College Football Week 4 Power Rankings

It’s as easy as this: Nick Saban. Like Urban Meyer, the guy just finds a way to get it done.

Alabama’s head coach has the highest winning percentage in SEC history.  He also is second overall in national titles, beyond Alabama’s own Paul “Bear” Bryant. But this year’s team is different than any Saban has coached before at Alabama.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts is the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Alabama since Vince Sutton in 1984. It’s asking a lot for a true freshman to come into Alabama and start, but Hurts has handled the pressure just fine.

Alabama started the season with a 52-6 whooping over USC in AT&T Stadium.  I’d say the freshman started off pretty well, wouldn’t you? However, we found what Hurts was all about on September 17, when the Crimson Tide traveled to Oxford to face Ole Miss.

Ole Miss had beaten Saban and the Tide the previous two years, and they were looking at a 21 point lead in the 2nd quarter. 65 seconds later and the Rebels were staring at the scoreboard with their lead reduced to seven.  It was their second, second half collapse in three games.

But it wasn’t just Ole Miss’ collapsing in the second half. We learned something about this Alabama team that we have seen in previous years; they are never out of the game.

Two of Alabama’s toughest games remaining on their schedule come on the road, where they travel to Tennessee and to LSU. LSU doesn’t look as daunting anymore, but it could still be a trap game for the Crimson Tide later in the year.  However, I would be shocked if this team lost a game in the regular season.

Next Matchup: vs Kentucky