ESPN College Football

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- There was no dipping a toe in the water for preseason No. 1 Alabama. The Crimson Tide instead had to jump right in, battling sharks every week in the first month of the season.

The early stretch was brutal at times. Sure, Alabama looked like the best team in the country and got through the first four games undefeated, but there were certainly some blemishes revealed along the way. Each week and each win was a struggle.

Virginia Tech opened the season by stifling Alabama's offense in Atlanta, getting into the face of quarterback AJ McCarron by applying constant pressure on the backfield. The offensive line, a group that featured three new starters, looked nothing if not inexperienced.

Ninth-ranked Texas A&M then lit up Alabama two weeks later. Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans tore apart the secondary, abusing the Tide with the deep pass. UA set a kind of record you don't want to see, allowing the most yards in school history.

Even Colorado State, the $1.5 million cupcake courtesy of the Mountain West Conference, gave Alabama trouble. The Tide defense made too many mistakes and the offense was terribly inconsistent, failing to convert on a single third-down attempt in the first three quarters.

Then came No. 24 Ole Miss, an undefeated team playing with house money against Alabama. But this time, mercifully, the Tide put together a complete game and won, ending a four-game streak that tested the mettle of the championship contenders.

Now it's time to exhale. Alabama survived the early onslaught and can now take a breath to regroup with Georgia State, Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee up next. None of the four is ranked, and only the Razorbacks and the Vols are above .500, albeit at just one game over each. The four teams' combined record (7-11) is noticeably worse than the combined record of the first four teams Alabama faced (13-6) and the last four teams Alabama will face to end the season (11-6).

To make matters even more favorable for the Tide, Alabama will get a bye to start the month of November before hosting LSU on Nov. 9.

No team in the SEC has an easier next five weeks than Alabama. South Carolina is a close second and the only other school in the conference that won't face a ranked team over that time, but at least the Gamecocks don't have a cupcake like Georgia State to snack on. Instead, Steve Spurier's team will be tested somewhat by Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi State and undefeated Missouri. In fact, if one-loss South Carolina plays like it did against unranked UCF this past weekend, it might not be much of a championship contender come November.

The rest of the league's title contenders don't have it so easy. Georgia has rival Florida to contend with, LSU has Florida and Ole Miss in back-to-back weeks, and Texas A&M has to deal with the same explosive Rebels on Oct. 12.

Ole Miss is one of seven SEC schools to play two ranked opponents over the next five weeks. Only Tennessee and Missouri have it worse with three ranked opponents each in the month of October.

While Nick Saban might not be fond of focusing on records, it's hard to ignore the obvious -- if Alabama doesn't make it to November undefeated, it would be a shock. The Crimson Tide's coach isn't one to admit those things and he won't ever say an opponent is overmatched, but he and his staff do have the luxury of not stressing over serious competition the next few weeks.

Instead, they can budget their time wisely, resting banged up starters such as Ryan Kelly and T.J. Yeldon while working out the kinks with some younger guys for the stretch run, especially those on defense such as rookie cornerbacks Eddie Jackson and Maurice Smith.

"I'm looking more at the standard, not the record," Saban said following his team's shutout of No. 24 Ole Miss on Saturday night. "And I think it's important that our players do the same so we can continue to improve."

Improvement, though, might be the best Saban can hope for. Making another statement like his team did by thumping Ole Miss doesn't appear to be possible against the forthcoming carousel of unranked, overmatched opponents. Rather, building up some level of consistency over the next few weeks will be the challenge as the scoreboard certainly doesn't figure to be.

"We have high expectations for the standard of how we play," Saban said. "And I think more than what the record is, I think and our team thinks, what do we need to do so we can continue to improve so we can play the the standard on a more consistent basis.

"I would say if there's any criticism of myself, our staff and our team, it would be the fact that we have not been as consistent as we'd like to be."

Saban got through a rough, inconsistent start to the season intact and in the driver's seat for another run to the national championship. For the next month, he'll be in the enviable position of fine-tuning his team's mistakes against lesser competition.

While the rest of the SEC slogs through the ghoulish month of October, Alabama will be playing trick or treat each Saturday. All that remains now is reaching LSU on Nov. 9 without slipping on the proverbial banana peel.

Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay wonder where Alabama will find a steadying influence after an inconsistent start to the season.

ATHENS, Ga. -- With new coordinator Cam Cameron in charge, LSU's offense this season is more diverse than it has been in several years -- and yet the overriding philosophy remains the same.

“If we don't slow down the run game,” Georgia coach Mark Richt told a caller on his Monday night radio show, “it's going to be a long day for Georgia.”

When Richt's Bulldogs last faced LSU -- in the 2011 SEC championship game -- LSU completed only five passes for a total of 30 yards, but the Tigers' stable of running backs combined for 207 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-10 victory.

Their pound-the-rock strategy was in place last season, as well, with quarterback Zach Mettenberger's 12 touchdown passes tying for the fewest among regular starters in the SEC and the Tigers relying on Jeremy Hill and the other tailbacks to make their offense go.

“Ain't no trickery, ain't no razzle-dazzle,” Georgia defensive lineman Garrison Smith said. “It's just all about playing the best you can and seeing who's going to make the fewest mistakes.”

On the occasions where that physical approach wasn't enough, LSU's offense bogged down, with the Tigers ranking 10th in the SEC in total offense (374.2 yards per game) and 11th in passing (200.5 ypg). LSU's defense was as imposing as ever, but its lack of offensive creativity was a clear liability.

Enter former NFL coordinator Cameron, who still leans heavily on Hill and the running game, but has helped Mettenberger (1,026 passing yards, 10 TDs, one interception through four games) rank among the nation's most improved quarterbacks. The senior is eighth nationally with an 88.3 Total QBR, up substantially from his dismal 47.1 rating a season ago.

“Sometimes a guy has a coach that may have a tremendous scheme, but doesn't really have a feel for how to handle your quarterback. You better handle him properly,” Richt said. “Cam's been doing that forever, and he's been doing it at all levels of ball. I'm just very impressed with what he's doing.”

It helps that Mettenberger has two impressive receivers at his disposal in Odell Beckham Jr. (third in the SEC with 97.2 receiving ypg) and Jarvis Landry (fourth, 91.0) -- a duo who make it difficult for an opponent to sell out to stop the run. And Mettenberger's continued development -- he's completing 64.8 percent of his passes and averaging 11.28 yards per attempt compared to 58.8 and 7.4 in 2012 -- makes LSU even more of a test at all levels of a defense.

“[Georgia, LSU and Alabama] run the ball very well, and I think that's what opened up the downfield passing game,” Georgia cornerback Damian Swann said. “Because once you're done trying to stack the box on a team that can throw the ball like [Georgia's Aaron] Murray can, like [Alabama's AJ] McCarron can, like Zach can, that's when people beat you.”

Nonetheless, the Bulldogs know that their defense won't have a prayer on Saturday if it fails to match LSU's physicality up front.

