Who will be Alabama football's toughest opponent in 2023? Ranking all 12 by difficulty
Nick Saban enters his 17th season as coach of Alabama football, and there is no shortage of interesting matchups on the schedule.
Which game will be the toughest, though? Here's a ranking of all 12 games based on difficulty, from easiest to most challenging. Quality of opponent and location of the game are both factored into the list.
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12. Chattanooga (home)
The annual cupcake game the week before the Iron Bowl. Next.
11. Middle Tennessee (home)
The Blue Raiders managed to pull off a 45-31 road upset against Miami a season ago on the road, so Middle Tennessee is capable of Power 5 upsets. It's also worth mentioning new Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele was Miami's defensive coordinator for that game. Don't count on this upset happening at Bryant-Denny Stadium, though. Not against a Saban-led squad.
10. South Florida (road)
New Bulls coach Alex Golesh served as offensive coordinator for the Tennessee offense that put up 52 points against Alabama in Knoxville in 2022, but he takes over a team that went 1-11. The Bulls aren't likely to be seriously competitive with Alabama this season, even with the game in Tampa.
9. Mississippi State (road)
Quarterback Will Rogers is back for another season and is certainly familiar with the Crimson Tide. Still, it's yet to be determined how effective he will be in the new offensive system for the Bulldogs. Plus, Rogers has yet to figure out Alabama; he's never thrown a touchdown in three games against the Crimson Tide.
8. Arkansas (home)
The Razorbacks return KJ Jefferson at quarterback and Rocket Sanders at running back, but the Razorbacks had to replace both coordinators. It remains to be seen whether the Razorbacks can bounce back from a 7-6 season.
7. Auburn (road)
Any game at Jordan Hare Stadium has a level of difficulty to it considering recent history there for Alabama. Auburn wasn't that good in 2021, finishing 6-7, but the Tigers pushed the Crimson Tide to four overtimes. Auburn will likely be improved from 2022 in the first year under new coach Hugh Freeze, but being good enough to beat Alabama might be a tall ask right away. Still, walking out of Jordan-Hare with a victory is seldom easy.
6. Kentucky (road)
The addition of Devin Leary at quarterback will certainly help the Wildcats after the departure of Will Levis to the NFL. If the offensive line, which gave up the most sacks in the SEC in 2022, can better protect Leary, Kentucky could be competitive against Alabama in Lexington.
5. Ole Miss (home)
Quinshon Judkins led the SEC in rushing yards (1,567) and touchdowns (16) in 2022; having him back is significant for an offense that has a quarterback battle. Former Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding will be running Ole Miss' defense as well. The familiarity he and Lane Kiffin have with Alabama could contribute to making this a difficult matchup for the Crimson Tide. The fact the game is at Bryant-Denny Stadium helps, though.
4. Texas A&M (road)
This game would almost certainly be lower if not for it being in College Station. Receiver Evan Stewart is back after playing well in the near loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2022. The Aggies also have an offensive coordinator in Bobby Petrino who will take over play-calling from Jimbo Fisher. That could help Texas A&M, or maybe it doesn't. Either way, this game figures to be difficult at Kyle Field, so long as Texas A&M's talent plays up to its billing.
3. Tennessee (home)
The Vols lost a significant amount of top players to the NFL Draft, especially on offense. How much that hurts Tennessee remains to be seen. Nonetheless, coach Josh Heupel has Tennessee competing with the top teams in the SEC again, and that's not likely to change drastically in his third season. However, beating Alabama on the road will be more difficult than winning by a field goal in a hostile Neyland Stadium.
2. Texas (home)
Quarterback Quinn Ewers was torching Alabama in Austin before he sustained an injury that forced him out of the game. No, running back Bijan Robinson isn't there anymore, but receivers Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington return at the top of a solid receiving group. All five starters are back on the offensive line, too. Depending how stout the defense turns out to be, this should be one of the toughest games on the schedule this season.
1. LSU (home)
Between quarterback Jayden Daniels, linebacker Harold Perkins and defensive linemen Maason Smith, the Tigers have plenty of talent. Five of the top six offensive linemen return, too. With coach Brian Kelly in his second season, this game figures to be the most challenging on Alabama's schedule and could very well decide the SEC West.
Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football schedule 2023: Ranking the toughest opponents
