Alabama Crimson Tide

It's almost time for hundreds of media folk to pile into a swanky ballroom and kick off another year of SEC media days.

The festivities begin Tuesday at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., and last until Thursday afternoon. The event serves as the unofficial kickoff to SEC football season.

So what should we be on the lookout for this year?

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HOOVER, Ala. -- It's the unofficial kickoff to the college football season ... the SEC media days.

We'll be here all week bringing you updates on every team, including videos, tidbits from the coaches and players in attendance and a wrap-up of every day.

On the docket today are the two new kids in town -- Missouri and Texas A&M -- along with South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

You can watch live on ESPNU and ESPN3. The festivities start today at 1 p.m. ET. Also, be sure to check out our @ESPN_SEC Twitter account, where you can find live coverage.

Well, I need to hurry over to the Wynfrey Hotel and pick up my media guides. If you don't get there early, the Alabama guides are usually gone.

Those things are hot commodities in these parts.

Some of my best childhood memories go back to the Major League All-Star Game and sitting around and watching the Midsummer Classic with family members.

That’s what we did last week at our house.

So in keeping with the All-Star theme, we’ll select a preseason SEC All-Star team with the East going up against the West.

Who would win?

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From now until kickoff in Arlington, Texas, we'll be counting down the days before Alabama and Michigan get the season started. Today, we move to No. 46 and what it means to UA football. See all the previous editions here.

"Losing doesn't make me want to quit. It makes me want to fight that much harder."

- Paul 'Bear' Bryant

At the University of Alabama, Bryant didn't suffer through too many losses. It's remarkable that over a 25 year career in Tuscaloosa he lost just 46 games. Remedial math says that's less than two losses per season.

There's a reason Bryant is the most revered football coach in Alabama history, and among the top coaches in the history of college football. His record at Alabama speaks for itself: 232-46-9. He won an SEC record 146 games, 14 conference titles and went 12-10-2 in bowl games. His six national championships is tied for the most in college football history.

Bryant finished his career with 323 wins.

Here's a breakdown of all former Alabama football coaches and their records at UA:

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In what's becoming a recurring theme, Monday began with two more University of Alabama players being added to preseason watch lists. This time it was Nico Johnson and C.J. Mosley spots on the Butkus Award 2012 Collegiate Finalists. More than 50 college players were nominated for the award that is handed out annually to the country's top linebacker. Last year, the Butkus Foundation honored Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly with the award.

Johnson is the Crimson Tide's top returning tackler from a year ago. He finished the 2011-12 season fourth overall on the team with 47 tackles. He also had 6.5 tackles for loss.

Mosley, who is returning after a dislocated hip in the national championship game last season, figures to play a pivotal role in the UA defense with both Courtney Upshaw and Dont'a Hightower off to begin their careers in the NFL. The rising junior finished seventh on the team in tackles with 37. He also two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss.

Hightower and Upshaw finished No. 2 and 3, respectively, in the final Butkus Award voting. Notre Dame's Manti Te'o finished fourth, Nebraska's Lavonte David finished fifth and Georgia's Jarvis Jones received one first place vote and finished sixth overall.

The Rotary Lombardi Award watch list was also released Monday with several Alabama players making the cut for the annual award handed out to the country's best offensive lineman, defensive lineman or linebacker.

Once again, Mosley and Johnson made the cut. Joining them were UA offensive linemen Barrett Jones, D.J. Fluker and Chance Warmack. Defensive lineman Jesse Williams also made the list.

The linemen and linebackers weren't the only ones garnering attention to start the week. The quarterbacks got their moment as the Manning Award watch list was announced Monday. Alabama junior AJ McCarron was one of five SEC quarterbacks to make the cut, along with Tennessee's Tyler Bray, Missouri's James Franklin, Georgia's Aaron Murray and Arkansas' Tyler Wilson.

McCarron threw for 2,634 yards and 16 touchdowns in his first season starting under center. He completed 66.8 percent of his passes and tossed just five interceptions.

From now until kickoff in Arlington, Texas, we'll be counting down the days before Alabama and Michigan get the season started. Today, we move to No. 47 and what it means to UA football. See all the previous editions here.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about what makes a rivalry a rivalry. In that Countdown post, we discussed what makes Auburn, Tennessee, LSU and Florida some of the University of Alabama's most fierce rivalries.

While it's fun to debate the merits of each matchup, there's one game that in recent years has taken the cake in terms of the most hated of rivals: the Tennessee Volunteers. The SEC West foes have a rich history. There's been battles on and off the field. The Third Saturday in October is more of a year around spat between two of the most passionate fan bases in college football.

This all brings us to today's Countdown number: 47. As in, the total number of times Alabama has beaten Tennessee.

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