Alabama Football: Way-too-early 2021 game-by-game predictions
Miami Hurricanes. player. 834. Sept. 4. Atlanta (Ga.). 1. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis
Alabama is no stranger to playing in big neutral site games to start the season and 2021 will give the Tide another chance to show how far ahead they are of most teams in the country. Alabama and Miami have not met since the 1992 Sugar Bowl, a game which the Crimson Tide won handily and thus won the national title.
Alabama will be a huge favorite in this game and looking to begin another run to the playoff.
This will be chance to see for the first time how Alabama will fare after replacing so much talent from last year’s team. Bryce Young will be making his first start and all eyes will be on him to see if he can live up to the hype.
On the other side, Miami will be entering year three under Manny Diaz and looking for their biggest win in over 20 years and have a very experienced team returning next season. As a matter of fact, Miami ranks third in ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s returning production.
I think that Miami could be competitive for a little while due to their experience edge and more continuity in the schemes. However, don’t expect this to be very competitive for very long. I think Alabama is much more talented and physical than Miami and Diaz has not shown that he can compete with teams of this caliber. I predicted that Alabama will win this game handily and I’m sticking with that.
Final Score: Alabama 45, Miami 27 (1-0)
Alabama will return home after beating Miami in Atlanta and they should be in for an easy game versus Mercer. This game will be important for giving younger guys reps and getting Young some more game experience. The important thing for Alabama will be getting out of this game without any injuries. The Crimson Tide can name their number here.
Final Score: Alabama 55, Mercer 10 (2-0)