Going against a few weeks of cupcakes (not including a West Virginia team that looks poised to make noise in the Big 12), Alabama could play it conservatively. Feed the big dog, Amari Cooper, and use the running game to put their opponents out of commission. That works against the Florida Atlantics and Southern Mississippis of the college football world. No disrespect to those teams, but the Tide are about to engage in real SEC football.

That means one- and even two-dimensional football isn’t going to always cut it. That means it’s time for Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin to find new angles to attack offenses from. The coaches are too smart and the players too talented and athletic to let offenses go to their first option over and over again. So far, Blake Sims and Jacob Coker haven’t looked beyond Cooper all that often. It’s possible that they just haven’t had to, with the stud receiver getting open on pretty much every snap, but Cooper is going up agains the SEC’s best cornerback, Vernon Hargreaves.

Welcoming back senior receiver DeAndrew White from a two-game injury should help bring some more options to the passing game, while Christion Jones will need to look more like a No. 2 receiver than he has the first few weeks of the season. Kenyan Drake is a dangerous receiver out of the backfield, able to turn a short pass into a long score, and getting him involved would be a nice tonic for the Gators pass rush.

Oh, and remember O.J. Howard? The former five-star recruit with an unreal combination of size and speed? The guy who’s been absent from box scores the first three weeks of the season? Conspiracy theorists would have you believe Saban and Kiffin have been hiding how they plan to use him until SEC play, but that seems a little diabolical even for Saban. Regardless, he could be one of the most fearsome receiving threats in the conference if used properly. He could be huge in helping to dismantle the Gators if he, along with the other receivers, get the opportunity.