Alabama Football 2018 Schedule Preview | The First 4 Games

Intro most have come to expect the Crimson Tide to win every game they play and for the most part Nick Saban has complied yet it seems there's always one game that has the potential to undo this championship seeking football team even in the undefeated season of 2009 Alabama needed the miracle of Terrence Cody's rocky block to save the day on paper the 2018 schedule does not look so difficult but who would have thought freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel with top of the tide in bryant-denny Stadium despite how straightforward the Alabama 2018 schedule appears odds are Alabama will be challenged when we least expected so let's start with a brief overview of Alabama's first four opponents of the 2018 football season season opener September 1st Alabama versus Louisville Louisville's Heisman Schedule Overview winning quarterback Lamar Jackson is now gone it is time for the Cardinals for star quarterback to Wan pass to take the helm the Louisville Cardinals have indeed lost depth but the Crimson Tide shouldn't get too complacent both teams will see some new young starters Louisville has a lot of returning talent on the offense but is lacking on defense the tight secondary which is now loaded with new faces will be tested in Bobby Petrino's past happy offense with elite receivers like Jaylon Smith in addition this game will take place in a stadium and city that Bama is not familiar with either way Louisville only managed an eighth win season with first-round draft pick Lamar Jackson simply put beating Nick Saban and the season opener is more than this team can hope to handle the current spread is Alabama but 25 plus points September 8th Alabama versus Arkansas State the headline for this matchup is the red Wolf's returning quarterback Justin Hanson Hanson is no joke he threw for an impressive 4,000 yards last season and contest's the new bow Alabama secondary more than Louisville will in the season opener much like Louisville Arkansas State has some veteran skill players returning but is losing key players on the defensive side of the ball this is where the Red Wolves will have significant trouble fending off Alabama's offensive HAC likely led by two Otunga by Lowa and his army of NFL caliber receivers that we caught a glimpse of in the national championship game however Arkansas State only lost two games last year and nearly beat Nebraska in their season opener all of that said make no mistake this game is a mismatch expect Arkansas State to put up points but primarily because Alabama will be running a vanilla scheme as the tide uses this game but tune-up Alabama wins handily with the current spread being greater than five touchdowns September 15th Alabama at Ole Miss this is Alabama's first conference opponent unlikely first true test for bamas to a tongue of Aloha Saban and company will Alabama vs Ole Miss be playing the rebels as their first away game which could give way to bamas youthful team's first significant jitters while Ole Miss lost their former quarterback Shay Patterson to Michigan the new quarterback Jordan Tom ooh is the real deal Tom who won three of his last four games and had over 365 yards in his first three starts under center amassing 1252 yards and 11 touchdowns in a short time as the rebels offensive leader Ole Miss has an impressive 15 starters returning that are split evenly between their offense and defense for the 2018 season this compared to the 14 returning for Alabama split with nine on offense and five returning on defense Ole Miss has three incredibly town receivers in AJ Brown DK Metcalfe and DeMarcus Lodge who combined for 25 touchdowns in a 2017 season in contrast Alabama lost its primary receiver Calvin Ridley but has an arsenal of receiver talent with guys like Jerry Doody Henry rugs and Devante Smith returning Ole Miss has a healthy offensive line as does Alabama and even more experienced in their secondary with woods Webster Jones and Hartsfield are ready to go frankly the more one analyzes this Ole Miss roster the better this match-up looks however even with more experience Alabama has too much talent offensively for Ole Miss to pose significant challenge look for this game to end with Alabama up by three touchdowns September 22nd Alabama vs Texas A&M Nick Saban faces off against Alabama vs Texas AM one of his most successful protegees Jimbo Fisher while Jimbo has won a national championship this is his first year whipping the Aggies into shape so exactly what kind of shape is Texas A&M in and do they pose a significant threat unfortunately for Alabama fans the Aggies have a great deal of returning talent similarly to Alabama there is a heated quarterback competition going on in College Station between Kellerman and Nick Starkel both of these quarterbacks have their strengths and whichever one faces Alabama in game 3 is more than capable of challenging Alabama's young defensive backs look for the Aggie starting quarterback to target returning receivers Cameron Buckley and Jomon Osmond both the Crimson Tide in Aggies return an equal number of starters with an even offensive and defensive split at College Station the biggest blow to the Aggies is a loss of wide receiver Christian Kirk who left for the NFL Draft after he destroyed the record books in College Station it goes without saying his absence will be of great benefit to Alabama bottom line Texas A&M had a less than stellar 7 & 6 season last year and even with Jimbo Fisher leading the charge there are a couple of years away from being a significant threat to Saban and his Crimson Tide dynasty moreover Jimbo Fisher faces a daunting task breaking the undefeated 12 and OH record Nick Saban has against his former assistants the Vegas spread is currently Alabama favored by 21 points and while the Aggies posed a potential threat the football power index still has Alabama at an eighty four point two percent chance of victory remember there are no guarantees in college football on any given day any team can be beaten with that in mind Alabama appears to have a favorable initial stretch to their 2018 season expect Nick Saban to utilize these games to develop the position groups with little to no experience and generate valuable depth and overall team experience as the season progresses guys I hope you enjoyed part 1 of this Alabama opponent breakdown and I encourage you to leave your thoughts in the comment section on how you think these games will play out in the 2018 season please subscribe like and share and as always thanks for watching and take care