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The Simple Truth Why Alabama Makes it Back to the 2019 College Football Playoffs

By: Larry Burton

My old friend Mal Moore said that Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once told him that there are many things that can get you to the championship game. Some are talented players, good luck, big plays at the right time and more, but the big one is the schedule. Whether that’s getting the tough teams at home or just catching teams in a down year. Well, Alabama sure has that on their side this season and it’s the biggest reason they’re almost a shoo in to return to the playoffs.

Let’s look at the schedule, make an educated guess at the score of each game and tell why we believe that score could happen…

Kickoff Classic – Alabama vs Duke at Atlanta – Aug. 31 – Alabama 42 – Duke 17 – Though Duke is a well coached quality team, they’re just over manned and out classed

Alabama vs New Mexico State – Home – Sept. 7 – Alabama 60 – New Mexico State 6 – winner of only three games last year and killed by most schools.

Alabama at South Carolina – Sept. 14 – South Carolina could present some problems to the Tide in their first SEC road game.  Alabama 32 – South Carolina – 20

Alabama vs Southern Miss – Home – Sept. 21 – Good to have a breather after a physical game the week before. Alabama 57 – Southern Miss 10

Alabama vs Ole Miss – Home – Sept. 28 – Ole Miss? Hot mess! Not much different than last year’s 62-7 joke. Alabama 57- Ole Miss 0

Alabama at Texas A&M – Oct. 12th – Closer than last year, but still a gap between these two programs. Alabama 45 – Texas A&M 27

Alabama vs Tennessee – Home – Oct. 19 – Jeremy Pruitt needs more time and talent at Knoxville. Alabama 51 – Tennessee 27

Alabama vs Arkansas – Home – Oct. 26 – Alabama shows out offensively in this one. Alabama 68 – Arkansas 17

Alabama vs LSU – Home – Nov. 9 – Big boy football… Finally. Alabama at home helps. Alabama 28 – LSU – 10

Alabama at Miss State – Nov. 16 – Dogs defense is tough again on the Tide, but still no Bulldog offense – Alabama 28 – Miss State 6

Alabama vs Western Carolina – Nov. 23 – Home – The teams rests and the score is closer than it should be. Alabama 52 – Western Carolina 17

Alabama at Auburn – Nov. 30 – Auburn is so tough in this game when at home. Tide has it tough in that noise, I know, I’ve been there. Alabama 27 – Auburn 20

SEC Championship – Alabama vs Georgia – Dec 7 – Expect yet another hard fought game which has almost become a tradition – Alabama 32 – Georgia 27

The path to the playoffs are paved with seven cupcake games, three average teams and just three top tier teams. It’s one of the easiest schedules Alabama will have to play in a long time. The team Alabama has the biggest chance of losing to is Auburn, who is hard to beat at home. Yes harder than Georgia who unlike Auburn, seems to always find a way to lose against the Tide.

Then it’s on to the playoffs. No predictions for that yet.

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Larry has been published in almost every media outlet for college sports and now primarily writes here for Touchdown Alabama. Follow Larry on Twitter for inside thoughts and game time comments at https://twitter.com/LBSportswriter