NCAA LOCK OF THE YEAR: Roll Tide

This week's game of the week in American College Football is a clash between SEC titans; the Georgia Bulldogs (3) square off against the Alabama Crimson Tide (8) tonight in Georgia at 7:45. Georgia is favored by 6.5 points.

Rarely is it so easy for us to choose a side in such a high profile matchup. But we read in USA Today this morning that Alabama's apparent resurgence this season is due to largely to their offensive line that is no ordinary offensive line; but rather, an offensive line "that did yoga and pilates in the offseason to increase flexibility."

And who could think of a better way for offensive linemen to spend an offseason? We've written repeatedly and at length about a woefully inept athletic training culture here in America that grossly overemphasizes a build-up of the muscular system at the expense of the rest -- skeletal, circulatory, nervous, all of them. The athletic training of football teams in America is focused almost entirely on lifting weights and running, with little to no attention paid to the underlying structure that the muscles that move these bodies are built upon. It's something like building a skyscraper on a structure of toothpicks. Yet still, it's "hit the weights, kid," even if kid can't touch his toes. And, again, this is why there's more snap, crackle and pop in American football training camps than there is in a bowl of Rice Krispies.

And this season, no top ranked NCAA program has snapped, crackled, and popped as loudly and painfully as the Georgia Bulldogs, who've lost two surefire NFL first-rounders for the season due to ligament injuries; Offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant in a pre-season scrimmage, and defensive tackle Jeff Owens in the season opener against Georgia Southern. Bulldog fans might be asking the same question that we Browns fans so often ask: "Who the f*ck is training these guys?"

As frustrated as we are with continually being forced to ask this question, it's a no-brainer when we see a squad like Alabama that at leasts purports to pay attention to the human body's underlying structure go up against a team like Georgia that appears to have fallen victim to the same old "snap, crackle, and pop" muscle-headed retardedness that Cleveland Browns fans know all too well. And it's more than a no-brainer. It's our lock of the year. Roooolllllllll TIDE.

As a secondary matter, we're supporters of oft-criticized Coach Nick Saban of Alabama. Folks might remember that Saban was widely excoriated for breaching his much ballyhood contract to coach the NFL's Miami Dolphins after two short seasons to take an unprecedentedly lucrative deal to return to the college ranks to coach the Tide. It's more than the immutable principles of "free markets/free people" and "Doowhatchalike," that make Saban a sympathetic character to us. It's that a person who chooses to coach football for a living has to do a helluva lot more dirt to reach the top of his profession than one who chooses just about any other career. It's not like a ballcoach can come out of college and get a entry-level position that pays six figures, like an i-banker. These guys have a hard enough time finding a job that pays in the low five figures. In most cases, they have to work for free for years to even have a chance. Even Belichick did this. We think that Saban's worked too hard to not be free to coach whereever he likes. We think that the Football Gods understand this, despite all the noise made by angry Dolphin fans and college football fans who are always looking for an excuse to hate.

The Lock of the Year: Alabama Crimson Tide +6.5 over the Georgia Bulldogs.

Update -- 9/28/08, 9:14 AM: Q: When is a LOCK OF THE YEAR, the LOCK OF THE YEAR? A: When it's the LOCK OF THE YEAR. Tide rolls, 41-30. We enjoyed Coach Saban's post-game press conference: "I'm happy," said Saban, who spent much of his post-game news conference berating the Tide's second-half performance. "I know I don't look happy, but I am." Sounds like something that the resident of our resident orange bowl might say.