I’m going to make a prediction, don’t quote me on this. Okay? I’m going to predict at this time next year, I will be guessing whether Roll Tide will be winning its 5th national title in 6 years. Although Nick Saban’s army lost nine players to the 2013 NFL draft (the most of any team in college football), they also happen to have THE BEST RECRUITING CLASS coming in, per Rivals.com.
Saban will look to hoist yet another national championship
This class is disturbingly good. Bama’ looks to add the nation’s top inside linebacker (Reuben Foster), receiver (Robert Foster), tight end (O.J. Howard), and offensive tackle (A’Shawn Robinson) to the mix with a class of twenty-six recruits who could play anywhere in the country. I’m telling you to not believe the hype when it comes to Robert Foster, although he has great size (6’3, 190), he runs the 40-yard-dash in 4.82 seconds, which isn’t nearly fast enough to keep pace with a conference known for it’s agility and strength.
Reuben Foster will come to play
Here’s the thing, I understand how easy it is to pick the raining national champion to repeat, but ‘Bama has shown that they’re entirely capable of doing just that. The SEC once again has unveiled a brutal schedule for many of its teams. Look for the Texas A&M at LSU game (Nov. 23) to be critical for an A&M team riding high on Johnny Football. It’s not that the Aggies have a tough schedule, with the only true road test being LSU (‘Bama is a home game), but I don’t see Manziel replicating his stellar season again, and I expect a significant drawback from the rushing attack that was 11th best in the nation in 2012. As for Georgia, I see them having the same problem as last year, just not enough offense and scoring to get them over the hump that is Alabama. Not to mention, Georgia still has to get through a road test at Clemson (Aug. 31) and play host to South Carolina the next weekend (Sep. 7).
Alabama before their spring game
Expect Alabama to destroy a Virginia Tech team that’s coming off its worst season in over twenty years, and the game vs. Texas A&M (Sep. 14) to be another nail biter down the stretch. I’m expecting another Alabama vs. Georgia matchup, as Florida’s schedule (toughest in the nation) may as well have taken them out of contention (games at Miami, LSU, Missouri, and South Carolina).
