Published On: 09.29.22 | 

By: Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Football preview: Alabama vs. Razorbacks on the road, Auburn hosts LSU, UAB has Rice on its platter

Alabama linebacker Henry ToÕoToÕo (10) celebrates during the Crimson Tide's dismantling of Vanderbilt at Bryant-Denny Stadium. This week brings a road showdown with No. 20 Arkansas. (Alabama Athletics)

After outlasting Arkansas 42-35 last season, Nick Saban doesn’t have to be told that his Crimson Tide (4-0) could face a stiff challenge as it travels to Fayetteville to face the Razorbacks (3-1) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS. Especially with No. 20 Arkansas coming off a 23-21 loss to Texas A&M, which moved up six slots in the AP Poll to No. 17. The loss dropped Arkansas 10 places.

“This is a very dangerous team we’re playing in Arkansas,” the coach of the nation’s No. 2 team said. “They make a lot of explosive plays. K.J. Jefferson is dual threat-wise – big, strong, a really good passer. He’s got a lot of quarterback runs, which create another gap on defense. To go with that, they have great play-action passes. They make a lot of explosive plays.

“This is a really, really good all-around team and it’s going to take great preparation on our part to go on the road and be able to play the way we need to play against a very good SEC team.”

Auburn struggled but won last week in overtime vs. Missouri. This week may bring a more difficult challenge when LSU comes to town. (Auburn Athletics)

Auburn (3-1) wriggled out of a possible defeat, eking out a 17-14 win over Missouri in overtime. Now, the Tigers host the SEC’s other Tigers, facing LSU (3-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

Bryan Harsin said there’s plenty of room for improvement in an Auburn offense that has been less than consistent, especially in the passing game.

“No. 1, just the situational of stuff,” he said, quickly shifting to turnovers. “We were plus in the last game; that was big. I was proud of our defense. We didn’t turn the ball over on offense. That was something that we talked about all year. Certainly, leading into the season and certainly through the season, we talked about takeaways.

“But, No. 1, (we need to) continue on that trend. Take care of the football,” Harsin said of having no turnovers, as they did last week. “No. 2, in the situations, we’ve got to be better. Some of those third downs, that’s one of the situations I’m talking about. Red zone has been decent, but really our third downs. We want to be better in those areas.”

And, he added, there needs to be balance between running and passing.

“Those are the challenges every week that we have,” the coach said. “We’re trying to continue to work on that. I think our guys know that, so if we can get some of the pass game-run game going, balance that out a little bit more, that’ll help us.”

Auburn will be without starting center Tate Johnson, who was injured in the win over Missouri. He could be out six to eight weeks and possibly for the remainder of the season.

Prior to its bye week, UAB got career highs of 223 yards and four touchdowns from running back DeWayne McBride to defeat Georgia Southern 35-21. The Blazers (2-1) leave the friendly confines of Protective Stadium this week, traveling to Houston to take on Rice (2-2) at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN Plus.

Interim coach Bryant Vincent’s team is opening Conference USA play against an Owls squad that beat the Blazers 30-24 at home last year.

“I think the biggest thing is, we understand that this season is a journey,” Vincent said. “We’re just now beginning conference play. We’ve got now, with our open week behind us last week, we know we’ve got nine straight games. At UAB, we’re a little bit different. Our goal here is to play for a conference championship, to win a conference championship.

“That’s probably the deepest Rice team that we’ve seen, probably the most athletic Rice team we’ve seen up to this point,” he said. “It’s an opportunity this team is looking forward to and we’re excited about.”

In other Alabama college action:

Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State: After falling 54-17 at Tulsa, the Gamecocks (4-1) got back on track last week with a 52-21 win over Nicholls. JSU hosts its ASUN opener at 1 p.m. Saturday, welcoming KSU. The Owls (1-2) notched their first win of 2022, edging Wofford 24-22.

