Mal Moore (7th year)
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Ken Donahue (18th year)

@ LSU: W 24-7
GEORGIA TECH (Legion Field): L 21-24
@ Kentucky: W 19-10
@ Vanderbilt: W 28-7
OLE MISS: W 38-7
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (Legion Field): T 13-13
TENNESSEE (Legion Field) (Third Saturday In October): W 38-19
RUTGERS: W 31-7
#7 MISSISSIPPI STATE (90 Mile Drive): W 13-10
@ #5 Penn State: W 31-16
vs Auburn (Legion Field) (Iron Bowl): W 28-17

COTTON BOWL vs #6 Texas: L 12-14

TEAM LEADERS
PASSING: Walter Lewis, 45.5% Completion Percentage, 633 yards, 6 TD’s 2 INT’s, 150.0 QB rating
RUSHING: Ricky Moore, 347 yards, 4.4 YPC, 0 TD’s
RECEIVING: Jesse Bendross, 13 receptions, 256 yards, 19.7 YPC, 5 TD’s
SCORING: Peter Kim, 15/20 FG’s, 25/26 PAT’s, 71 points
TACKLES: Robbie Jones, 107 tackles
SACKS: Not kept as a stat at Alabama until 1982
INTERCEPTIONS: Jeremiah Castille, 5 INT’s

Coming off of a 10-2 season in which they would win the Cotton Bowl, Alabama would enter the 1981 season looking to win a National Championship. And the Crimson Tide would get off to a good start with a 24-7 victory at LSU to start SEC play. They would then return home to start non-conference play against Georgia Tech, and would take a shocking 24-21 loss. But they would bounce back from that with a tough 19-10 victory at Kentucky. This would be followed by a 28-7 victory at Vanderbilt, which would be followed by a 38-7 victory over Ole Miss. But then came a visit from Southern Mississippi. It would be a defensive struggle, but a late FG would result in a 13-13 tie. Once again, Alabama would bounce back from that with a 38-19 victory over Tennessee. And the winning would only continue with a 31-7 victory over Rutgers. This would set up a crucial showdown with #7 Mississippi State. It would be a tough defensive struggle, but the Crimson Tide would take a hard fought 13-10 victory. Their next game would be at #5 Penn State, and it would result in a 31-16 victory. And they would wrap up the season with a 28-17 victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl, which made HC Paul “Bear” Bryant the all time winningest coach in college football history (at the time), would give Alabama a share of the Southeastern Conference championship, and would give them a Cotton Bowl berth against Texas (due to Georgia being ranked higher). But it was not meant to be for the Crimson Tide, as they would blow a 10-0 4th quarter lead to take a 14-12 loss. Alabama would finish the season with a 9-2-1 record and a #7 final ranking. What an up and down season for this team. But the championship contention for this team would be finished, as a tragic death and mediocrity would set in

10/16/2022

And now, here comes part 5 of the Southeastern Conference Champions Celebration 1977-2022, featuring the 1981 Co-Southeastern Conference Champions, the Georgia Bulldogs

1981 Georgia Bulldogs (10-2, 6-0 SEC)

HEAD COACH: Vince Dooley (18th year)
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: George Haffner (2nd year)
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Bill Lewis (1st year)

TENNESSEE: W 44-0
CALIFORNIA: W 27-13
@ Clemson: L 3-13
SOUTH CAROLINA: W 24-0
@ Ole Miss: W 37-7
@ Vanderbilt: W 53-21
KENTUCKY: W 21-0
TEMPLE: W 49-3
vs Florida (World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party): W 26-21
AUBURN (Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry): W 24-13
@ Georgia Tech (Clean, Old Fashioned Hate): W 44-7