Slowing down the Tigers' running game remains every opposing defense's first objective, but it is not a particularly easy goal to accomplish. Auburn certainly knew Hill was the top player it had to stop last Saturday and LSU's bellcow back still rolled up 184 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-21 win.

Neutralizing LSU's running game will be the Bulldogs' first objective on Saturday, coming off an impressive performance against North Texas where Georgia allowed the Mean Green to accumulate just 7 rushing yards on 25 attempts. It's a difficult goal to meet, but if they can pull it off, the Bulldogs' chances of victory increase exponentially.

“That's just the style of football that they play with Les Miles being an offensive guy, and that's how he likes to run it” Swann said. “He's going to line it up and run it at you. You just have to prepare for it.

“You have to tackle well, you have to play your gaps well -- everything has to be fundamentally sound because it's not going to be no trickeration going on. It's going to be line up, smashmouth football. You have to be ready for that.”

We’re a quarter of the way into the college football season, and two-time defending national champion Alabama is right where it started -- No. 1 in the polls.

In fact, Alabama is the only one of the five SEC teams that opened the season in the top 10 that hasn’t lost a game. So everybody’s still chasing the Crimson Tide, but it’s a race that could still go any number of ways, especially with some of the offensive numbers being generated. If the first four weeks taught us anything, you better be ready to score some points if you’re going to win a title this season.

Here’s a quick recap:

Best game: Take your pick. There have been some dandies to this point. The very first SEC game between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt on a Thursday night produced a thrilling ending in Nashville with the Rebels pulling out a 39-35 win. Both of Georgia’s first two games were incredibly entertaining, their 38-35 loss at Clemson and then their 41-30 win over South Carolina the next week. But nothing tops Alabama’s wild 49-42 win at Texas A&M in Week 3. The two teams combined for 1,196 total yards and 62 first downs. The Aggies jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but the Crimson Tide answered with 35 unanswered points only to have the Aggies come roaring back with three fourth-quarter touchdowns. It was so much fun that maybe we’ll see them go at it again in the VIZIO BCS National Championship Game if everything falls right. Wouldn’t the rest of college football just love that?

Best player: Even though he caused an uproar with some of his antics and a 15-yard taunting penalty in the opener against Rice, the real news surrounding Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is that he’s even better than he was a year ago. All he did a year ago was win the Heisman Trophy and set the SEC record for total offense. Manziel’s arm strength has improved. He’s spreading the ball around, and he’s still carving defenses apart with his ability to make something out of nothing. Manziel is averaging 370.8 yards of total offense per game, completing 70 percent of his passes and has already accounted for 15 touchdowns. Honorable mention goes to Georgia running back Todd Gurley, Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews and LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger.

Best performance: Once again, Johnny Football takes top honors. Yes, it came in a loss, but he was brilliant in passing for five touchdowns and rolling up 562 yards of total offense (the most ever in an SEC game) in the 49-42 setback to Alabama. The guy Manziel was throwing to that day, sophomore receiver Mike Evans, comes in a close second with his seven catches for 279 yards. And let’s also not forget about how good Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron was in that game. He finished 20-of-29 for 334 yards and four touchdowns, completing passes to 10 different players. Sticking with Alabama, Christion Jones returned a kickoff for a touchdown, returned a punt for a touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass in the season-opening win over Virginia Tech. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray deserves a shout-out for his four-touchdown outing in the win over South Carolina, and the same goes for Ole Miss running back Jeff Scott and his 243 all-purpose yards in the win at Texas. Scott rushed for a career-high 164 yards and a touchdown and also scored on a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Best surprise: It has to be LSU’s passing game and how balanced the Tigers have been offensively through four games. In the offseason, Les Miles talked about the need to throw the ball better, and that’s exactly what the Tigers have done under first-year coordinator Cam Cameron. The days of loading up against LSU's running game and not worrying about the passing game are over. Mettenberger has 10 touchdown passes and only one interception. The receiving duo of Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham has been dynamite with 11 combined touchdowns, and then there’s also Jeremy Hill trucking everything in sight in the running game. This has the makings of Miles’ best and most explosive offense since he has been in Baton Rouge.

Biggest disappointment: Granted, the expectations were through the roof, but South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney has been a mere mortal in the Gamecocks’ first three games. He has been solid, but hasn’t been that consistent of a disruptive force so many people were anticipating to start his junior season. To be fair, he’s dealing with a foot injury that sounds like it will plague him for the rest of the season, and teams have done their best to run away from him and make him chase. Clowney still has two sacks, and at this point a year ago, he had only three and finished the season with 13. The Heisman Trophy chatter may have quieted, but you can bet that No. 7 won’t stay this quiet on the field all season.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- AJ McCarron didn't bother to watch Kenyan Drake cross the plane of the end zone. Alabama's veteran quarterback instead turned toward the sideline and threw his hands up in disgust. On fourth-and-inches from the Colorado State 3-yard line, McCarron went to hand the ball off, only to see his sophomore running back had gone left, not right like the play had called for. It worked and Drake scored, but it wasn't perfect.

Beside himself, McCarron fumed as he waited for the touchdown celebration to end.

On the way back to the sideline, McCarron saddled up to Drake and let him have it. Face mask to face mask, he shouted and wagged his finger like a disappointed father. Alabama had taken the lead, but by mistake. Against a better team, a defender might have broken into the backfield and jarred the ball loose. Who knows? The execution wasn't perfect and that's all that mattered to McCarron, who is a perfectionist to the core.

It went on like that for a while. There were few smiles to be had inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday night, especially on the home sideline. No. 1 Alabama remained undefeated despite a sloppy, disorganized performance against Colorado State. The 31-6 final score wasn't the least bit appeasing for UA head coach Nick Saban, who is nothing if not critical. It can be argued that McCarron got his sense of perfectionism from him.

"We want to be able to go dictate with our intensity, sense of urgency, preparation, everything that we have to do so we can be more dominant and more consistent in the game," Saban said. "And I don't think we did that tonight."

Saban was measured in his postgame comments, clearly frustrated by his team's performance but resolved to correct any and all mistakes. McCarron, by comparison, was mute. Every one-word answer or curt response revealed a deeper and deeper sense of irritation. He said the poor execution came down to poor communication, simple as that. When he was asked to elaborate, he wouldn't budge.

"We just didn't communicate," he said, repeating the same answer regardless of the question. "Communication, we didn't do it."

McCarron said more in his 30-second tirade to Drake in the first quarter than he did in five minutes with the media after the game. When asked what he said on their walk back to the sideline, he again declined to comment, saying, "Nothing. That's between me and him."

Alabama didn't have much in the way of answers Saturday night, either during or after the game. The Crimson Tide struggled against a CSU team it normally would have put away by halftime. The defense missed assignments left and right, allowing prolonged drives to pass the 50-yard line into Alabama territory. McCarron and the offense, meanwhile, couldn't finish them off either, failing to convert on a third-down attempt until the fourth quarter.

