Finebaum: Alabama ran out of gas in South CarolinaPublished: Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 6:00 AM Paul Finebaum Paul Finebaum: Alabama pulled into Saturday's game empty after contests against Arkansas and Florida.The biggest upset of the college football season took place at 6:49 a.m. Sunday morning. The sun rose in Alabama. Yes sir, it sure did. The big ball of fire set nearly 12 hours later and other than the shattered psyche of the Tide's fan base and the school's manhood temporarily ripped away, everything else seemed pretty normal around here. For Alabama fans, it really could have been worse. The beat down could have come against a school the fans really hate -- like Auburn, Florida, LSU or Tennessee. Getting beaten and having your lunch money stolen by South Carolina stung, but it also makes one shrug his shoulders afterward and ask how this happened.Well, now that Stephen Orr Spurrier has gone 3-1 lifetime against Nick Saban, the Ole Ball Coach has seen his Hall of Fame career resuscitated while questions are hammering down on what happened to the most powerful man in sports.I'll spare you a long and complicated explanation. I know what I saw in Columbia on Saturday afternoon. You know what you saw. Bottom line: The schedule finally caught up to Alabama.The Tide still could be the most dangerous team in the country. However, a confluence of events simply overwhelmed Saban's bunch on Saturday. Most of those events any knowledgeable observer of football should have seen coming. However, many of us simply bought into the notion that the Tide can roll anywhere and name the score. It's hard to do in any sport, and college football is no exception.Many have asked the question: How come nobody saw this coming? Frankly, I think a lot of people sensed this would be an extremely difficult game for Alabama. However, after a win like the one over Florida and the stirring comeback against Arkansas, people were caught up in the tidal wave and forgot the human element of the sport. On April 20, in my prediction column for Alabama's upcoming season, I wrote the following:"Oct. 9: at South Carolina: If you're looking for a spot on the schedule where Alabama could be running on empty, this would be as smart a play as any. The Tide will be coming off a physical game against Florida, while the Gamecocks will be enjoying an open date. ... Alabama 17-13." My feelings hadn't changed a lot by the time I walked into Williams-Bryce Stadium Saturday afternoon. But it was still hard to buck the Tide and go with South Carolina -- a team that has usually folded under pressure.So what happened? What happened was Alabama ran out of gas. The Tide simply had no time to zip in for a pit stop on the road trip from Arkansas to Tuscaloosa for Florida and over to South Carolina. Saban and his staff knew the Bermuda Triangle was lurking with disaster. Still, really nothing could be done but roll the dice and see where they landed.And the Gamecocks, behind the much-maligned Stephen Garcia, were fresher and played nearly to perfection. If Garcia had made his usual mindless mistakes and South Carolina stumbled, Alabama would have won. The Tide would have been able to overcome bad decisions by Greg McElroy, some bizarre calls on the offensive side and an utterly confused and inexperienced secondary.However, on those critical situations in the game when Alabama needed a big play or needed a big stop, it always seemed to go South Carolina's way. Just like it went against South Carolina against Auburn. Mental breakdowns equaled physical breakdowns. Mental fatigue on one side equaled a brutal beat down by South Carolina. I don't think Alabama will lose again. And while Ole Miss and Tennessee will have similar bye week scenarios, neither team has the firepower, the muscle or the brilliance of the head coach like South Carolina.In certain respects, it might be easier for Alabama now with the weight of being undefeated lifted.That part of the road to Glendale has gotten easier. The problem: Alabama no longer controls its own destiny in the national title chase. Alabama has to sit around and worry about the BCS rankings next week. They have to keep an eye on Nebraska and Oklahoma. They have to hope Oregon gets dinged at Southern Cal or Oregon State. They have to count on Ohio State tripping up at Wisconsin or Iowa, or even Michigan State falling.They'll have to start doing the impossible -- defending their non-conference schedule when the national boys start firing away with real bullets. The win against Penn State (suddenly 3-3 and 0-2 in the Big Ten) means nothing. Wins against San Jose State and Duke are worthless. And get ready for a lot of hooting and hollering when Alabama plays that ridiculously insane mid-November Thursday night against Georgia State. However, Alabama has two new friends out there who could help a lot -- LSU and Auburn. Alabama really needs Auburn to be undefeated when the two meet on Nov. 26. If not Auburn, then LSU on Nov. 6 when Alabama arrives at Tiger Stadium. And it wouldn't hurt if South Carolina aces the rest of the season, setting up a classic rematch in Atlanta. Interesting to think about what if South Carolina had held serve against Auburn. Perhaps the Gamecocks would be No. 1 right now.Suddenly, there are a lot of things for Alabama to worry about over the next few weeks.My, how time flies in the span of seven days. This time last week, Alabama's was on top of Mount Everest and its biggest problem was merely staying awake until the BCS title game.
If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that piece was written by Shane from Center Point.I bet Finebaum knows if Nick is salty or sweet.
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