SUGAR BOWL vs #8 Pittsburgh: L 20-24

TEAM LEADERS
PASSING: Buck Belue, 60.6% Completion Percentage, 1,603 yards, 12 TD’s 9 INT’s, 143.8 QB rating
RUSHING: Herschel Walker, 1,891 yards, 4.9 YPC, 18 TD’s
RECEIVING: Lindsay Scott, 42 receptions, 728 yards, 17.3 YPC, 6 TD’s
SCORING: Herschel Walker, 20 TD’s, 120 points
TACKLES: Tommy Thurson, 132 tackles
SACKS: Jimmy Payne, 12 sacks
INTERCEPTIONS: Ronnie Harris, 4 INT’s

Coming off of a 12-0 season in which they would win the Sugar Bowl and National Championship, Georgia would enter the 1980 season looking to repeat as National Champions. And the Bulldogs would get off to a great start with a dominating 44-0 victory over Tennessee to start SEC play, which would be followed by a 27-13 victory over California to start their non-conference schedule. But then came a trip to Clemson. It would be a disastrous 13-3 loss that featured 9 turnovers. But Georgia would bounce back from that with a dominating 24-0 victory over South Carolina. And the Bulldogs rebound would only continue with a 37-7 victory at Ole Miss, followed by a 53-21 victory at Vanderbilt. They would then return home to take victories over Kentucky and Temple by a combined score of 70-3. But then came their annual matchup with Florida. They would fall behind 14-0 before coming back to take a 26-21 victory. Their next game would be at home against Auburn on Senior Day, where they would fall behind 7-3 before scoring 21 unanswered points to take a 24-7 victory that would give Georgia a share of the Southeastern Conference championship, and a berth in the Sugar Bowl. But they still had business to take care of when they traveled to Georgia Tech, and they would take a dominating 44-7 victory. They would be in National Championship contention when they faced #8 Pittsburgh in the Sugar Bowl. But it was not meant to be for the Bulldogs, as they would give up a late TD in a heartbreaking 24-20 loss. Georgia would finish the season with a 10-2 record and a #6 final ranking. What a heartbreaking way to end another great season. But they weren’t done winning yet

10/16/2022

And now, here comes part 4 of the Southeastern Conference Champions Celebration 1977-2022, featuring the 1980 Southeastern Conference Champions, the Georgia Bulldogs

1980 Georgia Bulldogs (12-0, 6-0 SEC)

HEAD COACH: Vince Dooley (17th year)
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: George Haffner (1st year)
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Erik Russell (17th year)

@ Tennessee: W 16-15
TEXAS A&M: W 42-0
CLEMSON: W 20-16
TCU: W 34-3
OLE MISS: W 28-21
VANDERBILT: W 41-0
@ Kentucky: W 27-0
#14 SOUTH CAROLINA: W 13-10
vs #20 Florida (Jacksonville) (World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party): W 26-21
@ Auburn (Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry): W 31-21
GEORGIA TECH (Clean, Old Fashioned Hate): W 38-20

SUGAR BOWL VS #7 Notre Dame: W 17-10

TEAM LEADERS
PASSING: Buck Belue, 49.4% Completion Percentage, 1,314 yards, 11 TD’s 9 INT’s, 131.8 QB rating
RUSHING: Herschel Walker, 1,616 yards, 5.9 YPC, 15 TD’s
RECEIVING: Amp Arnold, 20 receptions, 357 yards, 17.9 YPC, 4 TD’s
SCORING: Herschel Walker, 15 TD’s, 90 points
TACKLES: Nate Taylor, 112 tackles
SACKS: Jimmy Payne, 7 sacks
INTERCEPTIONS: Jeff Hipp, 8 INT’s

