- Gurley's practice progress. This will be tricky. If he practices a lot that should be a good sign. I mean, he's definitely not 100%. But he makes the offense click and is a huge bonus to Murray getting a full field to work with in pass progressions. So if he's out there in full contact (which I expect he will be), that's a plus. But...if he skips a day(s) that may not be anything bad. Of course Richt and staff know what they have in Gurley. So the goal is really keeping him both fresh and as close to 100% as possible.
- Auburn's mindset. All that stands in Alabama's way of another trip to Atlanta is Missy State and Auburn. All that's left for Auburn is us and Bama. Do they even glance ahead? Remember, this is certainly a well-coached and good team. But they're young. Even a glance ahead or a small distraction could be huge in the first half Saturday night.
- Artie Lynch. Similar to Gurley above, how much action does he get? I think I can speak for all of us that if this past game were an SEC game he would've played. With Rome hobbled we need Lynch back for help in both blocking and receiving.
This is a winnable game. But it will take a team clicking on all cylinders. We'll get more deeply into the X's and O's here shortly. I just like the confidence our defense is playing with and the fact that our offense is getting healthier.
In short, we're not where we were when we played the last night of August at "Auburn with a lake". But we're closer than we've been in awhile.
