Jersey war, or much ado about nothing

October 20, 2009

By Ken Rogers

A few thoughts on the jersey war, which is a great fan topic this week:

The entire debate perfectly fits both coaches.

Nick Saban doesn’t go for gimmicks. He could not care less what color jersey Tennessee wears on Saturday.

He’s referenced on several occasions the Notre Dame mystique and the green jerseys the Irish used to wear in big games — and noted that didn’t have any factor in the outcome.

If Saban thought the Vols wouldn’t play as well in orange jerseys, he would dye them himself. But the jersey color isn’t going to help Alabama win either way, so there is no reason to change. None.

On the other hand, does allowing Tennessee to wear orange jerseys help Alabama win? Nope. So, no, the Vols will wear white.

All of this also helps Lane Kiffin, too. It gives him another log to throw on the fire. “I wanted to acknowledge the great tradition of this series — but Alabama won’t go along,” he can say.

Poor guy.

So that’s a series of questions he doesn’t have to answer about solving Alabama’s defense, about protecting his quarterback, about stopping Mark Ingram, about why his team is a 17-point underdog, about how far away his program is from reviving this series into what it once was.

It’s a great fan debate — and it’s got absolutely nothing to do with who is going to win Saturday.
In other words, it’s a win-win for both head coaches.