Am I the only one that thinks Western Kentucky could be a better overall team than USC this year just with less depth? They certainly were last year... They're gonna spread the ball around a ton and put a lot of pressure on the DBs. QB just threw for nearly 600 yards this week. If the defense can put pressure on the QB with just four rushers again its gonna help alot and probably mean their QB is in for a long night.
🏈 Pre-Game Thread: Looking ahead to Western Kentucky. (practice notes and opinions)
- Thread starter JoshB
- Start date
As I was about to step into the Sportsbook I see this:
No. 1 Alabama opened as a 24-point favorite, according to VegasInsider.com, and the line has already moved to -27.
Not sure how I'll open this game here.
Those who play the lines may want to look at Michigan giving 35.4
No. 1 Alabama opened as a 24-point favorite, according to VegasInsider.com, and the line has already moved to -27.
Not sure how I'll open this game here.
Those who play the lines may want to look at Michigan giving 35.4
If I'm not mistaken, they did something USC didn't last season. Finish in the top 25.
There's some talent there. No doubt.
T&B
Member
You'll never know all the drama that unfolds behind the scenes of a perennial powerhouse and their recruits/players. (and parents of both)
For instance there is a rumor that BB taking the first snap had as much to do with some behind the scenes drama than it did him winning the team over, and I think the quick hook, and the teams response to Hurts is proof that there could be some truth to that. (we'll never know for sure, and I dont care to share the rumor because its pretty nasty, and it may not be true. In fact it probably isn't.)
Hurts is the quarterback. You can relax about that. If CNS wants BB to take X amount of snaps per game then there must be a good reason for that. A QB like Hurts will take some shots this season with all the running so having someone ready to step in and take over could be the difference in winning or losing a game/title.
Hurts is the QB. In fact they better be careful with BB. He needs to add at least 15 pounds before he is ready to take those big shots; Bama was VERY fortunate he didn't fumble when he got his shoe blown off in the first series. (watching live I thought he did fumble actually) He looked like a dazed fighter trying to stand up/find his mouthpiece. I dont know what he weighs right now, but at his height its not enough.
In conclusion Hurts is the guy that opens up the offense. CNS said as much during the post game interview. The QB position is not "very much up for grabs." They will not stop developing both QB's though.
bama alum
Member
They did, but their star QB is now in Miami with Drake. They'll still be pretty good. Better opponent than Wofford or Western Carolina.
@ComeOnSon it will be no cupcake this Saturday I agree with you on that.
I think it is a dangerous game for a few reasons (Dangerous not in terms of losing, but dangerous in terms of the game being much closer for too long than any of us care to see).
Mainly, CNS' teams have had poor performances in terms of execution and penalties in week two after a big opener.
Next, the game is in the perfect trap spot between a huge win and the week before an Ole miss team hoping to hang three in a row on Bama.
Last, as it has been said, WKU isn't a pure cupcake. They have playmakers and a style that can cause Bama issues.
It could be frustrating if Bama lacks focus this week in prep and sleeps on this team
Mainly, CNS' teams have had poor performances in terms of execution and penalties in week two after a big opener.
Next, the game is in the perfect trap spot between a huge win and the week before an Ole miss team hoping to hang three in a row on Bama.
Last, as it has been said, WKU isn't a pure cupcake. They have playmakers and a style that can cause Bama issues.
It could be frustrating if Bama lacks focus this week in prep and sleeps on this team
BISHOP | Trip to Tuscaloosa a barometer for how far WKU football has come
BISHOP | Trip to Tuscaloosa a barometer for how far WKU football has come
There is something in college football I like to refer to as the immeasurables.
Now, I like analytics. I read a lot about them. I trust in them to allow me to be steered in an educated direction as to whom may win a specific contest or a particular conference or what matchups to watch for inside a game.
But college football, perhaps more than any other sport, relies heavily on effort, energy, passion, camaraderie and want-to. Teams that have those variables often pass what we like to refer to as the eye test – a mysterious measuring stick, but one you know when you see it, like, “those guys can really play some ball.”
This brings us, in the most roundabout of ways, to Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers had a lot of those aforementioned characteristics in 2015 – their first truly great season in their young Football Bowl Subdivision history.
They've also now won 18 of 20 and lost just three times since Oct. 25, 2014. They've been playing high-level football for quite some time.
But… but. With all of WKU’s recent, relative success, there are still some steps to climb, dragons to slay, heights to reach.
And boy is there a major one waiting Saturday.
