Alabama Crimson Tide

10-2 (6-2)

Week 1: September 3rd vs. Kent State - What's surprising to me in this game is that Kent St. is actually a Division 1-A school. This should be a nice warm up for the Tide.

Week 2: September 10th at Penn State - Bama should be in the Top 2 going into this game and if they are reading their press clippings they could be in for a dog fight in this game. Penn State will probably be ranked and we'll see what they have in this game, but they are usually a well-coached team and they have some experience coming back. With this game in Happy Valley I expect it to be close for 3 quarters, but Bama will pull away in the end.

Week 3: September 17th vs. North Texas - Bama can use week 1 to get ready for PSU, and this week to get ready for Arkansas. Bama by 5 touchdowns.

Week 4: September 24th vs. Arkansas - This is what I would've said if Knile Davis hadn't of gone down: This is my #2 game of the year, and it might be #1 if it were played later in the year. This should be an epic battle between Arkansas' core of talented receivers and Alabama's core of talented defensive backs. But there are very good players all over the field with an evenly dispersed 27 preseason All-SEC players in this game! I give Arkansas's offense a slight edge over Bama, but Bama's D a slightly larger edge over the Hog's D. What will be the difference? Arkansas has a pretty good defense and if McCarron can't throw the ball the Hogs have enough talent to stop the Bama offense if it's one-dimensional. But if McCarron can throw the ball UPig might not be able to overcome much deficit with Bama's stout D. But no matter how stout the D, a playmaker can always break a run for a touchdown, and Arkansas has plenty of those. Behind a slightly more experienced Tyler Wilson, I'm picking Arkansas to go into Bryant-Denny Stadium and upset the Tide. BBBUUUUTTTTT, he got hurt and with this game in T-town, I'd be looney to stay with the upset pick so early in the year. Tide wins the game.

Week 5: October 1st at Florida - If Bama would not have played at Penn State I might think their QB situation would be shaking going into the swamp, but since they will have played in front of 100,000+ a month prior I don't think it will effect them as much. The bottom line in this game is can Florida's offense do anything against Bama's D? I think Florida could win this game if they get good defensive intensity and force some turnovers, but they will have to play a solid game on offense just to score enough to beat Bama. Going into the season I just don't know what Florida's offense will be capable of against a defense like this, even at home. I'm going with Alabama.

Week 6: October 8th vs. Vanderbilt - Coming off two tough games this should be a bit of a breather. Vandy should be improved but the Tide just have to much talent for this game to be close in the 2nd half. Bama big.

Week 7: October 15th at Ole Miss - Ole Miss has played Alabama tough in the past, and most of the time this game ends up being closer than people think. This game is in Oxford and Ole Miss has a week off before the game. If Bama was playing Florida instead of Vandy before this I might be inclined to pick Ole Miss despite how little I think of them. But Saban should have his guys ready for whatever Nutt throws their way, and they'll be able to handle the Rebs.

Week 8: October 22nd vs. Tennessee - This is one of those classic SEC rivalries. Two years ago Mount Cody had to block two field goal attempts to preserve Bama's perfect season and eventual national championship. UT comes into this game in the middle of one of the most difficult stretches of SEC games, so a game like this is not what the doctor ordered. You never know what could happen in a rivalry, but I don't see Tennessee being able to pass the ball much with their young receivers, and I think Bama will be able to move the ball pretty well against an average Tennessee D. Tide wins.

Week 9: Bye - This is the perfect time for a bye, 2/3s of the way through the year with a week to prepare for a huge game with LSU.

Week 10: November 5th vs. LSU - This is my #1 game of the year. It's #1 because there's almost a 50/50 chance both these teams are undefeated heading into the game. And both these teams have a week off in Week 9 to prepare for this game. It's a great game every year and it will have major SEC West implications. In whatever shape LSU's defense is at the beginning of the year, it will probably be close to Alabama at the top of the league by this point of the season. This game will have virtually no passing except on third down and it will come down to who wants it more at the line of scrimmage. Experience, talent, these teams are about the same. The only real difference I can see is the game is in Tuscaloosa and I'm going to go with Alabama.

Week 11: November 12th at Mississippi State - The Tide demolished MSU in Tuscaloosa last year, but how emotionally invested in that game were the Bulldogs after the tragic loss of Nick Bell? But they were undoubtably the better team then and now with better players at almost every position. If my predictions are correct, this could be the second consecutive game for Bama vs. a Top 10 team which will be brutal. I think State has a chance to win this game if they can elevate their play with the home crowd and intensity of the rivalry. This is the classic trap game, even though I'm picking State to come in with only one loss, but it will be tough getting hit so hard two weeks straight...State wins.

Week 12: November 19th vs. Georgia Southern - Bama wins by 5, maybe 6 scores.

Week 13: November 26th at Auburn - This is the Iron Bowl and the one game in the entire country where you can truly throw the records out. In '09 Alabama was undefeated and looking for a SEC and national title, they had to come from behind to get it in Auburn. The Tigers were in the exact same situation last year and had to do the same thing, but on a larger scale. Bama has some really big expectations this year, and Auburn is rebuilding. Bama has more experience and virtually every position except quarterback and runningback where they are about the same...but like I said throw the records out. Auburn upsets Bama because I want them to.


JB