Alabama is the new No. 1 this week

One might argue that the defending champs should have been No. 1 to start the season, so call the first regular-season poll a market correction if you like.

Alabama grabbed the top spot in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll following its emphatic statement win against Michigan. The Crimson Tide received 37 first-place votes, a net gain of 17 from the preseason poll.

Southern California also moved up a spot to No. 2, while preseason leader LSU slipped to third. USC claimed 14 No. 1 votes, while the Tigers retained seven. LSU became the first preseason No.1 squad to win its opener but fall from the top position in the coaches poll since 2008, when Georgia was overtaken by USC.

There was more shifting among the top seven, all winners in week one. No. 4 Oregon picked up the 59th first-place vote and swapped places with No. 5 Oklahoma, and No. 6 Florida State nudged ahead of No.7 Georgia. West Virginia vaulted into the No. 8 spot ahead of No. 9 South Carolina and No. 10 Arkansas. Michigan slid 11 places to No. 19 after being rolled by the Tide.

Auburn was the only team ranked in the preseason poll to drop out this week after falling to No.12 Clemson. Boise State, which lost its high-profile opener 17-13 at then-No.13 Michigan State, held on at No. 25. That keeps a streak alive of 63 consecutive poll appearances for the Broncos, second only to Alabama's 66 among the best active streaks. Michigan State rose two spots to No. 11.

Louisville entered the rankings this week at No. 24, giving the Big East a presence in the poll after the league was shut out of the top 25 in the preseason.

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Michigan rout proves Alabama is 'hungry' for another title

ARLINGTON, Texas – For eight months he had worked on their psyches, humbling players with messages about avoiding complacency and leaving memories of last year's national title in the trophy case.

By Kevin Jairaj, US Presswire

Nick Saban and No. 2 Alabama routed No. 8 Michigan on Saturday. Said OL Barrett Jones: "We're hungry and we're coming for another championship."

By Kevin Jairaj, US Presswire

Nick Saban and No. 2 Alabama routed No. 8 Michigan on Saturday. Said OL Barrett Jones: "We're hungry and we're coming for another championship."

And after all the offseason speeches and meetings about championship hangovers, Alabama coach Nick Saban unveiled a Crimson Tide team so dominant Saturday night that it sucked all the life out of the most anticipated game of college football's opening weekend.

In beating eighth-ranked Michigan, 41-14, second-ranked Alabama demonstrated little drop off in performance after seeing four players selected in the first round of the NFL draft.

It remains to be seen how strong Michigan will be in the second year under coach Brady Hoke. And the gap between the elite of the Big Ten and the best of the SEC appears as wide as ever. But in overwhelming the Wolverines in almost every way statistics can measure, the Crimson Tide showed that it may not take as much as a baby-step backward after winning last season's national title.

"It shows the nation that this is not the complacent Alabama that people were expecting," fifth-year senior offensive lineman Barrett Jones said.

"We're not the defending champs," added linebacker C.J. Mosley, who returned an interception 16 yards to make the score 31-0 in the second quarter.

While some highly-ranked teams boast recognizable talent at the skill positions, Alabama's strength is on the lines. And the Crimson Tide dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage to make this a one-sided contest.

After Alabama's title run last season, one of the best defenses of the modern era saw four players drafted among the top 35 picks. But despite the inexperience of new starters, Alabama flustered the most dangerous quarterback Saban recalled facing since Auburn's Cam Newton.

Michigan's Denard Robinson - 11 of 26 passing for 200 yards - threw two interceptions, did not attempt to run the ball until the final minute of the first half and briefly left the game in the third quarter after getting banged up.

"I think we were getting to him mentally," Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner said.

Robinson kept throwing in Milliner's direction so often in the first half - more than in any half of Milliner's career - that teammates kept asking him, "Hey, why are they picking on you?"

All Milliner did was break up two passes and intercept a pass - in the first quarter alone.

Alabama defensive back Vinnie Sunseri said he had expected Robinson to run more. And Michigan coach Brady Hoke acknowledged that there were some plays where perhaps Robinson could have held onto the ball and run it. But Alabama dominated the line of scrimmage, rendering Michigan's offense inept for much of the game.

When told that Michigan did not cross midfield until the score was 31-0, Alabama's Jones could only laugh at the achievement.

Alabama also demonstrated that it can fill the void left by the departure of running back Trent Richardson, the third pick in the draft, with a lineup of four capable backs. Eddie Lacy, T.J. Yeldon, Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart each carried the ball at least nine times, as Alabama amassed 232 yards on the ground.

Most impressive was Yeldon, a 6-2, 216-pound freshman who rushed for 111 yards on 11 carries in his debut. Saban said he expected Yeldon to get plenty of opportunities because Lacy had been nursing an ankle injury.

