Analyst: Alabama Catches Scheduling Break During 2023 Season

Getty According to ESPN's Bill Connelly, Alabama will be catching a major scheduling perk during the 2023 season

The 2023 football schedule breaks favorably in favor of Alabama according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, who pointed out that the Crimson Tide will face their most favorable matchups within the friendly confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium this coming fall.

“A lot can change between now and the fall, but it looks like most of Alabama’s toughest games in 2023 will come at home,” Connelly wrote. “Out of conference, Texas visits Bryant-Denny Stadium the second week of the season. And in SEC play, Ole Miss comes to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 23 as does Tennessee on Oct. 21 and LSU on Nov. 4.”

Connelly believes that an Alabama victory over Tennessee would give the Crimson Tide confidence heading into the bye week before taking out the other team that handed them a loss in 2022 — and thus preventing an Alabama College Football Playoff appearance for the second time since the postseason format’s inception in 2014 –, LSU.

“The Tennessee game, in particular, looms large for Alabama,” Connelly prefaced before saying, “Beating the Vols would give the Tide an extra week with the bye to complete the sweep over Tennessee and LSU.”

Alabama Game ‘Make or Break’ for LSU’s Repeat SEC West Bid

Unsurprisingly, Connelly called the Crimson Tide the “make or break” game for LSU’s bid to repeat as SEC West champions.

A November 5 32-31 victory over Alabama in Baton Rouge clinched the 2022 divisional championship and a spot in the SEC Championship game against Georgia.

While Connelly conceded that several games during a season in the SEC West can be deemed make or break, he also conceded that there’s no bigger prove-it game for Brian Kelly than facing Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

“While we can make the case for FSU being huge, or the SEC opener at Mississippi State, or maybe the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, there’s still really only one choice if you’re an aspiring SEC West contender: Bama,” Connelly wrote. “Brian Kelly’s first trip to Tuscaloosa on Nov. 4 will likely be a make-or-break game when it comes to attempting a West division repeat, and even if the Crimson Tide are facing a few more challenges and changes than normal, they’re still Bama, and they’re still going to be looking for revenge.”

Georgia Doesn’t Play Many Difficult Games in 2023

A three-peat bid for Georgia is a realistic possibility, mainly because their road to the College Football Playoff figures to be an easier one than Alabama’s, as well as a majority of other preseason Top 10 teams.

Connelly notes that choosing Georgia’s defining game isn’t a difficult task because of the lack of difficult challenges on their schedule. “It’s not that difficult to choose a season-defining game for two-time defending national champion Georgia, because it doesn’t play many difficult ones in 2023,” he wrote.

Replacing Oklahoma on their schedule due to SEC realignment in 2024 created an easy stretch of non-conference games for the Bulldogs according to Connelly. UT-Martin, Ball State, and UAB went a combined 19-17 in 2022 and permanently fixed rival Georgia Tech went 5-7.

Connelly does concede that the Tennessee game could ultimately decide which school represents the SEC East in the conference championship game in Atlanta on December 2.

“The game, which was traditionally played early in the season, used to go a long way in determining which team would contend for an SEC East title,” he prefaced before saying, “This season, Georgia’s SEC finale might decide which one wins the division.”