The Tops get No. 1 Alabama this weekend. The Crimson Tide are in the midst of what history may view as one of the greatest runs in college football history. Nick Saban’s program is the epitome of championship football.
Where does Western Kentucky stack up?
Certainly this WKU program is not the same as it was just a short time ago, when games of this circumstance made fans jokingly say, “I hope no one gets hurt” or “let’s just take the paycheck and get the hell out of there.” I’m not implying the Hilltoppers of old didn’t expect to win those type of games – but they probably knew in their heart of hearts the odds were slim.
And I’m not sure that’s the case anymore.
The Hilltoppers have an opportunity Saturday to prove they have made great strides as a program – they've seized some similar opportunities with wins against Kentucky and Vanderbilt, but perhaps have failed to do so consistently enough with defeats to Illinois and Indiana and Tennessee and Louisiana State.
It may not show in the outcome Saturday, but it could – nay, should – show during the 60 minutes inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Is WKU ready to take that next step as a program and go play-for-play against mighty Alabama?
How will a veteran offensive line with a future NFL player on the left side stand up to a ferocious defensive front? How will a future NFL receiver get around lock-down cornerbacks? Can Western’s defense play out of their minds against a bull-dozing Alabama attack?
How will Jeff Brohm and staff match wits with the Great Saban?
And when all is said and done and the sun begins to set in Tuscaloosa, will you be able to say, “Yeah, Western Kentucky can step on the field with anyone, any time, anywhere.” Or, will a lopsided loss leave WKU feeling a sense of longing to one day be considered among college football’s elite?
The answer will be clear Saturday night – and it won’t be in the box score or even on the scoreboard. It will be in the immeasurables.
Predictions sure to be wrong
So after all that let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
Alabama, at the time of writing this, is favored by 27 points over the Tops. That may surprise some given the fact that the Tide whipped Southern California 52-6 on Saturday (thus the oddsmakers are forecasting WKU to give Alabama a better game than USC did).
The crux of the discussion is that perhaps USC is not all that good. Perhaps Rice (WKU’s sacrificial lamb in Week One) isn’t all that good, either.
You also have to wonder if, by human nature, despite Saturday being UA’s home opener, an emotional letdown is in store for the Tide – no matter how many times their head coach tells them they’re no good.
I’m going to roll the dice here and call for the Brohm Squad to keep it within those 27 points in a 38-17 loss.
Louisville at Syracuse
Folks, I’m going to be on the Louisville train for most of this season – until it gives me reason to think otherwise.
A trip to Syracuse – where the Orange survived a scare from Colgate last week – doesn’t appear to be much of a road block for the Fightin’ Petrinos.
Favored by 14 1/2, I’m taking Louisville to roll 41-10.
Kentucky at Florida
The sky is falling in Lexington and all hope is gone, of course.
How convenient it is to forget Southern Mississippi played in a conference championship game last year and won six of its final eight games. All that matters now – another nonconference loss at home for Kentucky only mounts the pressure and angst of a increasingly frustrated fanbase.
May I be the first to remind you the season is long and full of opportunities for retribution. The Wildcats have more than enough time to right the ship and build momentum toward that bowl game.
On Saturday, a trip to Gainesville, Fla., where UK has not won since 1979, awaits. It’s awfully difficult to make a case for the Wildcats to win against a team it has lost 29 straight to, but know that UF needed 14 fourth quarter points to pull away from Massachusetts last week.
No way the Gators win by the 16 1/2 they’re favored by right? Right? Florida 20, Kentucky 14.
Record to date: 3-0! Championship season baby!
Quote of the week
Western Kentucky senior wide receiver Nicholas Norris on playing No. 1 Alabama: “We’re trying to come out the same way. It’s the same type of game. I don’t look at it as a different game, it’s just another game for us. We don’t wanna make things bigger than it is.”
BISHOP | Trip to Tuscaloosa a barometer for how far WKU football has come
There is something in college football I like to refer to as the immeasurables.
Now, I like analytics. I read a lot about them. I trust in them to allow me to be steered in an educated direction as to whom may win a specific contest or a particular conference or what matchups to watch for inside a game.
But college football, perhaps more than any other sport, relies heavily on effort, energy, passion, camaraderie and want-to. Teams that have those variables often pass what we like to refer to as the eye test – a mysterious measuring stick, but one you know when you see it, like, “those guys can really play some ball.”
This brings us, in the most roundabout of ways, to Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers had a lot of those aforementioned characteristics in 2015 – their first truly great season in their young Football Bowl Subdivision history.
