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Alabama's probably gonna win its SEC opener. Via Alabama's game notes:
Alabama and Kentucky will meet for the 40th time on Saturday afternoon. Alabama historically fares well against the Wildcats, holding a 36-2-1 record all-time. At home, Alabama is undefeated playing the Wildcats as well, as if the odds weren't already stacked against UK enough. The last time these two played each other in 2013, Alabama beat Kentucky, 48-7, in Lexington. Alabama squeaked by the Wildcats 17-14 the last time these two played each other from Bryant-Dennny, eight years ago in 2008.
Given how unfortunate Kentucky has fared so far this season, with a 2-2 record and losses to both Southern Miss and Florida, top-ranked and undefeated Alabama looks like an even more formidable opponent. In SEC home openers, Nick Saban is 12-2 during his head coaching years at both Alabama and LSU. Combined, his teams have outscored opponents by a score of 434-227.
How to watch, stream, and listen
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN. Dave Pasch will be on play-by-play, former Tide QB Greg McElroy will be the color analyst and Tom Luginbill will be on the sideline.
Online streaming: Saturday's game can be streamed through WatchESPN.
Spread: Alabama is currently favored by 32.5 points.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Roll Bama Roll (for Alabama fans) and A Sea of Blue(for Kentucky fans).
Three big things to know
1. Kentucky's rushing attack is led by a true freshman: True freshman back Benny Snell Jr. has five rushing touchdowns so far, marking the most rushing TDs by a UK player in the first four games of his freshman season in UK school history. His four rushing scores vs. New Mexico State last week tied a Kentucky school record for the most rushing TDs in single game. His 136 rushing yards in last week's game are also the most for a UK freshman since Derek Homer vs. Tennessee back in 1997.
2. Alabama's statistics are impressive on both sides of the ball: Alabama leads the SEC in scoring offense, and ranks third in scoring defense, with 14.8 points per game. The Tide also is currently eighth nationally in scoring and 17th in scoring defense. In the run game department, the Tide is 17th nationally in rushing offense (246.3 ypg) and fifth in rushing defense (67.5 ypg).
3. Mark Stoops is seemingly coaching for his job: This isn't to say that if Kentucky loses to Alabama (as expected) on Saturday that he will definitely be fired after this year, but it certainly would help if his team looks competitive in the matchup. Blowing a 21-point lead to get upset by Southern Miss and then getting trounced 45-7 by Florida the next week made Stoops' seat as hot as it's ever been. In a situation like this, every game counts when talking about job security.