The same team that went blow-for-blow with Texas A&M in an instant classic a week ago looked out of breath and hung over against an opponent Alabama had to pay more $1 million just to show up.

"Any time you play in a big game and you come out, you want to respect your opponent and I don't think we did that tonight," right guard Kellen Williams said. "It was just a difficult thing to come off an emotional win and play again. We're kind of young and we have a lot of fundamentals and emotional things to work on."

Williams, who started his first career game Saturday, described the mood of the huddle during the game as "somber."

"I guess toward the end of the game we felt like we left a lot out on the field. Even though it's a win, in our minds we just didn't perform the way we're capable of performing."

"It was a win and you have to give the other team a lot of credit," Saban said. "Their players played with a lot of heart. But I'm not satisfied with where we are as a team. We need to focus on improving and we're going to need to do a lot better job as a football team if we're going to be the kind of team we're capable of being.

C.J. Mosley, Alabama's leader on defense at middle linebacker, echoed his coach's statement, emphasizing the quick turnaround needed to prepare for a tough Ole Miss team that gave UA all it could handle a season ago. The same quick screens and short passes that gave the defense trouble against Colorado State could prove doubly fatal next weekend against an Ole Miss offense that entered Saturday averaging 490 yards per game.

"We knew what they were doing, we game-planned the right way and made all the right adjustments. We just had to execute," Mosley said. "A lot of their plays came from us not getting in the right gaps or not fitting the pulls the right way. It's little things that get you beat."

Mosley added later: "Some of those little things will get us beat next week."

Mosley, Williams and nearly every other player who spoke with the media expressed some optimism about the team's ability to regroup and improve. Everybody but McCarron, who left the room quickly after a tense turn in front of the cameras.

It was a concerning sight for an Alabama team expected to compete for a national championship: Its unquestioned leader showing poor body language while saying next to nothing about an obviously poor performance -- no talk of hope, no talk of working to get better, no nothing. Just the same line about communication.

If communication really is the answer, then he didn't do a good job of communicating that fact. It was, after all, a conflicting statement when put into context. If McCarron was willing to shout at his own teammates during the game, then why couldn't bear to do the same afterward?

And that, no matter how you slice it, isn't what you want to hear.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Jim McElwain was searching for the right word to describe it.

"It" being the way the offense is run at the University of Alabama. It was clear in talking with those around the program that the overarching direction of the offense is determined by head coach Nick Saban, whose meticulous, controlling nature has been well documented.

But calling the offense Saban's alone was too wide of a stretch for McElwain, who served as his offensive coordinator from 2008-11 and winning two national championships before leaving to become the head coach at Colorado State.

"Back when I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to coach there, we sat down and he kind of gave me kind of a philosophy, if that makes sense, a thought process, or a vision, I guess, maybe," he said on the eve of his team's trip to face the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

"The big thing was to figure out what you had and then put it together based upon what team you have," McElwain said.

Unlike many teams in college football that are strictly ground-and-pound or run-and-gun depending upon who is calling the plays, Alabama's offense has been more adaptive, more fluid based upon the strengths of its roster. There's never been an "Air Raid" type of offense under Saban, and there's never been much of a "three yards and a cloud of dust" attack, either, no matter what the national perception has been in the past.

It's been productive, averaging 30 or more points per game in each of the past five seasons. What Saban insists upon is balance and limiting turnovers, according to McElwain.

Though the coaches running the offense have changed multiple times (seven coaching changes to be exact, including three different coordinators), the offense itself has never shifted dramatically. As Saban said upon hiring current offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, "this is Alabama's offense" and that means a power running game, controlling the clock and passing enough to keep the defense honest.

"Are we wholesale changing our offense and going to a whole new system, a whole new terminology?" Saban asked shortly after Nussmeier was hired. "Everybody in the building's got to learn a whole new system because one guy's changed? We're not doing that."

Nussmeier was only half-kidding when he said he wouldn't do anything new at all from the year before, just "change the order we ran them." But the truth is that from Major Applewhite to Jim McElwain to Doug Nussmeier, the style of the offense has changed very little, if at all. Saban's been the one holdover, a known commodity as a defensive mastermind but an unknown in his ability to form an offensive identity. He just happens to look at it from a different perspective.

"What he does is he has a great knack of looking at film, which is what he does, looking at film of the opponent's defense, and really helping you kind of understand what they're trying to take away based on what they're doing," McElwain said. "Inevitably the pieces he brings in, saying you may want to look at something in this design or something like that, they work."

Under Saban, Alabama has never thrown the ball more than its passed. Sixty-three percent of plays were runs in 2008, and that number barely changed over the years to where last season the Tide ran 63.5 percent of the time. The only time UA ever broke the 250 passing yards per game mark was in 2010 when the Tide started off the season as title favorites only to lose three games and wind up in the Capital One Bowl.

There's the idea that Alabama's offense has opened up dramatically and become more explosive in recent seasons, but the numbers show that to be untrue. Instead, it's been same old, same old, as the offense actually had fewer plays of at least 20 yards per game last season than it did the year before (5.43 to 5.46). Points per game went up, but only slightly (38.7 from 34.8 the year before).

"They made the transition very smooth," former UA center Barrett Jones recalled, saying later that it was hard to see McElwain leave going into his senior season. "They did a really good job of letting Coach Nuss bring in some new ideas, but not changing too much because, honestly, it wasn't really broken. We kept a lot of our same verbiage, our same calls, same principals, and just added a few new things, a few wrinkles. … You hardly had to learn any new stuff."

Said McElwain: "I can see the plays and probably what they were called within the system. I think the system is sound fundamentally. I think you pick your places to take your shots. The thing I see is maybe more explosive playmakers on the outside from a collective group than there were before.

"Yet you always have that dynamic that if you're going to load the box, you're going to have guys out there that will make it hurt. And then if you cover those guys, you've got those runners in the backfield with a dominant offensive line, which really helps. I mean, pick your poison."

It's the same offense McElwain would like to run at Colorado State, though he admittedly doesn't quite have the parts to do it. He had to laugh at the talent Saban's assembled through back-to-back top-ranked recruiting classes, saying, "If you've got any [running backs] you want to send our way, I'll take them."

McElwain would love to use Saban's blueprint at CSU, but at the same time, he knows that won't be easy, saying, "The one thing I know is that I can't be him -- no one can."

The continuity Saban's been able to establish at Alabama has been second to none, never missing a beat when coaches leave or star players are drafted into the NFL. The production on offense has remained as steady as the tide. McElwain credited that to his unwavering vision, which extends to both sides of the football.

There's a plan in Saban's mind, and it's never changed in seven years at Alabama.

"To me, he's the whole package," McElwain said. "He's hired great coaches who understand what he wants and then go out and execute it."

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Say the words "game manager" around the University of Alabama and wait for the backlash that follows -- the shouting, the wincing, the shaking of heads. No one around here wants to hear those two words, the dishonorable distinction that's been thrust upon their quarterback.

