Alabama Crimson Tide should defeat WKU in Week 1 of College Football if they take care of 3 keys to victory

The Alabama Crimson Tide should have anything but their hands full against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

Poised to use today as a tune-up game against WKU, the Tide and Kalen DeBoer need to make a statement in the inaugural game of the 2024 campaign.

Here are three ways in which they do that:

Find Out Who WR #1 Is Early

"I think early in the season, you want to get as many guys that you think can be in the mix, a chance," said DeBoer when asked about the WR rotation ahead of Week 1. "That being said, you got to make sure you can execute and guys can get into a rhythm as well. So I'd say we're fairly confident with anywhere from five to seven [WRs]. But I don't want to really put a number on that, because there's some guys that, depending on the flow of the game could end up playing more or less. So there's, a rotation. We run a lot of ones and twos in every practice, like most people do, and we have six solid guys for sure. And there's a couple there that are pushing pretty hard. So I think there is a little bit of separation between some of the players, but I think overall, there are a lot of different skill sets that each guy brings to the table."

The young man that everyone wants to see is true freshman Ryan Williams, who has been the buzz of fall camp . How much he works into the rotation, much less if he starts will be very telling when projecting the offense throughout the season.

Play Through Jalen Milroe

If Milroe's offseason development was anywhere near as good as his in-season development last year, then the rest of college football had better watch out, because a Heisman Trophy could be headed back to T-town.

Now it's really playing football, understanding situations, getting on the same page with both [OC] Nick Sheridan and the play caller and myself and working through all of those things, HC Kalen Deboer said of Milroe earlier this week . "And then there's the leadership piece too. He does such a great job of that, both on and off the field. He holds himself to an extremely high standard in all ways. And he leads through example. He leads with his poise and even body language and then his words as well."

Communicate Effectively

Earlier this year, the NCAA gave the green light to helmet communication for players and coaches to communicate for the 2024 season. A coach will be able to talk with one player on the field. They can talk until 15 seconds remain on the play clock. Or, the mic shuts off the minute the play starts. - Nick Kelly, Alabama.com

“It will be a cat and mouse game ,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack told reporters when asked about a defender being allowed to have a mic in their helmet. “I’m excited to see how to navigate that. I want to stay ahead of the curve.”

Related: Where to watch, stream, and listen to Alabama vs. Western Kentucky Week 1 college football game