Lang’s World: Three Things We Learned This Week
Lang Whitaker1. The Fall of Tuscaloosa?
Who would have thought Nick Saban would be the college football coach in an AFLAC commercial most likely to lose his job?
Deion Sanders may just keep winning in Boulder, but man, did Coach Saban have a weekend. On Saturday night, on national TV, Alabama lost to Texas, at home. Did we mention Texas is coached by a former Saban assistant (Steve Sarkisian)?
Things have certainly changed in Tuscaloosa. The last few years, once Saban realized he couldn’t suppress every offense Bama went up against, he swallowed his pride and decided to just outscore everyone.
TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA – SEPTEMBER 09: Anthony Hill Jr. #0 of the Texas Longhorns avoids a tackle by Kool-Aid McKinstry #1 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the fourth quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 09, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) But where are all the stars now? QB Jalen Milroe was awesome against Middle Tennessee, but 14-27 against Texas. Bama’s leading rusher, Jase McClellan, totalled 45 yards. Their leading receiver had 68 yards.
And while the offense sputtered along, they gave up 34 points to Texas, who looked confident and assured. Texas might be a real threat this season in the title chase.
There’s clearly no real chance of Nick Saban losing his job anytime soon. Saban has built the most dominant college football empire of our lifetime there. But all empires fall eventually. And that loss on Saturday sure seemed like it was a significant crack in the foundation.
2. Prime Time Keeps Ticking
And on the other end of the AFLAC spectrum… I don’t want to write about Deion Sanders every week, but it’s hard to deny that what he’s done at Colorado hasn’t been the best story so far this college football season. Somehow the Buffaloes were just 3 point favorites against a terrible Nebraska team, and they won by 22. Now they host in-state rivals Colorado State this weekend at night – Prime Time in prime time! – and the new and perhaps not-so-improved College Gameday will be on the ground in Boulder.
BOULDER, CO – SEPTEMBER 9: Quarterback Shedeur Sanders #2 of the Colorado Buffaloes sets to pass against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field on September 9, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) After that, things will get really real (back-to-back against #13 Oregon and #5 USC), but until then, let’s all just let Deion cook and enjoy the show.
Also, shoutout to the Pac-12 for currently having 7 teams in the Top 25, the most of any conference, while most of the teams have already committed to playing elsewhere next season. What a weird situation.
3. It’s clearly still super early in the NFL season – Week One isn’t even over lol – but while everyone reacts and overreacts after the Sunday slate, I thought the Browns/Bengals game was perhaps the most misleading final of the day. I know the Browns are ready to proclaim the massive DeShaun Watson contract a success, but if you watched most of this game, Watson was not very good (16/29 for 154 yds/1 td/1 int), missing wide open throws. Of course, Joe Burrow was equally awful (14/31 for 82(!) yards). Maybe Cleveland’s defense is for real and will carry the Browns while Watson can be a caretaker QB, until he shakes the rust off?
Also, the Cowboys are clearly winning the Super Bowl. Don’t @ me.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11: Flowers and flags are seen on the names of the victims of the 9/11 terror attack at the North Tower Memorial Pool during the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on September 11, 2023 in New York City. Family and friends honored the lives of their loved ones on the 22nd anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA and the Pentagon, that killed nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) 4. I know this is only supposed to be three items, but I’m writing this on the morning of September 11, and I can’t help thinking back to the morning of September 11, 2001. I will never forget my then-girlfriend (now wife) waking me up in our New York City apartment and telling me that a plane had flown into one of the World Trade Center towers, just a few miles south of us. And then we watched in horror as a second plane attacked, and the other crashes happened along the Eastern Seaboard.
I think about that time a lot, how overwhelmingly sad and frightening it was to be in New York City during all of that, and how all of us there had to emotionally gird ourselves to be strong and resolute in the days and weeks and months and years that followed.
And while many of us have managed to move forward toting the emotional baggage of that time, so many people weren’t as lucky, and lost their lives because of the attacks. “Never forget” became a trendy phrase in the wake of 9/11, but don’t let those words lose their meaning.
I know the world keeps spinning and we must do our best to carry on, but at least on this day, take a second to say a prayer for the lives that were lost.
Published on Sep 11, 2023
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