With just about 10 weeks until ‘Bama’s first exhibition game tips off, the Crimson Tide finalized its non-conference schedule. And though it is challenging, depending on how Vegas shakes out, the Tide might have just dodged the toughest schedule in the country — though certainly one that will be in the Top 10 when the smoke clears.
Let’s take a look:
The season may officially begin on 3 November, but the Tide kicks things off with a brief exhibition tour two weeks earlier. Alabama will face Florida
State on Oct. 16 in Birmingham, and then on October 26th, the squad will play a true road game at Furman, during the Paladins homecoming.
We’ve covered Furman previously (see below), but FSU is a bit of a wildcard. New coach Luke Loucks has a deep NBA pedigree, where he coached the Warriors in two-way development, and carved out a niche for himself as a defensive coordinator with the Kings. College reaching into the pro ranks is increasingly common, but you ordinarily see offensive guys being poached off benches, not defensive ones. I’m sure they will play four-out NBA ball, but I bet Nate will be taking notes on how the ‘Noles defend applying pro principles in college.
Then the season tips off — and given last year’s scare in Grand Forks, you can’t even call it a gimme — with North Dakota. Still, this should be one of ‘Bama’s easiest games of the season.
But for most people, the march into March will begin in earnest a few days later, as the Tide’s first true road game is against one of the living legends, Rick Pitino’s St Johns team in Madison Square Garden. It doesn’t get easier from there: SJU is the first of four straight ranked opponents for ‘Bama that features a return trip to Illinois in the United Center, Gonzaga in the Vegas Players Era tourney, and most tantalizingly, finally getting Purdue at home, after road trips to Canada and West Lafayette the previous two seasons. In the Vegas tourney, Alabama’s guaranteed second game is the home team — the Runnin’ Rebels, and depending on how that pans out, the Tide could have a third game against another Top 10 opponent: Kansas, Auburn, Houston…take your pick.
The back half is a bit “easier” but does have two huge games against tough teams: Clemson and Arizona, neither in Coleman. Don’t sleep on Yale either…just ask Auburn.
And, as he has done before, Coach Oats is giving TV time to former assistants, but this is honestly looking like a Saban coaching tree with the number of folks he’s putting in jobs already. The Tide will face three former assistants: Recently-departed Austin Claunch is now the head man at UT San Antonio. ‘Bama gets its reunion with Coach Pettway, as Kennesaw State travels to Huntsville. And Brian Hodges, fresh off a promotion to USF, will also come back to the scene of the crime. And all those recruits and potential transfers tuning in for an Alabama game will hear it about it: 5D chess, fellas.
So, what does it look like? Half the schedule were tourney teams last season. Five are conference winners from last season. And half a dozen are ranked in the preseason Top 25s of various stripes and perhaps more, depending on Vegas
It’s brutal, no doubt. But on paper it is marginally easier than last season or 2023. Then again, when you’re firmly on everyone’s radar, every game has a bullseye on your back — for Alabama is the hunted now, not the scrappy underdog in search of pelts.
But I like it up here.
Roll Tide
