Tide ready to prove they're for real in SEC opener

Is Alabama for Real? Arkansas hosts No. 9 Tide

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)—For the fifth straight season, Alabama is 3-0—and nobody needs to tell the Crimson Tide how little that can mean.

“We are not disappointed in where we are but we are not where we can be,” coach Nick Saban said. “It is like an iceberg when you can only see a little at the top and there is a lot underneath the water. We just have to try and keep uncovering more and more of it and get more guys playing winning football.”

Saban was hired to bring championship football back to Alabama—and fans want more than just September victories. Last year Alabama started 3-0 and finished 7-6. In 2006, a 3-0 start became a 6-7 season and the end of Mike Shula’s coaching tenure.

There’s a sense that this year is different. Alabama is ranked No. 9, its first AP top 10 appearance since the end of the 2005 season. The Crimson Tide routed Clemson 34-10 in the opener. More >