They've also now won 18 of 20 and lost just three times since Oct. 25, 2014. They've been playing high-level football for quite some time.
But… but. With all of WKU’s recent, relative success, there are still some steps to climb, dragons to slay, heights to reach.
And boy is there a major one waiting Saturday.
The Tops get No. 1 Alabama this weekend. The Crimson Tide are in the midst of what history may view as one of the greatest runs in college football history. Nick Saban’s program is the epitome of championship football.
Where does Western Kentucky stack up?
Certainly this WKU program is not the same as it was just a short time ago, when games of this circumstance made fans jokingly say, “I hope no one gets hurt” or “let’s just take the paycheck and get the hell out of there.” I’m not implying the Hilltoppers of old didn’t expect to win those type of games – but they probably knew in their heart of hearts the odds were slim.
And I’m not sure that’s the case anymore.
The Hilltoppers have an opportunity Saturday to prove they have made great strides as a program – they've seized some similar opportunities with wins against Kentucky and Vanderbilt, but perhaps have failed to do so consistently enough with defeats to Illinois and Indiana and Tennessee and Louisiana State.
It may not show in the outcome Saturday, but it could – nay, should – show during the 60 minutes inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Is WKU ready to take that next step as a program and go play-for-play against mighty Alabama?
How will a veteran offensive line with a future NFL player on the left side stand up to a ferocious defensive front? How will a future NFL receiver get around lock-down cornerbacks? Can Western’s defense play out of their minds against a bull-dozing Alabama attack?
How will Jeff Brohm and staff match wits with the Great Saban?
And when all is said and done and the sun begins to set in Tuscaloosa, will you be able to say, “Yeah, Western Kentucky can step on the field with anyone, any time, anywhere.” Or, will a lopsided loss leave WKU feeling a sense of longing to one day be considered among college football’s elite?
The answer will be clear Saturday night – and it won’t be in the box score or even on the scoreboard. It will be in the immeasurables.
Predictions sure to be wrong
So after all that let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
Alabama, at the time of writing this, is favored by 27 points over the Tops. That may surprise some given the fact that the Tide whipped Southern California 52-6 on Saturday (thus the oddsmakers are forecasting WKU to give Alabama a better game than USC did).
The crux of the discussion is that perhaps USC is not all that good. Perhaps Rice (WKU’s sacrificial lamb in Week One) isn’t all that good, either.
You also have to wonder if, by human nature, despite Saturday being UA’s home opener, an emotional letdown is in store for the Tide – no matter how many times their head coach tells them they’re no good.
I’m going to roll the dice here and call for the Brohm Squad to keep it within those 27 points in a 38-17 loss.
Louisville at Syracuse
Folks, I’m going to be on the Louisville train for most of this season – until it gives me reason to think otherwise.
A trip to Syracuse – where the Orange survived a scare from Colgate last week – doesn’t appear to be much of a road block for the Fightin’ Petrinos.
Favored by 14 1/2, I’m taking Louisville to roll 41-10.
Kentucky at Florida
The sky is falling in Lexington and all hope is gone, of course.
How convenient it is to forget Southern Mississippi played in a conference championship game last year and won six of its final eight games. All that matters now – another nonconference loss at home for Kentucky only mounts the pressure and angst of a increasingly frustrated fanbase.
May I be the first to remind you the season is long and full of opportunities for retribution. The Wildcats have more than enough time to right the ship and build momentum toward that bowl game.
On Saturday, a trip to Gainesville, Fla., where UK has not won since 1979, awaits. It’s awfully difficult to make a case for the Wildcats to win against a team it has lost 29 straight to, but know that UF needed 14 fourth quarter points to pull away from Massachusetts last week.
No way the Gators win by the 16 1/2 they’re favored by right? Right? Florida 20, Kentucky 14.
Record to date: 3-0! Championship season baby!
Quote of the week
Western Kentucky senior wide receiver Nicholas Norris on playing No. 1 Alabama: “We’re trying to come out the same way. It’s the same type of game. I don’t look at it as a different game, it’s just another game for us. We don’t wanna make things bigger than it is.”
Alabama17Tide
Member
Notes: Saban 'might' change things at QB
Ben Jones | Editor
Alabama quarterback Blake Barnett prepares for the game before Alabama's 52-6 season opening win over the University of Southern California Saturday, September 3, 2016 in Arlington, Texas.
