Crimson Tide back with familiar swagger

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama has used a stifling defense and punishing offense to regain national prominence and a No. 12 ranking. Even with all that, the Crimson Tide can make only one claim this season: Best Team on Probation.

So far, that seems motivation enough.

"We've got that swagger back to us," tailback Shaud Williams said. "When we hit the field, we hit the field with confidence.

"We're playing football the way Alabama football's been played for many, many years."

Although not necessarily in recent years.

The Tide (6-2) vaulted seven spots in the national rankings with a 34-14 win over No. 25 Tennessee last Saturday. That followed a 42-7 shellacking of Mississippi.

It's Alabama's highest ranking since opening the 1999 season at No. 3. Then, the team quickly fell 10 spots after an opening loss to UCLA.

"We don't want to be put in a position like that again," center Alonzo Ephraim said.

NCAA sanctions imposed after the program was cited for improper recruiting by boosters and other infractions mean none of this success will translate into a Southeastern Conference title or a bowl berth.

They have had another affect.

"It's kind of us against the world," senior defensive tackle Jarret Johnson said. "It's kind of brought us together."

Alabama's only losses came by a combined 12 points to No. 5 Georgia and No. 2 Oklahoma, two of eight unbeaten Division I-A teams. The Tide held fourth-quarter leads in both games.

The winning actually began last year, when Alabama won its last four games.

"We've won 10 out of 12 now, and we don't sit around and talk about that," second-year coach Dennis Franchione said. "We get ready to play the next game, but there is a degree of confidence growing in this team that has taken us awhile to get."

There's been nothing fancy behind this team's success. The Tide rank 16th nationally in rushing offense, fourth in total defense and sixth against the run. They're holding on to the ball more than 33 minutes a game, best in the league.

Alabama forced six turnovers against Tennessee, scoring on Gerald Dixon's 66-yard fumble return for their third defensive touchdown of the season. The defense has forced a turnover in 13 straight games

"I think it's developing an attitude about it," Franchione said. "We've developed a more physical demeanor about it."

The offense wasn't exactly pretty against the Vols.

In 43 offensive snaps, quarterback Tyler Watts was 2-of-5 for zero yards with an interception, alternating with more passing-minded redshirt freshman Brodie Croyle.

The sanctions weren't the only adversity Alabama has dealt with. Tailback Ahmaad Galloway is out for the season with a torn knee ligament and Watts missed two games with a sprained left foot.

"That just shows you what kind of players we're dealing with on this team, that when somebody goes down, somebody else is right there to pick up the slack," Williams said. "That just shows the character of this ball club and it just shows how much we've put into this thing."

Franchione, meanwhile, has become the darling of Alabama's administration -- he's reportedly been offered a 10-year, $15 million contract extension -- and fans with a level-headed approach to a two-year bowl ban and scholarship reductions. Trouncing the team's top two rivals hasn't hurt either.

The Tide beat Auburn 31-7 last year and dominated the Vols last weekend to end a seven-year losing streak, coming in as underdogs both times.

The fans have shown their appreciation. About 100 fans greeted the Tide at the Tuscaloosa airport early Sunday morning and another couple hundred were waiting at the football complex.

Franchione called it "a special win by a special group," then promptly set about making sure the team doesn't get a big head.

"What we do with this win is going to be just as important as getting the win," he said. "The worst thing we can do is sit around and let people pat us on the back for winning that game and think about that game too much."