Happy Friday, everyone. Alabama hosts Wisconsin for breakfast tomorrow. Your previews and predictions:
Alabama has every reason to run it up in this matchup. Unlike most teams, the Tide don’t need style points to reach the playoff if they win out. But DeBoer needs them to rebuild trust with a restless fanbase. A dominant performance over the Wisconsin Badgers
would go a long way toward silencing critics.
The matchup itself favors Alabama heavily. Quarterback Ty Simpson remains one of the highest-graded
QBs in college football by PFF and ranks among the leaders in QBR. He faces a defense that has struggled to create negative plays, giving him a clear path to success.
The bigger advantage comes on the other side of the ball. Wisconsin’s offense has been statistically average even against two lower-tier opponents. Facing Alabama’s SEC-caliber defense, which is deeper and faster at every level, it’s hard to see the Badgers generating consistent production.
All signs point toward Alabama responding in emphatic fashion.
Early Wisconsin vs Alabama spread pick: Alabama -20.5
After a 73-0 drubbing of Louisiana Monroe in its home opener, Alabama is at a high even with a Tallahassee-sized chip on the team’s collective shoulder. The two-win Badgers have not seen a challenge like the Crimson Tide. With the efficiency of Alabama’s offense paired with a defense that is still looking to make a statement after the Florida State loss, the Crimson Tide should walk away and look toward SEC play with another dominating win notched to its belt. No. 18 Alabama 38, Wisconsin 6
Alabama’s Ty Simpson Will Take the Next Step
The Tide quarterback might have been off against Florida State, but he tuned everything up last week, hitting all 17 of his passes against ULM for 226 yards and three scores with a rushing touchdown.
This week, the downfield throws will continue to be there, Bama will overcome a good Badger first quarter, and then comes the real fun with the trip to Georgia next.
That big gap between the SEC and Big Ten does appear to have narrowed across the board, but not when comparing these two rosters on the same field.
Say what you will about the Crimson Tide’s lackluster performance, especially when they were outphysicaled on both lines by the Seminoles in that forgettable opener.
But they have a decisive advantage getting push on the quarterback, stopping the run, and spreading out their skill targets against a slower secondary on the back end.
College Football HQ early game prediction: Alabama by 27, covers the spread.
Wisconsin’s offense has not looked great in either of its first two games but managed to hit a few big plays in the passing game last week against Middle Tennessee. For some reason I don’t think the Middle Tennessee team that lost to Austin Peay is in the same weight class as Alabama, so it’s hard for me to imagine the Badgers having a lot of fun on offense here unless Alabama turns the ball over frequently. Pick: Alabama -20.5
I think Wisconsin is a better team from top to bottom (save the current OL situation) than the one that got boat raced by Bama 42-10 in Madison last year. So, I’m reluctant to predict a blowout here, even with the game in Tuscaloosa.
I see the Badgers actually having some success moving the ball and making a fair number of plays defensively. But the host’s robust talent will ultimately be too much, and the Badgers fall well short after a valiant effort that was close for a while, losing 34-16. Wisconsin beats the embarrassing spread but still heads back to Madison feeling like it left points on the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Prediction: Alabama 34-16.
Alabama is playing at home, which has been a decided advantage in the young DeBoer era. Wisconsin isn’t a terribly strong offensive team at full strength, and will be playing with a backup QB. If Alabama takes care of its business, this thing won’t be close.
There is still plenty of work to do ahead of Georgia, so I expect the Tide to be pretty aggressive in this one. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say they repeat last year’s 42-10 score. Of course, that is just my opinion. Vote and give us yours in the comments.
Isaiah Horton scored his first touchdown for Alabama last week, and there is plenty of excitement around his potential in the offense.
“That big guy that’s got to go up and get it,” Horton said of what Simpson needs out of him as a receiver. “Whenever it’s time to bail out, Zay’s down there somewhere. ‘Go make a play for me, Zay.’ I’ll make that.”
That’s the kind of receiver Simpson needs, DeBoer said. And it’s what makes a receiver like Horton special: someone who is a big target and “quarterback friendly,” who has an intensity and “want to factor” that makes him desirable.
And the more reps Horton gets with Simpson, his former high school 7-on-7 quarterback, the better the offense will become, DeBoer said.
That’s the expectation not only for Horton, but for the receiver room as a whole. Horton is just built differently from the rest of the room.
“We’re elite. We work hard at that,” Horton said. “That’s what we work on. We take pride in what we do. We’re receivers. We catch the ball.”
Last, Alabama announced a $5M project to enhance the revenue generating luxury boxes at Bryant-Denny, at the expense of the press box.
In the press box, 1,200 existing square feet will be renovated to provide three new suites with interior seating and operable windows. “These suites are in demand, so the seating opportunities here are certainly welcome,” said Mike Rodgers, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Construction Management.
“The revenue generated by these seating opportunities will support athletics and future projects within athletics,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers also noted that while the size of Alabama’s football press box will be reduced by 1,200 square feet, it will “continue to have capacity that’s average in the Southeastern Conference.”
The new suites are expected to pay for themselves, and then some, upon completion.
“The boxes, once constructed, will generate more than $5 million in revenue,” said trustee Mike Brock.
“About twice as much,” added trustee Evelyn VanSant Mauldin.
College sports have been about money for a long time, but is especially so in the revenue sharing era.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
