Alabama football will want a repeat of 2022 this Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe. Not anything like 2007. And ‘Bama for sure doesn't want to see repetitive results from the Florida State debacle.
The Seminoles catapulted back into the national spotlight with their viscous take down of the Crimson Tide. Trolling surfaced afterwards via Tommy Castellanos.
Many across the nation will now wonder what type of mental state Alabama is in. Plus if Kalen DeBoer is really feeling the heat after taking his fifth loss in just two seasons at ‘Bama.
Are the visiting Warhawks envisioning a 2007 scenario? When UL Monroe stunned a Nick Saban-led Tide team during his first season at the helm? There's already that feeling surfacing in Monroe.
Time to dive into some bold predictions.
Alabama run defense will get tested
FSU pummeled the Tide with 230 rushing yards. The ‘Noles scored all their touchdowns through the ground game too.
Guess where ULM is the strongest at? Through handoffs — proven by their 311 yards off the ground attack last week.
Braylon McReynolds rises as the new bell cow back at the home of Duck Dynasty. He gashed St. Francis with 113 yards on 11 carries. Tyrell Reed Jr. and Dorian Lewis mix in change-of-pace options outside of McReynolds. Both added 47 and 43 yards rushing, respectively.
But we present another reason why the Tide run defense gets tested here. Alabama lost Jeremiah Beaman for the season. They're down another interior defensive lineman too with Tim Keenan — who was dealing with a knee injury ahead of the FSU game.
Head coach Bryant Vincent will run straight at the interior of the Tide defense.
Crimson Tide must rely on their own ground game
Wide receiver Ryan Williams is day-to-day with a concussion. Alabama loses its dynamic freshman from a year ago if he can't go.
Germie Bernard will shoulder the load in the aerial attack. But DeBoer should pivot to the ground game more here.
ULM was among the worst in the nation at stopping the run one year ago. DeBoer and his offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb can test this unit. That means a heavier dosage of Kevin Riley.
The Red Flash have attacked past opponents off spread passing looks. But ULM brought the Sun Belt's best passing defense of '24 over to its season opener. Shutting down that element and leaving St. Francis to uncomfortably get the ground attack going.
‘Bama still presents a size advantage in the trenches. They must play a physical ball control game with Williams likely not in the lineup.
Ty Simpson can redeem himself
Simpson delivered a forgettable starting debut. This time he's in front of the “Roll Tide” faithful.
He's facing an all-senior defensive lineman crew. But UL Monroe isn't expected to be as fast as Florida State. This bodes well for Simpson to get the ball out quick.
However, again, he's facing a huge strength on the Warhawks' side in the secondary. ULM morphs into different looks to create confusion, including rolling with five defensive backs.
Best believe Warhawks defensive coordinator Earnest Hill will pull out a similar blueprint FSU used to rattle Alabama. Hill knows the state of Alabama well too — with previous coaching stops at the high school level and South Alabama. He'll know the offensive talent on the Tide's side well via the college football recruiting trail.
Simpson needs a run-first approach with play action to redeem himself from last week. And win back the Tide fans.
Could Alabama drop to 0-2?
Alabama is currently favored by an overwhelming 37.5-points. Yet there's an uneasy feeling heading into Bryant-Denny Stadium.
This feels too much like a season-saving game for the Tide. An 0-2 start will cause this fanbase to turn quickly on DeBoer. Especially if they fall to a Group of 5 challenger who was 5-7 one year ago.
Alabama coasts to an easy win by shutting down the running game. Then turning more to the play action. The Warhawks will test ‘Bama out the gate, but the Tide still features the personnel and skill talent to blow this game open.
