College Football around Alabama: Coming Down the Home Stretch

With only a few games remaining in the regular season, conference championship and playoff possibilities remain for several schools across the Yellowhammer State.

While Alabama and Auburn are expected to win home games against non-conference competition, teams like Samford and Jacksonville State conclude their regular season schedules this weekend with the opportunity to either enter the FCS Playoffs or improve their seeding.

Auburn Hosts Louisiana-Monroe

No. 6 Auburn finishes the non-conference portion of the schedule Saturday morning against Louisiana-Monroe.

The Tigers have won three in a row and have averaged 44.7 points per game during the winning streak.

Running back Kerryon Johnson has sparked the Auburn offense over the last two games rushing for 145 yards at Texas A&M and 167 yards in their domination of Georgia last week. In his 167-yard effort against Georgia, Johnson exceeded the 1,000 yard mark for the season.

Louisiana-Monroe toppled Appalachian State 52-45 at home last week. In the win, former Alabama running back Derrick Gore rushed for 103 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown.

Kickoff from Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday is at 11 AM on ESPN2.

UAB Travels to “The Swamp”

Already with bowl eligibility in hand, Bill Clark’s UAB Blazers head to Gainesville for their final non-conference game of the season against the Florida Gators

While Florida is just 3-6 on the year and will not participate in a bowl game this season, UAB can set a new school record with a victory on Saturday.

The Blazers are 7-3 overall, have reeled three consecutive wins and have won five of their last six games.

UAB has never beaten Florida in two prior games.

Kickoff from Gainesville is at 3 PM on the SEC Network.

Jacksonville State and Samford Prepare for Their Regular Season Finales

Both the Jacksonville State Gamecocks and Samford Bulldogs are getting ready for their final regular season games of 2017.

Jacksonville State hosts Tennessee State with an opportunity to secure sole possession of the OVC title and potentially improve their seeding in the postseason. The Gamecocks are ranked second in both the FCS Coaches Poll and STATS FCS Top 25 poll.

JSU leads the OVC in scoring offense (30.3 points per game), scoring defense (15.7 points per game), rushing defense (67.9 yards per game) and total defense (243.9 yards per game).

A short drive from the JSU campus, the Samford Bulldogs conclude the regular season against Furman needing a win to improve their FCS Playoff chances.

According to FCS Playoff projections from FoxSports.com and collegesportsmadness.com, the Bulldogs are one of the last four in the playoffs.

Kickoff from Seibert Stadium is at 2:30 PM.

Weekend Schedule

No. 1 Alabama vs. Mercer 11 AM (SEC Network)

No. 6 Auburn vs. Louisiana-Monroe 11 AM (ESPN2)

Berry vs. Huntingdon College 11 AM (NCAA Division III Playoffs: 1^st Round)

Mississippi Valley State vs. Alabama State 1 PM

Alabama A&M vs. Kentucky State 1 PM

Georgia Southern vs. South Alabama 2 PM

Florida vs. UAB 3 PM (SEC Network)

Samford vs. Furman 2:30 PM

Jacksonville State vs. Tennessee State 6 PM

Troy and West Alabama - Idle