On the heels of a 6-5 season in which they would finish 6-5 and miss a bowl game, Georgia would enter the 1980 season looking for redemption. And the Bulldogs would open the season in SEC play with a 16-15 comeback victory at Tennessee. They would then return home to start a 5 game home stand with a dominating 42-0 victory over Texas A&M. Their next game would be against Clemson, and it would result in a hard fought 20-16 victory. The next game would be a little easier, a dominating 34-3 victory over TCU. But then came a visit from Ole Miss. Despite some injuries, Georgia would prevail with a 28-21 victory. And the home stand would conclude with a dominating 41-0 victory over Vanderbilt, powered by Herschel Walker’s career high 283 yards rushing and 3 TD’s. Their next game would be at Kentucky, and it would be a 27-0 victory. That would be the last easy win for a while, as #14 South Carolina would push them hard in a 13-10 victory. But the next game against #20 Florida would be even scarier, but the Bulldogs would escape with a last second 21-20 victory. They would then travel to Auburn, where they would take a 31-21 victory that would give them the Southeastern Conference championship. But they still had unfinished business to take care of when they faced Georgia Tech on Senior Day, and they would take care of it with a 38-20 victory that would give Georgia a berth in the Sugar Bowl against #7 Notre Dame. After racing out to a 17-3 lead, the Bulldogs would hold on for a 17-10 victory. Georgia would finish the season with a 12-0 record, a #1 final ranking, and the National Championship for 1980. This was a team that could win a close game, or just blowout their opponents. Just a great year for the Georgia Bulldogs. What else can I say? And the success would only continue into the next season

10/16/2022

Congrats to Washington QB Michael Penix Jr, as he has set the Washington Huskies single game passing record with 516 yards and 4 TD’s in a 49-39 victory over Arizona. Great job young man!!

10/15/2022

And now, here comes part 3 of the Southeastern Conference Champions Celebration 1977-2022, featuring the 1979 Southeastern Conference Champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide

1979 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-0, 6-0 SEC)

HEAD COACH: Paul “Bear” Bryant (22nd season)
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Mal Moore (5th year)
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Ken Donahue (16th year)

@ Georgia Tech: W 30-6
BAYLOR (Legion Field): W 45-0
@ Vanderbilt: W 66-3
WICHITA STATE: W 38-0
@ Florida: W 40-0
#18 TENNESSEE (Legion Field) (Third Saturday In October): W 27-17
VIRGINIA TECH: W 31-7
MISSISSIPPI STATE (90 Mile Drive): W 24-7
@ LSU: W 3-0
MIAMI: W 30-0
vs #14 Auburn (Legion Field) (Iron Bowl): W 25-18

SUGAR BOWL vs #6 ARKANSAS: W 24-9

TEAM LEADERS
PASSING: Steadman Shealy, 55.6% Completion Percentage, 717 yards, 4 TD’s 5 INT’s, 133.9 QB rating
RUSHING: Stedman Shealy, 791 yards, 5.2 YPC, 11 TD’s
RECEIVING: Keith Pugh, 25 receptions, 433 yards, 17.3 YPC, 2 TD’s
SCORING: Alan McElroy, 15/22 FG’s, 32/35 PAT’s, 77 points
TACKLES: Thomas Boyd, 92 tackles
INTERCEPTIONS: Ricky Tucker, 4 INT’s. Tommy Wilcox, 4 INT’s

After an 11-1 season in which they would win the Sugar Bowl and the AP National Championship, Alabama would enter the 1979 season as a legit National Championship contender. And the Crimson Tide would get off to a great start with a 30-6 victory at Georgia Tech. They would then return home to take a 45-0 victory over Baylor, and would follow that with a dominating 66-3 victory at Vanderbilt to start SEC play. The next 2 games would be about total dominance, as they would beat Wichita State and win at Florida by a combined score of 78-0. But then came a visit from #18 Tennessee. After falling behind 17-0, Alabama would score 27 unanswered points to take a 27-17 victory. Their next game would be a little easier, as they would take a 31-7 victory over Virginia Tech on Homecoming. Mississippi State would be the next opponent. After a 7-7 halftime score, they would score 17 unanswered points to take a 24-7 victory. The next game would be at LSU. It would be ugly, but the Crimson Tide would take a hard fought 3-0 victory. They would then return home to take a 30-0 victory over Miami on Senior Night in the first ever night game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. But then came the Iron Bowl against #14 Auburn. After blowing a 14-3 halftime lead to fall behind 18-17 in the 4th quarter, Alabama would rally to take a 25-18 victory that would give them the Southeastern Conference championship, and a date with #6 Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. This wouldn’t even be a contest, as the Crimson Tide would take a 24-9 victory. Alabama would finish the season with a 12-0 record, a #1 final ranking, and the 1979 National Championship. Probably one of the greatest teams in Alabama’s great history, which is saying a lot. But sadly, this would be the last National Championship for Paul “Bear” Bryant, as they would finish the next 3 seasons at 10-2, 9-2-1, and 8-4 before he would pass away on January 26, 1983. RIP Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant

