Alabama football takes a bite of a cupcake in week two for its home opener against New Mexico State at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Alabama Football’s schedule has been derided the entire offseason leading into 2019, and games like this weekend against New Mexico State are a big reason why. The Crimson Tide opened the 2019 season with a 42-3 win over Duke, and now they open their home slate against New Mexico State from the FBS Independents.
Nick Saban has preached all offseason long about re-establishing the Alabama factor after the Crimson Tide lost its way at the end of last season. A game against an overmatched foe against New Mexico State will go a long way in getting the Alabama factor re-established because the only team the Crimson Tide is in competition against is themselves.
Maintaining focus will be paramount because Alabama isn’t likely to be seriously challenged on the gridiron until the second weekend in October when it travels to College Station to take on Texas A&M.
Alabama hopes to get off to a better start after a bit of a sluggish beginning to its matchup against the Blue Devils a week ago. Tua Tagovailoa and company shook off some rust in the second half, and the junior quarterback lit up Duke in the third quarter to give the Crimson Tide a comfortable win.
While New Mexico State isn’t nearly talented enough to keep this game competitive, it does present a unique challenge for Alabama with its pass happy offense. Sophomore quarterback Josh Adkins struggled to open the season against Washington State, but he had a strong finish to 2018 and his continued growth will be big for the Aggies’ future.
Here’s how you can watch Saturday afternoon’s matchup between Alabama and New Mexico State:
Date: Saturday, Sept. 7
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Venue: Bryant-Denny Stadium
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN, FuboTV
Keys to Victory
Alabama is going to win this game. No one involved thinks otherwise. The keys for Alabama will be continued development of young players who are going to be necessary going forward in 2019.
With the injury to Dylan Moses — and Joshua McMillon before him — Alabama was forced to start two true freshmen inside linebackers. Both Christian Harris and Shane Lee acquitted themselves nicely, but continued development will be needed so the two are ready when Alabama’s schedule enters its difficult stretch in October and November.
For New Mexico State, the Aggies just hope to make some strides after their 51-point loss to Washington State a week ago. Any kind of success New Mexico State can find at Bryant-Denny Stadium will go a long way as it looks to make in-season strides and compete for bowl eligibility.
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of Bovada
Point Spread: Alabama -55
Over/under: 65
Prediction
This one should be over relatively quickly. Look for Steve Sarkisian to look to establish the ground game after a disappointing effort in Week 1. Najee Harris, Brian Robinson and Jerome Ford will be the focal point of the game plan. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be some shots from Tua to big play threats like Jerry Jeudy and Jaylen Waddle, though.
Alabama gives up its first touchdown of the season in garbage time, but the Crimson Tide rolls to an easy week two victory before heading to Columbia for their SEC opener against South Carolina.
Final Score: Alabama 59, New Mexico State 7