A daunting stretch of games that could spell trouble for Alabama
The Alabama Crimson Tide is set to begin the 2022 campaign where the program will be in pursuit of a record nineteenth national title. Alabama return’s arguably the two best players in college football: Bryce Young and Will Anderson.
The headlining matchup of the season is when Alabama travels to Austin, Texas on Sept. 10 to take on the Texas Longhorns. However, Alabama faces a six-game stretch in October and early November that should worry Tide fans a little bit more.
On Oct. 1, Alabama travels to Arkansas where they will face the currently-ranked No. 19 Razorbacks. A team who took the Tide all four quarters and came just an onside kick short of shocking Alabama in 2021.
The following week, Oct. 8, Jimbo Fisher and his Aggies will be rolling into Tuscaloosa. After a shocking upset in 2021 and a dramatic offseason, this date has probably been circled on Coach Saban’s calendar for quite some time. I think we may be in for a special performance from the Crimson Tide on this day.
The Third Saturday in October. Every member of the Crimson Tide faithful knows what that means, Alabama will be headed to Knoxville to take on the Volunteers, a rapidly rebuilding program. Even though the Tide have won 15-straight meetings between the two, if Tennessee catches Alabama sleeping after two tough matchups, they could pull off the upset of the season.
Following the Volunteers, Alabama will host Mike Leach and his air-raid offense. While the Bulldogs aren’t expected to finish near the top of the SEC West, they may be one of the biggest sleeper programs in college football with veteran quarterback Will Rogers calling the shots.
After a bye week, Alabama travels to Baton Rouge for their first matchup with national champion runner-up Brian Kelly. Kelly took the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the 2012 national title where they came up short against Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide. However, he now sits at the helm for the LSU Tigers this offseason and looks to get them back into national title contention.
Finally, Alabama finishes their gauntlet with a trip to No. 21 Ole Miss against former offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin. The last time Alabama traveled to Oxford, the Tide defense gave up 48 points and held on to a 63-48 victory.
If Alabama plays below their ability, all of these teams have the coaching and talent to give Alabama problems. Catching Arkansas, Tennessee, LSU and Ole Miss all on the road is a tough break, but to be the best you have to beat the best. 2022 is going to be special.
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