Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles Complete Game Preview

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In the middle of a two-week stretch of less-than-stellar competition, Alabama coach Nick Saban is preaching “focus stamina” to his No. 3 Crimson Tide.

“To get better one thing at a time, one day at a time, one play at a time,” Saban said. “If each individual improves, then we have a chance to improve collectively as a team.”

After a 41-0 lightning-shortened drubbing of Florida Atlantic, Alabama will take the field against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The competition isn’t exactly getting steeper either.

Southern Miss is 2-24 dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season, with its only wins coming against UAB in 2013 and FCS Alcorn State on Saturday.

So for Alabama it’s another week to fine-tune some things, get younger players more reps and, of course, watch the quarterbacks again before Florida comes to Tuscaloosa next weekend to open SEC play.

But hey, last time these two teams played, this happened.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Date: Saturday, Sept. 13

Time: 5 p.m. CT

Place: Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

TV: ESPN2

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network, Southern Miss IMG Sports Network

Spread: Alabama by 47-48, according to OddsShark.com.

Alabama Keys to Victory

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Keep up the focus

It would be easy to check out this week after going through a similar situation last week with a group-of-five team. Alabama seemed pretty up to the task, shutting out the Owls and moving the ball efficiently on offense. The Crimson Tide will be looking to keep that focus for another week, while the temptation to peek around the corner to the Gators is strong.

Keep feeding Amari Cooper

This can really be a key to any victory. But it’s been a winning formula so far, so why stop? Cooper has already amassed a nation-leading 25 catches and 319 yards, a lot of which have come on quick throws and screens. He should be (and likely will be) the focal point for every Alabama game plan going forward.

Southern Miss Keys to Victory

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Work the tempo

Saban said the Golden Eagles do a lot of “Texas A&M-like” things on offense by spreading receivers out and operating at a quicker pace. We’re not going to pretend like Southern Miss is close to A&M in terms of talent, but the Golden Eagles would do well to try to replicate that system, which has given Alabama fits in the past, as well as they can.

Get all the bounces

There’s not really a better way to put it: The talent discrepancy is so great that Southern Miss will need a little bit of luck to come out on top of this one. Fumbles, weird plays, everything.

Alabama Players to Watch

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Rashaan Evans

Alabama’s 5-star linebacker got to show off some of what he can do on defense Saturday, flying off the edge to record his first sack and coming close on another. He’ll likely get another chance later in this one and could work his way into some playing time later on down the road.

Jake Coker and Blake Sims

The two quarterbacks will likely split reps one last time before a decision is made on a full-time starter against Florida. Sims has looked more polished early on, but Coker’s week-to-week improvement is something to keep an eye on.

Southern Miss Players to Watch

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Nick Mullens

The Alabama-native quarterback is getting to show what he can do in Southern Miss’ offense. Named the 2012 Gatorade Alabama Football Player of the Year, Mullens has thrown for 420 yards and two touchdowns through two games. The offense has opened up for him, and now he’s making throws like this (h/t to Noted Southern Miss Fan Landon Howell for the find).

Jacorius Cotton

The senior defensive back has a team-leading 15 tackles through two games and two pass breakups. Cotton is back after taking a redshirt last season for academics, according to Patrick Magee of the Sun Herald, and is off to a hot start already.

What They're Saying

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Alabama

Saban on Southern Miss’ offense:

"

They have seven or eight starters back on both sides of the ball. This is a much-improved team from what they had a year ago. The quarterback started five or six games last year. He's certainly developing into a very effective player for them, and I think if you run their offense the quarterback is a very important part of how that offense goes relative to what that guy has to do. This is a spread, no-huddle sort of lots of four wideouts. Probably four wideouts is their No. 1 formation, and three wideouts and two backs is probably their second formation.

"

Tight end Brian Vogler on Amari Cooper’s hot start to 2014:

"

It's a testimony to how hard he worked in the offseason. Some guys want to be good, but he wants to be great. He wants to be the best ever to come through here. You have to admire that. It's kind of a privilege for me to play with a guy like that and see his work ethic. It definitely rubbed off on me. I saw how hard he worked. If he can do it, anybody can do it. It's awesome to see his hard work come out and he be able to put up the numbers he's been able to put up.

"

Southern Miss

Coach Todd Monken on Mullen’s progression, according to Patrick Magee of the Sun Herald:

"

I've been saying this for 30 years, that's the No. 1 reason you win or the No. 1 reason you lose. One thing I've said about Nick Mullens: He's not going to turn it over.

"

Safety Emmanuel Johnson on Amari Cooper, according to Jason Munz of the Hattiesburg American: “One player is not going to beat us."

Prediction

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Alabama 35, Southern Miss 7

It’s one thing to get players ramped up to play one game like this. Two in a row will be tougher. Alabama will win, and the game will never be in question, but the Crimson Tide will look a little sloppier than against Florida Atlantic. There will be plenty of mistakes and corrections to be made, giving Saban the fodder he needs to get his team focused and locked in on Florida.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats come from CFBStats. All recruiting information comes from 247Sports.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.