A look at Boise State/Alabama entering Week 1

It’s not always fair to just focus on Michigan and Michigan State and how much they control their success this season.

Their opponents will have a big role in what happens this upcoming weekend.

Here is a look at what to expect from each Week 1 opponent.

Boise State

The Idaho Statesman has a number of articles on what to expect from the Broncos this season. Give them a read for your Boise State info.

Coming out of Boise, it sounds like the concerns are what we all expected. The Broncos have to replace a number of key starters, including Kellen Moore at quarterback.

It appears that junior Joe Southwick will be the man under center for Boise. He has seen some limited action the past few seasons, but nothing like he will face on Friday.

Boise State does have a veteran running back in D.J. Harper, but he has had two ACL tears in his career.

One area the Broncos should be strong is at cornerback, as they have two returning senior starters in Jamar Taylor and Jerrell Gavins. Unfortunately for those two, the defensive line is very young, so they could find themselves getting left out to dry often.

Ultimately, this Boise State is a pretty big question mark. They could continue to be very strong, or it could be a tough year. Unfortunately for the Broncos, they have a tough first opponent to try and figure it all out.

Alabama

AL.com has a lot of information on the Tide, including why a team like Michigan has no chance of upsetting the them on Saturday.

In the eyes of writer Andrew Gribble, to beat Alabama, you have to take the Tide out of character in multiple facets of the game to have a chance. On top of that, you would need a few breaks to go Michigan’s way as well.

Gribble believes that beating Alabama through the air is the best chance of winning, and is what has done the trick in losses for the Tide over the years. He doesn’t consider Denard Robinson the type of quarterback that can get past Alabama though.

I tend to agree as I think the speed of the Alabama defense will neutralize Robinson’s legs and he has yet to prove he can pick apart a top defense with his arm, and Alabama is at the top of the top defenses.

Look for Alabama to stick with that pro-style offense to pound the rock against the questionable Michigan defensive line while A.J. McCarron completes some key third-down passes to lead Alabama to success.