College Football Stock Watch: Why USC is Heading in Right Direction, and Alabama Isn't

"After the game, I was texting with Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines in preparation for future games and I was like, ‘Credit to that offensive line, they ran the ball well.’ He texted back, ‘I was so impressed by their quarterback.’ One of the two or three defensive coordinators I respect the most in college football is Haines, and when he tells me that a guy was unbelievable and hard to stop, that tells you something." Klatt's reasoning for placing Alabama as a team with its stock down is simple: It isn't on the same level as the two elite teams in the SEC, Georgia and Texas, which is a new reality in Tuscaloosa. "Not only did Kyle Whittingham jump back into the coaching ranks, but he did so at a blue blood, where it was going to be incredibly enticing for those loyal to Kyle at Utah to join him and take a run at this thing.