The last time Nick Saban got a first-hand look at Trevor Knight, the then-freshman quarterback was leading Oklahoma to a 45-31 victory over Alabama in the 2014 Sugar Bowl.

Alabama’s win over Tennessee last week was surprisingly easy. This week brings the Tide a showdown with No. 6 Texas A&M. (Kent Gidley/University of Alabama Athletics)

In leading the Sooners to the win, Knight completed a Sugar Bowl-record 32 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns.

Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS, Knight gets another shot at the Crimson Tide as he and his No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies play at No. 1 Alabama.

“He’s an outstanding athlete and very capable running the ball,” Saban said during his weekly press conference. “He passed the ball well when we played against him before, but that was supposed to be the issue. He has done that extremely well this year for them to create the kind of balance in their offense that makes them very difficult to defend.

“He’s as productive as anybody we’ve played against all year.”

Meanwhile, No. 21 Auburn hosts No. 17 Arkansas at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Tiger running back Kerryon Johnson appears set to return to the lineup following a bye week. He joins Kamryn Pettway as a potent 1-2 punch in the Auburn ground game.

Arkansas will counter with an offense that’s scoring 34.86 points per game, fourth most in the Southeastern Conference.

OTHER STATE SCHOOLS

Troy at South Alabama: The Trojans (5-1 overall, 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference) look to continue their strong season at 6:30 tonight on ESPNU. The Jaguars (3-3, 0-3) will look to build on a couple of big upsets when they take on their biggest rival in the “Battle For The Belt.”

Kentucky State at Tuskegee: The Golden Tigers celebrate homecoming at 1 p.m. Saturday as they host the Thoroughbreds, who last week beat Miles 28-24. Tuskegee remained 10th in this week’s edition of the Division II football.com poll.

Miles at Lane: The Golden Bears (3-3, 1-1 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) look to climb over .500 during their trip to Jackson, Tenn.

Coach John Grass and his Jacksonville State Gamecocks are ranked No. 2 going into this week’s game. (JSU Athletics)

Jacksonville State at Eastern Kentucky: JSU (5-1) moved up to No. 2 in both the STATS and FCS Coaches Polls. The Gamecocks kick off in Richmond, Ky., at 2 p.m. in a game that’s available on the OVC Digital Network.

North Greenville at North Alabama: The Lions (4-0, 4-1 in the Gulf South Conference) were granted a waiver by the NCAA on Wednesday that will allow them to be considered for the NCAA Division II postseason football playoffs, despite not meeting the minimum requirement of 10 regular-season contests. Their game at Florida Tech was canceled because of Hurricane Matthew. The No. 10 team in the American Football Coaches Association Division II ranking kicks off at 6 p.m.

Florida Tech at West Alabama: The Tigers (4-3, 4-1 Gulf South) host the Panthers at 2 p.m.

Huntingdon at Methodist: The Hawks (5-1) kick off at noon Central time.

Rhodes at Birmingham-Southern: The Panthers (1-6) hope to have a happy homecoming as they entertain the Lynx at 2 p.m.

Western Carolina at Samford: The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) improved to 20th in the FCS Coaches Poll and 21st in the STATS Poll. Samford kicks off against its Southern Conference foe at 6 p.m.

Alabama A&M and Alabama State: The Bulldogs and Hornets are idle this week as each gets set for the 75th McDonald’s Magic City Classic presented by Coca-Cola on Oct. 29 at Birmingham’s Legion Field.

HIGH SCHOOLS

7A: McGill-Toolen, No. 1 in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, will win Region 1. But No. 5 Davidson’s game vs. Murphy at Ladd Stadium Friday night could go a long way toward Davidson finishing second.

6A: Helena travels to Chelsea and Parker heads to Jackson-Olin. Each of these visitors could find itself outside the playoffs without a win this week.

5A: No. 8 Mortimer Jordan, which played in last year’s state final, hosts Hayden. Each is 4-0 in Region 6.

4A: Defending state champ Leeds visits Munford with a chance at eventually grabbing the region crown.

3A: Locust Fork (6-2, 3-1 in Region 6) hosts Fultondale (6-1, 4-0).

2A: This could be the biggest game of the week, with No. 5 Lanett taking on No. 4 LaFayette. These are two huge rivals with a region title on the line and only one loss between them. Each averages nearly 50 points per game.

1A: No. 3 Spring Garden travels to No. 7 Cedar Bluff.

AISA: Tough choice here as Autauga Academy is at Escambia Academy and Abbeville Christian Academy travels to Chambers Academy. Region supremacy is at stake in each game.