Troy at Western Kentucky: The Trojans have alternated wins and losses this season, evening their record at 2-2 with a 16-7 victory over Marshall. Troy heads to Bowling Green for a 6 p.m. Saturday game against the Hilltoppers (3-1), who bounced back from their lone loss by drubbing Florida International 73-0.

Samford at Furman: The Bulldogs (3-1) have outclassed everybody except defending national champion Georgia, averaging nearly 32 points in their wins while giving up 19. The Paladins (3-1) host Samford at 1 p.m. Central Saturday on ESPN Plus.

The South Alabama Jaguars are off to a 3-1 start headed into this week’s game with Louisiana. (Scott Donaldson)

Miles at Albany State: Sam Shade won his first game as the head coach of the Golden Bears (1-3). And for good measure, Miles opened play in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a victory. Might win No. 2 come at 1 p.m. Central on Saturday against the Golden Rams (3-1)?

Tuskegee at Clark Atlanta: The Golden Tigers (2-2) have won two in a row after losing twice to open the season. Win or loss No. 3 will come against the Panthers (1-3) at 3 p.m. Central on Saturday.

Shorter at West Alabama: The Tigers (2-2) are batting .500 after falling 22-7 last week to No. 8 West Georgia. The Hawks (2-2) visit on Pink Out Day at 2 p.m. Saturday.

South Alabama at Louisiana: The Jaguars (3-1) notched a 24-point win last week over Louisiana Tech. This week, USA visits the Pelican State for a 4 p.m. meeting with the Ragin’ Cajuns (2-2).

Huntingdon at Maryville (Tenn.): The Scots (1-3) are next up for the Hawks (3-1), who are undefeated since falling in their season opener. The teams meet at 1 p.m. Saturday, a week after Maryville notched its first win – a 37-17 victory at Greensboro.

Bethune-Cookman at Alabama A&M: The Bulldogs (0-4) were competitive in their Southwestern Athletic Conference opener last week but still fell by 13 to Florida A&M. This week, coach Connell Maynor’s squad welcomes the Wildcats (1-2) for homecoming at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Alabama State at Texas Southern: The Hornets (2-2) followed two wins with two losses this season, including their 24-15 SWAC loss to Prairie View A&M. ASU looks to get back on track in its 6 p.m. contest against the Tigers (1-3).

Berry at Birmingham-Southern: It is City of Birmingham Employee Appreciation Day on the Hilltop as the Panthers welcome the Vikings at 6 p.m. Saturday. Both teams are 2-1.

Faulkner at Campbellsville (Ky.): The Eagles (2-2) haven’t yet had back-to-back wins this season. Perhaps that will happen at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against the Tigers (2-2).

Idle this week: North Alabama.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Class 7A: Auburn (6-0, 4-0), No. 1 in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, hosts Region 2 rival No. 9. Opelika (4-2, 3-1) on Friday.

Class 6A: No. 6 Hartselle (6-0) heads north to face No. 8 Muscle Shoals (5-0) on Friday.

Class 5A: Carroll (3-2), coming off a 33-3 win over Georgia’s Seminole County, visits No. 10 Eufaula (4-2) tonight.

Class 4A: Corner (5-0) is among the teams receiving votes in the latest poll. The Yellowjackets will certainly garner more attention if they can knock off visiting No. 8. Northside (4-1) on Friday.

Class 3A: This would have been a meeting of undefeated teams, except Straughn lost last week to Class 2A No. 3 Ariton. The Tigers (4-1) sit just outside the Top 10. They could climb into those ranks if they win at No. 7 Houston Academy (5-0) tonight.

Class 2A: No. 9 B.B. Comer (4-2) hosts No. 5 Isabella (5-0) on Friday.

Class 1A: No. 4 Sweet Water (3-1) is at No. 3 Linden (5-0) on Friday.

AISA: No. 6 Lowndes Academy and No. 7 Clarke Prep are mirror images of one another. Each is 4-1 and is undefeated after experiencing a season-opening loss. That win streak will end for one of these squads as the Rebels host the Gators on Friday.

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