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3 college football teams that will rebound from Week 6's mayhem (and 3 that won't) - SBNation.com
Alabama, 4-1 (1-1)
Week 6: No. 3, lost 23-17 to No. 11 Ole Miss
Week 7: No. 7, at Arkansas
If there's any division where one loss doesn't end the world, it's the overloaded SEC West. The plethora of highly ranked teams populating the division suggests the talent level there is obvious to anyone who watches. Going to Ole Miss and losing by only six points is arguably the best loss of any contender, and it's no surprise that Alabama is the highest-ranked one-loss team in America. The rest of the schedule still has some serious challenges. That little get-together called the Iron Bowl is lurking, and the toughest remaining road game for the Tide is either at LSU or Arkansas.
The fact that we can't really tell which should be tougher says plenty. Alabama's got a good enough defense to beat anybody, quarterback Blake Sims is most certainly Not The Problem, and once the Tide shift roles to accommodate the loss of Kenyan Drake — get well quickly, sir — things should be back on track in Tuscaloosa.
True, we are in good shape, thanks to the depth of the SEC West, but I am not 100% sure Alabama will make it through Arkansas, Tennessee, A&M, Mississippi State, LSU and Auburn without another loss, considering how many key players were injured last weekend. And that's not a knock on this team, just evidence of the strength of our division this year.
Of course, anything could happen but we certainly made matters worse by losing to the Rebs...
Kenyan Drake's Alabama teammates recall moments after horrifying injury | AL.com
"It was pretty bad," left guard Arie Kounadjio said. "He looked like he was in a lot of pain but he's a tough guy. I have faith in Christ and the Lord. I figured that eventually he would be all right. I figured nowadays an injury it will not take you out all the time."
I honestly almost broke out in tears for this young man. Just hearing him crying out in pain, broke my heart in more ways than I thought possible for a guy I've never met.
Thoughts and prayers go out to Drake for a fast and healthy recovery.
Dillon Lee rejoins outside linebackers as Alabama moves on without Denzel Devall | AL.com
Devall is one of three significant contributors who will be missing for Alabama against Arkansas, joining center Ryan Kelly and running back Kenyan Drake. "As always when you lose players, it creates opportunities for other players," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "This is obviously a situation where we're going to need some other guys to step up big to take the roles of what these guys have been able to accomplish and do."
Ryan Kelly and Devall are out for "several weeks" and Drake has been lost for the season, if not longer...
Have we had that many significant injuries in one game during the Saban era?
Alabama going with what it's got at center while Ryan Kelly is out | AL.com
"It's not a position where you can just throw a guy in and say, 'OK, you play center now,' that you've never played before. You've got to snap the ball," Saban said. "You have to be able to step and snap the ball. Most players who haven't played center are not accustomed to doing that. "We're going to have to develop them at center. We can't just move the right tackle to center and say, 'Be a center.' It doesn't work that way. I wish we could, so we could sort of always have our five best guys out there, but the center is the one position that a guy has to - whether it's shotgun snaps, quarterback-center exchange - there's a lot of things that need to happen correctly before you ever go block the guy you have to block."