No. 1 Alabama (11-0, 7-0 SEC) remained undefeated by pounding overmatched FCS Chattanooga (8-4, 6-2 Southern) in Tuscaloosa 49-0.
Alabama should stay on top of the polls and the BCS standings without much question, which keeps them in position to return to the BCS Championship Game in January. their next contest though will be significantly more difficult than anything the Mocs could have dreamed of doing Saturday.
Alabama’s next game will be at Auburn, next week. The rival Tigers are off this week so they will be rested for the latest edition of the Iron Bowl. Auburn has lost just one game this season (at LSU) and has been on quite a roll of late. Auburn’s offense may be capable of taking advantage of any slow start by Alabama, but the Crimson Tide defense has come through with great performances more often than not. Texas A&M aside, most teams have had difficulty scoring on Alabama this season, but Auburn’s offense may be the second best Alabama will face this season (Texas A&M being the best, although Auburn beat the Aggies as well).
The winner of next week’s Iron Bowl will advance to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta the following week. A strong argument could be made that the winner of next week’s game, be it Alabama or Auburn, will be a likely entrant in the BCS Championship Game with an SEC Championship Game victory. For Alabama it is a given if they are 13-0. But Auburn at 12-1 would have a very strong case to be in the game as well regardless of what other teams may currently be ahead of them in the BCS rankings.