Five weeks of the season are gone and the Crimson Tide are sitting in good position to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff. It is likely that Alabama controls their own destiny but it never hurts to have a strong schedule to bank on. They don’t want to be in a position where a second loss throws them completely out of the picture.
A huge win in Athens really helped Alabama’s case, especially if Georgia can go on to win the SEC East. Unfortunately, many other teams on the Tide’s regular season schedule looked disappointing in week five.
Week 1: vs. Wisconsin – Loss vs. Iowa 6-10
The Badgers didn’t have a strong start to conference play, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Wisconsin’s defense held strong most of the game but couldn’t overcome four turnovers. Joel Stave threw two interceptions and the running game had it’s worst outing since the opener.
Next week: at Nebraska, 2:30 pm CST, ABC
Week 2: Middle Tennessee – Loss vs. Vanderbilt 13-17
In the long run, a Vanderbilt win may help the SEC look stronger but the Crimson Tide don’t have Vanderbilt on their schedule. So fans could have slightly been pulling for the Blue Raiders in this one. Ralph Webb ran all over the home team and scored with just over a minute to go to give the Commodores the win.
Next week: at Western Kentucky, 11:00 am CST, FSN
Week 3: Ole Miss – Loss at Florida 10-38
This was the shock of the weekend. Maybe not just that Florida won, but how they did it. Ole Miss was dominated from start to finish. Chad Kelly couldn’t get the deep ball going and was sadly the Rebels’ leading rusher with 40 yards on 15 carries. Ole Miss is still in the hunt though, as they hope for a rematch with the Gators in December.
Next week: New Mexico State, 11:00 am CST, SEC Network
Week 4: Louisiana Monroe – Loss vs. Georgia Southern 31-51
Garrett Smith threw three interceptions and the Warhawks couldn’t stop Georgia Southern’s lethal rushing attack.
More importantly, I want to extend thoughts and prayers toward the family of Daniel Fitzwater and the rest of the ULM program.
Next week: at Tulsa, 5:00 pm CST, ESPN3
Week 5: at Georgia – Loss vs. Alabama 10-38
Next week: at Tennessee, 2:30 pm CST, CBS
Week 6: Arkansas – Win at Tennessee 24-20
Alex Collins ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Razorbacks to a road victory. Arkansas fell behind 14-0 in the first before coming back to snap their three-game losing streak. Brandon Allen completed less than 50 percent of his passes but didn’t turn the ball over and had four throws of 30-plus yards, including a 33-yard touchdown pass to Dominique Reed.
Next week: at Alabama, 6:00 pm CST, ESPN
Week 7: at Texas A&M – Win vs. Mississippi State 30-17
The Kevin Sumlin era Aggies finally got a home win against a ranked opponent using strong defense. A&M is now 5-0 and ranked in the AP top 10. Kyle Allen threw for over 300 yards while running for another 65. Tra Carson, Josh Reynolds and Christian Kirk all eclipsed 100 total yards while Damion Ratley, Ricky Seals-Jones and Carson scored for the Aggies.
Next week: BYE
Week 8: Tennessee – Loss vs. Arkansas 20-24
Things are really starting to look down on Butch Jones and the Volunteers. They let another two-touchdown lead go to waste and couldn’t get the running game going against Arkansas. At one time, it was thought that Alabama had the two toughest SEC East teams on their schedule. Those two teams now sit at 2nd and 5th.
Next week: Georgia, 2:30 pm CST, CBS
Week 10: LSU – Win vs. Eastern Michigan 44-22
A sloppy performance by the Tigers was saved by Leonard Fournette. But what’s new? The sophomore running back finished with 233 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. The Tigers were very one-dimensional though, as Brandon Harris only completed four of his 15 pass attempts for 80 yards.
Next week: at South Carolina, 11:00 am CST, ESPN
Week 11: at Mississippi State – Loss at Texas A&M 17-30
Dak Prescott had another strong performance, totaling 306 yards of total offense and a touchdown. He missed a few receivers showing he is still human but he once again didn’t turn the ball over. The Aggies defensive line was just too much in the end, shutting down the Bulldogs at the key points of the game. They will look to get back on track with two non-conference games before Kentucky visits Starkville.
Next week: Troy, 3:00 pm CST, SEC Network
Week 12: Charleston Southern – Win at Citadel 33-20
The two-headed running back of Mike Hollway and Darius Hammond had another big game, combining for 301 yards and three touchdowns against Citadel. The Buccaneers start conference play this week.
Next week: Monmouth, 11:00 am CST
Week 13: at Auburn – Win vs. San Jose State 35-21
The Tigers got back to their winning ways behind five rushing touchdowns from Peyton Barber. The ground attack has started to come together but Sean White was clearly not the answer to the questions in the passing game. It seems like the quarterback competition may be open again. One thing is for certain, Auburn’s coaches will be welcoming this bye week.
Next week: BYE
Caleb Turrentine is a contributor at Touchdown Alabama Magazine. Follow him on Twitter, @CalebTurrentine.