10/14/2022

And now, here comes part 2 of the Southeastern Conference Champions Celebration 1977-2022, featuring the 1978 Southeastern Conference Champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide

1978 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1, 6-0 SEC)

HEAD COACH: Paul “Bear” Bryant (21st season)

#10 NEBRASKA (Legion Field, Birmingham): W 20-3
@ #11 Missouri: W 38-20
#7 USC (Legion Field, Birmingham): L 14-24
VANDERBILT: W 58-21
@ Washington: W 20-17
FLORIDA: W 23-12
@ Tennessee (Third Saturday In October): W 30-17
VIRGINIA TECH: W 35-0
MISSISSIPPI STATE (Legion Field, Birmingham) (90 Mile Drive): W 35-14
LSU (Legion Field, Birmingham): W 31-10
VS AUBURN (Legion Field, Birmingham) (Iron Bowl): W 34-16

SUGAR BOWL VS #1 Penn State: W 14-7

TEAM LEADERS
PASSING: Jeff Rutledge, 52.1% Completion Percentage, 1,078 yards, 13 TD’s 10 INT’s, 133.2 QB rating
RUSHING: Tony Nathan, 770 yards, 6.9 YPC, 6 TD’s
RECEIVING: Keith Pugh, 20 receptions, 446 yards, 22.4 YPC, 1 TD
SCORING: Alan McElroy, 7/10 FG’s, 37/40 PAT’s, 58 points
TACKLES: Marty Lyons, 119 tackles
INTERCEPTIONS: Jim Bob Harris, 3 INT’s

After an 11-1 season in which they would win the Sugar Bowl, Alabama would enter the 1978 season looking to win the National Championship. And the Crimson Tide would get off to a good start with a dominating 20-3 victory over #10 Nebraska. They would then travel to #11 Missouri, where they would take a 38-20 victory. But then came a visit from #7 USC. And they would be outplayed in a tough 24-14 loss that would end Alabama’s 12 game winning streak. But the Crimson Tide would bounce back from that with a dominating 58-21 victory over Vanderbilt, and would follow that with hard fought 20-17 victory at Washington. They would then return home to take a 23-12 victory over Florida. The next game would be at Tennessee, where they would leave with a 30-17 victory. And the winning would only continue with a dominating 35-0 victory over Virginia Tech. The next game would start a 3 game stretch at Legion Field, which would start with a 35-14 victory over Mississippi State. #10 LSU would be the next opponent, and that would end with a 31-10 victory. And the 3 game stand would end with a 34-16 victory over Auburn that would give Alabama the Southeastern Conference championship, and a date with #1 Penn State in the Sugar Bowl. It would be a hard fought defensive struggle, but the Crimson Tide would ride a huge goal line stand to a 14-7 victory. Alabama would finish the season with an 11-1 record, a #1 AP ranking, and the AP national championship for 1978. If this team would have taken care of business against USC earlier in the year, they would have been the undisputed National Champions for 1978. This would only fuel them for the next season

