Boys amongst Men

As the last seconds ticked off the clock, the Crimson Tide players celebrated accordingly. They had just demolished the No. 8 team in the nation on the national stage. Every phase of the game fell in Alabama's favor. It wasn't close. The game was over before the start of the second quarter. All the questions that lingered going into the season we're answered with authority:

Could the Crimson Tide replicate the same defensive dominance despite losing nine players? Yes. A resounding yes. They held Michigan to 269 yards of total offense, and it wasn't even that close. Michigan benefited from garbage yards on big plays for the bulk of their output.

This is AJ McCarron's team now. How will he lead them now that Trent Richardson, Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks are gone?
McCarron played brilliantly. Despite only completing 11 passes, he controlled the game and gave what the defense offered. Most of his incompletions came when he rushed the pass or overshot his wide open receiver. I suspect McCarron will be a dark horse Heisman candidate as the season progresses.

Can Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon carry the load?
Lacy who? Yeldon had 11 carries for 110 yards. 10 yards a carry. Need a first down? Here, TJ, go get us a first down. His combination of size, speed and agility will have Alabama fans drooling of the future potential. He's a stud. It regularly took four to five Michigan defenders to bring him to the ground.

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As someone who has followed Michigan his whole life, I can't remember watching a game and seeing Michigan so unbelievably outmatched and outclassed by the opponent. They were the boys amongst men. This is by no means bellyaching. I was legitimately impressed with everything Alabama did. Michigan had no business being on that field last night.

Talent: Advantage Alabama
Size: Advantage Alabama
Toughness: Advantage Alabama
Speed: Advantage Alabama

I turned to my wife sometime during the second quarter, in between tweets about butter sculptures and skittles, and said "It looks like a high school team playing a college team." I meant it. It legitimately looked like Alabama was bigger and stronger and faster than anything Michigan could offer. They were huge and physically opposing. At the end of the game, I had a bit of a revelation:

Recruiting doesn't matter. 

Let that sink in for a minute.

Recruiting doesn't matter. It's what you do with those recruits that matters. Simple as that. Alabama consistently has one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. No team is better than Alabama at maximizing that talent.

Florida and Texas both had the No. 1 and No. 3 recruiting classes in 2010. These kids should be juniors or redshirt sophomores by now. Florida? Can't handle Bowling Green. Texas? Struggled with Wyoming for a half. Both teams struggled to mediocrity in 2011 because they didn't maximize the talent they had.

Most teams in the country would kill to have their rosters. They squander their talent. Alabama does not. Hell, according to Scout.com, Texas has claimed a Top 3 recruiting class for the last three years. Yet, where are the results? Notre Dame is notorious for having stellar, talent filled recruiting classes that fall flat on their faces when facing adversity. Recruiting matters in a sense that if you have talented players, you can probably overpower teams that don't have the same talent. But what about playing teams with equal talent? How is Alabama hands down better at maximizing their talent? This dude:

That's Scott Cochran. You may have never heard of him. That's because he has a glory free position on the Alabama coaching staff. He's the Director of Strength and Conditioning. Cochran should get as much credit for the success of the Crimson Tide's success as Nick Saban or Kirby Smart. He helps mold the heat seeking missiles of death on the field that Saban and Smart deploy on Saturdays.

Alabama has the total package: Great coach, great coordinators, and superiorly athletes. The result? 41-14.

Ouch, bro. 

The silver lining for Michigan is that despite this drubbing, they're likely still a Top-3 team in the Big 10. That's sad, but true. If they learn from this loss and try to hit half as hard as Alabama hit on Saturday they'll be fine. Losing players like Countess and Lewan doesn't help, but they're still very talented...for the Big 10. They have a shot to beat every team they face....in the Big 10. They'll face stiff competition against Michigan State, but by no means is Michigan State anywhere near what the Crimson Tide just trotted out on the field. They're just not ready for the big stage yet. Hopefully the 'yet' is temporary.

According to the rankings, Michigan is doing very well on the recruiting trail. But it's what they do with that talent that will separate them from the pack.