No. 2 Alabama plays host to Western Carolina

Tuscaloosa, AL (SportsNetwork.com) - The No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide will step outside of SEC action on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Western Carolina Catamounts at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

WCU, which plays in the Southern Conference at the FCS level, has enjoyed a stellar season at 7-4 overall. The Catamounts finished up SoCon play 5-2 after defeating VMI at home last Saturday, 42-27, to snap a two-game losing streak.

Since losing at Ole Miss on Oct. 4 (23-17), Alabama has reasserted itself as one of the best teams in the nation by winning five in a row to move to 9-1 overall. In a crucial contest with then-No. 1 Mississippi State last Saturday, the Crimson Tide took a 25-20 victory to move to 6-1 in the SEC play, and they now control their own destiny in the Western Division.

"I think anytime you beat the No. 1 team in the country, that's a significant accomplishment," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. "I was really proud of how our players competed in the game...We made plays when we had to, and I think that was a sign of great competitive character for our team as well."

Alabama routed WCU in the most recent meeting in November of 2012, 49-0, to take a 3-0 lead in the all-time series.

The Catamounts haven't been great at generating offense ths 14 6 27 Brampton Beast 9 29 3 10.3 28 Missouri Mavericks 10 42 4 9.5

Penalty Killing ---------------

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