First Glance: Alabama Crimson Tide

Oct 3, 2022 - 1:36 PM

What You Need to Know:

• The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play after wins over Vanderbilt and Arkansas to begin conference play. Their dominance is inevitable and you just hope Nick Saban doesn’t find a way to out-scheme Father Time himself.
• Texas A&M is 3-2 and 1-2 in SEC play after getting run out of Starkville 42-24.

Betting Lines:

• The Aggies opened as a 23.5-point underdog. Yikes.

Historical Notes:

• Alabama leads the all-time series 11-3 and leads 8-2 since A&M joined the SEC, but the Aggies won last year so clearly we are the better team here.
• Johnny Manziel’s “lightning in a bottle” game is the Aggies only win in Tuscaloosa.
• Famous Alabama alumni include Ponzi scheme artist Bernie Madoff, author Harper Lee, Benjamin Russell (founder of Russell Athletic), College Gameday’s Rece Davis and actor Sela Ward.

What To Watch For:

• A pulse: Not to be confused with The Pulse, we’re just looking for any sign of life from this A&M team after things unraveled in Starkville last weekend.
• Backup QB battle? Max Johnson suffered a hand injury in the second half and it appears likely he will miss this game. Similarly, Alabama QB Bryce Young missed a good portion of the second half of last week’s game with a shoulder injury. The backup QBs are Haynes King for A&M and Jalen Milroe for Bama.
• Jimbo vs. Saban references: Expect plenty of chatter on the broadcast about this summer’s war of words between the two head coaches.

Media Blitz:

• Venue: Bryant Denny Stadium (Tuscaloosa, AL)
• Kickoff: 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8
• TV: CBS
• Read the latest on the Tide on their SB Nation team site, Roll Bama Roll.

Weather:

• Partly cloudy with a 0% chance of rain. High of 72, low of 42. Now that’s football weather.