By now, the hope is that AJ McCarron's dubious title would have gone by the wayside, put to rest by a junior campaign that saw him throw for nearly 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. A second championship ring as a starter should have been the final nail in that most unnecessary of debates: Is McCarron one of the best quarterbacks in the country, or is he a system quarterback on one of the best teams in the country?

Oh, the vitriol that question has inspired.

But the genesis of the "game manager" title begins and ends here in Tuscaloosa. And it was never meant to be a bad thing. If McCarron wasn't a good manager of the game, he never would have seen the field in the first place. If UA head coach Nick Saban couldn't implicitly trust McCarron with the playbook, then he never would have won the starting job in 2011 and we might be talking about Phillip Sims as the Tide's quarterback. There was, after all, very little distinction between the two passers after Greg McElroy -- another supposed "game manager" to lead Alabama to a national championship -- left school and was taken by the New York Jets in the final round of the NFL draft.

Today, McCarron is trusted completely by the coaching staff, Saban included. That much was evident against Texas A&M on Saturday when McCarron was allowed to opt out of basically any play that was called in from the sidelines, run or pass. McCarron called it a "check-with-me" game in which he was asked to read the defense at the line of scrimmage and go one of two routes.

"[Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier] would send me the formation and a certain play and if I felt like they were playing one defense, I checked into a pass," McCarron said on Monday. "I did that numerous times. Sometimes they didn't give me a check to a pass, so I felt like we could run it and I check to either side running the ball. Everything in the last game was based off of what I felt like would help us."

In other words, McCarron managed the game under center. He was, as no one wants to hear around these parts, a "game manager." He just so happens to have developed into one of the best at it in all of college football, culminated by a nearly flawless performance against Texas A&M on Saturday that put him squarely back into the Heisman Trophy conversation.

McCarron threw for a career high 334 yards and four touchdowns in the win over the sixth-ranked Aggies, passing Brodie Croyle for second all-time in passing yards (6,400) and John Parker Wilson for second all-time in completions (490). It was the first time in his career that McCarron threw touchdown passes to four different receivers, the final throw coming on a series in which he audibled to play action and found a wide open Jalston Fowler in the flat for the game-clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

It was arguably the best performance in McCarron's already illustrious career. All four of his touchdown passes came against a rush of five or more defenders, as he out-dueled a prolific Texas A&M offense. Alabama's +28.8 offensive expected points added -- the number of net points contributed by the offense, taking into account their performance on every since play they were on the field -- was one of the highest of any team versus a BCS automatic qualifier this season, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

But on Monday, McCarron awoke to more talk of him being a "game manager." Why? Well, it certainly didn't help boost his reputation when his coach's first comments about him after the game were encouraging only in the sense that they weren't critical. "AJ did a great job of implementing the plan," a professorial Saban said, grasping for his reading glasses later in the post-game news conference to read the final stat sheet. Columns in publications around the country instead clung to the heroics of Johnny Manziel and the resurgence of Alabama's offensive line, while very few pitched the idea of McCarron making a name for himself on the national stage.

"You don't don't want to be viewed as a game manager, AJ ..." a radio host said to McCarron on his way to class Monday, a question implicit in his trailing voice.

"I really don't care what people view me as" McCarron responded before being cut off.

The host interjected: "You're OK with that label? It sounds like a negative with what you do with that offense."

"If that's the way other people view me, it's fine," McCarron said. "I know the way my teammates view me, and I think my teammates feel like I'm an important player on the field for us at all times."

Cyrus Kouandjio, the man charged with protecting McCarron's blind side at left tackle, knows his quarterback's worth. He saw the type of leader McCarron is, watching him work the huddle and get in and out of plays on Saturday.

"We had to have that type of focus in that type of environment," Kouandjio said. "We practiced for two weeks. Everything just clicked. He’s been here for so long and he’s done so much for this program, you know, he has that trust factor. He knows what he’s doing."

Said tight end Brian Vogler: "The style of offense we run, you put a lot of confidence in the quarterback to make the right decisions, make the right calls, audible if he needs to. I really think that last job, he really took over the offense. He honestly said in the huddle, ‘Put the ball in my hands.’ So I think his confidence and his leadership really help out this offense. When we were down 14-0, he said, ‘Look guys, we’re only hurting ourselves. When we’re all on the same page and we’re all working together, we do really good things. We’re getting a lot of push on the ball, we’re getting the ball downfield … in the passing game.’ Just his leadership and the confidence the coaches have in him really helps out our offense."

Everything McCarron does, for better or worse, is viewed in the context of Alabama's offense, unlike, say, Manziel, who is viewed as the proprietor of Texas A&M's offense, the narrative wrapped around his ability to improvise and make plays out of thin air. In other words, Manziel makes things happen while McCarron has things happen for him.

For McCarron, though, the "game manager" title may linger until he leaves for the NFL, but coaches and players around the game understand his worth.

On Saturday, the Aggies dared McCarron to put the ball in the air, and he did. "We said going in AJ was going to have to beat us," Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said. And what did McCarron do? "He caught fire," Snyder said after the game, lamenting how his secondary was torched for big play after big play.

Maybe if McCarron catches fire a few more times, he'll be able to finally break free of his dubious reputation as a game manager. But for now, the title still holds some traction.

His coaches are fine with it, his teammates are fine with it and maybe everyone else should be, too. The numbers, the wins, the championship rings; at the end of the day, those will speak for themselves. Saturday's win may not have extinguished talk of his being a game manager, but it certainly helped cement his legacy as one of the best quarterbacks in the school's history.

We've gone through three Saturdays in the SEC, and it seems like a billion points have been scored. The times, they are a changin', and so have our Power Rankings:

1. Alabama (2-0, 1-0 SEC; last week: 1): Every offense has looked good against Texas A&M, but seeing the Tide win that shootout in College Station, Texas, was very impressive. AJ McCarron is back in the Heisman race, and Alabama remains the team to beat in the SEC and nationally. However, questions still remain on a defense that gave up the most yards in school history (628) Saturday.

2. LSU (3-0, 0-0 SEC; last week: 2): Ladies and gentlemen, this might be the SEC's most complete team. The Tigers can throw (Zach Mettenberger is averaging 265.7 yards per game), run (218.7 yards per game) and rank 10th nationally in total defense (267.7). Sure, the last two opponents have been of the cupcake variety, but this offense didn't look this efficient against cupcakes last season.

3. Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1 SEC; last week: 3): Yes, this defense isn't SEC quality and might not be FBS quality right now, but when you have Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans, you're going to be able to score on anyone. Manziel threw for a school-record 464 yards with five touchdowns, while Evans caught seven passes for a school-record 279 yards and a score. This defense needs major work, but this offense won't be stopped by many.

4. Georgia (1-1, 1-0 SEC; last week: 4): The Bulldogs were off, so the defense didn't give up any points. Georgia gets a tuneup in the form of North Texas Saturday before taking on LSU in two weeks. Expect a lot of Bulldogs points and some much-needed improvement from the Dawgs' defense.

