Alabama facing toughest stretch of schedule
Alabama is entering a November filled with ranked opponents, beginning with Saturday night’s game against No. 19 LSU inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The month also includes a trip next Saturday to No. 21 Mississippi State and a journey two days after Thanksgiving to No. 16 Auburn. Alabama’s three remaining Southeastern Conference foes have a combined 10-4 record in league play, which is in sharp contrast to the five league opponents the Crimson Tide have feasted on to this point.
That quintet — Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Tennessee — has a combined SEC mark of 5-20.
“This is obviously the most challenging part of our season,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said during his weekly news conference Monday. “We need everybody’s energy. We need everybody’s focus and intensity to prepare for the games and this game in particular.
“This part of the season defines who you are and defines you as a team and creates a total identity for the team that you are.”
Saban considers LSU, which rebounded from an upset loss to Troy late last month with wins this month over Florida, Auburn and Ole Miss, the most challenging
opponent his Crimson Tide will have played to this point. Alabama opened this year with a 24-7 triumph over No. 3 Florida State in Atlanta, but the Seminoles are now 2-5 and staring at their first losing season since 1976.
None of Alabama’s first eight opponents are currently ranked.
Alabama and LSU have been regarded in recent seasons as
the two most physical SEC programs, which has led to some hard-fought meetings with limited scoring. The Tigers toppled the Tide 9-6 in a touchdownfree overtime game at Tuscaloosa in 2011, and Alabama won last year’s meeting in Baton Rouge 10-0.
Last year’s game was scoreless until the fourth quarter, with Alabama managing 323
yards and 16 first downs on the evening.
“I don’t think anything that happened in that game will affect the outcome of this game,” Saban said. “They did a good job of loading the box to stop the run and making sure (quarterback) Jalen (Hurts) couldn’t pull the ball. We probably expect a lot of the same things, but we’ve had other teams do that, and I think we’re more well-equipped to handle things like that now.
“It’s going to come down to our ability to execute these things in the game.”
LSU had just 125 yards and six first downs in last year’s contest, which was the Tide’s sixth consecutive win in the series.
“It’s like having that older brother that you haven’t been able to beat up,” LSU sophomore linebacker Devin White said Monday in a news conference when asked about the Tide. “We’re bigger and stronger, and it’s time to beat them up.”
Tide tidbits
Alabama’s game next week in Starkville will either be on CBS at 3:30 or on ESPN at 7. … Senior defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand and sophomore running back Josh Jacobs practiced Monday, but Saban said it wouldn’t be until later in the week before their availability for Saturday is known. … Senior linebackers Rashaan Evans and Shaun Dion Hamilton are semifinalists for the Butkus Award, while Hurts is a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick for the Bednarik Award. … Alabama leads the series with LSU 51-25-5.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.