Alabama Crimson Tide

It’s Rankings Week at TideNation. Every day we’ll rank some facet of the Alabama football program heading in 2013. Today we’re ranking the top 10 offensive players the Tide will face this season. On Wednesday we’ll rank the top 10 defensive players Alabama will face in the fall.

Ranking the offensive players

1. QB Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M): Alabama hasn't faced a Heisman Trophy winner since Tim Tebow starred at quarterback for the Florida Gators. And while UA didn't come out on top of the first meeting with Tebow in the SEC Championship, it did in the second. Alabama fans are hoping for similar results after a heartbreaking defeat to Manziel and the Aggies last season. Stopping an athlete with his unique skill set and ability to make plays out of nothing won't be an easy task, though.

2. RB LaDarius Perkins (Mississippi State): He did so largely under the radar, but Perkins was second in the SEC in all-purpose yards and out-rushed every running back in the SEC West not wearing crimson last season, tallying 1,016 yards on 205 attempts. With All-SEC offensive guard Gabe Jackson leading the way, he should be in for a banner senior year.

3. QB Logan Thomas (Virginia Tech): Thomas has been up and down in his career under center, but no one doubts the senior's arm strength and athleticism. He threw for just as many yards as AJ McCarron did last season (2,976), despite playing in one fewer game. And he finished 18th in the ACC in rushing with 524 yards. His ability to stretch the defense vertically through the air and horizontally with his feet will give Alabama headaches.

4. WR Mike Evans (Texas A&M): With an entire offseason to prepare for Manziel, rest assured that the Alabama coaching staff has been busy devising ways to keep the fleet-footed quarterback stationary this time around. That means Manziel will have to use his arm to beat the Tide, and he'll have a good target to throw to in the 6-foot-5 Evans, who finished third in the league with 1,105 yards receiving.

5. QB Bo Wallace and RB Jeff Scott (Ole Miss): When they're executing the read-option and pushing the tempo, Wallace and Scott are hard to stop. Neither is what you'd call an NFL talent, but together they can keep a defense on its heels, as they did against Alabama last season. If they get going downhill and can convert on third downs, it will mean trouble for UA.

6. RB Jeremy Hill and Alfred Blue (LSU): Alabama's duo of tailbacks has commanded the lion's share of attention in recent years, but LSU has quietly perfected its rotation of ball-carriers as well. And Hill and Blue should be respected as they're both prototypical NFL backs in terms of size and speed. Hill averaged 5.3 yards per carry, and Blue had two 100-yard performances in his first three games before missing the rest of the season with an injury.

7. WR Odell Beckham (LSU): He was a steady playmaker last season when he caught 43 passes for 713 yards, but he hasn't been much of a threat to score, settling for four touchdowns in his career. With new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron in place and Zach Mettenberger a year wiser, Beckham could see his role expand as the Tigers look to inject some explosiveness into the passing game.

8. OT Jake Matthews (Texas A&M): More than weapons in the passing and running game, someone will need to protect Manziel from opposing defenses. Matthews is as capable an offensive tackle as you'll find in the SEC. If Alabama hopes to get its revenge against Texas A&M, it will have to find a way to get around Matthews and the Aggies offensive line.

9. RB Dennis Johnson (Arkansas): Bret Beilema leaned heavily on his running game at Wisconsin the past two seasons, handing his former running back Montee Ball the ball 663 times over that time. Now at Arkansas, Beliema will likely look to do the same with Johnson, who led the Razorbacks with 757 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

10. HC Gus Malzahn (Auburn): Malzahn turned Chris Todd into a respectable quarterback, morphed Michael Dyer into an All-SEC performer and helped Cam Newton to one of the best single seasons in college football history. Auburn's new head coach has a knack for getting the most out of his players and we'll likely see a few surprises for the Tigers this season, whether it's running back Tre Mason, quarterback Jonathan Wallace or an unknown commodity like wide receiver Ricardo Louis.

Here are a few storylines to watch this spring in the Western Division. Edward took a look at the Eastern Division on Monday.

