I rolled out of bed late this morning. After-party-after-party ended a little late and operating my alarm clock was apparently a herculean task that I was not up for. But I stumbled out in time to catch the 2nd quarter of the Red River Rivalry Rumpus; the first game in what was supposed to be a stress free bye week football marathon. In succession, I watched the number 1, 2 and 3 ranked teams in the nation go down (coaches poll) . I was confident LSU would go down, but all three losing wasn’t an outcome I remotely considered. My consolations to Oklahoma. They’re a good team and their fans are well regarded amongst the Bammers. There’s a good possibility we’ll see each other in a BCS game come bowl season.

In the final minutes of each of those games, announcers talked about the current rankings and the case for Bama to be shoved into the top spot. Conversely, on every board I’ve read, most Bama fans are being completely realistic about the situation; not flaming the losers, and even shunning the possible #1 spot as a curse. The party line appears to be that there’s plenty of football left, we’re in the toughest conference there is, and we don’t care where we’re ranked until the end of the season. Nick Saban is more powerful than Forbes magazine gives him credit for. Never have I seen a coach be able to reign in the crimson nation to the degree that they put down the Old Grandad and start reciting press conference talking points.

However, we don’t need to avoid this conversation. This was thrust upon us, and we have to deal with being bandied about as the top team in the nation. Have some balls for a minute. Bama has played marvelous this season and we deserve the adulation. We haven’t trailed the entire season. We’ve embarrassed most opponents we’ve played, on national tv, no less. Success feels pretty awesome and not reveling in it for a moment is a missed opportunity. It’s been a long time coming and I’m not going to ignore that.

So? What now? Fuck a national championship at this point. I want the SEC. We’re going to lose a game, but after watching the tigers tonight and at auburn, I don’t think it’s gonna happen in Baton Rouge. The west is ours. The question is: Do we want to face Georgia or Florida in Atlanta? My vote is for Georgia. Yeah, they’ll be hyped for the game and looking for revenge, but I think we match up better against them than the Gators. Should I have made this a “Looking Ahead” post?

If you think all this talk is speculative and a distraction, then at least take a moment to appreciate the Auburn and Tennessee losses. I can’t remember the last time a bye week felt so fucking good. Whether you like it or not, we just got pinned #1 and we better start playing like it.

edit: Polls just came out, with Bama at #2. I guess you gotta beat #1 to be #1. Not really upset or suprised by this, but I still think Alabama has a better resume than Texas. Anyway, most of the points made above are still valid. 1 and 2 are pretty interchangeable anyway. I think the real crime was USC jumping back into the top 5. Horseshit.