Alabama-Tennessee: Tide's Second-Half Struggles Could Hurt in Knoxville

Alabama has established itself as the best 30-minute team in college football. Unfortunately for Nick Saban and the Tide, the games still last 60 minutes. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding about the “new clock rules” in Tuscaloosa. Just to clear up the misunderstanding for the Tide: The new clock rules do not allow a team to stop playing after the end of the second quarter. If one had turned off the TV at halftime in each of Alabama’s games this season, you may perhaps be wondering how it is possible that Alabama is only ranked second in the country. Without a doubt, ‘Bama has looked spectacular in the first half. In fact, the first half of the Georgia game was the best 30 minutes of football that has been played this season, if not this decade. ( What about USC at Washington State? –Ed. Come talk to me when they’ve done it against a top five opponent. –Doc ) Unfortunately, though, the rules still require that the teams come back out after the band ... (link)