Louisiana-Lafayette (1-2) at No. 1 Alabama (4-0) 11 a.m. CDT Saturday (SEC Network) Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa 0 Victories in 26 road games against ranked teams for Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin' Cajuns are 1-27 overall against ranked opponents and have lost their past 18 games against them. Louisiana-Lafayette will be playing the No. 1 team for the first time on Saturday. 1 SEC team has had at least 500 yards in total offense in every game this season -- Alabama. 3 Previous Alabama teams have scored at least 45 points in four consecutive games, a feat achieved by the current Crimson Tide, which could become the first in school history with five consecutive games with at least 45 points on Saturday. Alabama previously had streaks of 45 or more points in four straight games in 1920, 1945 and 2013. 5 Seasons were spent on the Alabama staff by Louisiana-Lafayette coach Billy Napier. Napier was an offensive analyst in 2011 and the wide receivers coach from 2013 through 2016 for the Crimson Tide. Alabama coach Nick Saban has a 13-0 record when playing teams coached by his former assistants. 6 SEC teams have scored at least 40 points in each of their first four games in a season, including this year's Alabama and Georgia teams. The 2018 Alabama squad became the first in the conference to start the season with four games with at least 45 points. The other four teams on the list -- 2001 Florida, 2007 Kentucky, 2012 Georgia and 2013 Texas A&M -- extended their streaks of 40-point games in their fifth contests, and Texas A&M went on to score at least 40 points in the first 10 games of the 2013 season. 8 Previous games have been played between Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette, with the Crimson Tide winning all of them. The teams first squared off in 1941 and most recently played in 1990. Alabama has outscored the Ragin' Cajuns 296-53 in the series. This will be Alabama's first game against the Cajuns as Louisiana-Lafayette. In the previous meetings, the school was known as Southwestern Louisiana. 10 TDs on 10 possessions in the red zone for Louisiana-Lafayette this season. The Ragin' Cajuns and UCLA are the only teams in the nation that have scored TDs on all of their possessions inside the opponent's 20-yard line. 14 Consecutive September games have been won by Alabama, the longest current winning streak in the ninth month in the SEC. The Crimson Tide's most recent September loss came against Ole Miss in 2015. 15 Victories and one loss for Alabama in games against Sun Belt Conference opponents. The Crimson Tide's lone loss against the league is a 21-14 setback against Louisiana-Monroe in 2007. 19 Consecutive games have been won by Alabama when it scored a touchdown on its opening offensive series, which the Crimson Tide has done in all four of its games this season. Alabama's most recent loss when it scored a TD on its opening possession came on Jan. 2, 2014, when Oklahoma posted a 45-31 victory over the Tide in the Sugar Bowl. 21 Consecutive home games have been won by Alabama, the longest active streak in the nation. The Crimson Tide's most recent loss at Bryant-Denny Stadium came against Ole Miss on Sept. 19, 2015. 30 Consecutive non-conference opponents have been defeated by Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide's most recent loss to a non-conference opponent at home is a 21-14 defeat by Louisiana-Monroe in 2007. 42 Consecutive non-conference regular-season games have been won by Alabama - the second-longest streak in the NCAA Division I-A/FBS era (since 1978). The Tide's most recent loss in a non-conference regular-season game came on Nov. 17, 2007, when Alabama fell to Louisiana-Monroe 21-14. LSU had a 52-game streak from Sept. 7, 2002, to Oct. 24, 2015. 43 Losses without a victory for Louisiana-Lafayette in games against SEC opponents. Louisiana-Lafayette owns a victory against a current SEC team -- a 29-22 win over Texas A&M on Sept. 14, 1996 -- but that came before the Aggies joined the SEC. Texas A&M was ranked No. 25 in the AP poll at the time of the Cajuns' upset, and it's the only victory for Louisiana-Lafayette against a ranked opponent. The Cajuns already have one loss to an SEC opponent this season, falling to Mississippi State 56-10 on Sept. 15. 59 Victories in 66 games as the coach of the No. 1 team in the AP poll for Alabama's Nick Saban. Both numbers are records. 76 Consecutive victories have been recorded over unranked teams by Alabama -- the longest such streak in NCAA FBS history since the AP poll began in 1936. The Crimson Tide hasn't lost to an unranked team since falling to Auburn 17-10 on Nov. 24, 2007. 78 Victories and 12 losses for Alabama when playing as the No. 1 team in the AP poll. 168 Consecutive AP polls have included Alabama, the nation's longest current streak and the fourth-longest in the poll's history. Second on the active list is Ohio State at 103 straight polls. The second-longest current streak in the SEC is 31 polls by Auburn. The most recent AP poll that did not include Alabama is the final one of the 2007 season. The longest streak by an SEC team (and the third-longest all-time) is 209 polls by Florida from 1990 through 2002. 215 Points have been scored in the first four games of the season by Alabama -- a school record. To break the school record for the most points in the first five games of a season, Alabama needs 29 points on Saturday. In 1920, the Crimson Tide scored 243 points in its first five games, defeating Southern Military Academy 59-0, Marion 49-0, Birmingham-Southern 45-0, Mississippi College 57-0 and Samford 33-0. 231 Consecutive games have been played without being shut out for Alabama, a school record. Alabama's most recent shutout loss came 9-0 to Auburn on Nov. 18, 2000. FOR MORE OF AL.COM'S COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE SEC, GO TO OUR SEC PAGE Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.