2011 Alabama Football Predictions


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The Alabama Crimson Tide were unable to defend their 2009 National Championship. They ended up finishing the year fourth in the SEC West at 5-3, but a 49-7 win over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl pushed their overall record to 10-3. All three loses came by six points or less, which is pretty impressive for a team that had just two starters back on the defensive side of the ball.

This year Alabama figures to be back near the top of the SEC West with 17 starters returning. They did lose four great starters in quarterback Greg McElroy, running back Mark Ingram, wide out Julio Jones,  and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, but overall they have as talented as team as they have had under head coach Nick Saban.

Here is a look at what the Crimson Tide will look like on each side of the ball, plus my predictions on where they will finish the year in the SEC.

Offense:

With McElroy graduating Alabama will more than likely turn to sophomore A.J. McCarron to lead the team offensively. McCarron went 30-48 for 389 yards and three touchdowns in limited action last year. With the talent this team has on the defensive side of the ball, McCarron simply has to take care of the football.

With Ingram leaving early for the draft, junior running back Trent Richardson is expected to really lead this team offensively in 2011. Richardson finished second to Ingram with 700 yards and 6 touchdowns, while posting an impressive 6.2 yards per carry. If Richardson can stay healthy he should easily eclipse the 1,000 yard mark this season. Also keep an eye out for freshman running back Dee Hart, who should get plenty of carries as the second option behind Richardson.

The Crimson Tide return starting wide outs Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks, who combined for 70 catches for 1,013 yards and six touchdowns. Together these two couldn’t match the numbers put up by Jones, who had 76 catches for 1,133 yards and seven touchdowns . With the Jones gone to the NFL, this appears to be the weakest unit on the entire team. This unit will add Ohio State transfer Duron Carter, who is the son of former NFL great Chris Carter.

The offensive line figures to be one of the best Alabama will send to the field under Saban, as they have four returning starters from last year. Senior center William Vlachos and junior right guard Barret Jones are two of the best linemen the SEC has to offer. The only spot up for grabs is at left tackle, where senior Alfred McUllough and junior Tyler Love figure to battle it out this fall.

Defense:

Even with the loss of Dareus the Crimson Tide figure to have one of the best defensive lines in the country in 2011. Alabama returns Junior Damon Square and senior Josh Chapman and adds a couple of highly regarded junior college transfers in Quinton Dial and Jesse Williams.

As good as the Tide are expected to be up front, they figure to be even better at the linebacker position. All four starters return from last year, and there isn’t a weak spot in the bunch. Senior outside linebacker  Courtney Upshaw and junior middle linebacker Dont’a Hightower are two of the best at their positions in the entire country, while  Junio middle linebacker Nico Johnson and sophomore outside linebacker C.J. Mosley aren’t far behind.

The talent doesn’t drop off much in the secondary, where the Tide bring back all four starters from last year. Strong safety Mark Barron and free safety Robert Lester are considered by many as the top NFL prospects at their positions, and they also have one of the top corners in the nation in Dre Kirkpatrick.

SEC Prediction: 1st West Division – Not only do I have the Tide as the frontrunners to win the SEC West, but I also have them winning the SEC Championship and BCS Championship as well. Offensively they may take a step back in 2011, but with the talent they have on the defensive side of the ball they simply don’t need a great offense to go undefeated in 2011. If the offense takes off under McCarron and Richardson, this team is talented enough to win every game by at least 14 points.

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