Top storylines to follow in the Alabama vs. Austin Peay matchup
The Alabama Crimson Tide are fresh off an exciting road victory over the Ole Miss Rebels and are now set to host their final non-conference opponent of the season in the Austin Peay Governors.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban has to be pleased with the resolve his team showed in Oxford this past weekend to help salvage the season. Now the Tide will look to finish the regular season strong and can do so with another victory this Saturday against Austin Peay before moving on to face arch-rival Auburn.
Let’s take a look at some of the top storylines to follow this week leading up to the Alabama vs. Austin Peay matchup.
Playing to the standard
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I am sure the message from coach Saban will be loud and clear throughout the entire week. Even though Austin Peay is obviously overmatched, the Crimson Tide has a standard to meet. This week is a great opportunity for Alabama to build on the second-half performance in Oxford and continue the ‘Bama standard.
The early kickoff time
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For the first time this season Alabama will be playing in the 11:00 a.m. time slot. It will be interesting to see how the Crimson Tide comes out of the locker room on Saturday morning.
This is Austin Peay's first power five game of the season
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Austin Peay has yet to play a power five program this season. In fact, the only FBS team the Governors have faced this season is the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. WKU defeated Austin Peay in that matchup 38-27. This will most definitely be the biggest test for the Governors of the season.
Can the Alabama offense impose its will
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The Alabama offense has been hit or miss so far this season and with just two regular season matchups remaining, they are running out of time. This is a great opportunity for [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag] and company to impose their will on an inferior opponent and play to the level that we all know they are capable of.
The health of Jahmyr Gibbs
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Running back [autotag]Jahmyr Gibb[/autotag]s hurt his ankle in the first half of the Ole Miss game and would not return in the second half. [autotag]Jase McClellan[/autotag] and [autotag]Roydell Williams[/autotag] did a solid job of filling in during Gibbs’s absence. There is no denying the importance that Gibbs has on this Alabama offense. It will interesting to follow his health leading up to Saturday.
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