Talk » San Diego State.The Aztecs certainly ne

No. 2 Clemson | Top 25No. 1: AlabamaLast Season: 14-1 (7-1 SEC West)Just Bama being BamaOh, the drama in Tuscaloosa! Whos going to be Alabamas quarterback?! Yawn. The Tide won three of their past four national championships-including last years-despite QB questions in August. But they lost defensive coordinator Kirby Smart! Whatev. The Nick Saban coaching tree is perennially pruned, from Jimbo Fisher to Will Muschamp to Jim McElwain. The protégés who have gone elsewhere have had varying degrees of success; their old boss hasnt suffered. But Derrick Henry is gone! And have you seen the schedule?! Shrug and shrug. Have you seen Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris? OK, you probably havent, but you will. And yeah, the Tide open with a biggie (USC in Arlington, Texas) and have to travel to Oxford, Fayetteville, Knoxville and Baton Rouge-but its the SEC West, yall. They see this kind of schedule every year. And as the story goes, Bama rolls over its schedule way more than its schedule rolls over Bama. -- Ryan McGeeDont expect a championship hangover in Tuscaloosa. With DE Jonathan Allen (12 sacks), LB Reuben Foster (73 tackles) and SS Eddie Jackson (6 INTs) all returning for their senior seasons before potentially entering the NFL draft, the Tide roll out my top-ranked defense once again. Offensively, they replace QB Jake Coker with first-year starter Cooper Bateman (71.2 completion percentage on 57 attempts), but hell have a great supporting cast: Alabama has my No. 4 offensive line, No. 1 wide receivers (led by 1,000-yard wideout Calvin Ridley) and, despite the loss of Henry, my No. 12 group of running backs.IN IF... The offense doesnt leave it all on the shoulders of the new QB, no matter who gets the nod. Losing Henry (SEC-record 2,219 yards in his Heisman-winning season last year) is big, but replacing center Ryan Kelly, a first-round pick, might prove bigger.OUT IF... It cant win at least two of its three big road games-Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU. And in the ultracompetitive SEC West, even one loss to the wrong team could keep the Tide from winning the division.Alabamas chances to win each game 09.03 vs. USC (Arlington, Texas): 64.3% 09.10 vs. Western Kentucky:?94.1% 09.17 @ Ole Miss:?51.2% 09.24 vs. Kent State:?98.8% 10.01 vs. Kentucky:?93.8% 10.08 @ Arkansas:?71.2% 10.15 @ Tennessee:?41.1% 10.22 vs. Texas A&M:?72.5% 11.05 @ LSU: 34.3% 11.12 vs. Mississippi State: 84.7% 11.19 vs. Chattanooga: 99.0% 11.26 vs. Auburn: 77.7%The defending national champs might have some star power to replace on defense, but the reloading Crimson Tide are still the cream of the SEC, and theyll claim their third straight SEC Western title with an 11-1 season.?-- Edward AschoffAs long as Nick Saban is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the favorite to win the SEC. The Crimson Tide is loaded on defense and even if questions exist at running back and quarterback, this is the arguably the nations most talented team -- one that will go 11-1.?-- David ChingStill the standard-bearer, but with a whole new backfield. But, in Lane Kiffin I trust. The Crimson Tide will still be pretty damn good at 11-1.?-- Sam Khan Jr.With road trips to Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU, Alabama probably wont run the table this year. But 11-1 will still put them in the drivers seat for the playoff.?-- Greg OstendorfHere we go again. Alabama will make sense of the QB situation, another star will emerge at running back (hello, Bo Scarbrough) and the defense will be the best in the SEC. One loss (11-1) wont stop the Tide from winning the West.?-- Alex ScarboroughNo. 2 Clemson | Top 25 CC Sabathia Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Luis Gil Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. http://www.customyankeesjersey.com/custom-joe-torre-jersey-large-1184i.html . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Dellin Betances Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Aaron Judge Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. The preseason favorites in two western conferences bump heads on Monday (midnight ET) when San Diego State plays 14th-ranked Gonzaga on the Bulldogs homecourt in Spokane, Wash.Three things make that game look like a major challenge for San Diego State, the preseason favorite in the Mountain West Conference.First of all, the Aztecs were not particularly impressive in their 69-59 season-opening win at home against the University of San Diego, which was picked to finish last in the West Coast Conference.More significant is the fact that San Diego State may be missing some of the same players who were held out against San Diego. Four regulars sat out that game with injuries, the most important being returning starter Malik Pope, who reinjured his knee before the Aztecs exhibition game.I dont know if well have any of the guys who were unable to play today, San Diego State coach Steve Fisher told the San Diego Union-Tribune after Fridays win. Youd have to say questionable, maybe highly questionable.Last, but not least, is the fact that the game will be played at the McCarthey Athletic Center, a 6,000-seat horror house where the Bulldogs are 163-13 since it opened in 2004.Gonzaga is again the preseason favorite to win the West Coast Conference title, but four starters, including Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis, are gone from last seasons NCAA tournament team.The Bulldogs restocked with two transfers from Pac-12 schools -- Jordan Mathews from Cal and Nigel Williams-Goss from Washington. Both were in the starting lineup in the Bulldogs 92-69 victory over Utah Valley in their opener. Also in the starting lineup was 7-foot-1 Przemek Karnowski, who missed all but the first five games last season because of a back injury.Perhaps all the new parts led tto the Bulldogs struggling against Utah Valley despite the lopsided score.ddddddddddddIts not going to be picture perfect the first time out, but I was happy with how we competed, said Williams-Goss, according to the Spokane Spokesman-Review.Silas Melson led Gonzaga in scoring in the opener with 17 points, followed by Mathews, who had 16 points and hit four 3-pointers. Williams-Goss and Karnowski had 14 apiece in the typical Gonzaga balanced scoring.Utah Valley coach Mark Pope figures its just a matter of time before the Bulldogs get things in order.That is a great team, and theyre going to be way better than this in four months, Pope said, according to the Spokesman-Review. They did a great job with their length, challenging at the rim, and being disciplined to stay out of help and staying with shooters.The fact that Gonzaga had three players 7 feet or taller get playing time in the opener may be a bit intimidating for San Diego State.The Aztecs certainly need to start off better against Gonzaga than they did against San Diego, when they trailed by nine points in the first half.We came out, and we were so excited and so pumped up to play, said junior Trey Kell, according to the Union-Tribune. We just had to come back to Earth and play our normal game.The Aztecs return five of the seven players who started at least 16 games on last seasons San Diego State team that won the conference regular-season title by three games but failed to reach the NCAA tournament.Kell, the teams leading scorer last season, had 23 points in the opener, and Jeremy Hemsley, the No. 2 scorer a season ago, was the teams top scorer with 25. ' ' '