5. South Carolina (2-1, 1-1 SEC; last week: 5): The Gamecocks continue to put up points and pile on yards. Through three games, South Carolina has registered 406, 454 and 579 yards, respectively. The Gamecocks let Vanderbilt hang around in their 35-25 win over the Commodores, but the defense turned it up a notch after getting embarrassed by Georgia. South Carolina allowed just 268 yards, and Vandy made just two of 12 third-down conversions.

6. Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 SEC; last week: 7): A season ago, Bevo ran the Rebels out of the Grove. Saturday night, the Rebels chased Bevo & Co. out of Texas. Last season, the second half was almost a death sentence for the Rebels, but this season, they are outscoring opponents 56-37 and blanked Texas 27-0 in the second half of their 44-23 route of the Longhorns Saturday. As long as the read-option is still legal, the Rebels will be a very dangerous team.

7. Florida (1-1, 0-0 SEC; last week: 6): The Gators were off, which means the staff was probably drilling ball security and execution into its players' brains. Florida is last in the SEC in red zone efficiency (50 percent), and, as a result, the Gators are last in the SEC in scoring offense (40 points in two games). However, the Gators own the SEC's best defense, which also ranks third nationally.

8. Auburn (3-0, 1-0 SEC; last week: 9): Quarterback Nick Marshall really grew up in Auburn's 24-20 win over Mississippi State. He isn't quite Cam Newton, but he looked like a seasoned vet on that last-minute, game-winning drive. The defense still has its issues up front, though. Teams are rushing for almost 160 yards per game against the Tigers and are averaging nearly 5 yards per rush. That defensive line is in for quite the fight this weekend at LSU.

9. Vanderbilt (1-2, 0-2 SEC; last week: 8): Yes, the Commodores have two losses, but they're losses to top-25 teams. And the Commodores were very much in both games. Still, if Vandy is going to make progress and take the next step, these close losses have to turn into wins, especially against teams like South Carolina. There are some holes on defense that have to get plugged.

10. Missouri (2-0, 0-0 SEC; last week: 10): The offense is healthy and the Tigers even got a nice bye week before they travel to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers. The offense has been impressive through two games, averaging 539 yards and 48 points per game, but the competition has been subpar. Indiana's defense, which is allowing 410 yards and nearly 30 points a game, should keep Mizzou's offensive momentum going.

11. Arkansas (3-0, 0-0 SEC; last week: 11): It wasn't a very pretty win over Southern Miss, but I'm sure Bret Bielema will take it. The offense had issues here and there when quarterback Brandon Allen left early with a bruised shoulder. He's expected to be back for Saturday's game at Rutgers. The good news is that the running game didn't suffer, as both Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins rushed for more than 100 yards for the third straight game.

12. Tennessee (2-1, 0-0 SEC; last week: 12): We knew that cross-country trip to Eugene, Ore., would be tough, and Oregon made sure it was a very uncomfortable stay for the Vols. Before the Ducks built a 30-point first-half lead, fans were already chanting "We want Bama!" I can only imagine what Tennessee players were thinking. Things only got worse, as the Ducks registered 687 yards in their 59-14 drubbing of the Vols. Tennessee limps into its matchup with Florida looking for answers on defense.

13. Mississippi State (1-2, 0-1 SEC; last week: 13): For the second straight week, Dak Prescott played pretty well in place of the injured Tyler Russell, but when the defense had to make a stop late against Auburn, it came up short. After two solid outings, Mississippi State's defense struggled to stop Auburn's passing game, and now people in Starkville, Miss., are getting a little antsy. The Bulldogs have lost seven of their past nine games dating back to last season.

14. Kentucky (1-2, 0-0 SEC; last week: 14): The Wildcats put up a fight in the first half of their 27-13 loss to Louisville, but they just couldn't find any sort of consistency on offense. Quarterback Maxwell Smith left in the third quarter with a right shoulder injury, while turnovers and dropped passes stalled the offense whenever it made any attempt to threaten Louisville's lead. The defense gave up 242 rushing yards, but it was gassed by the fourth quarter thanks to an offense that went 0-for-13 on third down.

With another Saturday in the books, it's time to check out the best of the best from the day that was in the SEC:

AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama: So much for being a game manager. When Texas A&M forced Alabama to throw the ball early, McCarron had no problem slinging the ball around, throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. McCarron had no issue throwing downfield in the second half, either, as he finished the game with 334 yards and four touchdowns on 20-of-29 passing in Alabama's 49-42 win over the Aggies. He orchestrated some superb drives late, and his beautiful play-action touchdown pass to Jalston Fowler proved to be the game winner.

Alex Collins/Jonathan Williams, RBs, Arkansas: For the third straight game, each rushed for more than 100 yards. Williams ran for a game-high 116 yards and Collins followed with 115 in the 24-3 win over Southern Miss. It marked the first time in school history the Razorbacks had multiple 100-yard rushers in the first three games of the season. Each also scored a touchdown. Collins became the first freshman in SEC history to rush for 100 yards in each of his first three career games and the first true freshman in the NCAA since Adrian Peterson in 2004.

Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M: Sure, the Aggies lost a thriller at home, but Evans made Alabama's secondary look silly all day. He outmuscled guys for passes and showed some good speed on his 95-yard touchdown catch-and-run, which was the longest offensive play against Alabama in 10 years. Evans finished the game with seven catches for a school-record 279 yards and a touchdown.

Nick Marshall, QB, Auburn: He grew up right in front of our eyes Saturday night, throwing for a career-high 339 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. The newcomer had some shaky moments, but he looked like a veteran leading the Tigers on their last-minute, game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Down 20-17 to Mississippi State, coach Gus Malzahn put the game in Marshall's hands and asked him to drive 88 yards with less than two minutes remaining. Marshall completed six of his eight passes for 66 yards, including the 11-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to C.J. Uzomah with 10 seconds left. He also scrambled 11 yards for the first down on a third-and-10 at the Bulldogs' 25-yard line. It was the first SEC win for Auburn in its past 11 tries.

Jeff Scott, RB, Ole Miss: Scott rushed for a career-high 164 yards and had a touchdown against Texas. He also sealed the Rebels' 44-23 win with a 73-yard punt return that went for a touchdown late in the third quarter to give Ole Miss a 37-23 lead. This was the ninth career 100-yard rushing game and the second of the season for Scott.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- One of the most anticipated regular-season games in recent memory was a show of dominance by Alabama in the final three quarters, as the Crimson Tide defeated Texas A&M 49-42 before 87,596 on Saturday at Kyle Field. Let's take a look at how it went down.

It was over when: Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron connected with Jalston Fowler for a 5-yard touchdown with 2:28 remaining in the game. That score gave the Crimson Tide a lead they wouldn't relinquish. It came at the end of a methodical nine-play, 65-yard drive that ate up 5 minutes, 36 seconds.

