COLORADO STATE (2-1) AT ALABAMA(2-0)
7 p.m. › Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. ESPN2 & 97.3/99.3 FM
THE MATCHUP
Alabama’s defense has opened this season by holding Florida State to 250 total yards and Fresno State to 274, with the Bulldogs getting 116 of those last week in the fourth quarter of a blowout. Setting the tone against Mike Bobo’s Colorado State attack that racked up 58 points on Oregon State but just three on Colorado will be the objective, which includes making the Rams one-dimensional in a hurry. “Colorado State is a very good team that has played very impressively this year,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “They had a lot of opportunities against Colorado that they squandered with penalties calling back touchdowns, so this is going to be a very challenging game for us. Our focus needs to be on our players respecting their talent and focusing on playing better as a group. We have a lot of opportunities that have been created for new players, and we certainly need to elevate their game.”
ONE TO WATCH
Colorado State fifth-year senior quarterback Nick Stevens — not to be confused with the Nick Stephens who played a handful of games at Tennessee in 2008 and 2009 before playing his final two seasons at Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas — has thrown for 5,735 career yards with 47 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. This will be his biggest audience, because he was redshirting in 2013 when the Rams lost 31-6 to the Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. “He does a great job of executing their offense, and he’s a smart player who gets them in the right play,” Saban said. “He is very, very efficient in the passing game, and they have a lot of good concepts that they use. They have good skilled players, and they create balance. He takes what the defense gives and is very, very accurate. From a passing standpoint, he may be the most efficient guy we’ve played against so far this year.”
IN THE END
Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges is the reigning Southern Conference offensive player of the year. The redshirt junior completed 375 of 530 passes (70.8 percent) for 4,088 yards and 36 touchdowns last season, and he already has seven aerial scores through two games this season. Hodges will face a Georgia defense that has loads of confidence after holding Notre Dame to 55 rushing yards and repeatedly making life miserable for Fighting Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush. App State quarterback Taylor Lamb also had a difficult time against Georgia, which seems eager to keep things going. “The sky’s the limit for what we can do as a defense and as a team,” senior insider linebacker Reggie Carter said. “We’re working on getting better each and every week. The sky’s the limit.’’