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

Start date: March 16

Spring game: April 20

What to watch:

1. Battling complacency: Alabama is gearing up for yet another title defense. Will complacency finally rear its ugly head? Not if Nick Saban has anything to do with it. The head coach will no doubt remind players of the targets on their backs and what little they've accomplished as presently constituted.
2. Opening up the passing game: The return of AJ McCarron, coupled with a talented, deep crop of receivers, could mean a more wide-open passing game in Tuscaloosa. If true freshman tight end O.J. Howard develops as some expect, the offense could become even more dynamic.
3. Offensive line makeover: Barrett Jones, Chance Warmack and D.J. Fluker are gone. And with them the best offensive line in college football has vanished. Veterans Cyrus Kouandjio and Anthony Steen return, but few experienced players are waiting in the wings for Alabama.
   -- Alex Scarborough, TideNation

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

Start date: March 10

Spring game: April 20

What to watch:

1. Bielema’s stamp: They won’t remember 2012 very fondly in Arkansas. It started with Bobby Petrino’s embarrassing ouster last spring and ended with a forgettable 4-8 season. The Hogs are starting all over with Bret Bielema, who led Wisconsin to three straight Rose Bowl appearances. This spring will be Bielema’s first real chance to put his stamp on the program and introduce the Hogs to his brand of power football.
2. Offensive overhaul: Bielema was known at Wisconsin for running the football behind big, physical offensive lines. His offensive coordinator, Jim Chaney, has more of a passing pedigree. It will be interesting to see how it all comes together offensively for the Hogs, who are losing their top passer, top two rushers and top three receivers from last season. Brandon Allen and Brandon Mitchell will vie for the starting quarterback job.
3. Defense takes the lead: The Hogs won under Petrino thanks to their high-scoring offense, and at times, in spite of their defense. But in 2013, the defense may have to carry a lot more of the load. First-year coordinator Chris Ash inherits a veteran front, some young talent at linebacker and a secondary that also should be much improved. It’s a unit that will need to mesh quickly, and that starts this spring.

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The first weekend of the college football season brought some changes to our power rankings. As we enter Week 2, some teams are trending down, while others are on the up. And some look pretty much like we thought they'd look in their first games.

It's still early, but this weekend could help to better shape the conference race, especially in the SEC East where Florida travels to Texas A&M and Georgia heads to Missouri. Also, keep an eye on Mississippi State's home game with Auburn.

OK, time for the rankings:

1. Alabama (1-0): The Crimson Tide made quite the statement by absolutely dominating No. 8 Michigan inside Cowboys Stadium. The defense, which lost a host of top talent from last year's national championship team, took Denard Robinson out of the game from the start. The offense should be fun to watch this fall with freshman T.J. Yeldon and Eddie Lacy carrying the ball and AJ McCarron throwing to those young, explosive receivers.

2. LSU (1-0): It's not like the Tigers looked bad against overmatched North Texas, but Alabama's performance was just that good. Zach Mettenberger did well in his LSU debut, passing for 192 yards and a touchdown, while running backs Kenny Hilliard (141 yards) and Alfred Blue (123) pounded away at North Texas' defense. The Tigers racked up 508 total yards and limited North Texas to just nine first downs and 219 total yards.

3. Arkansas (1-0): We know Arkansas can score and churn out yards. The Hogs made both of those things look very easy against Jacksonville State, especially quarterback Tyler Wilson, who threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns Saturday. But the defense still has some questions surrounding it, as the Hogs gave up 24 points. The defense settled down the second half and gave up 322 total yards, which was one yard less than the average given up by top 15 teams this weekend.

4. Georgia (1-0): The Bulldogs' defense is obviously hurting without Bacarri Rambo and Alec Ogletree and it showed in the win over Buffalo. There was a lot of give in the pass defense and the Bulldogs struggled stopping quarterback runs. Improving in both of those areas will be crucial heading into the Missouri game. The offense looked pretty good, especially with freshman running back Todd Gurley carrying the ball. He registered 100 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.

5. South Carolina (1-0): The offense was shaky when it came to throwing the ball, and it certainly wasn't any better after quarterback Connor Shaw went down with that shoulder injury. His health is critical, as there isn't much experience at all behind him. Running back Marcus Lattimore looked solid in his return and was back to his workhorse ways. The defense played well overall, but the secondary still has concerns.

6. Tennessee (1-0): Everything went right for the Vols against NC State. It became blatenly obvious that they have more depth across the board now than they've had during Derek Dooley's tenure. Getting the tough yards running the ball was still an issue at times, but Marlin Lane showed that he might have what it takes to be that explosive running back Tennessee needs. Tyler Bray had no issue throwing the ball with Justin Hunter back and newcomer Cordarrelle Patterson going off.

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