Game ball goes to: The Alabama offensive line. Once the Crimson Tide responded to the Aggies' early 14-0 onslaught, the Tide's big guys up front got the job done. There was so much talk coming into the week about the line play in the opener against Virginia Tech, but that unit paved the way for 236 Alabama rushing yards. The line allowed the Tide to control the clock and control the pace of the game in the second half. It seemed like whenever the Aggies had a big score, the Tide answered. After falling behind 14-0, the Crimson Tide rattled off 35 unanswered points.

Stat of the game: Texas A&M finished with two turnovers to Alabama's one. Turnovers also played a big role in last season's battle, as the Crimson Tide turned it over three times in a 29-24 loss. A&M had zero turnovers that day. On Saturday in the rematch, A&M turned it over twice, including a 73-yard interception return by Vinnie Sunseri early in the third quarter that gave Alabama a three-touchdown lead. Texas A&M was able to narrow the gap late because of a fumble by T.J. Yeldon in the fourth quarter, but that was the only turnover the Tide had.

What it means for Alabama: The Crimson Tide get some redemption from last season's home loss to the Aggies but, more importantly, are 1-0 in SEC play. They answered a lot of questions about their offensive line, and McCarron looked strong. There might be some questions about the defense after it yielded 42 points and 628 offensive yards, but it's worth noting it was playing the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Manziel, and one of the best offenses in the country. Are the Tide good enough to win a BCS title with what we saw on defense Saturday?

What it means for Texas A&M: The Aggies have a lot -- and I mean a lot -- of work to do on defense. That was a question mark coming in, especially the run defense, and it remains that way even though the Aggies finally got almost their full complement of defensive players back from suspensions. They allowed 568 total yards and 234 rushing yards. Are they good enough defensively to still contend for an SEC West title? This loss puts them behind the eight ball in that regard. The Aggies need Alabama to lose twice down the road (perhaps once if there's a three-way tie for the top of the division at the end of the season).

Game ball, Part 2: Give one to Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans. He set the school record with 279 receiving yards on seven catches. He had a 95-yard touchdown grab that got the Aggies back to within a score and gave them hope in the fourth quarter. He has the look of an NFL receiver, whenever he chooses to enter the draft (he'll be eligible after this season). He is big and physical, has great hands, is a great blocker in the running game, and can beat one-on-one coverage.

Johnny watch: Manziel had two interceptions, which hurt, but overall played well. He set the school record for passing yards with 464 on 28-of-39 passing. He had five touchdown tosses and 98 rushing yards. He had some throws he'd like to take back, but he played pretty well against one of the best defenses in the country.

After two weeks, we're all tied up. As we've learned by watching the SEC Eastern Division race in recent seasons, no lead is safe.

After Chris correctly picked Georgia to beat South Carolina and I decided to stay on the Jadeveon Clowney train, we enter the weekend with identical 22-3 (.880) records. We both missed on Florida losing to Miami (Fla.).

It's a new week, and Saturday will serve as a chance for one of us to take the outright lead. Chris has been so giddy since watching the Dawgs take care of business against South Carolina. Sources told me that he was even spotted hanging with Drake and shooting hoops with LeBron. It makes me wonder how serious he is about the season. He's impressed with the past, but has he learned anything new since Saturday?

His Twitter has been pretty active the past couple of weeks …

I won't let Chris' win get to me. Champions don't do that. Champions just make adjustments and worry about what they can control. I like to call it my own process.

Meeko (the famous SEC blog cat) and I will be in the war room for the rest of the season meticulously dissecting every game from here on out.

Chris can have his famous friends and twit pics. I'll stick to winning.

Let's get to the picks:

SOUTHERN MISS at ARKANSAS

Edward Aschoff: The Razorbacks have run the ball better than anyone else in the SEC, and they have the league's leading rusher in freshman Alex Collins. Southern Miss ranks 82nd nationally in rushing defense, so expect another big game on the ground from the Hogs. … Arkansas 41, Southern Miss 14

Chris Low: Arkansas leads the SEC in rushing with an average of 312.5 yards per game. Southern Miss gave up 285 yards on the ground last week in a 56-13 loss to Nebraska. It all adds up to a 15th straight loss for the Golden Eagles. … Arkansas 37, Southern Miss 17

LOUISVILLE at KENTUCKY

Aschoff: After notching his first win at Kentucky, Mark Stoops now has to play BCS title contender Louisville -- and Teddy Bridgewater. Being at home should make things interesting early, but the Cardinals just have too much talent across the board. … Louisville 35, Kentucky 14

Low: Kentucky was unable to slow down Western Kentucky in the opener. Now, the Wildcats have to deal with Bridgewater and the Cardinals. Bridgewater might not wave off the punt team this week, but he will lead Louisville to its third straight win in the series. … Louisville 41, Kentucky 24

TENNESSEE at OREGON

Aschoff: The Vols are riding high as they head out West. But having to make a cross-country trip for what will feel like an early game against one of the nation's best teams will bring the Vols back down to earth before SEC play begins. … Oregon 45, Tennessee 17

Low: Butch Jones has them excited in Big Orange Country, and there’s a lot to like about what he’s done with that program. But reality sets in this week. The only drama in Eugene, Ore., will be whether or not the Vols can hold Oregon under 50. … Oregon 47, Tennessee 17

KENT STATE at LSU

Aschoff: The Tigers enter as a team still taking a backseat to Alabama and Texas A&M. That will probably be the case coming out of the weekend, too, but at least LSU won't be as beat up as the other guys. … LSU 45, Kent State 10

Low: LSU’s offense looks as potent as it has in some time, particularly in the passing game. The Tigers will cruise for a second straight week at home over outmanned Kent State, and then it’s on to Auburn and Georgia in back-to-back weeks. … LSU 48, Kent State 10

MISSISSIPPI STATE at AUBURN

Aschoff: We know how important conference openers are, and this game has been huge for both teams in recent seasons. A loss for either could serve as an emotional setback. Auburn's home field and it's entertaining running game will push the Tigers through in the fourth quarter. … Auburn 27, Mississippi State 20

Low: It’s hard to envision the loser of this game going on to have a successful season, which makes it a critical SEC opener for both teams. The Bulldogs have been solid on defense, but they don’t have enough juice on offense right now to go into Jordan-Hare Stadium and win. … Auburn 31, Mississippi State 20

VANDERBILT at SOUTH CAROLINA

Aschoff: With South Carolina's defense having struggled mightily last week and Vandy having some explosive elements to its offense, this one should be entertaining. There can't be excuses for Clowney, and I think he'll make sure of that Saturday. … South Carolina 30, Vanderbilt 21

Low: The Gamecocks can’t afford any more hiccups if they want to stay in the SEC championship hunt. They’ve had their struggles in recent seasons with Vanderbilt, too. The Commodores are painfully close to being unbeaten, but their drought against nationally ranked teams will extend to 14 straight games. … South Carolina 28, Vanderbilt 21