"We knew he was capable of that," Jones said. "He might be the next one in the great line of backs."

Said Saban: "Rather than try to put it in a box and say we are going to have two backs or three, we want to have as many play as deserve to play."

The game was hotly contested all the way up until Alabama's second offensive series, when it marched 61 yards with ease to score the game's first touchdown and establish control of the game.

But long before halftime, many of the 90,413 in attendance at Cowboys Stadium already had turned to the giant video screen -- and away from the game - for entertaining sights.

After the game, Saban, always working on his team's psyche, took a few minutes to praise his team then rattled off a laundry list of areas in need of improvement. He knows Alabama is capable of more in the passing game, and that quarterback A.J. McCarron is "too good a quarterback for us not to utilize his talents in throwing the football."

Looming down the road for Alabama is the always arduous SEC schedule, which includes a trip to Fayetteville, Ark., in two weeks. But the defending champions answered at least one question Saturday.

Complacent?

"We're hungry," Jones said. "And we're coming for another championship."

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Saban rips media for positive Alabama coverage

Four days after his team dismantled Michigan, Nick Saban was not in the mood to hear any more praise of Alabama.

He took the opportunity Wednesday during his press conference to chastise the media about the positive coverage the Tide received and the lack of respect being given their next opponent - Western Kentucky.

The session with the press started with an ominous tone.

"How is everybody today?" Saban asked. "You might not be after I get done."

Then it started.

"You know, there's a tremendous balance between humility and confidence," Saban said. "And this game is a struggle. It's a struggle every day. And you've got to embrace it every day.

"And you've got to go out there and try to earn it every day, to be as good a player as you can be. You've got to have a tremendous amount of character, confidence, mental and physical toughness. You've got to be driven to be the best. And you've got to be able to handle success."

He then went into criticism of how the press was treating the Hilltoppers.

"I hate to be negative with anybody, but when you people start writing stuff about people that we're playing that doesn't give them the proper respect, that's not fair," Saban said. "It's not fair to them, to their players who work hard to earn it. It's not fair to our players, who need to respect them. And to make presumptions like you all make, it really really upsets me."

He grew more upset as he criticized the lack of coverage the media gave to other stories.

"You don't need to write about that. There are so many more good things you can write about happening around here that people would be interested in," Saban said. "I'd love to see some of you do a little bit of research, and figure it out. It would really do my heart good."

Saban's rant was similar to what you would see by mentor Bill Belichick. Clearly, he wanted to send a message to his players that all the positive talk after the opener shouldn't go to their heads.

While it might not make any difference this week. Saban knows there's a trip to No. 10 Arkansas looming on Sept. 15 that will be the next big test for his team.

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Alabama ready to test young defense vs. Michigan

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After a dominant defense propelled Alabama to the national championship in 2009, many experts projected that the Crimson Tide "D" would see a drastic decline in production in 2010 with two starters set to return.

By Marvin Gentry, US Presswire

Linebacker C.J. Mosley, left, getting hit after intercepting LSU's Jordan Jefferson in the BCS title game, returns to an Alabama defense that ranked No. 1 in several categories.

By Marvin Gentry, US Presswire

Linebacker C.J. Mosley, left, getting hit after intercepting LSU's Jordan Jefferson in the BCS title game, returns to an Alabama defense that ranked No. 1 in several categories.

While the Tide defense did experience a dip from its 2009 numbers, the drop-off was far from significant.

Transitioning nine new players into the starting lineup, Alabama finished tied for third in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 13.5 points a game during a 10-3 season.

With the majority of the 2010 defense returning last season, the Crimson Tide emphatically proved themselves. The unit, which was filled with future NFL players, gave up 8.2 points a game and was nearly 80 yards a game better than the second-best defense in the country.

The Tide rolled to another national championship with a convincing 21-0 beating of rival LSU in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

The 2012 Alabama defense more closely resembles the 2010 Crimson Tide defense than it does last year's overpowering unit.

Five starters — linemen Jesse Williams and Damion Square, linebackers Nico Johnson and C.J. Mosley and defensive back Robert Lester — return from what arguably was one of the top defenses in college football history.

"We're not holding these guys or making any comparisons to that defense," defensive coordinator Kirby Smart says.

The five returning starters combine to give Alabama a solid group in the middle of the defense, but in the preseason the Crimson Tide were still searching for playmakers to emerge on the perimeter.

In particular, Smart will be looking for two pass-rushing threats to surface as replacements for departed Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw.

In addition to being arguably the nation's premier college football program over the last half-decade, the Crimson Tide have been one of the best recruiting programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision over the time span.

Smart thinks sophomore Adrian Hubbard, who played in eight games last year, including a win against Arkansas, and freshman D.J. Pettway can step in and contribute to the pass rush.

