Published On: 11.03.22 | 

By: Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Football preview: Alabama visits LSU, Auburn treks to Mississippi State after shakeup, UAB welcomes UTSA

Alabama wide receiver JoJo Earle (10) catches a touchdown pass against Mississippi State at Bryant-Denny Stadium. This week the Tide faces another nationally ranked SEC team in the LSU Tigers. (University of Alabama Athletics)

Alabama travels to Death Valley for a 6 p.m. Saturday meeting on ESPN with LSU and its dual-threat quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Nick Saban acknowledged that it will be a challenge to contain Daniels, the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.

“The emphasis has to be on all 11 guys really doing what they need to do,” the Tide coach said, “whether it’s pass rush lanes, whether it’s how you cover people, keeping contain on the quarterback, trying to keep him in the pocket.

“There’s a lot of elements to doing this,” Saban continued. “You just can’t rush and think you’re going to go get a sack and get pushed by the quarterback. Then he’s going to end up having lanes to run in. All these things have got to be real points of emphasis for us all week long so that we have a chance to contain a guy that’s a very good passer, but he also can beat you with his feet.”

Alabama (7-1, 4-1) is ranked No. 6 in the first College Football Playoff ranking of the season. The Tigers (6-2, 4-1) are No. 10 in that ranking.

Auburn interim head football coach Carnell Williams talks to players this week as the Tigers prepare to travel to Starkville and face Mississippi State.
(Todd Van Emst / AU Athletics)

Speaking of Tigers, life on The Plains has hardly been business as usual this week:

  • Monday, Auburn hired former Mississippi State Athletics Director John Cohen, a Tuscaloosa native who began his collegiate baseball career at Birmingham-Southern College, to lead the Tigers program.
  • Less than an hour later, Auburn fired head football coach Bryan Harsin, naming running backs coach Carnell “Cadillac” Williams to be the interim head coach. That makes him the first Black to lead the Tigers football program.
  • And a week after Harsin-led Auburn fell 41-27 to Arkansas at home, Williams leads the Tiger football team (3-5, 1-4 SEC) into a road game at Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2. The Bulldogs bring a 5-3, 2-3 record into the contest.

With chaos at every turn, Williams said there are things that he knows.

“We’re gonna go out and play good football,” he said. “We’re gonna go out and fly around. We’re gonna go out and have fun. We’re gonna play Auburn football and that’s running the football and playing relentless on defense.”

Despite the bedlam of the week, Williams said Auburn has an opportunity to be great.

“Nobody’s giving us a shot to do anything. Nobody’s expecting much from a guy who just started coaching in 2015 who don’t got much experience doing that,” Williams said. “What do we have to lose? We gonna lock arms and we’re gonna compete. We’re gonna roll up our sleeves and we’re gonna fight.”

The interim head coach acknowledged he doesn’t know what lies ahead the next four weeks. He doesn’t know if his Tigers will win any of their remaining games.

“But this I do know, man. We’re gonna go out there and give it our all,” Williams said. “We’re gonna play good football and we’re gonna play relentless. We’re gonna work our tail off.”

UAB puts its six-game home winning streak on the line against Conference USA leader UTSA at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on the Stadium network. The Blazers, 4-0 this season at Protective Stadium, are coming off back-to-back road losses, the latest 24-17 at Florida Atlantic.

“This team is frustrated, but we’re together,” interim coach Bryant Vincent said. “There’s no division; there’s no negativity. We fight. We prepared extremely hard, we fought to the very end, we just have to pull out a win there at the end. We’ve got to find a way to finish.”

The Blazers (4-4, 2-3 Conference USA) face a Roadrunners team (6-2, 4-0) led by quarterback Frank Harris.

“This year, they’re averaging over 35 points a game (and) they’re throwing for over 330 yards a game,” Vincent said. “He’s an experienced quarterback; he’s won a lot of big games. He won a conference championship last year. They find a way to finish a lot of games.”

