ALABAMA AT FLORIDA
The Tide have won 16 in a row and are favored by over two touchdowns at the Swamp.
2:30 p.m., Ch. 11
Defending national champion Alabama puts its 16game winning streak on the line in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Florida is looking to avenge a 52-46 loss in the SEC title game last December and potentially shake up the College Football Playoff picture for the third straight week.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
Can Bryce Young win on road?
1 Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is making his first road start. He has seven touchdown passes and no interceptions, the only player in Alabama history to be that effective in his first two starts. “We know the challenges that are in front of us this weekend,” Young said. “We know how hostile the environment’s going to be. For me and really for everyone on the team, it’s something that coach (Nick Saban) is going to prepare for, something that we’re not taking lightly at all.” Said Florida linebacker Breenton Cox: “When there’s 90-100,000 people in the stands, that will rattle anybody,” Cox said. “It don’t matter if you’re fifth year, freshman. The Swamp is different. It’s hot; it’s loud.”
QB shuffle for Gators?
2 Anthony Richardson has been beyond impressive off the bench, raising questions about how long coach Dan Mullen will stick with Emory Jones as his starter. Richardson, a redshirt freshman from Gainesville who’s dealing with a strained right hamstring, has accounted for 467 yards and four touchdowns in limited action. Dualthreat quarterbacks have given Alabama trouble over the years, with Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Chad Kelly, Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow topping the list of those who have toppled the Tide. “We’re certainly looking forward to the challenge, because it will kind of tell us a little bit about who we are, where we are, where we got to go, what we need to do to get there,” Saban said.
Motivating factor?
3 Florida’s Dameon Pierce flashed an ear-to-ear grin after he was asked, “How’s it feel to be such huge underdogs at home against topranked Alabama?” “This is my first time hearing that,” he said sarcastically. “Fifteen points? Against Bama? They being nice, ain’t they? Everybody Bama plays is what, like 20plus? They showing love to us, 15point underdogs.”
Any carryover from last season?
4 Playing the Tide close in the SEC title game last season has given Florida players confidence heading into the rematch. “We’re ready. Of course, we’re ready,” Cox said. “Big question is: Are they ready?”
Is Dan Mullen due?
5 The matchup between the SEC’s two most tenured coaches has been a mismatch over the years. Mullen is 0-10 as a head coach against Saban, losing all nine meetings while at Mississippi State and reaching double digits last December with the Gators. “You always want to challenge yourself against the best,” Mullen said. “You know that I love these. These games are fun for me. You get the opportunity to go out there and go play in an unbelievable environment against an unbelievable team, the crowd going crazy. This is what it’s all about. This is why we do this.”