"Adrian Hubbard is going to fit in that role," Smart says. "Hubbard has been in the fire. We had packages the past couple of years that we never actually used, and he was a very integral part of those packages.

"We've got to keep developing those guys, but they have to change the game on third down. We have to have a changeup, where we don't try to hit you in the mouth but we say, 'We're going to run around you.' "

The defense is still relatively young, which coach Nick Saban acknowledges. That inexperience will get an immediate test Saturday, when Alabama hosts No. 8 Michigan.

The Wolverines return quarterback Denard Robinson and running back Fitz Toussaint, the school's first duo of 1,000-yard rushers since 1975.

Toussaint is listed as the No. 1 tailback on the Michigan depth chart for Saturday's game, but coach Brady Hoke has not made a decision — at least one he'll make public — on the status of Toussaint and defensive end Frank Clark, who both face legal problems.

Still, Alabama figures to have its hands full with Robinson alone.

"As significant a player as we have played against since Cam Newton at the quarterback position," Saban says. "He's become a better passer each game, each year."

Saban says most of the improvement he has seen from Robinson is in the pocket but adds, "This guy will ball fake you like Michael Jordan and take off running."

Defenses have figured out Robinson before, most notably Michigan State. The Spartans held him to 9-for-24 passing for 123 yards along with 42 rushing yards on 18 carries in a 28-14 Michigan loss last season.

And while Michigan State ranked No. 6 in all of FBS with 277.43 yards allowed a game, Alabama ranked No. 1 at 183.62.

The Crimson Tide also ranked No. 1 in defensive scoring, rushing and passing.

"Kirby does a fabulous job," Saban says of Smart, who is starting his fifth season as the team's defensive coordinator. "Continuity in the coordinator position really creates a tremendous comfort zone with the players, because they trust and believe in the system and they trust and believe in the people who teach the system."

Matt Osborne also writes for SouthernPigskin.com, an affiliate of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Contributing: Detroit Free Press

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Defending champ Alabama out to avoid title hangover

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Nick Saban did not want to bask in the glow of the national championship for too long, so when a friend urged him in an offseason conversation to soak up the success, Saban's rebuttal was emphatic.

By Dave Martin, AP

Alabama coach Nick Saban and quarterback A.J. McCarron celebrated a national title in January, but quickly turned attention to preventing a letdown in 2012.

By Dave Martin, AP

Alabama coach Nick Saban and quarterback A.J. McCarron celebrated a national title in January, but quickly turned attention to preventing a letdown in 2012.

"I am enjoying it," Saban said. "But I know there is an issue or problem that is going on in our team right now that needs to be addressed."

When did this conversation occur? Two hours after his Alabama team beat LSU to win the BCS national title.

Saban had seen it before, what he calls the "success flu," a condition he has discussed with mentor Bill Belichick several times the past few years. Saban saw it chip away at his LSU team after the Tigers won the title in 2003. He watched it derail any hopes the Crimson Tide had at repeating after their 2009 championship.

So in January in New Orleans, with fans still in the French Quarter toasting the title, Saban was thinking about 2012: If Alabama was destined to fall short, he was not going let a championship hangover be the reason.

For the first time in his career, Saban says in an interview with USA TODAY Sports, he summoned his players to a meeting two days after the championship. Inside the auditorium, players looked around and did not see any of the teammates who were planning to graduate or declare for the NFL draft.

They saw the 2012 team.

With a pointed message, Saban immediately established the tenor for the season: "This team is not the national championship team. Some of you guys played on that team. … Nobody can take away what you did, but are you going to focus on what you did or about what you are going to do?"

Lessons from 2010

The phrase national championship may as well be off limits at Alabama. Saban never mentioned it during a nearly 30-minute interview in his office. Defensive lineman Damion Square uttered it once during a 25-minute interview, and only in a whisper.

"I can't even remember the last time I have talked about it besides to you," Square said.

After the 2009 title, Square says, he was one of the Alabama players who became complacent, thinking the team would coast in every game on talent alone. Instead, he recalled, inadequate leadership and a splintered locker room undercut the team's hopes to repeat, and opponents exposed Alabama for what it was: a collection of talented individuals.

"Horrible," Square says of the 2010 season, which serves as a strong motivational tool for this year's team.

"One of the toughest times I have been through here," linebacker Nico Johnson says.

At many schools, teams are revered after 10-win seasons. At Alabama, the 2010 season, which resulted in a 10-3 record, is cursed and critiqued for two years so players and coaches know how to avoid repeating it.

"We were not hungry for anything," Square says. "You could tell how nonchalant we were, how we walked, the demeanor, how we practiced. This year we brought ourselves back down. Other teams might look at us as being on top of the hill. We are not defending anything. That's a brand new crystal ball. The one from last year is in that trophy case out there."

