Does Alabama play today? College football schedule for Tide's next game after Week 9 bye

As the 2023 college football inches closer to November, Alabama is in a comfortably familiar spot.

Coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide is 7-1 overall, 5-0 in the SEC and ranked No. 8 in the most recent US LBM Coaches Poll. It has recovered nicely from a 34-24 loss against Texas and an underwhelming 17-3 win against South Florida in back-to-back weeks in mid-September, winning each of its past five games. Two of those victories came against ranked opponents: No. 11 Ole Miss and No. 20 Tennessee.

With that recent run of success, the Tide is atop the SEC west standings and owns a tie-breaker over one of the teams directly behind it, Ole Miss, by virtue of its head-to-head win. With only four games remaining on its regular-season schedule, a path to Atlanta for the SEC championship is there for Alabama.

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Before the Tide embarks on that final stretch of contests, it will get some much-needed rest coming up. Here’s everything you need to know about Alabama’s remaining 2023 schedule:

Does Alabama play today?

The Tide does not play in Week 9, as it’s the team’s designated bye week. It’s one of just three SEC teams that has not had a bye yet this season.

Things won’t get any easier for Alabama once games resume.

Its first contest back will be against division rival LSU (6-2, 4-1 SEC) on Nov. 4 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tide lost a 32-31 overtime thriller last season against the Tigers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a defeat that effectively knocked Alabama out of College Football Playoff consideration. The No. 15 Tigers are just 1-4 in their past five games in Tuscaloosa, with the lone victory coming in 2019. LSU went on to win the national championship that season behind a roster loaded with NFL talent, particularly on offense.

That game will be followed with a road contest against a reeling Kentucky (5-2, 2-2) team that has lost its past two games by a combined 55 points following a 5-0 start to the season. The season will wrap up with a Nov. 18 game against FCS Chattanooga (6-2) followed up by the Nov. 25 Iron Bowl against Auburn (3-4, 0-4) at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

A second loss in any of those matchups or the SEC championship game would likely knock the Tide from playoff contention, which would mark the first time in Saban’s tenure it has gone three consecutive seasons without winning a national title.

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Alabama 2023 football schedule

College football Week 9 schedule

Here is the full SEC schedule for Week 9 of the 2023 college football season:

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Does Alabama play today? Crimson Tide's Week 9 college football schedule