The Minnesota Gophers will face off against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Music City Bowl on December 31st in Nashville, Tennessee. The first thing that jumped out at me when researching Alabama was the eerie similarities to the Gophers in the makeup and results of their schedule. Here is a quick glance at Alabama’s results this year, followed by a quick comparison:
| Alabama’s Schedule & Results |
| 9/4 |
Utah State (3-8) |
W 48-17 |
| 9/18 |
Western Carolina (1-AA) |
W 52-0 |
| 10/16 |
Southern Mississippi (6-4) |
W 27-3 |
| 9/11 |
Mississippi (4-7) |
W 28-7 |
| 9/25 |
@ Arkansas (5-6) |
L 27-10 |
| 10/2 |
South Carolina (6-5) |
L 20-3 |
| 10/9 |
@ Kentucky (2-9) |
W 45-17 |
| 10/23 |
@ Tennessee (9-2) |
L 17-13 |
| 11/6 |
Mississippi State (3-8) |
W 30-14 |
| 11/13 |
@ LSU (9-2) |
L 26-10 |
| 11/20 |
Auburn (11-0) |
L 21-13 |
- Both Minnesota and Alabama went 3-5 in their conference, 3-0 in non-conference.
- Both teams played a D1-AA team, both teams played and beat two mid major programs for their other non conference wins.
- In the conference schedule, Alabama, like Minnesota has not beaten a team with a winning record.
- Alabama played the best two teams in the SEC (Auburn & Tennessee) very tough, yet lost both. Minnesota also played the best two teams in the Big Ten, Michigan & Iowa, very tough and lost.
| NCAA Offensive Rankings |
| Rushing Offense:
|
5. Minnesota
21. Alabama |
| Passing Offense:
|
78. Minnesota
112. Alabama |
| Total Offense:
|
13. Minnesota
92. Alabama |
| Scoring Offense:
|
26. Minnesota
57. Alabama |
|
| NCAA Defensive Rankings |
| Rushing Defense:
|
26. Alabama
49. Minnesota |
| Passing Defense:
|
1. Alabama
112. Minnesota |
| Total Defense:
|
2. Alabama
85. Minnesota |
| Scoring Defense:
|
10. Alabama
45. Minnesota |
|
Alabama, like Minnesota, is a run first team. Their starting tailback, senior Ray Hudson, fractured his knee October 9th against Kentucky and was lost for the season. To that point, Hudson had accumulated 650 yards in under 6 games. After he was injured, the starting duties went to Kenneth Darby. The sophomore has rolled up 1061 yards and 8 TD’s in Hudson’s absence. Alabama is not much of a threat to pass the ball. They’ve used 3 QB’s this year, and combined they’ve only thrown for 1456 yards and 10 TD’s.
On defense it’s a different story. Alabama ranks 1st in the nation in pass defense, and very high in several other defensive categories. In looking for a Big Ten equivalent on defense to Alabama, I would go with Michigan. They are very good against the pass, but also solid against the run. It will be a great matchup with Minnesota’s potent rushing offense against Alabama’s stout defense.
Talk about the Music City Bowl on the Gopher Football message board.