La Monroe-Alabama Preview Capsule

Lost in the talk about Alabama’s loss to Ole Miss last week is the Crimson Tide’s upcoming matchup with Louisiana Monroe on Saturday. In 2007, ULM upset Alabama in what was, by far, the biggest upset in the Nick Saban era of Alabama football. Expect something similar to the ULM-Georgia game with Alabama jumping on the Warhawks quickly in route to a big win.

Eight seasons later, things have rebounded just a bit for Alabama, but UL-M will always have the memory.

ULM’s quarterback Garrett Smith has completed 79 percent (49-of-62) of his passes with 576 yards and five touchdowns this season. I mean not turning the ball over. The team continually shot itself in the foot with five turnovers.

The Louisiana-Monroe football team will close out September with a road trip that would pose a challenge to nearly anyone as the Warhawks travel to No. 12 Alabama today. “The problem with those games is these guys were in the sixth grade when that happened”, Saban said. Saban has preached execution and efficiency as being key for the Tide to turn things around after last Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss. That’s also why he brought in Lane Kiffin as his offensive coordinator. If the game gets lopsided, Bateman will likely get into the game as well. Cleaning up the turnovers should be the top priority, and now that Jake Coker has officially been named the starting quarterback, it will be interesting to see if he plays with any added confidence knowing he no longer has to fight for his job. Coker has already been named the starter for this weeks game and if he is going to take a step forward in being the permanent starter, he needs to play efficient and have control of the offense against ULM. Kickoff for this Sun Belt vs. SEC game is slated to begin at 3 p.m. (CT), will air on the SEC Network.

“Every coach, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you’re searching for opportunities to put one of your players into space, one-on-one, and allow them to make a play”, he said.

This week’s game is about getting back to the basics, the team picking itself up, and moving forward. Among those 87 wins are three SEC championships, three national championships and an appearance in the inaugural college football playoff. They visit South Alabama Saturday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium as 17-point favorites to win a fifth straight game away from home for the first time since 1973-74.