If you are old enough and you paid attention to college football before it became the national industry that it is, you know what this picture means. And you also know that this picture is to college football as to what a dinosaur bone is to paleontology. A coach like Paul “Bear” Bryant is not coming again. For that matter, a coach like Nick Saban is not coming again. Yes, you can get excited about your coach. Jump up and down. Enjoy it for a few years. Enjoy it for one season, if you can.

Need proof? Look at Bama’s game today. ESPN’s College Gameday is in Tuscaloosa. Bama is playing Vanderbilt and this Vandy team is not like playing the Gloria Vanderbilt teams of old. This Vandy team can bring it. The Tide must stop them from brining it. Last year in the fifth game of the season, Alabama, ranked #1, showed up in Nashville and was defeated 40-35 by the ‘Dores. That is not a typo. That is a direct reference to the metamorphosis the college football game has undergone. It is the difference between college football and pro-college football. A Vandy game is a must-win. Go ahead, scratch your head too.

When Coach Bryant got to Alabama, the three previous before he got there the Tide went 4-24-1. Bama was 5-4-1 in Coach Bryant’s first season in 1958. His next 24 teams all went to a bowl game. Coach Bryant’s teams won 6 National Championships. How did he do against Vandy? The first two were ties. The next 23 were 22-1. And you better know that 14-10 loss in Nashville in 1969 is still a sore spot for many an old Tide fan.

I had high expectations for this Alabama team at the beginning of the season. They stubbed their toe against Florida State in the first game of the year. Tide fans were the sweethearts they are after the loss. Whether they were burning Coach Kalen DeBoer in effigy or complaining about the way he had redecorated his football office or calling into to Paul Finebaum sounding like Mid-South wrestlers yelling about a “loser leave town match, brother!” Dutch Mantel is alive and well in many a Tide heart.

Why was I high on the Tide coming into the season? Coach Kalen DeBoer is a good coach. I have plenty of faith in his ability to win games. Will Coach Deboer win at Bama for 23 more years running? Not a chance. Between Bear Bryant and Nick Saban there was a list of the man who replaced the man who replaced the man who replaced the man…. until finally Coach Saban came along. The measuring stick is what you get with the Alabama faithful, and it is a funny thing. Bowl games will only get you so far before you are shown the door. Today the Tide will beat the ‘Dores.

And you didn’t know I could write one of these without gushing over the Indiana Hoosiers.

Week 6 Picks

Last week we had 10 winners and 4 losers for the second week in a row. Gotta do better.

Pitt beats Boston College… I hear a QB change is on for Pitt at home today.

Clemson beats North Carolina… Dabo has to beat Belichick… right?

Illinois beats Purdue… The Illini are still fighting the respect-a-meter after getting 63 put on them by the Hoosiers.

Cincinnati beats Iowa State… The Bearcats are always to counted on for at least one good upset a year in Nippert Stadium.

Georgia beats Kentucky… The Cats offense won’t spend enough time on the field.

Michigan beats Wisconsin… The Wolverines at home against a reeling Bucky.

Notre Dame beats Boise State… The Irish will take care of this.

Penn State beats UCLA… Paycheck notwithstanding, you have to believe the UCLA fanbase is missing the days of PAC-12.

Alabama beats Vanderbilt… The Tide will be the team that scores 40 this time around.

Louisville beats Virginia… The Cards got past Pitt with a great second half. This is a resilient bunch of Cards. They need to a better start today and they should have one.

TCU beats Colorado… At home, the Horned Frogs will get this one.

Ohio State beats Minnesota… I will be the one celebrating if my old friend Goldy can get this one!

Texas A&M beats Mississippi State… The Aggies are not an SEC darling. They never will be. They do have a strong team this year. Too much maroon in one stadium for me.

Cal beats Duke… It gets dark on the east coast mighty early. I just don’t see Duke kicking at 10:30 EDT going well.

Enjoy the games. Take your mind off the trainwrecks for a while.