10/11/2022

For my next series about the sport that I love, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the Southeastern Conference champions from 1977-2022. I’m also going to add a couple of National Champions in there too. So without further ado, here is the 1977 SEC champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide

1977 Alabama Crimson Tide: (11-1, 7-0 SEC)

9/10 OLE MISS (Legion Field, Birmingham): W 34-13
9/17 @ Nebraska: L 24-31
9/24 @ Vanderbilt: W 24-12
10/1 GEORGIA: W 18-10
10/8 @ #1 USC: W 21-20
10/15 TENNESSEE (Legion Field, Birmingham) (Third Saturday In October): W 24-10
10/22 LOUISVILLE: W 55-6
10/29 @ Mississippi State (Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jackson) (90 Mile Drive): W 37-7
11/5 @ #18 LSU: W 24-3
11/12 MIAMI: W 36-0
11/26 VS Auburn (Legion Field, Birmingham) (Iron Bowl): W 48-21

1/2/1978, SUGAR BOWL VS #9 Ohio State: W 35-6

TEAM LEADERS
PASSING: Jeff Rutledge, 64/107, 59.8% Completion Percentage, 1,207 yards, 8 TD’s 5 INT’s, 169.9 QB rating
RUSHING: Johnny Davis, 931 yards, 5.1 YPC, 5 TD’s
RECEIVING: Ozzie Newsome, 36 receptions, 804 yards, 22.3 YPC, 4 TD’s
SCORING: Tony Nathan, 15 TD’s, 90 points
TACKLES: Barry Krauss, 91 tackles
INTERCEPTIONS: Murray Legg, 4 INT’s. Mike Tucker, 4 INT’s

Coming off of a 9-3 season in which they would beat UCLA in the Liberty Bowl, Alabama would enter the 1977 season looking to prove something. And the Crimson Tide would get off to a great start with a 34-13 victory over Ole Miss. The next game would be at Nebraska, where they would take a heartbreaking 31-24 loss. Their next game at Vanderbilt would also be a struggle, but they would leave with a 24-12 victory. They would then return home to play Georgia, where the Crimson Tide would take a hard fought 18-10 victory. But then came a trip to #1 USC. It would be a hard fought 4th quarter, but Alabama would take a 21-20 victory. And the winning would only continue with a 24-10 victory over Tennessee. Something seemed to click after this game, as the next two games against Louisville and at Mississippi State would be won by a combined score of 92-13. Their next game would be at #18 LSU, where they would score 21 unanswered points to take a 24-3 victory. They would then return home to take a 36-0 victory over Miami on Senior Day. The next game would be the Iron Bowl against Auburn, where they would struggle in the 1st half, but would leave with a dominating 48-21 victory. This would give Alabama the Southeastern Conference championship, and a date with #9 Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. This would be no contest, as the Crimson Tide would take an easy 35-6 victory. Alabama would finish the season with an 11-1 record and a #2 final ranking. Many feel like this team should have won the National Championship over Notre Dame, and I can’t say that they’re wrong for it. They had a strong case for it. But things would only continue to be great in the next season

10/09/2022

I have a few thoughts about the Texas vs Oklahoma game yesterday:

1. Nice offensive balance by the Longhorns (296 yards rushing, 289 yards passing)

2. Oklahoma flat out quit yesterday. That was disgraceful. This could be a pivotal moment in the Brent Venables era, to see how he gets his team ready for the next game after this debacle

3. While this was a nice win for Texas, they can’t rest easy. Iowa State has owned them over the last few years

4. This will always be one of my favorite rivalry games, no matter what

09/25/2022

DEVELOPING STORY 👀👀

Decisions could come Monday on the future of embattled Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins and athletic director Todd Stansbury.

09/25/2022

Great observations

All 4 of the Pac-12's ranked teams prevailed on Saturday, leaving the league in a good spot heading into the middle third of the season.

09/21/2022

Only 2 FBS schools that have yet to allow a passing touchdown this season …

Alabama & Kentucky