Daily photo by Gary Cosby Jr. Tide freshman linebacker Rolando McClain (25) proved to Willie Harper of the Catamounts and to Tide football fans that he can hit hard. McClain, a graduate of Decatur High, helped the Tide limit the visitors to two field goals in a 52-6 win in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

Beating W. Carolina, we didn’t learn much

TUSCALOOSA — So what did we learn from Alabama’s game against Western Carolina?

We learned that the Crimson Tide is better than an opponent from the Southern Conference. Maybe that means a little more Saturday than it did Friday, considering Michigan’s loss against Appalachian State, which is also a SoCon team.

But in all honesty, what was the point of scheduling Western Carolina for the first game of the season? Was it to get the team’s confidence up? Did athletics director Mal Moore want to give Nick Saban an automatic win before he coached one game?

Something about Alabama’s season opener seemed a little anti-climactic. From the second you walked into the stadium, you knew that Alabama was going to win.

And even after a few miscues by the Tide early in the game, the outcome was a moot point.

How can we forget that more than 92,000 fans came to Alabama to see a scrimmage in the spring, looking for answers to questions about the new coach?

Nothing new came out of that game, and very little came out of this one as well.

We saw quarterback John Parker Wilson make some good throws. Running back Terry Grant is indeed as fast as they say. DJ Hall dropped a few passes. Linebacker Rolando McClain can hit hard, and the Alabama defense made some important stops.

But this is all relative. All this means is that Alabama can probably win a Southern Conference championship, not an SEC championship.

Just because McClain knocked running back Willie Harper’s helmet off, it doesn’t mean he can do the same when Arkansas running back Darren McFadden is running straight at him with a full head of steam.

Just because tight end Nick Walker had a strong showing against the Catamounts, it doesn’t mean he can do the same against LSU.

But in some ways, playing Western Carolina was almost the perfect game for the beginning of the Saban era for the Crimson Tide.

The festivities both outside and inside Bryant-Denny Stadium were more ceremonial than usual. This probably wouldn’t have been the case if Alabama had a tougher test to start the year.

Fans knew their new coach would be welcomed, not just with cheers, but also with a win.

This game served as a ready-made coronation for Saban as the new Alabama coach.

The press box was filled with reporters. They weren’t covering the game based on whether the Catamounts could pull the upset, but instead to see the beginning of the Saban era.

Would his offense look different from former coach Mike Shula’s? How would offensive coordinator Major Applewhite fare in calling the plays? What about the 3-4 defense? Can it provide Alabama a chance to win more games?

We still have no clue.

All it looked like was a football team with superior talent beating up on a football team with inferior talent.

Granted, when Shula was the coach, Alabama let Florida International grab a first quarter lead at homecoming last year.

This Alabama team did nothing of the sort. The only chance Western Carolina had was a touchdown in the first quarter negated by a holding penalty.

With a tough group of games coming up against Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Georgia and Florida State, it’s tough to say whether this team can run that gauntlet undefeated.

Before the game, Saban said that the Western Carolina game would give insight into his team’s identity and shed some light on how it would perform the rest of the season.

There were a few plays where Alabama showed an increased level of sustained intensity, and a little more willpower and more speed, but does that mean much against Western Carolina?

We’ll find out against next week against Vanderbilt.