No. 4 Alabama (2-0 overall, 0-0 SEC) travel to Wisconsin (2-0, 0-0 B1G) for the Crimson Tide's first road game of the season. This will be just the third meeting between Alabama and Wisconsin when they square off at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday.
Here are a few things to watch for this Saturday afternoon as the Crimson Tide play Wisconsin.
Clean Up the Penalties
Penalties were a huge problem last week, and it kept an inferior opponent in the game. Alabama was flagged 13 times for 120 yards with nine of those penalties on the offensive line. Kalen DeBoer is historically known for having well-disciplined teams, and cleaning up the penalties will be necessary as the Crimson Tide face tougher competition as the season progresses.
Handling the Road Crowd
Camp Randall Stadium can get electric on any given Saturday, especially if the Badgers have a chance to upset a highly ranked team. This will be a true test of how this year’s Alabama team will respond to playing on the road. Getting ahead early to silence the crowd will be crucial to Alabama’s success. Luckily for Alabama, it is an early kick, so one would expect the crowd to not be as amped up as they would be for a night game.
Intermediate Passing
We have seen Jalen Milroe thrive with explosive, deep passes this season, especially to freshman Ryan Williams. Facing a tougher secondary, the deep ball might not be there, and Milroe might be forced to check down to the intermediate passes. So far in his career, the medium passing game has been a struggle. Saturday will be a great time to show that he has worked on the mid-range passing portion of his game.
New Punt Returner
Alabama’s punt returner Cole Adams is doubtful to suit up on Saturday after injuring his arm against South Florida. After Adams exited the game he was replaced by Jaylen Mbakwe. Mbakwe immediately made an impact after his punt return sparked a 21-point outburst in the fourth quarter. If Mbakwe continues to fill in for Adams, it will be crucial for him to flip the field for an Alabama offense that will be trying to take the crowd out of the game.
Offensive Line Improvement
Starting left tackle Kadyn Proctor has missed the first two games with a shoulder injury, but he has greatly improved over the past two weeks. If Proctor can get on the field this weekend, Alabama will finally have their best five linemen in the game for the first time this season. This would also help with minimizing penalties, as there should be more continuity up front. With or without Proctor, this will be the toughest test the Alabama offensive line will have faced to date.
Alabama will play its first road game of the season on Saturday, September 14, when it travels to Wisconsin. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on FOX.
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