Alabama may have gotten a win against West Virginia in the opening week of college football, but that does not mean the team was satisfied by their overall performance. The quarterback competition is still in full swing as Blake Sims and Jake Coker both plan on playing as the Crimson Tide face off against Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
Head coach Nick Saban told the media that both quarterbacks will play on Saturday despite Sims getting the win last week. The senior certainly showed that he is capable of handling the starting job. In his first start he completed 24 of 33 passes for 250 yards and one interception. Despite some shaky plays in the second quarter to recover for some solid passes and no-huddle plays. Fans are still very anxious to see Coker in the role. After transferring from Florida State, he was the assumed starter, but Saban notes poor decision making holding the quarterback back from playing.
The biggest issue for Alabama actually appeared to be their defense. The normal constant for the team struggled against the West Virginia offense as they gave up 365 yards of total offense. The linebacker position struggled with First-Team All-Sec Trey DePriest being out due to an NCAA suspension. The Tide is hoping to mix in Eddie Jackson at cornerback who has been out due to injury. The team will be without wide receiver DeAndrew White who hurt his right shoulder. Safety Jerrick Williams also will be out four weeks with a fractured foot.
The Tide will look to get some issues sorted out against Florida Atlantic who enter as a 40-point underdog. The team will be getting paid $1 million to play the Tide. Under first-year head coach Charlie Partridge, the team fell to Nebraska in the first week 55-7, getting held to just 200 yards of total offense.In the two team's last meeting back in 2012, the Owls lost 40-7.
