There is no slowing this Tide's roll

Alabama will finish the 2012 season undefeated and capture the school's third national championship in four years.

There, I said it. No turning back now.

There isn't a force in collegiate football strong enough to derail the Crimson Tide as Nick Saban's bunch seeks to become the first dynasty in the game since Bear Bryant left Tuscaloosa.

Here are the reasons for my confidence in this prediction - a dominant defense and quarterback A.J. McCarron. I make this entry for two reasons.

First, to show fans just how dominant this Alabama team is. But more importantly, I don't want to anger Harvey Updyke with any criticism of his beloved team. I love the trees in my front yard, so Roll Tide!

1. Alabama lost seven starters on defense, including three who were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Remarkably, the unit has not skipped a beat. 

The seventh overall pick in April's draft, safety Mark Barron, told reporters at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis about the complexity of Alabama's 'D.'

"There aint no one who can learn that defense in under a year," said Barron, who currently starts in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive backfield. "We played in a very difficult defense, first of all. We did a lot of different schemes. I really don't believe anyone can learn that defense in under a year."

In fairness, Alabama did return four starters from last year's personnel and has several other players who saw significant playing time during last year's championship season. Those reasons pale in comparison to the challenges this team's defense faced.

Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart had to fill several voids.

There's Barron, fellow first-rounders Dre Kirkpatrick (corner) and Don'ta Hightower (linebacker), perhaps the best college player of them all in Courtney Upshaw (third pick of the second round), Josh Chapman (defensive tackle) and De'quan Menzie (corner). That's six players on one side of the ball lost to the NFL.

However, a cast of talented but inexperienced relative unknowns have stepped into their new roles with  great confidence. The transition on the defensive side has been seamless from 2011 to 2012. Not bad considering over half of last year's starters are now playing on Sundays.

Let me preface this by saying I realize we're only four games into the season. It's a small sample size, which makes 'Bama's efforts thus far even more impressive considering two of its four opponents entered the campaign with two of the nation's most explosive offensive attacks in Michigan and Arkansas.

Alabama ranks among the national leaders in almost every major defensive statistical category: rushing defense (sixth), pass efficiency defense (fifth), total defense (third), scoring defense (second), turnover margin (second), passing defense (second) and sacks (23rd).

The Tide dominated Michigan and electrifying quarterback Denard Robinson in the season opener. The defending national champions made Robinson uncomfortable from the start on its way to a 31-7 halftime lead. 'Bama forced three Wolverine turnovers and surrendered only a pair of touchdowns in a convincing rout. If the questions regarding the squad's ability to contend for a title in 2012 despite the losses it suffered on defense loomed before the game, they were quickly answered in front of a national audience.

Following an expected drubbing of Western Kentucky, Alabama hit the road for its first SEC tilt of the young season. The Arkansas Razorbacks welcomed their conference foes to Fayetteville by providing absolutely zero resistance or any semblance of competition as the Tide embarrassed John L. Smith's club, 52-0. Granted, Razorback signal-caller Tyler Wilson did not play due to an injury suffered a week earlier. But let's be serious, it wouldn't have mattered that much.

'Bama racked up 438 yards to Arkansas' 137 while limiting the Hogs to 79 passing yards. The Tide recorded five takeaways in their second consecutive shutout.

Last week, Florida Atlantic made the trek to Tuscaloosa and was handed a 40-7 defeat in which it had only 35 yards of total offense before driving 75 yards on a fourth-quarter scoring march. Before FAU's final possession, the longest drive it had sustained covered a whopping 13 yards.

This defense is the nation's best and it'll only get better as these younger players become more comfortable in the system.

And how can we be sure the Crimson Tide will score enough points to reel off 14 consecutive victories?

2. A.J. McCarron. What a difference a year has made for the shaggy-haired senior, who out dueled the highly-touted Philip Sims in a quarterback competition at the beginning of last season. He struggled during stretches of the 2011 title run but his poised effort against LSU in the championship game fueled his confidence. McCarron's performance through four games has indicated just that.

Arguably, quarterback is the toughest position to play. He has to read defenses, study coverages, call the right audibles, identify blitzes, make accurate passes, manage the clock, the list goes on. Don't get me wrong, all of these responsibilities are critical to a team's success. For McCarron however, his job is fairly simple.

Do not, under any circumstances, turn the football over. Saban has said it before - any drive that ends with a kick is a good one. Think about it, a field goal? That's fine, three points. An extra point? Even better. A punt? So what, we'll gain 35-45 yards of field position and force our opponents to score on our defense. Good luck with that, by the way (see numbers above).

McCarron has improved by leaps and bounds since his up-and-down season a year ago, which included a critical interception against LSU during the regular season that could have costed 'Bama a chance at the national championship. He responded admirably by producing an error-free title game against the Tigers in which Alabama seemed to surprise Les Miles' team by opening up the playbook a bit. McCarron calmly executed play-action passes to the flats, connected on a few tosses down the field, and made all the right decisions in a Crimson Tide victory.

He picked up right where he left off.

Through four games, the right-hander has completed 51-of-81 passes for 819 yards. He has fired 10 touchdown strikes against zero interceptions. Zero interceptions, a number that must make Saban himself smile.

'Bama has turned the ball over only twice and just once since the second quarter of the Michigan game.

The offense averages 42 points per game, which ranks 13th among all FBS teams. The Tide averages over 200 rushing yards per contest and ranks second in the country in pass efficiency, a balance that has made this offense more difficult to defend and team more dominant.

The defense wasn't the only unit that lost several starters, either. The 'O' returned just three starters from last year and was faced with replacing Heisman candidate and resident beast, running back Trent Richardson.

...

So here we are. Week Five is right around the corner and Alabama hasn't shown any signs of weakness. Surely, someone will exploit the Tide. But can they do it long enough to pull the upset? I just don't see it.

Alabama is that good.

What could possibly go wrong? This blog post. My prediction will ultimately doom the Crimson Tide. It never fails.

I'm sorry, Harvey Updyke. It's all my fault.