2018 Football

This game isn't really a trap game for Alabama, as Ole Miss has won two games in the series recently and isn't about to sneak up on Alabama in any way. It's still a very dangerous matchup, however, and shows why Nick Saban so badly wanted to add Freeze to his staff over the offseason.

his is not an official University of Alabama document. The depth chart is taken from individual practice and game observations, and is color-coded.

This week, it's mostly a week slate of games, headlined by one bona fide prime matchup (LSU at Auburn), although Alabama-Ole Miss won't be far off. Looking for a game off the radar that could get interesting? Vanderbilt-Notre Dame, as the Commodores are playing to a higher level than was expected.

One of the challenges of evaluating Alabama wins in Weeks 2 and 3 during Nick Saban's tenure is the tendency to oversell shortcomings that appear to pop up during those two games. For whatever reason, Alabama frequently looks like a good-but-not-great team in those weeks after beating good non-conference teams in the opener.

Arkansas State comes into this game the owner of the No. 1 passing offense in all of FBS. The Red Wolves have college football's top tier's No. 5 total offense, and is tied for 1st nationally in fourth-down efficiency, red zone efficiency and fourth-down defense.

Disclaimer: This is not an official University of Alabama document. The depth chart is taken from individual practice and game observations, and is color-coded....

The Predictions Dept. showed faith in Tennessee in the opening week, and was rewarded in the form of a thud. That, and an unexpectedly strong debut for LSU, were the blemishes on the first-week schedule. This week, Georgia-South Carolina offers the only matchup of ranked teams, while Clemson-Texas A&M and Florida-Kentucky are probably the best second-line games. Most teams are facing weaker sisters in preparation for the start of full-blown conference play.

Against Louisville, Alabama did to the Cardinals what it has done to every opponent since Nick Saban’s first year in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide won, and it wasn’t particularly close. For that matter, Louisville finds itself cast into a category of least potent Alabama opponents the Crimson Tide has faced in some time.

If Louisville gets hot offensively, it's not completely impossible that this game would turn into a shootout. But if Alabama can slow the Cardinal offense at all, a defense that was already bad and then lost nine starters to graduation would seem to have little chance of stopping what figures to be the most explosive Alabama offense perhaps in all of school history.

Disclaimer: This is not an official University of Alabama document. The depth chart is taken from individual practice and game observations, and is color-coded....