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In other college action:

Alabama A&M at Mississippi Valley State (tonight): You can get an early start to your football weekend as the Bulldogs (3-5, 3-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) take on the Delta Devils (0-8, 0-5) at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

Miles at Tuskegee: This season-ending rivalry game usually determines who wins the West Division of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Not this year. The Golden Bears (1-8, 1-4) are battling not for a conference crown but a measure of respect as coach Sam Shade’s first year comes to an end. Conversely, the Golden Tigers (7-2, 6-0), behind former Miles coach Reginald Ruffin, have already been fitted for the division crown, two games ahead of Kentucky State and Lane, each with a 4-2 conference mark. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Saturday.

VMI at Samford: It’s homecoming on the Homewood campus and the Bulldogs have brought home victories against everyone except FBS powerhouse Georgia. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Samford (7-1, 5-0 SoCon) welcomes the Keydets (1-7, 0-5) on ESPN Plus.

The University of South Alabama Jaguars are 6-2 heading into this weekend’s game vs. Georgia Southern. (Scott Donaldson)

Troy at Louisiana: Coming off a victory over rival South Alabama, the Trojans (6-2, 4-1 Sun Belt) visit the Ragin’ Cajuns (4-4, 2-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday.

South Alabama at Georgia Southern: The Jaguars (6-2, 3-1) rebounded from their loss in the Battle for the Belt by trouncing Arkansas State. They take on the Eagles (5-3, 2-2) at 3 p.m. Central on ESPN Plus.

Eastern Kentucky at Jacksonville State: The Gamecocks (7-2, 3-0 in the ASUN) impeached the Governors of Austin Peay 40-16 last week. They welcome the Colonels (5-3, 1-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Austin Peay at North Alabama: Auburn isn’t the only school to make a head coaching change. Coach Chris Willis closes his six seasons at the helm of the Lion program with a 20-34 overall record. Ryan Held, UNA’s associate head coach and offensive coordinator, will serve as interim head coach for the final three games of the 2022 season. The Lions (1-7, 0-4) lost 64-29 last week at Central Arkansas. UNA is back at home this week, greeting the Governors (5-3, 1-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Mississippi College at West Alabama: The Tigers (4-5, 2-4) have lost three games in a row. Two of those losses came against the No. 9 and 10 teams in the country. UWA hosts the Choctaws (4-4, 3-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday on Senior Day.

Centre at Birmingham-Southern: The Panthers (6-2, 4-1) have won three games in a row. They have their sights set on continuing that streak at 1 p.m. Saturday against the Colonels (5-3, 3-2).

Huntingdon at N.C. Wesleyan: Speaking of streaks, the Hawks (7-1, 5-0 USA South Athletic Conference) haven’t lost since falling to a nationally ranked foe in their opening game. Saturday, they visit the Battling Bishops (4-6, 4-4) at 11 a.m. Central.

Alabama State at Bethune-Cookman: After holding off rival Alabama A&M last week in the Magic City Classic, the Hornets (5-3, 3-2 SWAC) hit the road for a 3 p.m. Central contest Saturday with the Wildcats (2-6, 2-3).

Faulkner at Bethel (Tenn.): The Eagles (4-5, 3-3) face the No. 4 team in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The Wildcats are 9-0, 6-0.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Class 7A: Three-time defending state champion Thompson (7-3) was ranked No. 3 in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association poll following the regular season. The Warriors open defense of their title by hosting Huntsville (6-4) on Friday.

Class 6A: No. 8 Center Point (8-1) hosts Jackson-Olin (4-6) on Friday.

Class 5A: No. 4 Ramsay (8-2) plays host to Southside-Gadsden (5-5) on Friday.

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Class 4A: Corner visits No. 10 Cherokee County on Friday. Each team is 8-2.

Class 3A: No. 8 Opp (8-2) welcomes W.S. Neal (6-4) on Friday.

Class 2A: No. 6 B.B. Comer (8-2) hosts Lanett (5-5) on Friday.

Class 1A: No. 9 Sweet Water (6-2) welcomes Verbena (8-2) on Friday.

AISA: No. 10 Banks Academy (6-4) travels to Edgewood Academy (5-5) on Friday.