The last time Alabama lost a football game to a team from the SEC East, the other big sports news of the day was Roy Halladay’s no-hitting the Reds in the National League playoffs. On the world stage, everyone’s attention was on the rescue efforts in the tragic Chilean miner disaster.
The date was October 9th, 2010. Alabama fell behind South Carolina 21-3 early in the second quarter and never completely recovered, falling 35-21.
Just as Hugh Freeze has made his name by beating Alabama twice in four tries and little else, South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia is still living off the results of that game 2,491 days ago.
Since then, Alabama has gone 18-0 against SEC East teams, with only two close calls included in that streak. The Tide beat Georgia 32-28 in the 2012 SEC Championship Game that came down to one tipped pass by C.J. Mosley. In 2015, Alabama beat Tennessee 19-14.
Otherwise the Tide has dominated the East division, most recently scoring 54 against Florida in the SEC Championship Game.
The chances of the streak ending this year are extremely slim. Unlike last year, when Tennessee was a trendy pick, nobody is predicting Alabama to lose to anyone from the East this year.
The more likely challenge to Alabama in the SEC is going to come from LSU or Auburn. No matter if it’s one of those Tigers or the Crimson Tide in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game, the struggling teams in the East don’t seem to have much chance to end their struggles.
For Threaded Fasteners, I’m Randy Kennedy with Nuts and Bolts of the Game.
