Alabama Football: Updated game-by-game predictions for 2020
Tennessee Volunteers. player. 839. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Oct. 24. Knoxville (Tenn.). 5
For the fourth week in a row, Nick Saban will be facing one of his former assistants. This time, the Crimson Tide will be facing their former defensive coordinator in Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Compared to all the SEC teams that the Tide faces every year, their longest winning streak is against Tennessee with 13 consecutive victories.
The last time the Volunteers beat the Crimson Tide was in 2006 which is the last season before Saban arrived. The Crimson Tide has never lost to the Volunteers under Saban but there have been two close games.
Pruitt has developed the Volunteers into a respectable program, outside of their embarrassing season-opening loss to Georgia State last season. They are a significant team in the recruiting field especially in the class of 2021.
They will need to place an efficient product on the field that can compete with Florida, Georgia and Alabama. While they are rising in the East division, they are not yet in the best situation on the offensive side of the ball to do so.
Even with an experienced quarterback and great offensive linemen, they do not have the experienced receivers to break through the Tide’s elite secondary.
Final Score: Alabama 42, Tennessee 14 (5-0)
Oct. 31. Tuscaloosa (Ala.). Mississippi State Bulldogs. 6. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 893
Just like rival Ole Miss, Mississippi State hired a new head coach with a larger-than-life personality. The Bulldogs hired Washington State head coach Mike Leach to keep create life on and off the field for the team. Leach is a name that brings much attention to a program that is left in the shadows often by Alabama, Auburn and LSU in the SEC West.
The Bulldogs (along with Arkansas) have the second-highest consecutive amount of losses to the Crimson Tide. The last time the Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide was in 2007 with a 17-12 win at Starkville. Alabama has 85 wins and three ties in the 103 total matchups versus the Bulldogs.
Leach wants to insert the air raid passing offense at Mississippi State much he did at Texas Tech and Washington State. It will take time for the Bulldogs to develop an efficient offense even with some talent they able to recruit in the transfer portal.
The SEC has been transformed by high-caliber offenses capitalized by the passing game. Last season, LSU’s Joe Burrow was the result that a significant transformation in the conference. The Crimson Tide will still be able to rely on their elite secondary to slow down the potential of the Bulldogs still learning to adapt to the system.
Final Score: Alabama 48, Mississippi State 10 (6-0)