Title Hopes Gone, No. 8 Alabama Hosts FCS Austin Peay

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (9) runs with the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. Alabama won 30-24. (AP Photo/Thomas Graning)

Alabama is set to finish the season in an unfamiliar situation. The eighth-ranked Crimson Tide hosts FCS Austin Peay with its Southeastern Conference and national championship hopes already dashed.

But Alabama (8-2, 5-2 SEC, No. 8 CFP) still has a shot at 10 regular-season wins and a Top-10 finish.

Alabama has won 55 consecutive regular-season nonconference games, including 41 straight at Bryant-Denny Stadium. It’s the Tide’s first meeting with a current Atlantic Sun Conference member. Austin Peay (7-3) is closing out its first three-game road stretch since 2019.

Alabama coach Nick Saban would never come out and say it publicly, but playing an FCS team like Austin Peay should afford extra playing time for young players who could earn bigger roles next season.

Backup quarterbacks Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson could get another early audition for next season if starter Bryce Young can stake the Tide to a big early lead. Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, is projected as a high NFL draft pick if he leaves early. Milroe started the Texas A&M game. The freshman Simpson only saw brief action against Utah State.

Austin Peay has won 11 straight games in November and is 5-0 under coach Scotty Walden. The Governors are averaging 202.3 rushing yards and 243.3 passing yards per game. They could become the first team in program history to average both 200 yards rushing and passing.

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