Published On: 09.01.22 | 

By: Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Football preview: Alabama welcomes Utah State, Auburn takes on Mercer, UAB faces Alabama A&M

Alabama coach Nick Saban practices with the Crimson Tide in advance of this weekend's season opener vs. Utah State. Saban says he wants his players to understand they're not entitled to anything and must strive every day to be at their best. (Kent Gidley / Alabama Athletics)

The 2022 season kicks off for Alabama on Saturday, but Nick Saban is already in midseason form.

The coach of the Crimson Tide said this week that no one on his team should feel entitled to anything, least of all an assurance that they are going to play.

“The message to every player every day, regardless of what the competitive circumstances of his position is, you’re trying to create value for yourself,” Saban said. “You’re trying to be the best player that you can be. There shouldn’t be any external factors that determine how you go about that. And if you’re really a true competitor, you don’t need somebody to be competing for your job because you’re competing with yourself to be the best version of yourself that you can be relative to whatever you choose to do in your life.

“In most cases, if I see guys that I don’t think are doing that, we put somebody else in,” the coach said. “That’s the one way to get the message across that you’re not entitled to play unless you do things the way you’re capable of doing them.”

Alabama, the consensus No. 1 team in the country, faces Utah State at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network.

Tank Bigsby (4) and Colby Wooden (25) practice with the Auburn Tigers as the team prepares for its season opener against Mercer, which won its first game by 50 points. (Todd Van Emst / AU Athletics)

Auburn begins its 2022 campaign at home at 6 p.m. on ESPN Plus, taking on a Mercer squad that trounced Morehead State 63-13 last week, amassing 625 total yards. Those totals got the attention of Tigers coach Bryan Harsin.

“That’s hard to do,” he said of the Bears’ offensive output. “We looked at them last year and you see it this year again. They’re well-coached. Coach (Drew) Cronic does a great job with that group. They play hard, they’re physical and they’re very balanced when you look at them in all three phases.”

UAB and Alabama A&M get the football weekend started early as they meet at 7 tonight at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium. The game airs on CBS Sports Network.

Interim Blazers head coach Bryant Vincent wants his team to protect its home turf, establishing a strong homefield advantage at the Uptown stadium.

“We want to reclaim our stadium, reclaim Birmingham,” he said. “When we were in Legion (Field) and we had the 22-game win streak, we understand fully what it’s like to represent Birmingham and to be able to own Birmingham.”

That’s not to say that UAB is looking beyond the Bulldogs.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for Alabama A&M and coach (Connell) Maynor,” Vincent said. “We understand they’re very talented. They do a great job. We know that UAB is their Super Bowl, so to speak. We know we’ve got our hands full.”

Alabama A&M, an Football Championship Subdivision team, is stepping up against UAB, an Football Bowl Subdivision squad. For Maynor, the goal in tonight’s contest is modest.

“We just want to be competitive and we want to get out of there injury-free,” he said. “We want to learn about ourselves, what our weaknesses are, what our strengths are.”

In other college action:

North Alabama at Indiana State (tonight): After four years of transition, the Lions are finally a full-fledged Division I football program. The FCS team visits the Sycamores, perhaps best known for producing basketball legend Larry Bird, at 5 tonight in Terre Haute, Indiana, at Memorial Stadium. The game is available on ESPN Plus.

Kennesaw State at Samford (tonight): Chris Hatcher’s Bulldogs will learn quickly where they stand as they kick off their season at 6 p.m. The Owls are ranked No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 8 in the STATS Perform FCS Top 25.

Faulkner at Point: The Eagles (0-1) opened their National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) season last week with a 34-27 loss to then No. 9 Reinhardt. The Skyhawks of West Point, Georgia, play their home games in Valley, Alabama. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Davidson at Jacksonville State: The Gamecocks (1-0) kicked off the Rich Rodriguez era last week with a 42-17 win over Stephen F. Austin. They’ll look to stay on the winning track as they host the Wildcats at 1 p.m. Saturday on ESPN Plus.

The Tuskegee Golden Bears take on Fort Valley State Sunday in the Red Tails Classic at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. (Tuskegee University Athletics)

Miles at Alabama State: The Hornets earned first-time head coach Eddie Robinson Jr. his first victory as they outlasted Howard 23-13 last week in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. They host the Division II Golden Bears at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Labor Day Classic, which will be the first game for new Miles coach Sam Shade.

Birmingham-Southern at McMurry: The Panthers are coming off one of their best seasons in school history. After a runner-up finish in the Southern Athletic Association and reaching the second round of the Division III playoffs, the Panthers are ranked No. 25 by D3football.com going into the 2022 campaign. They travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, for a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday at War Memorial Stadium against the War Hawks.

Troy at Ole Miss: The Trojans have a 3 p.m. Saturday date with the No. 21 team in the country on the SEC Network. “There’s no easing into the 2022 season,” Troy coach Jon Sumrall said. “We get a Top 25 opponent, which is exciting. They’re a team that finished 10-3 last year and 11th in the country.” Conversely, Troy was 5-7 in 2021.

Nicholls State at South Alabama: Year 2 of the Kane Wommack era kicks off at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Jaguars were 5-7 in Year 1.

West Alabama at Morehouse: The Tigers launched their 2021 season with a 41-point victory over Morehouse. They hope to have similar success this year against the Maroon Tigers at 5 p.m. Central on Saturday at B.T. Harvey Stadium.

Linfield at Huntingdon: The Hawks took flight in 2021, finishing with an 8-3 record and a loss in the first round of the Division III playoffs. Their opener this year is at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Fort Valley State vs Tuskegee (Sunday): The Tuskegee Airmen will be remembered as the Golden Tigers host the Wildcats in the Red Tail Classic. The game, which airs on ESPNU, kicks off at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl at 6 p.m.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Class 7A: Auburn (2-0) is No. 2 in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association ranking. Dothan (2-0) is unranked but is among the teams receiving consideration, which will certainly increase if they can knock off the Tigers on the road at 7 p.m. Friday.

Class 6A: Homewood (1-1) won by 18 in its opener and lost by 35 in Game 2. The Patriots will try to determine who they are as they travel to No. 10 Helena (2-0) on Friday.

Class 5A: No. 2 Pleasant Grove (1-0) welcomes Wenonah (1-0) on Friday.

Class 4A: No. 8 Anniston (2-0) travels to Munford (1-0) on Friday.

Class 3A: Piedmont (0-1) is the top-ranked team in its classification. The Bulldogs hope to look the part of a No. 1 team after they host Sylvania (1-0) on Friday.

Class 2A: No. 2 Highland Home welcomes Goshen on Friday. Each is 2-0.

Class 1A: No. 5 Decatur Heritage (2-0) heads to No. 9 Valley Head (2-0) on Friday.

AISA: Banks Academy (1-0) travels to No. 2 Patrician Academy (1-0).

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