Gary Cosby Jr. | The Tuscaloosa News
If Nick Saban is settled on a quarterback for the University of Alabama this weekend, he’s not telling.
“We may do it a little different way than we did last week,” the head coach said on Monday. “But I think we'll probably still play two guys in the game.”
Redshirt freshman Blake Barnett started against Southern Cal, but true freshman Jalen Hurts played the bulk of the game. So if Saban said he may do something different, does that mean Hurts would be the first quarterback to play this week?
"I said I might do it a little bit different, so I didn't make a decision or a statement about who I was starting,” he said.
Saban said he liked what he saw from both Barnett and Hurts against the Trojans. Barnett went 5-for-6 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown, while Hurts was 6-for-11 for 118 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble. He also ran for 36 yards and two scores.
They were dutiful even when they weren’t playing, Saban said. Their body language and attention on the sideline was “very good,” Saban said, and each quarterback was supportive of the other. With so little experience at quarterback on the roster, Saban wants to make sure more than one player is ready to go if needed.
“If we’re going to have two young quarterbacks, both of them need to gain experience so they can play in the future,” Saban said. “How we go about doing that is a plan that I think is very, very important to both guys and to our team.”
He still needs to see more, though. The offense struggled under Barnett in the first two series, and Hurts’ first play was a fumble. The quarterbacks will be called upon to do more and more as the season goes on.
“If we're going to have the kind of team that we need to have, the quarterbacks are going to have to do more so that we can utilize the other players on our offensive team that have capabilities of making plays,” Saban said. “That will be the goal that we have.”
TideSports.com - Notes: Saban 'might' change things at QB
Ben Jones | Editor
Alabama quarterback Blake Barnett prepares for the game before Alabama's 52-6 season opening win over the University of Southern California Saturday, September 3, 2016 in Arlington, Texas.
Gary Cosby Jr. | The Tuscaloosa News
If Nick Saban is settled on a quarterback for the University of Alabama this weekend, he’s not telling.
“We may do it a little different way than we did last week,” the head coach said on Monday. “But I think we'll probably still play two guys in the game.”
Redshirt freshman Blake Barnett started against Southern Cal, but true freshman Jalen Hurts played the bulk of the game. So if Saban said he may do something different, does that mean Hurts would be the first quarterback to play this week?
"I said I might do it a little bit different, so I didn't make a decision or a statement about who I was starting,” he said.
Saban said he liked what he saw from both Barnett and Hurts against the Trojans. Barnett went 5-for-6 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown, while Hurts was 6-for-11 for 118 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble. He also ran for 36 yards and two scores.
They were dutiful even when they weren’t playing, Saban said. Their body language and attention on the sideline was “very good,” Saban said, and each quarterback was supportive of the other. With so little experience at quarterback on the roster, Saban wants to make sure more than one player is ready to go if needed.
“If we’re going to have two young quarterbacks, both of them need to gain experience so they can play in the future,” Saban said. “How we go about doing that is a plan that I think is very, very important to both guys and to our team.”
He still needs to see more, though. The offense struggled under Barnett in the first two series, and Hurts’ first play was a fumble. The quarterbacks will be called upon to do more and more as the season goes on.
“If we're going to have the kind of team that we need to have, the quarterbacks are going to have to do more so that we can utilize the other players on our offensive team that have capabilities of making plays,” Saban said. “That will be the goal that we have.”
TideSports.com - Notes: Saban 'might' change things at QB
planomateo
Member
I love that Saban is trolling @uofarolltide with all this speak.
Saban needs to get his act together. He ought to know his staff is incapable of developing two QBs at a time. It's not like we need a backup or anything. I mean, QBs like Croyle, Watts and Namath NEVER get hurt.
uofarolltide
Member
He's not trolling me. I know exactly what's going on. We're depending on a true freshman QB to win us a championship this season. Now whether or not he wants to admit that, or no comment, or continue to split his reps, or play 2 QBs against Ole Miss again, etc is up to him.
If it were me, I'd have Jalen getting all the first team reps in practice, the qb competition would be closed for the season, and he'd get every single snap against Western Kentucky until at least the 4th quarter. He needs all of the experience we can possibly give him at this point. We've got a really tough game in Oxford coming up
I am a little nervous about WKU. I still remember the last time we played them in 2012. It was a strange game where we won 35-0, but it was a sloppy win at best. Plus, we lost Jalston Fowler for the year in that game. Horrible injury. He came back in 2013, but he wasn't the same. And, we had just come off of a blowout win over Michigan in Arlington.
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