Sept. 28
Mississippi State at Auburn
Last season, Auburn limped through October and November with a 3-4 record. The Tigers’ slide began on a Saturday night in Starkville with a two-touchdown loss accompanied by the sound of cowbells.
Gus’ hot seat has not cooled much since. His gargantuan buyout kept him employed at the end of last season. A Music City Bowl blowout of Purdue helped cool some flames. This season, Mississippi State is the only let up in the mid-season run of games; at TAMU, Mississippi State, and at Florida. Traveling to Arkansas should offer a breather, then it is at LSU, Ole Miss, Georgia, followed by a home scrimmage with Samford and then Alabama football returns for another Iron Bowl. Gus must beat the Bulldogs at home or three wins against TAMU, Florida, LSU, Georgia or Alabama is not likely to save him.
Kentucky at South Carolina
With the Gamecocks schedule, winning eight games should earn Will Muschamp Coach of the Year. He may not get to seven wins if his team cannot beat the Kentucky Wildcats in Columbia. The Wildcats almost inevitable slide in 2019 could bottom at eight wins with a road win here or the week before in Starkville.
USC at Washington
Six or seven wins might be enough for Clay Helton to hold in Los Angeles – if one of them is a major upset. The Trojans winning at Washington would be a major upset. Even if the Trojans can hold off Stanford in week two, 3-0 can turn into 3-3 quickly with Utah, at Washington and at Notre Dame. USC’s best chance for a major upset would be beating the Irish in South Bend. Yes, we did not refer to UND as the Fighting Irish.
There it is Alabama football fans – a comprehensive list of games to follow until the real football season begins on October 12, in College Station.
Have we over-stretched with too many presumptions? No doubt we have. No one can ever predict how an entire college football season or even how an Alabama football season will play out.