<doc-sep>Game Time: Saturday, September 29th, Noon ET/11 a.m. local TV: SECN Radio: Alabama Crimson Tide Sports Network || Ragin’ Cajuns Radio Network Odds: Alabama (-49), -28392 (Alabama Moneyline), +75000 (Louisiana Moneyline), 68.5 (O/U) (via OddsShark) Anyone looking to find some possible storylines for Saturday’s game between Alabama and Louisiana can probably start with the comically large opening spread. On Sunday, Vegas opened with the Cajuns as a 53 1⁄ 2- point dog, which, to me, is just asking an angry fanbase to find fault with the Tide’s performance. Not sure what got the line down to 49, but here we are. First year Louisiana head coach and former Tide wide receivers coach Billy Napier returns to Bryant-Denny with nary a shot to exit a winner. (Wouldn’t it be funny if, out of all the ex-Saban assistants, Billy’s the first to take down the old man? Think of all the Jimbo and Kirby trolling.) The Ragin’ Cajuns (2-1) bring to Tuscaloosa a middle-of-the-road offense through its first three games, as they rank in the 60s in the FBS in scoring and total offense, but the real test for the team may be in where the defense currently ranks in both categories: 107th and 111th, respectively. Right now, they’re allowing 470 yards and over 34 points per game, which against any Alabama offense would be tricky. With this Alabama offense, some may be watching the game peeking their hands. One shudders to think what Tua Tagovailoa will do to Louisiana in only a quarter-and-a-half of football. Truthfully, he may not even make it that far. I expect Jalen Hurts to come in well before halftime with the possibility of third-string redshirt freshman getting a shot to play most of the second half. Of course, there’s always a chance that the Cajuns play way over their head and force the Tide to use their first string into the second half, but I just don’t see it happening. Louisiana would be in trouble if this were a 4th-year head coach. With a completely new staff in place, it’s just the wrong time for a Group of 5 school to come into Tuscaloosa against an especially dominant Crimson Tide team. One thing Saban and his offensive staff will probably like to see occur on Saturday will be more physical offensive line play. When asked about his o-line Thursday during his weekly radio show, Saban gave an impassioned and colorful answer to why the running game was slowed last week against the Aggies. Saban’s basically in a “Catch 22” situation where success in the passing game and not enough in the running or vice versa makes Tide fans wildly uneasy. It’s easy to understand, though, when you have Damien Harris, Najee Harris and Josh Jacobs in your backfield. No matter the opponent, how can you only gain 109 yards with those guys? If the line doesn’t get a push against Louisiana, you may see some personnel changes going forward, especially in the interior part. Nevertheless, this game may be over before it starts, though you never know. Saban will slam on the breaks before the first half ends, but the Tide will have their fourth 50-plus-point game of the season when it’s all said and done. Prediction: Alabama 55 Louisiana 10<doc-sep>
Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide runs the offense against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. CoxGetty Images) TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Top-ranked Alabama appears likely to post another easy victory as it hosts Louisiana on Saturday in nonconference play. The Crimson Tide have outscored their first four opponents 215-51 behind sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and hold a 52-0 edge in points off turnovers. TV: Noon ET, SEC Network. LINE: Alabama -48.5 Alabama coach Nick Saban improved to 13-0 against former assistant coaches with last Saturday's win over Texas A&M and faces another of his former co-workers this week. First-year Louisiana coach Billy Napier was the Crimson Tide's receivers coach from 2013-16 before moving to Arizona State as offensive coordinator and then landing the Ragin' Cajuns job following last season. "Billy is a very bright guy and a very good football coach," Saban said during a press conference. "He works hard, and I think he'll make a really good head coach. He did a good job for us, and they were very productive offensively at Arizona State last year when he was the coordinator there." Louisiana dropped a 30-28 decision to Coastal Carolina last Saturday and was mauled 56-10 by Mississippi State of the SEC the previous week. Ad ABOUT LOUISIANA (1-2) The Ragin' Cajuns are averaging 29 points per game behind senior quarterback Andre Nunez, who is completing 72.3 percent of his passes for 541 yards and four touchdowns against one interception. Sophomore running back Trey Ragas (294 yards) and junior Raymond Calais (186) each topped 100 yards rushing in the loss to Coastal Carolina, and Calais owns a superb 14.3 average per carry. Junior linebacker Jacques Boudreaux has a team-leading 17 tackles while junior defensive end Bennie Higgins has notched a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss for a unit allowing 34.3 points per game. ABOUT ALABAMA (4-0) Tagovailoa is off to an electric start as he has completed 72.5 percent of his passes for 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns and has yet to be intercepted. Sophomore receiver Jerry Jeudy is also off to a superb start with 17 receptions for 365 yards and six touchdowns for the Crimson Tide, who are averaging 53.8 points per game and have topped 500 yards in each contest. The defense, which is allowing 12.8 points per game, racked up seven sacks in the win over Texas A&M with senior defensive end Isaiah Buggs recording three to raise his team-best total to 5.5. Ad EXTRA POINTS 1. Alabama has won all eight previous meetings with the most recent being a 25-6 victory in 1990. 2. The Ragin' Cajuns have notched just one victory against ranked programs (29-22 over Texas A&M in 1996 when it was known as Southwestern Louisiana and Jake Delhomme was the quarterback). 3. The Crimson Tide have intercepted seven passes with three of them returned for touchdowns. PREDICTION: Alabama 55, Louisiana 9 More college football scores