Alabama Football: Game-by-game predictions for the defending champions
1. Louisville (Sept. 1)
The Louisville Cardinals are looking to avoid a complete collapse apart after the departure of Lamar Jackson. Amidst all the buzz of Lamar Jackson competing with Joe Flacco with the Baltimore Ravens, it may be increasingly apparent how important he was to the offense.
Jawon Pass is set to takeover at quarterback for the Cardinals. Pass is significantly more of a pocket passer than Jackson was, which is more similar to a typical offense of Coach Bobby Petrino. Coach Petrino should have Pass ready to go by the first game of the year, especially with Dez Fitzpatrick and Jaylen Smith as top receivers. Both Fitzpatrick and Smith made the Fred Biletnikoff award preseason list for top receivers.
As for Alabama, this will be a quick test for the replacements in the secondary after Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Harrison both left for the NFL. Whether or not Louisville will be able to complete some big plays on offense, the opportunity will likely be there with the young and inexperienced secondary.
Furthermore, this will be our first look at Alabama’s starting quarterback….or quarterbacks. How the quarterback battle, between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, will pan out doesn’t really matter for this game, specifically because Louisville’s defense is no match for Alabama. But it will give us some insight on how Nick Saban plans to utilize his two star players.
With that said, look for a dominating performance from Alabama in the neutral site game, played in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.