The Alabama Crimson Tide earned another huge victory on Saturday afternoon, their third consecutive win over a ranked opponent. With the way the schedule has played out, they are just the fifth team in the history of the SEC to win three straight games against ranked opponents.
Moving forward, things don’t get any easier with yet another huge game, this time in The Third Saturday in October against the Tennessee Volunteers. It’s the second revenge game for the Tide against three weeks after Kalen DeBoer’s squad lost in Knoxville last season.
For Alabama, the win in Missouri did not come without a cost. Running back Jam Miller suffered his second major injury of the season after taking a huge hit to the head and sustaining a concussion, putting his status for the Tennessee game in doubt.
Ryan Williams clearly was not 100 percent going into the game, and it showed with his lack of production, and freshman wide receiver Derek Meadows was knocked out of the game with a concussion as well. As for Ty Simpson, while no injury status was revealed, he did seemed to get banged up early in the second half on the play he fumbled, and was not as sharp the rest of the day.
Regardless of whether or not Miller, Williams and Meadows are on the field or not, the matchup against the Volunteers is a tough one and could wind up turning into a track meet. Fascinatingly, Tennessee has statistically the most productive offense in the SEC and the least productive defense, something the Tide will be looking to expose.
The bad news is that Alabama — particularly in the secondary — has been vulnerable at times this year and this wouldn’t be the first time the Tide has had to go up against a highly productive Josh Heupel offense.
A schedule for Alabama that has been absolutely brutal somehow finds a way to get even tougher, but DeBoer has yet to lose a game in Bryant-Denny Stadium during his tenure in Tuscaloosa. Keeping that streak alive would set the Tide up wonderfully in their pursuit of a return to Atlanta and the College Football Playoff.
Since the Florida State game, the defense while not performing outstandingly has seemed to rise up and get the job done when it’s mattered the most. This will be their biggest test though, and it’s one to where they need to set the offense up not needing to try to win a race to 40 points.
Should Alabama be able to come out on top, that first cigar is going to taste pretty sweet for DeBoer coming off a historic run of scheduling and his first win over the Volunteers. It will take a pretty huge effort to get it done.
