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Guest analyst

Hawes : There's A Noticeable Gap

Don Hawes (WALT TV sports reporter)

This analysis was provided during an interview with Don Hawes following the Oklahoma game ...

Home Games - Your impressions of the game?

There's no question that Oklahoma is the number on team in the country. No doubt about it. They came up with the big plays when they had to. They were fast on defense. Alabama is making strides, there's no doubt about that. They seem to be grasping Mike Shula's system, but there's a noticeable gap between the number one team in the country and Alabama.

That speed on defense was incredible for Oklahoma. Alabama just couldn't seem to get ahead of it.

No, not at all. You know, Alabama had some nice plays, but I never had the feeling that they were going to win the ballgame. Even when they got close and made it 13-10 at one point. I just wasn't sure if the had the big play ability like Oklahoma did tonight.

What did you think about Brodie Croyle and how he played?

Impressive. I think a lot of Alabama players were impressive in that they didn't give up. Coach talked a lot about that in his post game comments. The players just kept believing right up until the last second. That's cliche when it comes to sports and you hear that a lot. But they never gave up. They kept fighting. We saw him in the locker room afterward. He's pretty banged up and got ice all over him. I think the offense is in pretty good hands with Brodie Croyle as soon as he gets a little more experience and gets a little more help around him. He's going to be a great one.

The Alabama defense played very well tonight.

They were impressive, very impressive. You can say the same thing both sides of the ball. The defense, they didn't really bend too much. Of course, the two big touchdown plays obvisouly klled them. But they did a good job containing the running game against Oklahoma. Special teams was the biggest weakness for Alabama here tonight. That fake punt caught everybody by surprise. Shocked the heck out of Mike Shula. He even said so in his news conference. So they've got some things to work on, but they've also got a lot to build on.

Where do you see Oklahoma going?

They're going to be tough to beat. The didn't come in here and knock the doors off like a lot of people thought they would. If they keep playing like that ... solid and fast ... they're going to be awfully tough to beat.

One final question about next week. What can Alabama expect from Kentucky?

Jared Lorenzen, the Kentucky quarterback. He's big. A lot of people think he's fat. I don't think he's fat, I just think he's a big guy. Kind of like a Dante Culpepper type. He's got a strong arm. Obviously, Alabama's secondary got a pretty good going over by Oklahoma. So he's going to test that secondary next week. Alabama's going to have to come to play. Granted that sounds like a cliche, but Lorenzen is going to be tough.

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Click on the name for parts of their post-game interviews ..
Coach Mike Shula (Alabama Crimson Tide Head Coach)

Coach Dave Rader (Alabama Offensive Coordinator, quarterbacks coach)

Shaud Williams (#21 Sr. TB, 5-8 191 lbs. Andrews, TX - Texas Tech transfer)

Brodie Croyle (#12 So. QB, 6-3 200 lbs. Rainbow City, AL - Westbrook Christian)

Justin Smiley (#78 Jr. LG, 6-4 293 lbs. Ellabell, GA - Southeast Bulloch)

DeMeco Ryans (#35 So. SLB, 6-2 225 lbs. Bessemer - Jess Lanier)

Postgame Analysis from Don Hawes - WALT TV in Mobile

Don Hawes (WALT TV sports reporter)

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