5 early bold predictions for Alabama football in 2022
By John Buhler
4. This will be the last season either Pete Golding or Bill O’Brien are in Tuscaloosa
To be fair, it is nothing short of remarkable how well Saban has fared historically after losing one top-flight assistant after another. Though he retained Pete Golding and Bill O’Brien for a second consecutive season, Saban is not going to be as lucky heading into next offseason. Golding could be in the mix for a Power Five job of his own, while O’Brien could potentially return to the NFL.
Of course, there will be a weekend this fall where Alabama fans everywhere will be furious at O’Brien’s offensive game plan, as well as Golding’s defense being unable to get a stop. However, there are other teams around the nation, college and pro, who will want to add another top Saban assistant into the mix. Golding would only leave to lead his own program, but O’Brien may not.
It would be shocking to see Golding and O’Brien both be on Saban’s Alabama staff beyond this fall.
3. Alabama is going to eviscerate Texas and then embarrass Texas A&M later on
No doubt about it, Alabama will win several games this fall in blowout fashion. While there will be others, FOX may have to put the Week 2 game vs. Texas behind a paywall for how badly the Longhorns are going to get smoked. The same sort of principle applies when Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M Aggies come to town four weeks later in a game that CBS will absolutely flex into primetime.
The certain beatdown in Austin is going to be so severe that it may very well cost Texas’ shot at winning the Arch Manning sweepstakes. He could commit before then, but Alabama is going to run through the Longhorns like s**t through a tin horn. As far as the Aggies are concerned, Saban could be out for blood when it comes to anything regarding Fisher and the Texas A&M program.
What ever the point spread is in those two games, Alabama should be able to cover those easily.