Alabama Crimson Tide

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. 87 and what it means to UA football.

In 1987, the Ray Perkins era ended at the University of Alabama, and the Bill Curry era began.

After four seasons in which he compiled a 32-15-1 record, Perkins, who was an All-American under coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant, left to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- a position he was rumored to be in the running for a earlier in his tenure at UA. He failed to guide the Crimson Tide to any better than a second place finish in the SEC.

On June 4, 1987, Curry became the second coach to take over at Alabama since Bryant's retirement in 1982. The former head coach of the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets and assistant with the Green Bay Packers, lasted just three season with Alabama before Gene Stallings entered the fold and led UA to its 12th national title. Curry was able to get the Tide on the right track in his final season, though, going 10-2, tying for first place in the SEC and earning a trip to the Sugar Bowl.

Oddly enough, both Curry (age 64) and Perkins (age 71) are still coaching. Curry is the head coach of upstart Georgia State while Perkins chose to stay closer to home at Jones County Junior College.

Oklahoma refused to quit but it was not enough.

Alabama held off a late rally from the Sooners to earn a 8-6 win in Game 2 of the championship series of the Women’s College World Series at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night. The Crimson Tide’s win forces a championship-deciding Game 3 on Wednesday night.

The Sooners trailed by an 8-1 deficit throughout much of the game but rallied to get within two runs with a five-run seventh inning but the hole proved too big to overcome.

Turning point: Amanda Locke’s 3-run double broke the game wide open in the top of the second inning. Two walks and a hit batter contributed to a four-run, two-hit inning for the Crimson Tide. Not only did it give Alabama a comfortable lead, it helped force the Sooners to replace standout pitcher Keilani Ricketts in the fourth inning.

Uncommon sight: Ricketts struggled for the first time during the postseason. Ricketts, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, allowed six runs (two earned) and hit five batters in 3.1 innings pitched in the loss. The junior had allowed five runs in four games before Tuesday.

Player of the game: Jessica Shults continued her clutch hitting, adding four more RBI to her WCWS resume including a three-run home run in the seventh inning. She has a WCWS-high eight RBIs in five WVWS games and 65 RBIs this season.

Stat of the game: .667. Alabama was 2 for 3 with the bases loaded as their clutch hitting overcame their .154 overall batting average.

What it means: Wednesday night’s game is winner-take-all. Oklahoma will have to rebound from Tuesday’s loss to become the national champion.

Brendan Langley (Marietta, Ga./Kell) recently named Alabama as his leader and dropped Georgia to fourth on his list. He talks with DawgNation about the decision and what he likes about the Gators as well.

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. 88 and what it means to UA football.

Call the Alabama offense anemic, conservative or even boring. But don't call it ineffective.

Last season the Crimson Tide were downright lethal in the red zone, scoring 88 percent of the time. That landed Alabama tied for 19th in the nation in red zone scoring. Only LSU had better luck among SEC teams inside the 20-yard line.

Alabama finished third in the SEC in scoring offense and touchdowns, and second in the league in total offense by averaging just shy of 430 yards per game.

Conversely, UA was tops in the nation in red zone efficiency on defense, letting 17 drives inside the 20 end with points. Of those 10 scores, six were touchdowns. In Alabama's final three games of the season, the Tide surrendered no points inside the 20.

Altee Tenpenny (North Little Rock, Ark./North Little Rock), an Alabama verbal commitment and the fifth rated runningback in the ESPN 150, talks with RecruitingNation’s Dave Hooker at the Memphis Nike Football Training Camp.

National championship No. 2 is within reach for Oklahoma.

The Sooners opened the championship series of the Women’s College World Series with a 4-1 victory over Alabama at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City on Monday night. OU won its first softball title in 2000.

Turning point: After Alabama scored a run to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, OU answered. The Sooners scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning, scoring one run on Jessica Shults sacrifice fly and Brianna Turang’s fielder’s choice. OU manufacturing offense was key for the Sooners as OU’s four runs came on four hits combined in the fifth and sixth innings.

