Alabama Football: Tide gets Citadel tune-up before Iron Bowl

After facing their two toughest opponents of the season in back-to-back weeks, Alabama Football takes a bite of a cupcake before turning their attention to the Iron Bowl.

Nick Saban has been more irritable than usual this week; the truth is he is always irritable the week before the Iron Bowl. The reason is Alabama traditionally plays an FCS opponent as a pseudo-bye week, a tradition that many SEC schools partake in. That means he always gets questions about resting players or playing a lot of guys, things that Saban will not allow into his mind regardless of the opponent.

The fact is, for Saban, the opponent on the other side of the field is faceless. Alabama is competing against themselves every week as they look to become the best version of themselves that they can be.

The resting players questions have mainly stemmed around sophomore QB Tua Tagovailoa, who took an uncharacteristic beating last week against Mississippi State. Tua’s knee is still clearly bothering him, as any armchair doctor could tell you. It’s fair to question whether it’s worth the risk to play Tua against The Citadel this week and risk further damage to his knee. With backup QB Jalen Hurts also on the mend, an injury to Tua could result in a doomsday scenario of Mac Jones starting in the Iron Bowl or the SEC Championship against Georgia.

The fact remains that, while the knee is still an issue, Tua is healthy enough to play, and team doctors evidently don’t think there’s any risk of further injury for him to be out there. If there was, then this would be an obvious time to give him a week off because Alabama could win this game with Jones, or even walk-on Layne Hatcher taking the snaps.

The Citadel does provide a unique challenge as opposed to most FCS schools the Crimson Tide has faced over the years. The Bulldogs from the Southern Conference run a triple-option offense, something foreign to the Alabama defense.

In fact, Alabama hasn’t faced off against a triple-option school since 2011 against Georgia Southern, the infamous “sh** through a tin horn” game where a Crimson Tide defense that finished atop most major statistical categories, allowed over 300 rushing yards and 21 points.

Will The Citadel find similar success against an Alabama defense that is in the midst of “no-score November”, having shutout both LSU and Mississippi State to open the month?

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s game between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs.

Date: Saturday, November 17
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL
Venue: Bryant-Denny Stadium
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

The only keys for Alabama in this game is to get out of it healthy, particularly with no further issues for Tua; they need him healthy and as close to 100 percent as possible for the next two games. It’ll be imperative that Alabama’s line keeps him upright this week against an overmatched opponent; the line fell apart last week when left guard Deonte Brown went out to due to an injury, so they’ll need to work any kinks out this week, particularly if Brown is going to miss time.

This is also a game you worry about your defensive line dealing with constant cut-blocks, so Alabama will hope to build a big enough lead that the likes of Quinnen Williams, Isaiah Buggs, and Raekwon Davis can spent the second half on the bench watching their younger teammates work.

For The Citadel, there’s no realistic path to victory in Bryant-Denny Stadium. This is a buy-game for them, one that will likely fund the year’s athletic budget. They’re sending their team to slaughter, and the Bulldogs just hope to earn a little bit of respect while taking the beating.

For the majority of their team, this is the pinnacle of college football; they’ll never again get the opportunity to play in a blue blood’s backyard. And who knows, maybe The Citadel’s triple-option will baffle the Crimson Tide much like Georgia Southern did back in 2011, and they can leave Tuscaloosa with their heads held high.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Alabama -51.5
Over/Under: 61.5

Prediction

Look for Alabama to go for some chunk plays early in this game to get out to a big lead. Tua will be hoping to pad the Heisman numbers a bit, and I’m guessing we’ll see several deep shots down the field to Jerry Jeudy or Jaylen Waddle early in the game. Otherwise, look for Alabama to lean on the ground game triumvirate of Damien Harris, Josh Jacobs, and Najee Harris as they look to keep Tua healthy. Expect to see a lot of Mac Jones in the second quarter and beyond as the starters rest up for the Iron Bowl.

Final Score: Alabama 56, The Citadel 7