Alabama football is set for its first Power 4 opponent of the season on Saturday, when it travels to Wisconsin. The game is also UA’s first road game of the 2024 season, and Kalen DeBoer’s tenure as head coach.
The undefeated Crimson Tide faces a Wisconsin team that is also 2-0, though it didn’t beat South Dakota and Western Michigan as emphatically as Badger fans would have preferred. The game is set for an 11 a.m. CT kick Saturday, on FOX.
Before that, here are three keys to victory for the Crimson Tide.
Heal up
Injuries on the offensive line hurt Alabama significantly last week. Kadyn Proctor missed his second game in a row after injuring his shoulder in warmups, and coaches held Elijah Pritchett out until late in the matchup.
The missing players forced major changes up front. Left guard Tyler Booker was forced to slide over to tackle, and Geno VanDeMark moved into his position.
Alabama wasn’t using it as an excuse for the poor showing against South Florida, but it didn’t help. Fortunately, Kalen DeBoer sounded optimistic about the health of both Proctor and Pritchett for the Wisconsin game.
As conference play nears, Alabama’ offensive line has to gel. Saturday’s matchup could be a big help with that, provided everyone is one the field.
Fix the penalties
Alabama’s offensive line cost the the Crimson Tide 70 yards in penalties in the USF game. And that’s just what the officials walked off, never mind the distance that was nullified by said penalties.
The Tide had two touchdowns and another long gain nullified by holds. Even away from the offensive line, USF turned one third-down call on the UA defense in to a score.
Out of all the problems Alabama demonstrated against the Bulls, that one is the most concerning. After looking at the film, Crimson Tide coaches cited players trying to make hero plays and forgetting about using proper technique.
That can’t keep happening moving forward. Wisconsin is more talented than South Florida, and is more capable of capitalizing if Alabama tries to beat itself.
Stop the pass
Wisconsin is a team with a strange identity at present. For years, the Badgers relied mostly on the run, with backs like Ron Dayne, Melvin Gordon and Jonathan Taylor leading the way.
Then, Luke Fickell got hired before the 2023 season. The former Cincinnati coach brought in Phil Longo as his offensive coordinator, a man best known for using air raid concepts.
The Badgers haven’t totally abandoned the run. However, Longo is putting his signature on the offense, which now relies far more heavily on the pass.
Wisconsin is led by Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke at quarterback. If the Tide can stop the UW attack through the air, it will be in good shape defensively.
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