The challenge is not new for Saban, who solicited advice from sports psychologists after LSU won the 2003 title. But the next season, LSU finished with a 9-3 record following a loss to Iowa in the Capital One Bowl.

After Alabama's 2009 title, Square said players knew there was a problem as early as spring practice in 2010. Square said "underlying talk in the locker room" centered on "appointed leaders" who, some felt, did not deserve their roles. He said some leaders failed to provide great examples off the field.

Saban saw a red flag in the 2010 offseason conditioning results: "Not very good." He kept preaching that teams would expose the Crimson Tide, but the problem persisted throughout a season that was marred by Alabama squandering a 24-7 halftime lead against eventual national champion Auburn.

"Leaders did not make that message their own," fifth-year offensive lineman Barrett Jones says. "Everyone is constantly reminding us about 2010."

This season, players say the commitment, leadership and attitude have been markedly different. Saban says offseason strength and conditioning test results have been as good as he has seen during his six-year Alabama tenure.

Johnson says when several players hit an emotional wall during July conditioning, the veterans refocused the team, offering reminders of the offseason gone awry two years earlier.

Johnson calls this the most close-knit Alabama team he has been on in his four seasons. He noted that that one or two players from each position form a leadership group that convenes when needed to voice concerns. Saban usually is the only coach present in the meeting, Johnson says.

Saban checks his focus

The issue of relaxing after success is not limited to players, Saban says. When asked if he personally has ever had a bout with complacency, Saban said, "What I try to do is always have checks and balances for me in terms of making sure I am not getting out of the zone of what you need to be doing, maintaining that kind of focus. I am human like everyone else."

Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, even though the Crimson Tide lost 13 starters and four first-round NFL draft picks, including running back Trent Richardson, the third overall selection. Four players —Dre Kirkpatrick, Mark Barron, Courtney Upshaw and Dont'a Hightower— from a historically strong defense were among the top 35 selections in the NFL draft.

But a team with just nine scholarship seniors is sprinkled with plenty of talented players carrying lessons from 2010. And with Saturday's season opener against No. 8 Michigan in Arlington, Texas, and a game at No. 10 Arkansas two weeks later, veteran players know that any sense of entitlement will catch up to them in a hurry.

Saban, whose 2008 and 2009 teams opened their seasons with victories against Clemson and Virginia Tech, respectively, says he enjoys high-profile season openers because they provide an early litmus test for the team. And for a team bent on moving on from last year's celebration, an opponent such as Michigan and a venue like Cowboys Stadium — "one of those places you want to see before you die," Square says — players had no problem staying focused all offseason.

"It gives you something to work toward," Jones says, calling "avoiding complacency" the biggest offseason buzzwords. "Coach Saban probably would not like that because he says we always should work hard in the offseason, and we should. But it gives us something really tangible to work toward, a certain amount of excitement counting down the days."

In his opening address to reporters at the Southeastern Conference media days, Saban referenced the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, the New York Yankees and Roger Federer as examples of teams or athletes that maintained a championship level over time.

Saban says he loves his oft-discussed detail-oriented process — the meetings, the practices, the teaching — but made clear the goal: winning. And the expectation is a third BCS national title in the past four years.

Square says he already has forgotten the sensation of winning the national title.

"It's like a birthday: It's expected," Square says of winning national titles. "That is what we compete to do. We expect to be there, we expect to win it. When you do what is expected, you just move on. It is not a surprise."

That's why national title celebrations are short lived, with Saban quickly turning his attention to pending issues, be it players declaring for the draft, personnel moves or the team's celebratory mind-set. And with 2010 not forgotten, Saban says he does not want to rely on a "thunderbolt" — a loss — to awaken this year's team.

"The responsibility doesn't go away," he says. "If you don't manage it, it can spiral out of control. You can't sit around being too happy."

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Isaac prompts S. Alabama to postpone opener

With Tropical Storm Isaac heading for the Gulf Coast, University of South Alabama athletics director Joel Erdmann announced that the start of the Jaguars' first full season in the Bowl Subdivision could wait a couple of days.

USA's home opener against Texas-San Antonio, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been postponed until Saturday. Kickoff is now set for 2 p.m. ET.

"After long consideration of numerous factors impacting the game, the logical decision is to move the game to Saturday," Erdmann said in a statement. "We encourage our fans to come out, enjoy a great football game and support the Jaguars."

Isaac is expected to strengthen to a Category I hurricane. On its present track, it will make landfall early Wednesday morning on the Louisiana coast.

Farther inland, a pair of Division II games scheduled for Thursday in Arkansas have been moved up a day to get ahead of the storm. Ouachita Baptist's home game against Northwestern Oklahoma is now set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, with neighboring Henderson State to kick off an hour later against Southern Nazarene (Okla.).

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