FSU, Washington and/or Penn State. Iād add the dogs if they had even a modestly difficult schedule. They donāt ⦠itās a puff pastry schedule and not what youād expect from a top tier SEC power. No wonder so many people are picking them to three peat. They wonāt really be threatened until the SEC Championship game. Yet, Phil Steele has their schedule rated as the 56th toughest (Bamaās is the 8th). Heās basing it on the pups having to go on the road to play the vileās and the South Alabama tiggers. Of course their non-conference scheduleās a real juggernaut ⦠UT Martin, Ball State, UAB and GT.
In a normal year with a decently tough schedule Iād say Kirby better watch out for his players guzzling copious amounts of rat poison. Though again that wonāt really wonāt be a factor until late in the season. On the other hand, Sabanās got to love the fact just about everyone other than Herbstreit is talking about all the holes in Bamaās lineup. Iāve actually heard multiple pundits say this is as close to a rebuilding year as youāll see with Bama. Please keep those comments coming!
As for my beloved Tide ⦠Iām hoping to see a return to the standard they made so famous. Few penalties on both sides of the ball ⦠an aggressive and angry defense ⦠and one where the linebackers actually hit the RBās in the hole at the line of scrimmage instead of 8-10 yards down the field ⦠an OL that moves on the snap count, remembers their assignments, opens holes and punishes the men across from them ⦠receivers who can consistently beat coverages and hang onto the ball in critical situations ⦠oh and some alphas who make sure all of the above happens week in and week out.