Kalen DeBoer’s young roster faces a dangerous road test against Mississippi State, looming as a potential pitfall just before a grueling gauntlet of top-tier SEC contenders for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
With quarterback Keelon Russell or Austin Mack battling to become a first-year starting quarterback in training camp this summer, the Alabama Crimson Tide benefit from a relatively easy schedule to start the season.
East Carolina will be a tune-up contest for the Crimson Tide at home in Week 1 before starting their nine-game SEC schedule against Kentucky in Week 2.
Alabama will then finish the month with home games against two programs with head coaches on the hot seat, Florida State and South Carolina.
Things will start to get interesting for Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer in October. The Crimson Tide will start the month by going on the road to play Mississippi State on Oct. 3.
Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports thinks the Crimson Tide's matchup against Mississippi State is a trap game, as Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and LSU await in their next four games of the schedule.
"The Crimson Tide should be 4-0 going into this matchup on Oct. 3," Lassan wrote. "However, this contest marks the start of a brutal stretch, with games against Georgia (Oct. 10), Tennessee (Knoxville on Oct. 17), Texas A&M (Oct. 24), and LSU (Baton Rouge on Nov. 7).
"Coach Kalen DeBoer’s squad can’t overlook an improving Mississippi State team (especially after losses as a favorite to Vanderbilt and Florida the last two years)."
There should be no question that Alabama is the better team on paper than Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide should be able to take care of business early against the Bulldogs.
However, the Crimson Tide have a young roster, especially on offense. This game could be a mental test for those players, as they could be thinking about much harder games to come after the matchup.
As Lassan noted, Alabama has lost a few games they should have won in previous regular seasons. Kentucky, FSU, and South Carolina could wind up being nail-biters before the Mississippi State game.
DeBoer needs to preach to his kids that how they play against Mississippi State is important.
Alabama will need to win the game by as many points as possible to strengthen its resume for the CFP, given some losses are likely headed their way before mid-November.
