Kent State vs. Alabama: Crimson Tide Will Roll with New Stars on Offense

The Alabama Crimson Tide will roll right over the Kent State Golden Flashes on Saturday as they begin their march to a second BCS National Championship in three years with a slew of new players stepping into key spots on offense.

Nick Saban's squad will be riding the emotion of the thousands of Tuscaloosans whose lives were devastated by one of several tornadoes that tore through the South back in April.

That energy in and of itself should be enough to put visiting cupcake Kent State to bed, giving the Tide a comfortable margin for error as they break in a new-look offense. Saban and his coaching staff have yet to settle on a definitive replacement at quarterback for Greg McElroy. As such, Phillip Sims and AJ McCarron will both see significant time on the field in what will likely be little more than a glorified scrimmage for Bama.

The Tide have already picked out successors for Julio Jones at wide receiver, with redshirt freshman DeAndrew White and senior Marquis Maze slated to start this weekend. Neither possesses anywhere near the size, speed, talent and athleticism that Jones sported so abundantly, though both should prove to be capable in his stead.

Assuming, of course, that the Tides' quarterback tandem can get them the ball.

That being said, one of the two figures will eventually lose his job to Duron Carter. The junior college transfer, and son of former NFL star Cris Carter, was held out of the bulk of fall practice while dealing with transcript issues. The one-time Ohio State Buckeye will see the field against Kent State and, at 6'4" and 210 pounds, should prove to be a boon to the Tides' aerial attack.

Strange as it may seem, Bama's best bet on offense will come as a result of its most decorated departure. The early defection of 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram to the NFL cleared the way for Trent Richardson to finally shine full time this season. The stocky junior brought a steady jolt to the Tides' offense as Ingram's backup, accruing at least 700 rushing yards in each of the last two seasons despite having his carries limited by Ingram's presence.

Now, Richardson will have the bulk of the work to himself and, given what he's shown so far in his collegiate career, should make excellent use of the expanded opportunity.

Perhaps he is even on the way to a Heisman pose of his own.

The most intriguing newcomer, though, may be offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio. The 6'6", 322-pounder was arguably the gem of yet another Bama recruiting class loaded with shiny new prospects. Despite being just a true freshman, Kouandjio has been rather impressive in preseason camp while competing for the vacancy left behind by James Carpenter, who was taken in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft. All indications are that he'll find his way into the starting lineup well before season's end.

All told, as talented as the Tide will be on offense, there will still be plenty of kinks to work out in the early going. No team, regardless of how stacked with talent it may be, can simply lose impact players like Jones, Ingram, McElroy and Carpenter without taking some hit to their effectiveness, at least in the early going.

Luckily for Bama, they'll have plenty of opportunities to get their attack back on the good foot against the overmatched Golden Flashes.

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