There has been plenty of discussion over the last few days of the ins and outs of the Democratic gains and Republican losses in Tuesday&8217;s mid-term elections, but one discussion that has fallen by the wayside is the fall of one administration and the rise of another in the Southeastern Conference.

Saturday&8217;s Mississippi State upset of Alabama may have struck a final deathblow to the Mike Shula regime in Tuscaloosa, and may have finally shown the potential of the Sylvester Croom era in Starkville.

The game started with the same tired storylines &8212; Croom returning to coach against his alma mater and the controversy surrounding Shula being hired over Croom &8212; but may have proved once and for all that the Crimson Tide made the wrong choice.

Shula has had his highlights since joining the Crimson Tide staff, most of which came in 2005 with the team&8217;s 9-0 start and rise to No. 3 in the rankings.

Unfortunately for him, what he has become most known for is a completely inept, conservative offense and a lack of risk-taking that ultimately kills his team in big games.

Consider that through Saturday&8217;s loss, Shula&8217;s record in games decided by eight points or less &8212; essentially, a game where one score makes the difference &8212; is 6-13 (all six wins have come in the last two seasons, and against the likes of Ole Miss, a 5-6 Tennessee team, Hawaii and Vanderbilt). On numerous occasions, his teams have had opportunities to win big games, and he has consistently handicapped his players by refusing to show confidence in them.

This is not to say that all has been rosy since Croom took over the Bulldogs, but his team has shown improvement, albeit, very slowly.

He inherited an absolute disaster from Jackie Sherrill, and has taken his lumps over his three seasons, but he does have three big wins to show for his troubles &8212; the 2004 upset of Florida, last season&8217;s win over Ole Miss and Saturday&8217;s victory at Alabama.

Will Croom ultimately be the answer to all that ails Mississippi State? The jury is certainly out on that one, but he definitely showed he can bring a team more prepared, more confident and more ready to win a game than Shula.

The comparisons of the two finalists for the Alabama job in 2003 will probably never end, but Saturday showed who made the right choice.

This week, Alabama visits Baton Rouge to face LSU. You can most likely expect the same script seen in so many of Alabama&8217;s losses over the last four seasons.

The Tide defense will play well, putting Alabama in a position to win at least midway through the third quarter.

Alabama&8217;s offense will get a chance to strike a dagger in LSU&8217;s heart, but Shula will find a way to blow it.

LSU will then win by 10 points.

This script has played out time and again for Alabama, and it&8217;s good for the rest of the SEC, but there&8217;s no telling when the decision makers in Tuscaloosa will finally see it.

Tim Cottrell is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached by phone at 601-445-3632 or by e-mail at

tim.cottrell@natchezdemocrat.com

.