A Tide of tradition

My latest American Spectator column:

Saturday afternoon, my phone will ring and I'll answer by hollering, "Roll, Tide!" My brother Kirby will return the greeting and we'll talk football for a few minutes before kickoff. Then, every time our team scores, the ritual phone calls will be repeated. It's a family tradition.
Logically, there is no reason why the University of Alabama should have the top-rated team in college football. They don't have a player in the running for the Heisman Trophy, and eight of the Top 10 teams in the Associated Press poll -- including Utah and Boise State -- outrank Alabama in total offense (where the Tide rates 30th).
Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson has thrown for 1,775 yards, but that doesn't even put him among the Top 30 passers in NCAA Division I, and certainly Wilson can't compare to Texas Tech's Graham Harrell (4,438 yards) or Oklahoma's Sam Bradford (3,710 yards). Nor does Alabama (23rd in team rushing) have a big-name running back. Glenn Coffee's 1,091 yards this season put him only at No. 25 on the list of leading rushers.
As a statistical proposition, then, Alabama's status as No. 1 would be indefensible, were it not for the one statistic that matters most -- that zero in the "L" column.
Logic and statistics be damned! The Crimson Tide is 11-0 going into Saturday's game against arch-rival Auburn, and every 'Bama fan is dreaming of the team's 13th national championship.

Please read the whole thing. And beat Auburn!