Tide seniors can't image losing to ULM

TUSCALOOSA — Could there be a worse way to send out the senior class at home than with a loss to Louisiana-Monroe?

Maybe a loss to Auburn could be slightly more troublesome for Alabama, but what if the Warhawks come to Tuscaloosa and proceed to upset the Crimson Tide? It’s somewhat of a doomsday scenario, which Alabama refuses to discuss.

“This is it for us,” Tide linebacker Darren Mustin said. “I definitely don’t want to lose my last game on Bryant-Denny. No way. So we have to buckle down and get ready.”

The Crimson Tide has 22 seniors, many of whom don’t have the fondest of football memories at Alabama.

The fifth-year seniors arrived at Tuscaloosa during some of the most tumultuous years in Alabama’s history. Dennis Franchione originally recruited some of them, then he bolted to Texas A&M, and Alabama hired Mike Price, only to fire him, then hire Mike Shula.

Seniors who played their true freshman years — such as wide receiver DJ Hall and left guard Justin Britt — dealt with mediocrity their entire careers — with the exception of the 2005 Cotton Bowl season.

“I think we are going to be underachievers overall,” Britt said. “I thought we should have had a lot more than I guess what we did. Everybody is going to look back and say that we persevered through a lot of stuff, and look at it as a positive.”

This senior class can help strip the “underachiever” tag with a win over Louisiana-Monroe, guaranteeing an over .500 season.

Here are this week’s major issues as the Warhawks (4-6, 3-3 Sun Belt) travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Crimson Tide (6-4, 4-3 SEC).

Beware the trap game: Nothing in college football should surprise anybody. How quickly we forget Appalachian State’s upset over Michigan in the season’s opening weekend. And those two teams had a larger talent disparity than Louisiana-Monroe and Alabama.

This doesn’t mean that Louisiana-Monroe will or should beat Alabama. But considering the wild and wacky way the 2007 season has gone — Stanford’s upset over Southern Cal also comes to mind — Alabama must pay closer attention to the Warhawks.

“I think it’s very simple,” said Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson.

“After these last two weeks, we can’t look past anybody because we’re not playing the way we need to play.”

Offensive line continuity: The past two weeks we have seen differing versions of Alabama’s offensive line, mostly because suspensions and injuries changed the personnel.

The suspensions of Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis visibly hurt Alabama against LSU where the offensive line gave up seven sacks.

Right guard B.J. Stabler’s wonky knees also made matters more difficult the following week against Mississippi State, when the Tide shifted around the offensive line, moving starting right tackle Mike Johnson into Stabler’s spot to make room for Chris Capps.

In order to have success at the line of scrimmage, the Crimson Tide must gain some consistency on its offensive line.

Running the ball: The offensive line’s issues bleed directly into the running game. The Crimson Tide running backs haven’t seen the same holes the past few weeks, partially because Alabama’s depth chart at running back has reached the bottom.

Kick-return specialist Jonathan Lowe last carried the ball as a running back in 2005 before this season.

He did an admirable job against Mississippi State one week ago, averaging 5.7 yards a carry against the Bulldogs, but can he maintain those numbers against the Warhawks? Louisiana-Monroe ranks 60th in the country in rushing defense.

Don’t lose: Louisiana-Monroe is not “super team,” but a loss to the Warhawks would devastate to the Crimson Tide. Forget the Iron Bowl, for now — this is the most important game of the season.