Above: Alabama receiver Calvin Ridley makes a catch against Georgia in the Crimson Tide’s 38-10 victory over the Bulldogs. (Kent Gidley/UA Athletics)

Nick Saban gave his own spin to a Mark Twain quotation as he faced the media this week. The Alabama coach made it clear that reports of the Crimson Tide’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

Alabama running back Derrick Henry runs for a touchdown against Georgia in the Tide’s 38-10 victory. (Kent Gidley/UA Athletics)

Responding to a question, Saban said, “If it was up to you, we were six foot under already. We’re dead and buried and gone. Gone. So if that was the case, we’d have to get some respirators out or something there to put the life back in people.”

Instead, Alabama resuscitated its bid to return to the College Football Playoffs with a convincing 38-10 victory over Georgia. Now the No. 8 Tide (4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference) hosts Arkansas with a 6 p.m. kickoff.

Auburn is not playing this week but the Tigers have not been idle. Gone is star wide receiver D’haquille Williams, who was kicked off the team. And back could be Jeremy Johnson, who lost his starting quarterback position to Sean White.

Gus Malzahn has reopened competition for positions, including signal-caller, as Auburn prepares to visit Kentucky at 6 p.m. next Thursday.

Here’s the rest of the slate.

OTHER STATE COLLEGES

Arkansas State at South Alabama (Tuesday): Coming off their Battle for the Belt victory over Troy, the Jaguars welcome the Red Wolves in a game that will be seen nationally on ESPN2. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Troy at Mississippi State:  A week after falling by six to visiting South Alabama, the Trojans go on the road to face the SEC’s Bulldogs to the west. Kickoff is 3 p.m. Saturday.

Samford at VMI: The Bulldogs enter their first Southern Conference road game Saturday with a 2-2 record overall and 0-1 in league play. VMI is 1-4 overall and 0-1 in SoCon action. Saturday’s game at VMI is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3

Troy faces Mississippi State this week while South Alabama awaits Arkansas State next Tuesday. (courtesy Troy Athletics)

Jacksonville State: Ranked No. 1 in the STATS Football Championship Subdivision poll and No. 3 in the Coaches Poll, the Gamecocks are idle until traveling to Cookeville, Tenn., next Saturday to face Tennessee Tech at 6 p.m.

Birmingham-Southern at Hendrix: The Panthers will try to break a two-game losing streak with their 1 p.m. kickoff in Conway, Ark.

Miles College at Central State: The Golden Bears (1-4) seek their second win of the season at 12:30 p.m. in Wilberforce, Ohio.

Concordia: Coming off an 11-0 loss at Ave Maria, the Hornets are off this week before hosting Tiffin at 1 p.m. next Saturday.

Huntingdon at Ferrum: The Hawks (3-1) face the Panthers at 2 p.m. at Bassett High School in Ferrum, Va.

Tuskegee vs. Morehouse: The 105th game of this series and the 80th in Columbus, Ga., kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Golden Tigers (4-1, 1-0 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) are coming off their first loss of the season after their best start in seven years.

Southern at Alabama State: There’s no place like home and after two road games, the Hornets welcome the Jaguars for a 6 p.m. Saturday kickoff. ASU is 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the Southwest Athletic Conference. Southern is 2-2, 2-0.

Alabama A&M at Grambling State: The Bulldogs (1-3, 1-1) are coming off a 55-0 loss to Coastal Carolina. Now they face an opponent that is 3-2 overall but 3-0 in the SWAC. Kickoff is 3 p.m.

North Alabama at Western Oregon: The undefeated Lions (4-0) venture to the Pacific Coast for a 3 p.m. Saturday kickoff.

West Alabama at Florida Tech: The Tigers fell 32-14 to West Georgia last week. They’ll try to get on the winning path at 6 p.m. Saturday. West Alabama is 4-1, 0-1; Florida Tech is 2-3, 1-1.

Stillman at Clark Atlanta: The visitors come to Atlanta in search of their first road win of the season. The Tigers (2-2, 1-1 SIAC) could get it against the Panthers, who are 0-5, 0-2. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Class 7A: Spain Park did last week what no Jaguars squad had done before – beat crosstown rival and No. 1 Hoover on the field. The only prior Spain Park victory in this series came when Hoover forfeited a win. Can the 5-1 Jaguars, now No. 2 in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, come down to Earth and conquer 5-1 Vestavia Hills?

Class 6A: Spanish Fort coach Ben Blackmon and his brother, Opelika coach Brian Blackmon, are both still unbeaten. Ben faces a tall order this week, however, as it doesn’t get much better than No. 8 Blount (6-0) at No. 2 Spanish Fort (6-0) in a Region 1 battle.

Class 5A: There may be no better rivalry in Shelby County than Calera (5-1) at Helena (4-2). Calera could have a stranglehold on Region 4 with a win.

Class 4A: Bibb County (4-3) is at No. 9 Montevallo (7-0). Coach Andrew Zow has the Bulldogs unbeaten and the favorite in this Region 4 rivalry for the first time in a long while.

Class 3A: Montgomery Academy (5-1) travels to Midfield (4-2) in Region 3. Each squad is 3-0 in the region.

Class 2A: Luverne (5-2) hosts No. 1 Elba (6-0). The home team’s two losses were to unbeaten Pike County and arch-rival Brantley.

Class 1A: Victory Christian was 4-6 last season. Now the Lions are off to their best start in many years at 5-0. Region 5 foe Winterboro (4-2) comes calling Friday.

AISA: At least three games in the Alabama Independent School Association are meetings between top 10 teams. The best of those may be No. 3 Monroe hosting No. 7 Escambia.