Player of the game: Keilani Ricketts. The junior continues to dominate from the mound, recording a complete game victory. She allowed one earned run and five hits while striking out 12 batters in seven innings pitched. Ricketts worked her way out of several scoring opportunities for the Crimson Tide, who left eight runners on base.

Unsung hero: Shults went 1 for 3 with 2 RBIs for the Sooners. Her sacrifice fly accounted for OU’s first run in the fifth inning and her one-run single in the sixth inning helped extend the lead.

Stat of the game: 12 left on base. The Sooners continued to leave runners on base, something that has become commonplace during their postseason run, yet pulled out the win anyway.

What it means: The Sooners are one win away from their second WCWS title, with Game 2 of the best-of-three series beginning at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Devonta Pollard (De Kalb, Miss./Kemper County), an Alabama verbal commitment and the 24th rated player in the ESPN 100, talks with TideNation’s Greg Ostendorf about why he picked the Crimson Tide.

When I start searching my memory bank for the best individual seasons of the past 50 years in the SEC, I don't have to go back very far to come up with at least two that rank up there with any in college football history.

But like any other ranking in the SEC, coming up with the top five individual seasons is one tough chore.

Here goes:

1. Cam Newton, QB, Auburn, 2010: Granted, it was only one season. But what a season it was on the Plains for Newton and the Tigers. Newton, who came over from junior college after starting his career at Florida, guided Auburn to a 14-0 record and the school's first national championship in 53 years. He was unstoppable as a runner and equally dynamic as a passer, accounting for 51 touchdowns. The runaway winner of the 2010 Heisman Trophy, Newton was second nationally in passing efficiency (182.05) and led all SEC players in rushing with 1,473 yards. In short, it was about as close as it gets to being a perfect season.

2. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida, 2007: Tebow's sophomore season was his best statistically, even though the Gators didn't win a national title that year. He became the first quarterback in FBS history to pass for 20 touchdowns and rush for 20 touchdowns in the same season. Tebow finished with 32 passing touchdowns and 23 rushing touchdowns in becoming the first sophomore in history to win the Heisman Trophy. Not known for his passing prowess, Tebow threw for 3,286 yards and only six interceptions that season. He also rushed for 895 yards, and was the Gators' go-to guy any time they got near the goal line.

3. Herschel Walker, RB, Georgia, 1980: Even though Walker won his Heisman Trophy in 1982, it was his freshman season in 1980 that everyone remembers. It remains almost mythical with the way he burst onto the scene in the second half of the opener that year against Tennessee and ran over Bill Bates at the goal line. He rushed for 1,616 yards that season in leading the Bulldogs to a 12-0 record and national championship. In a lot of ways, Walker was the first of his kind, a 225-pound bruiser who had track speed. To this day, many consider him to be the SEC's greatest player.

4. Derrick Thomas, OLB, Alabama, 1988: When you start talking about pure stats and gaudy numbers, it's hard to top what Thomas accomplished during the 1988 season. He set an SEC record with 39 tackles for loss, including an NCAA record 27 sacks. Thomas, who died in 2000, also had an incredible 45 quarterback hurries that season. He completely took over the Penn State game with three sacks and a safety, and to this day, remains the standard for rushing the passer in this league. Former Alabama coach Bill Curry called him the "best football player I ever coached."

5. Danny Wuerffel, QB, Florida, 1996: Never fully satisfied with the way his quarterbacks perform, Steve Spurrier came close in 1996. Wuerffel was brilliant that season in leading the Gators to a national championship. He finished with 3,625 passing yards and 39 touchdown passes on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. His accuracy and ability to put the ball in places where his receivers could turn short gains into touchdowns made him one of the Head Ball Coach's favorites. "Danny Wonderful" didn't have an exceptionally strong arm, but always knew where to go with the football.