College football season begins anew this weekend. Over two hundred thousand Alabamians will be traveling on the roads this weekend to watch their favorite college teams play and to tailgate with their friends and families before and after the games.
Head football coach Nick Saban returns to the University of Alabama for yet another season, and the Tide is once again ranked high in the college football rankings. Bama had a respectable 11 and 2 finish in 2022 but were left out of the college football playoffs. The Tide watched the playoffs on TV last year as the Georgia Bulldogs repeated as national champions. Saban returns, but the Tide has a new offensive and defensive coordinator.
Saban is also looking for a quarterback. Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young is now the starting quarterback for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Saban has not named a starter at the position, with four quarterbacks competing for playing time. Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson, Tyler Buchner, and freshman Dylan Lonergan have all flashed at points in camp, but according to Saban, none of them have played so well that they have made him give them the job. Most observers seem to think that last year’s backup – Milroe, will be the starter, but for how long? Buchner has more experience, and he worked with the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame last year, before transferring to Tuscaloosa. Simpson and Lonergan both appear to have a high ceiling with more raw talent but would be riskier choices.
The Tide’s season kicks off in Tuscaloosa on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night when the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders visit.
Hugh Freeze is the new head coach of the Auburn Tigers. Auburn finished a disappointing 5 and 7 last year with Brian Harsin being released as head coach in the middle of just his second season on the plains. Auburn was decimated in the two years after Coach Gus Malzahn was fired, with dozens of players leaving the program through the transfer portal and Harsin’s recruiting classes being less impressive than what the Tigers’ fans were used to. Freeze went heavy into the transfer portal to quickly replenish Auburn’s depth chart with upperclassmen transfers from other programs. Freeze has named Payton Thorne as the starting quarterback, with Thorne having beat out Robby Ashford in fall camp.
Auburn’s season kicks off in Auburn on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. with the University of Massachusetts coming to visit.
Trent Dilfer is the new head coach at the UAB Blazers. Dilfer won his first game with the Blazers on Thursday night with a 35 to 6 win over North Carolina A&T. UAB quarterback Jacob Zeno was nearly perfect, completing 34 of his 37 pass attempts for 247 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. 13 different Blazers caught passes, and 9 Blazers has running carries for 177 yards on the ground. The Blazers defense held NCAT to just 16 yards through the air and 157 yards on the ground.
Troy University also starts their season at home on Saturday with Stephen F. Austin at 6:00 p.m. Jon Sumrall returns as the Trojans head coach. With 12 wins last year, Troy had the most wins in its history since moving up in division. Gunnar Watson is the starting quarterback.
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