Saturday afternoon's game between No. 1 Alabama and Mercer, a 5-5 program from the Football Championship Subdivision, is not expected to include much drama.
Before kickoff, however, there could be quite the emotional punch.
Yet another productive crop of Crimson Tide seniors will play for a final time at Bryant-Denny Stadium. This year's collection of seniors have known nothing but Southeastern Conference championships during their time in Tuscaloosa, and they've made trips to each of the first three College Football Playoffs.
"This group has made a tremendous contribution to the success of the program, not only in how they've played and how they've performed but in how they've represented the university on and off the field," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "They've provided a tremendous amount of leadership for the young players, and we haven't had a lot of issues or problems with any of these guys. They've really been great ambassadors for the university.
"They've had a lot of success here and won a lot of games, and I can't say enough about them."
Saturday also could mark the Bryant-Denny finale for several standout juniors who have to make decisions regarding their NFL draft status in the weeks ahead - receiver Calvin Ridley, running backs Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, nose guard Da'Ron Payne, and defensive backs Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Harrison.
Alabama's seniors have played on teams that have compiled an eye-popping record of 50-4, and several had prominent roles for the 2015 national champions. Eight seniors were in the starting lineup for last week's 31-24 win at Mississippi State as this year's Crimson Tide improved to 10-0: center Bradley Bozeman, left guard Ross Pierschbacher, receivers Robert Foster and Cam Sims, linebacker Rashaan Evans, cornerbacks Anthony Averett and Levi Wallace, and safety Hootie Jones.
Punter JK Scott, kicker Andy Pappanastos, defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand and defensive back Tony Brown also will be vying for the final time in Tuscaloosa, while linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton had his season end with a knee injury earlier this month in the 24-10 win over LSU.
Should the Crimson Tide defeat the Bears, this 2017 senior class would tie last year's senior class as the winningest in school history. This year's class has the potential of winning a whopping 55 games, which would result in a second national title in three seasons.
"Hopefully we get the win this week," Pappanastos told reporters this week. "That's the most important thing for me. We need to go out and get in a good rhythm for the rest of the season. Mercer is the next game on the schedule.
"Senior day will be important, and it's going to be nice to have my family there. Hopefully, we'll look good."
Pierschbacher, who will miss Saturday's game with a high-ankle sprain, is the only senior who started for the 2015 national champions. Evans came off the bench during the 45-40 win over Clemson in that season's championship contest and collected two sacks of Deshaun Watson.
Evans was a five-star prospect in 2014 who chose Alabama over Auburn, where his father played, and he has followed in the footsteps of Reggie Ragland, Reuben Foster, Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams - recent Crimson Tide linebackers who chose to stay all four seasons.
"Being in their position now is just crazy," Evans said.
Alabama will be hard-pressed to top the emotional moment during last year's senior day festivities that preceded a 30-12 win over Auburn. After walking up to walk-on running back Lawrence Erekosima and his family, Saban stood and watched as Erekosima's mother, Jacqueline Page, ran from a tunnel and out on the field to join the gathering.
Page serves in the Army and had been stationed in Kuwait, but she was allowed to come home early to see her son get recognized.
"The thing that gets me is when I go out there and sort of shake hands with the parents and give them a hug and a kiss," Saban said. "It seems like yesterday that we were just recruiting them. It just kind of goes by so fast. You don't always get to see the parents a lot, so it's always good to see them and to see how proud they are. It's just a really good family moment for everyone.
"I think we have a tremendous amount of guys in this class who are going to be really, really successful in life, and that's the goal of our program here."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.