Alabama presses the easy button rest of year

The Crimson Tide coach and players must be regular shoppers at Staples as they continue to hit the "That was Easy" button, including Saturday's dominating win over Mississippi State. Not only did they cover the 24-point spread, they accomplished that goal in the first half.

The Tide only has to get past LSU this weekend to all but nail down the west while Florida and Georgia are still in the hunt in the eastern division with one loss each.

Alabama should have no problems taming the Tigers, even with the prime-time CBS game at Death Valley in Baton Rouge. After that, it's Texas A&M and Auburn, both in Tuscaloosa. I think the Aggies find out what Mississippi State did, that Alabama is the strongest team in college football. Texas A&M will likely put up a pretty good fight, better than LSU. But that won't be enough to dethrone the Tide. Once there, Auburn will fold like a tent in a tornado.

Florida has the easier road to the SEC title game in Atlanta. The Gators host Missouri this weekend and Louisiana-Lafayette next weekend then finish up with a home date against non-conference Jacksonville State and on the road at Florida State.

But Georgia has to play Ole Miss, a team that has improved during the season and has more than enough potential to down the Dogs in Athens. Georgia could win out, against the Rebels and at Auburn, and advance to the title game by virtue of head-to-head results over Florida. Beating Ole Miss is not going to be easy.

Either way, Florida and Georgia could combine their teams, take their best 22 and still not beat Alabama at the Georgia Dome. I haven't seen a team in the nation this year that will hold up against the Tide.

With that said, Alabama rolls in Baton Rouge to end hopes for all other teams in the west, including Mississippi State, which should rebound to beat Texas A&M this week in Starkville. I still think the Dogs are the second-best team in the conference. Vanderbilt will pick up its third conference victory at Kentucky, Tennessee flexes the SEC muscle against a decent Troy team and Arkansas is going to have a tough time against Tulsa. The Hurricanes may do some heavy damage while in Fayetteville. New Mexico State makes a generous donation to the Auburn wins column as the Tigers pick up what will probably be their last win of the season.

I enjoy watching games when a team can dominate the way Alabama is this year. But, in one regard, it sort of spoils it for the rest of the season. Why read the rest of the book if you know the ending?

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Chan Davis is the sports editor for the Carroll County News. Contact him at ccnsports@cox-internet.com or 870-654-2742.