Only one word matters for Alabama football this week: pride. Can the team bounce back from an embarrassing performance a week ago against Florida State and take care of business against an inferior opponent?
UL Monroe comes to Tuscaloosa with a roster filled with unheralded kids from the state of Alabama and a head coach in Bryant Vincent who always has his time ready to play football. They will be fast to the ball. They will test Alabama's defense on the perimeter. They will be well coached and well prepared.
Can Alabama say the same? It's a fair question after the effort displayed by the Crimson Tide in Tallahassee a week ago. Right now, it's the biggest question facing Kalen DeBoer, who is feeling the heat of this job for the first time.
Alabama needs to come out with a sense of urgency. They need to play to the standard.
Ty Simpson needs to show that he has full command of the offense, or DeBoer and OC Ryan Grubb may need to turn the keys over to freshman phenom Keelon Russell to provide a spark. This offense doesn't run the ball well enough right now to be three yards and a cloud of dust. They need to hit some explosive plays.
Alabama won't be able to erase last week's performance against Florida State with one game against a Group-of-Five opponent, but they can sure take a step in the right direction.
Betting odds for Alabama vs. UL Monroe
Odds courtesy of FanDuel as of 6am E.T. on Saturday, September 6th.
Spread: Alabama -35.5
Over/Under: 49.5
Moneyline: Not available
Final Staff Predictions:
Josh Yourish:
Week 1 couldn’t have gone worse for the Crimson Tide, but in the 12-team College Football Playoff era, the season isn’t doomed by one ugly loss. Kalen DeBoer’s team still has the chance to bounce back and provide a presumably tense home crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium with a measure of catharsis on Saturday night against Louisiana Monroe. Despite injuries to Jam Miller and Ryan Williams on the offense side, I expect Ryan Grubb’s offense to pour it on early and keep the pedal to the metal late in the game when five-star freshman Keelon Russell could see his first collegiate action. I’ll take the Tide to win big.
Pick: Alabama 55, UL Monroe 10
Ronald Evans:
Against the Warhawks, game reps deep into the roster are more important than the final score. Austin Mack and Keelon Russell should take over early in the third quarter. A defense more aggressive than last week should produce results.
Pick: Alabama 38, UL Monroe 13
John Mitchell:
There's not much that could happen in this game that could surprise me. Alabama could win 56-0, and I'd nod my head. This game could be a total slog and finish 28-14 or something like that, and it wouldn't stun me.
The only thing I want to see this week is the players who get on the field play hard. I suspect we will see that, but I also think UL Monroe will do whatever they can to slow the game down and keep the ball out of the hands of the Tide's offense.
Pick: Alabama 42, UL Monroe 10