The Alabama talk is interesting. I love aggressive scheduling. But Alabama these days has a distinct scheduling tendency for the opener and so far they haven't made any mistakes.
To avoid scrutiny on the three cupcake non-conference home games strategically placed on the schedule, Alabama nowadays hand picks a name-brand program for a neutral site opener. Invariably the team they pick has a greater reputation than reality, so Alabama receives more credit than deserved. Generally it's a soft team that Alabama can maul in the trenches. The opponent talks big and thinks it is ready but then is physically stomped. There has been lots of talk about that on handicapping forums every year leading up to the name.
The numbers back it up. Only Virginia Tech surprised Alabama by being competitive on the line of scrimmage. The Hokies were well prepared in that 2013 opener but turnovers and special teams did them in, destroyed 35-10.
These are the rushing totals in the neutral site Alabama openers beginning in 2012. I suggest the Canes forge a rugged team in the next three years, and not a flashy cupcake version that is easy pickings on the line of scrimmage. I was encouraged after watching tapes of our final three games from 2016. We were more legit than I sensed, while attending all of those games.
2012: Alabama 232 yards rushing, Michigan 69
2013: Alabama 96 yards rushing, Virginia Tech 153
2014: Alabama 288 yards rushing, West Virginia 28
2015: Alabama 238 yards rushing, Wisconsin 40
2016: Alabama 242 yards rushing, USC 64
It is interesting that Alabama is now targeting the ACC for that neutral site opener. It is Florida State this year, Louisville in 2018, Duke (?) in 2019, and potentially the Canes in 2020.
