Alabama is coming off a 24-7 victory over Florida State in Week 1, a physical game that took its toll on the team. This week’s matchup against Fresno State should give the Crimson Tide a chance to get healthy and iron out some issues that arose on Saturday night.

Fresno State is fresh off a 66-0 win over Incarnate Word, whoever that is, but is still considered a heavy underdog against the Tide — a 43-point underdog to be exact.

The Process that has made Nick Saban’s run at Alabama such a success tells us that no opponent should be overlooked, but it’s up to Saban and his staff to ensure that doesn’t happen. We’re assuming victory and suggesting five ways Alabama can get the most out of this less-than-stellar matchup.

1. Continue to build Hurts’ confidence

The matchup against Florida State’s defense wasn’t ideal for Hurts to show how much, if any, he had improved in the offseason, but this week should give the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Year a much better opportunity to do just that.

While Hurts showed growth in his ability as a passer by making several impressive throws against the Seminoles, he didn’t seem confident against pressure. If he wants to become a complete quarterback, he’ll need to continue to build his confidence.

Saturday should give Hurts the perfect opportunity to not only continue building chemistry with Calvin Ridley — who led the team in targets (11), catches (7), receiving yards (68) and receiving TDs (1) against FSU — but some of the other receivers as well.

2. Tagovailoa sees his first action

There was speculation that Tua Tagovailoa, who got reps with the first-team offense in fall camp, might see the field against Florida State. The coaching staff, wisely, didn’t put the true freshman in the game against one of the top defenses in college football.

Considering Alabama is such a heavy favorite this week, Tagovailoa may get off the bench. Getting at least one, if not both, of the younger quarterbacks live game reps could be crucial in the unfortunate event of an injury to Hurts.

If the former 5-star does end up seeing the field, don’t expect him to hand the ball off every play. The Tide wouldn’t burn his redshirt unless they wanted to see what he can do.

3. Young linebackers start to emerge

By now, everyone has heard about the injury bug that hit Alabama’s outside linebackers unit. Christian Miller and Terrell Lewis are out for the year, and it’s extremely unlikely that Anfernee Jennings or Rashaan Evans will be able to suit up either.

The talent on the roster runs deep, but it is going to be tested this season. As of right now, the Tide is even going as far as trying defensive linemen and inside linebackers at the outside position. Da’Shawn Hand — a defensive end projected by some as a first-round pick heading into this season — was the most recent player to see reps there.

Hopefully, the coaching staff will be able to get a better idea of where this unit stands.

4. See if Bulovas can improve kicking game

I know this is going to be hard to believe, but Alabama’s kick game was terrible on Saturday. It was an unfortunate development, considering how strong the rest of the special-teams units were with a blocked field goal, a blocked punt and a forced fumble on a kickoff.

Andy Pappanastos, a graduate transfer from Ole Miss, missed two field goals. Granted, he did make three — with a long of 35 yards. Both misses were attempts that were 40-plus yards, but that distance is not something a college kicker should struggle with.

Pappanastos will continue to be the kicker for the foreseeable future, but if he struggles early against Fresno State, the team should see what they have in Joseph Bulovas, the nation’s No. 6 kicker from the 2017 recruiting class.

5. Find out if Wills is the guy at right tackle

There was a lot of talk about Jedrick Wills leading up to the Florida State game, but we didn’t get a chance to see if he is the long-term answer at right tackle. Hopefully, that’ll change against Fresno State.

At 6-5 and 314 pounds, the true freshman has a winning combination of size, strength and athleticism that should give the offensive line a major boost. While Wills would probably struggle early in pass protection, he shouldn’t be as much of a liability in that area as current starter Matt Womack.

Womack is solid at tackle, but he seemed heavy-footed against a fierce Florida State pass rush. Alabama would continue to be fine on the right side if Womack continued to be the starter, but they should look into what they have in Wills by getting him reps with the first-team offense.