Western Kentucky at No. 5 Alabama

6 p.m. CDT Saturday (ESPN)

Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa

1 Alabama player has had at least 2,800 passing yards and 400 rushing yards in the same season – QB Jalen Milroe last season. Milroe returns for the Crimson Tide after passing for 2,834 yards and rushing for 531 yards in 2023.

2 Previous games against Alabama for Western Kentucky QB TJ Finley, who will be playing for the Hilltoppers for the first time on Saturday. On Dec. 5, 2020, Finley completed 14-of-28 passes for 144 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in LSU’s 55-17 loss to the Crimson Tide. On Nov. 27, 2021, Finley completed 17-of-26 passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in Auburn’s 24-22 quadruple-overtime loss to Alabama. Western Kentucky is Finley’s fourth college. Last season, the 6-foot-7 signal-caller threw for 3,489 yards and 24 touchdowns for Texas State.

3 Debut games in five seasons for Kalen DeBoer, who will serve as Alabama’s head coach for the first time on Saturday. In DeBoer’s first game as Fresno State head coach in 2020, the Bulldogs lost to Hawaii 34-19. In DeBoer’s first game as Washington head coach in 2022, the Huskies defeated Kent State 45-20. DeBoer becomes the 11th Crimson Tide head coach to make his debut in a season-opening game in the SEC era. Six of his predecessors won their first contest, including the previous two – Nick Saban, who defeated Western Carolina 52-6 in 2007, and Mike Shula, who defeated South Florida 40-17 in 2003.

3 Previous games between Western Kentucky and Alabama – all won by the Crimson Tide. Alabama defeated the Hilltoppers 41-7 on Sept. 13, 2008, 35-0 on Sept. 8, 2012, and 38-10 on Sept. 10, 2016, with all the games in Tuscaloosa.

4 Victories in 18 games against SEC opponents for Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers defeated Kentucky in 2012 and 2103, Vanderbilt in 2015 and Arkansas in 2019. Alabama has a 16-1 record against Conference USA opponents, with the lone loss a 21-0 setback to Southern Miss on Sept. 16, 2000, in Birmingham.

17 Percent of Alabama’s games have been played with Nick Saban as the Crimson Tide’s coach of record. Saturday’s game will be the first for Alabama with Kalen DeBoer at the helm. Saban retired in January after compiling a 206-29 on-the-field record with the Tide from 2007 through 2023. Alabama’s all-time on-the-field record is 981-327-44.

20 Consecutive seasons have featured a victory for Alabama in its first game in Tuscaloosa. The streak started after a 20-13 loss to Oklahoma on Sept. 6, 2003.

22 Consecutive season-opening games have been won by Alabama. The 22-game streak is the second-longest in SEC history, but it is not the school record. Alabama opened its season with a victory 30 straight times from 1904 through 1934. (Alabama did not field a team in 1918.) Only the final two of those victories came as an SEC member. The Crimson Tide’s most recent loss in a season-opening game came 20-17 to UCLA on Sept. 1, 2001. Florida holds the SEC record for consecutive season-opening victories with 27 from 1990 through 2016. Alabama’s season-opening streak is the second longest in the nation behind Ohio State’s 24.

105 Victories, 21 losses and three ties for Alabama in season-opening games. Western Kentucky has a 63-36-6 record in season-opening games after winning its past three.

141 Games have been played by Alabama since the Crimson Tide most recently lost two in a row, the nation’s longest streak without consecutive losses. Alabama fell to Auburn 34-28 and to Oklahoma 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl to end the 2013 season. Alabama has lost 14 games since the back-to-back losses, including its most recent outing – a 27-20 setback against Michigan in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

172 Consecutive Alabama games have featured at least 10 points for the Crimson Tide, the longest streak for scoring in double figures in major-college football history. Alabama most recently failed to score 10 points in a game in a 9-6 overtime loss to LSU on Nov. 5, 2011.

310 Games have been played by Alabama since it was most recently shut out. Alabama’s scoring streak is the third-longest in SEC history and the 12th-longest in major-college football history. Alabama’s most recent shutout loss came 9-0 to Auburn on Nov. 18, 2000.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.