Alabama figures to get a reprieve from the stress of all those close football games with championship aspirations on the line.
That is, of course, not the desired situation for the Crimson Tide (8-2), who host Football Championship Subdivision member Austin Peay (7-3) in a midday matchup Saturday with their national title hopes already kaput.
Alabama, No. 8 in the AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings, wraps up its Southeastern Conference schedule with next week’s visit from Auburn, but the Tide have no chance to play in next month’s SEC title game with LSU having already secured the West Division’s ticket to Atlanta to face East winner Georgia. Now the pressure needs to be more internal than external for the Tide, who still have chances to reach 10-plus wins and a prominent bowl game.
“I think it comes down to a lot of things that we talked about last week in terms of are you going to define your identity as a football player and as a football team?” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “Or are you going to let other people do it?”
Only a big upset in the final two games — Auburn is currently 4-6 — could keep Saban & Co. from reaching 10 wins for the 15th consecutive season without waiting for a bowl. Alabama has won 55 consecutive regular-season nonconference games, including 41 straight at Bryant-Denny Stadium.