Watch: Rick Karle’s ‘The Road Ahead’ (Oct. 4, 2019)

I have to tell you that the college football road ahead is going to be wild — and that road for the Alabama and Auburn teams will come to an intersection come November 30.

Yes, the Iron Bowl has all the makings of a classic, as the Tide and the Tigers are, for now, unbeaten. If you are like me, you love seeing both teams unbeaten when the big day arrives, but there’s lots of work to do by both teams before we see a battle of the unbeatens at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The near future for the Tigers will be a true stress test, as the Gus Bus will go toe-to-toe with the likes of Florida, LSU, Georgia and Alabama (yikes). While the Crimson Tide are off this weekend (who’s getting hitched on Saturday?), Saban’s bunch will see that schedule become more difficult in a hurry.

I do ask you to do one thing: Before we look too far into the future, let me remind you to step back and enjoy what we are seeing in Auburn and Tuscaloosa.

Case in point? Think about what we are seeing from Bama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

The Crimson Tide football program has been around for, oh, only 127 years — and Tua is now responsible for more touchdowns in one season than any signal caller in Alabama football history.

Think about it: Not Starr or Stabler, Shealy or Trammell, Sloan or Hunter, Lewis or Rutledge, Todd or Barker, Kitchens or Croyle, Zow or Watts, McElroy or McCarron, Wilson or Coker, Sims or Hurts have led the Crimson Tide to more career scores (86) than Tua, who has accomplished the feat in a mere twenty games.

So, as we look forward to a road ahead that will bring us superb SEC football, a classic Iron Bowl and broken records, let’s look ahead to this weekend, as the Tigers and the Gators begin an important stretch of big boy football.

And if you are a Bama fan who will be attending a wedding: Save me a piece of cake, will ya?

Watch this week’s episode of ‘The Road Ahead’:

Rick Karle is a 24-time Emmy winning broadcaster and a special sports contributor to Yellowhammer News. He is also the host of the Huts and Nuts podcast.