OLE MISS at TEXAS

Aschoff: Last season, Texas ran the Rebels out of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. This season, Ole Miss heads to Austin, Texas, with a ton of confidence, while Texas players are licking their, uh, horns after an embarrassing loss to BYU. The Longhorns couldn't stop the run last week, and they won't do a very good job this week, either. … Ole Miss 35, Texas 31

Low: Texas would seem to be in disarray with Mack Brown having fired his defensive coordinator this week. Plus, Ole Miss has plenty of motivation after getting blown out at home last season by the Longhorns. But Texas is still Texas, and the Longhorns will find a way to salvage a little pride at home. … Texas 34, Ole Miss 30

ALABAMA at TEXAS A&M

Aschoff: It's the game of games. The contest to end all contests. Nick Saban versus Kevin Sumlin. Johnny Manziel versus AJ McCarron. The Aggies pulled the unthinkable last season, but Alabama has been steaming over that game for almost a year now. Johnny Football has shown improvement as a passer and he'll still be the slipperiest player on the field Saturday, but picking against Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart facing a team that bested them last season just sounds silly. … Alabama 31, Texas A&M 23

Low: Johnny Football ain’t talking this week. The Aggies prefer that he do all of his talking on the field (with his play). These two teams played a classic last November in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and it should again be a ball of fun. But the Tide will prevail thanks to keeping the ball away from Manziel and that Texas A&M offense and wearing down an Aggies defense that has been shaky. … Alabama 38, Texas A&M 28

Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron discusses his team's upcoming matchup against Texas A&M.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Not many of Alabama’s players watched No. 6 Texas A&M host Sam Houston State over the weekend. The truth is they didn't miss much. The 37-point blowout was little more than a tuneup for the Aggies. But Alabama's players couldn't have named the score if they were asked to. Many, if not most, of them were too busy relaxing on their off week to find the nonconference game on the television dial.

Anthony Steen, the Tide's veteran right guard, was out at the lake. AJ McCarron didn't even know the game would be televised.

"Were they on TV?" Alabama's senior quarterback asked. At the very least, it was available online. "I don't have a laptop so …"

There was no follow-up question, though his trailing voice certainly left room to ask about his cell phone and tablet situations. It's hard to believe that an athlete in this day and age could be without some method of accessing the internet. At least then he might have been able to get a taste for what the environment at Kyle Field will be like on Saturday when the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide travel there to face Texas A&M.

It was typical McCarron nonchalance. He wasn't too concerned with anything when he spoke to the media on Monday. When asked, he said he had no plans to communicate with his friend, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, this week. The last time the two spoke, he said, was at SEC media days in July. And then, he added: "We're just friends, guys. Y'all make this thing a lot bigger than it needs to be."

Downplaying the significance of their relationship was understandable. But downplaying the significance of the game they'll play in just a few days wasn't possible. For the first time since 1988, Alabama is going to College Station to play a football game.

And that was enough to get McCarron excited.

"It's going to be a fun experience," he said. "Their whole 12th Man and everything, it's going to be a very cool experience for myself. Hopefully it'll be a good experience."

Steen said he watched the Aggies home opener two weeks ago and thought the crowd noise wasn't as bad as he expected. Still, it will be an obstacle for an offensive line that had difficulty communicating in its season opener against Virginia Tech in Atlanta two weeks ago.

"Things weren’t as loud as people say it is at 12th Man Stadium," he said. "We expect to not be able to hear each other, especially our center making the calls. We just have to stay focused and each and every person on the offensive line has to know all the calls for every position."

Steen, like so many of his teammates, downplayed the hype surrounding the game. There was no talk of revenge or retribution, just winning.

"It’s just one of those things where it’s in the back of your head that you lost last year, so you want to try that much harder to make sure you win this year," Steen said.

"I guess for some people it does [add motivation], but for me it’s another game and I know we’ve got to win it and I’m not going to go out there and come out flat. I’m going to go out there and try to play the best game I can."

Amari Cooper, Alabama's star wideout, said he doesn't watch TV and that and a Saturday’s trip to Kyle Field is only one step of many.

"We don't buy into the hype here," Cooper said. "I think all the hype is really irrelevant because at the end of the day you have to go out there and play your game. All the hype is really not real, you know, the things they say on TV and stuff like that. It doesn't line up with what's really going on."

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix couldn't believe it. Alabama's young safety watched the football bounce into the air and fall back into the quarterback's hands, and before he had time to process it all, a Heisman Trophy moment was born at his defense's expense. Johnny Manziel broke containment, spun a few steps to his left and found a wide open Ryan Swope in the back of the end zone to give Texas A&M a two-touchdown lead against the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide at home in Tuscaloosa.

"I was like, 'Wow, we've got to find something to do with this guy,'" Clinton-Dix said less than a year later, recalling the second of three touchdowns Manziel would score in the first quarter that day. "He's an amazing quarterback and that's a prime example of how he extends plays and makes things happen."

Much of the offseason has been devoted to figuring out the riddle that is Johnny Football, Texas A&M and up-tempo offenses like the one employed by its coach, Kevin Sumlin. Alabama's defense was big and strong and sound, but against Texas A&M it faltered. For the first time in a long time, Alabama got punched in the mouth, knocked out by a flurry of early punches. By the time it got off the mat, it was already too late. The Aggies upset Alabama at home and the loss has gnawed at players ever since.
As Clinton-Dix told reporters Monday, "It hurt as a defensive back to see him complete those passes." He couldn't believe that one player could make his defense, and his team, look so bad.

The first quarter was the worst Bryant-Denny Stadium had seen in quite some time. Total shock swept through the bleachers. Just a week after a last-minute escape from Death Valley, Alabama was back inside the lion's den, this time in its own backyard, a cage built by its own hands.

"We probably dug a ditch that we couldn't quite dig out of," Saban said after the game.

Defensively, it was bad. Alabama had no answer for Manziel. But offensively, it wasn't any better. The team that had gone three-and-out once every four drives coming into the game, went three-and-out on three consecutive drives to start it. And every time Texas A&M got the ball back, it scored.

The 20-0 hole was one of the chief reasons Alabama lost to Texas A&M a year ago. The defense would settle down, but that wasn't enough. So much caught up with Alabama that day: the Tide abandoned the power running game, rushing the ball just once late in the fourth quarter after reaching a first down on the Texas A&M 6-yard line; AJ McCarron's streak of 291 passes without an interception ended with not one, but two picks; and the defense, long thought to be infallible, was shown to be merely human, jumping offsides on a third-down play that could have given Alabama back the ball with a chance to win the game.

Take away any one of those things, or even just one of McCarron's two turnovers, and the outcome would have been different. Alabama would have won, Manziel might not have claimed the Heisman and this week's game would be only really interesting instead of really, really, really interesting.

And because of that, there's reason to believe Alabama will exact its revenge. Heading into this season's rematch, there's something to build off. It's hard to believe that so much can go so wrong again.

