Season preview of Alabama Football opponents: Three biggest underdogs

Alabama Football has a demanding schedule with five regular-season opponents in the recent Coaches Poll, Top 25. Other than the season opener against Miami, the out-of-conference (OOC) schedule is weak.

Bama Hammer begins a series of preseason previews of the Tide’s regular-season games, by grouping three lightweights together. They are the Mercer Bears, the New Mexico State Aggies and the Southen Mississippi Golden Eagles.

Alabama Football Game 2 – Mercer at Bryant-Denny on Sept.11

For the Alabama Crimson Tide, the advantage of playing Mercer is game experience for second and third unit players. The young, Crimson Tide offensive first team can also use the game to correct mistakes made evident in the opening week, Miami game.

The Mercer Bears were 5-6 last season. The teams have played three times in the past, with Alabama Football winning all three. The most recent contest was a 56-0 Crimson Tide victory in 2017.

It is always a mistake to assume an FCS team does not have any gifted athletes. Most of the teams do, they just don’t have enough of them to upset an elite FBS school. The Bears have a talented quarterback in sophomore Carter Peevy. Peevy was the SoCon Freshman of the Year last season.

Alabama Football Game 4 – Southern Mississippi at Bryant-Denny on Sept. 25

Golden Eagles Head Coach, Will Hall is in his first season at the FBS level. As a Gulf South head coach, Hall had a record of 56-20. In 2017, he was the Offensive Coordinator at Louisiana. He spent 2018 as Associate Head Coach and Tight Ends assistant at Memphis. His last two seasons were as Tulane’s Offensive Coordinator. Hall is a former college quarterback and considered one of the rising offensive minds in college football.

Southern Miss was a woeful 3-7 last season. The Golden Eagles have been unimpressive since Larry Fedora left after the 2011 season. Southern Miss has lost 66 games in the last nine seasons.

Hall will try to rebuild with a new quarterback, West Virginia transfer, Trey Lowe. Lowe is a dual-threat QB and could do well in Hall’s spread-option offense. Lowe saw little action in his two seasons at West Virginia.

Southern Miss should be a better team than last season. They will be highly motivated to give the Crimson Tide a stiff challenge. That motivation will not be enough to keep the game from being a blowout.

Check out this more detailed preview of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Alabama Football Game 10 – New Mexico State at Bryant-Denny on Nov. 10

In the last three seasons, the Aggies have won a total of just six games. As an independent in a COVID-adjusted season, New Mexico State played only two games in the 2020 season, beating Dixie State and losing to Tarleton State.

The Aggies made it to and won, a bowl game in the 2017 season. Otherwise, there have been eight losing seasons in Doug Martin’s nine seasons at New Mexico State (NMSU). In 2019, a charitable Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Aggies 62-10. In November, even if NMSU is a much-improved team, Nick Saban will have to hit the brakes early to keep the winning margin around 50 points.

More information on New Mexico State’s 2021 chances.

Going forward, each regular season preview post will feature one team. Next up will be Auburn, as we work our way back to Miami.