During Week 1 AJ McCarron threw for a lowly 110 yards with a 43.5% completion percentage and one interception. For a player that was considered to be a Heisman Trophy contender prior to the beginning of the season this is very worrisome, and does not bode well for when McCarron will have to face the defenses in the SEC.
During the 2013 season, much of the success for Alabama will come down to how their four highly regarded freshman running backs, Derrick Henry, Alvin Kamara, Altee Tenpenny and Tyren Jones, who were all ranked at least a four-star recruit by ESPN, will perform. It was very clear during Week 1 that T.J. Yeldon will need a sidekick in the backfield to take some of the load off his shoulders and give him a breather every once in a while, after he picked up only 75 yards. If one of the four does not step up to help Yeldon, it may be a very disappointing year in Tuscaloosa.
During their Week 1 win against Virginia Tech, the Alabama offensive line was uncharacteristically manhandled, allowing four sacks in the process. Much of the issues up front stem from the fact that Alabama lost three offensive lineman to the NFL draft during the offseason, resulting in their offensive line being extremely inexperienced. How they learn throughout the season could determine whether Alabama is able to achieve the three-peat.
A three-peat of national championships has not been done in Division 1 College Football since 1934-1936, when the Minnesota Golden Gophers did it. Since then, we have seen various schools attempt to match this feat, but each has found it impossible to do.
Every team in college football knows that Alabama is gunning for a three-peat, and would love to be the team that makes that goal impossible. Not only does every team want to make that goal vanish, but top dogs Clemson, Ohio State and South Carolina actually looked to have improved since last season. This will put more pressure on Alabama to win the SEC, and result in a tougher matchup than Notre Dame, if they do make the national championship.
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