For starters, Alabama won't face the unenviable task of following one tough game with another. "The Drive" in Baton Rouge, La., where McCarron found T.J. Yeldon for the come-from-behind touchdown, was an emotional way to end a 60-minute slugfest a week earlier. As McCarron said, "It was just exhaustion, really." Waking up the next day to prepare for Texas A&M couldn't have been easy.

This time, Alabama took care of Virginia Tech with ease in Week 1 and took off Week 2 with a bye. Saban lamented the stop-and-go nature of the schedule, but he couldn't deny the positive in having the extra time to prepare.

"It is what it is and I think we had a good week in terms of doing what we could do," he said. "And it did give us a little extra time to prepare for some of the things we may see in this game."

Part of that preparation was devising ways to stop Manziel, who was simulated in practice by backup quarterbacks Luke Del Rio and Cooper Bateman. Surely, Blake Sims, a former receiver turned quarterback, played the part of Johnny Football as well.

Saban said the goal won't necessarily be to turn Manziel into a pocket passer, but to tighten up the containment around him and negate the potential for big gains. Treating him like a normal quarterback won't work. If the defense does, another 20-0 hole could be in Alabama's future.

"I told our players, I said, ‘There's a lot of NFL games on Sundays. You want to watch the quarterback, go watch those games. But if you start watching this guy in our game, you're going to get busted,’" Saban said. "It happened in our game last year. We've got people covered pretty well, you look back at the quarterback and their receivers do a good job of extending the play and getting away from it. He finds them and makes big plays."

Said Clinton-Dix: "We weren't really locked in. They're a fast-paced offense and we weren't really expecting that. They came out and were extending plays for eight, nine, 10 seconds and we were getting tired and little frustrated. After a while, we just calmed down and got into a groove."

The hope for Clinton-Dix and the rest of the Alabama defense is that that groove, the one that held the Aggies to nine points over the final three quarters of last year's game, carries over into Saturday.

For Saban, that means avoiding mistakes like the ones his team committed in last year's game: assignment errors, missed assignments, undisciplined eye control, poor blocking, poor tackling.

"When you look back and say, ‘What happened in the game before?’ A lot of those things were issues and problems," Saban said. "Everybody has to take care of business. We have to be our team, playing our game, taking care of our business. Everybody has to do their job. When you play against really good players … any lack of that ability to focus and discipline is going to help them be able to make those plays. If you take care of the little things, do the little things right, it’s going to give you the best opportunity to be successful.

"It’s like if you take care of the cents, the dollars can add up. If you don’t, it never happens."

The moment Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley set foot in the lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., back in July, a wave of crimson followers rushed his way.

Well, kind of. The wave barreled at him before veering off toward a taller, more slender victim in quarterback AJ McCarron. Another day with the star quarterback, another circus to witness.

"I really wasn't mad at him for that," Mosley said at July's SEC media days. "He took all the attention away."

A day earlier, the media horde congregated for another gunslinger. Instead of three national championship rings, this one carried a Heisman Trophy. And instead of donning a script A, he wore a Drake pin.

While McCarron brought the fans, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel brought reporters and controversy. The two most popular quarterbacks in the SEC arrived in Hoover on two very different paths, and that's how they'll enter Saturday's monster showdown in College Station, Texas.

It isn't easy being either one. McCarron carries one of college football's sexiest titles: Alabama's starting quarterback. Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy after breaking the SEC record for total yards (5,116), registering 47 touchdowns and leading the Aggies to the AT&T Cotton Bowl during their first year in the SEC.

The accolades have piled up for both players, and their on-field play has been extraordinary. But when it comes to the intangibles, they're polar opposites.

Johnny Football represents the new-school flash. He's more dangerous on the field than McCarron because of his incredible athleticism. He can dart past players with his feet or beat them over the top with his deceptive arm strength. His improvisation and risky play make it impossible to look away from the show he puts on.

McCarron is a traditional pocket passer with the arm and accuracy that pro scouts drool over.

When it comes to entertaining, no player is better than Manziel. But it has come at a price. An offseason filled with lavish travel and controversy has Manziel under a microscope. He has faced scrutiny for his Twitter blowups, untimely exit from the Manning Passing Academy and the recent autograph controversy that grabbed the attention of the NCAA.

"I don't really know what people expect out of me," Manziel said in July. "Maybe I shouldn't have posted as much [on Twitter] or been this extravagant, but at the end of the day, I was just trying to have fun. In my position, a lot of doors opened for me, a chance to meet a lot of people and a lot of people were excited to meet me.

"At the end of the day, I was just living my life. … I don't think I overdid it. I made mistakes, obviously, and I've acknowledged those and learned from them. I had fun and lived my life to the fullest. That's what I'm all about."

For McCarron, he'd rather stay in than get caught up in the nightlife.

"Me personally, I've never been the type of guy to bring unneeded spotlight on myself or my teammates," he said. "I definitely never want to bring any type of bad spotlight on anybody, especially my name. I never want to try to bash that in any sort of way."

"That's not me. I don't really care about the fame or anything like that. I just want to go play football."

Added Alabama guard Anthony Steen: "For AJ, he knows when to shut up, when not to shut up, and what's right and what's wrong. He knows not to go out and party or go out and look for something to do, something wrong. He knows what not to do."

Manziel doesn't hide his brash persona. He says he'd love to take back his now infamous anti-College Station tweet, but he can't. Sometimes he can't hide from his life, but he relishes each moment it brings.

"My life's different," Manziel said. "It's difficult at some points. People see it when they're around me more and more, but I'm very blessed, very fortunate to be in the position I am. I understand that people would line up out the door to be where I'm at today, and I don't take that for granted."

Despite all the offseason drama, Manziel has looked like a more polished passer through two games, including a 400-yard performance last weekend, and has kept his scrambling to a minimum. Still, his first-half suspension and opening-game taunts have overshadowed an impressive start on the field.

McCarron had a rocky start to the season. He passed for a 110 yards (a career low as a starter) against Virginia Tech and completed less than 50 percent of his passes for only the second time as a starter.

Again, two different paths.

What makes Saturday's matchup that much more intriguing is that the quarterbacks are friends. They roomed together at the Manning Academy and kept in contact during the offseason. And both could make strong Heisman Trophy pushes with a victory Saturday.

McCarron acknowledges Manziel's on-field greatness, but you have to wonder if it gets to McCarron at all. He has rings and Manziel has a statue. McCarron is 26-2 as Alabama's starter and craves victories more than anything.

"Sometimes I feel like [if] any other quarterback in the country wins two national championships, he's the best thing since sliced bread and I'm still labeled a game manager, which is fine with me," McCarron said. "They can call me a bench-rider as long as we keep winning. I really don't care. I'm happy with the person that I am, the way I carry myself and with the teammate I've been."

Saturday will showcase two completely different quarterbacks fighting for same thing. When their pads go on and their laces are tied, it won't matter how either got to Kyle Field. It will only matter how they leave it.