TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After scratching out a one-point win in Texas, Alabama should be in for smoother sailing this week.

The Crimson Tide is currently a seven-touchdown favorite over Lousiana-Monroe heading into Saturday’s matchup inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Nick Saban might remember the time the Warhawks beat Alabama back in 2007, but lightning like that doesn’t tend to strike twice. Even if the Tide is unable to correct its mistakes from last week, it’s unlikely ULM has what it takes to capitalize on them.

Still, there’s a lot Alabama can get done in its final tune-up before SEC play ramps up next week.

One thing high on the Crimson Tide’s to-do list is ironing out a few ongoing positional battles. According to Saban, Alabama still has competition at the cornerback position where Kool-Aid McKinstry, Terrion Arnold, Khyree Jackson and Eli Ricks are all vying for starting spots. There’s also some uncertainty on the offensive line where Kendall Randolph and Javion Cohen have split time at left guard.

Here’s a look at both of those battles.

After giving the starting nod to McKinstry and Arnold in the season opener against Utah State, Alabama replaced Arnold with Jackson for the game against Texas. That experiment lasted about one quarter as Jackson was beaten multiple times Texas receiver Xavier Worthy, including giving up a 46-yard reception that led to a touchdown on the Longhorns’ second possession.

Arnold replaced Jackson on Texas’ third possession of the game. The redshirt freshman outperformed the senior and remained with the first-team defense for the remainder of the afternoon.

Arnold finished the game with five tackles and a pass breakup, nearly coming away with his first interception on a long pass from Hudson Card to Worthy in the second quarter. According to Pro Football Focus, the cornerback earned an 80.5 coverage grade against the Longhorns, giving up one reception for a single yard on three balls thrown his way. Meanwhile, Jackson graded out at 48.7, allowing receptions on both of the passes targeted in his direction while giving up 68 yards through the air.

"We've got a lot of competition at corner, so we kind of go by who does the best," Saban said after the game. "We started Khyree, he got beat a couple times. I've got confidence in all of them, but when Terrion went into the game, I thought he did a really good job. He made a couple really nice plays."

After starting both of Alabama’s games this season, Kool-Aid McKinstry looks to have all but locked up a first-team role. That being said, he’s had better performances than the one last week in Austin, Texas. McKinstry earned a team-worst 47.8 coverage grade from PFF against the Longhorns, giving up four receptions for 53 yards on the six balls thrown his way while picking up a pair of penalties.

Ricks, the final member in Alabama’s cornerback competition, didn’t play a defensive snap against Texas. When asked about the LSU transfer Monday, Saban alluded to a lack of consistency throughout the week.

“Well, I think that we got a lot by how players practice and if players have a good week of practice, then I think they’re ready to play and they’ll go out there and be able to do their job,” Saban said. “And I think the other players that they play with also gain confidence in them, knowing what they're supposed to do in terms of how focused they are and practicing in getting a game plan right and all that. We just want to continue to do a good job with him and all the other players that we have on our team to get them ready to play so that they’re confident and we’re confident that they go into the game that they’re going to create value for themselves.”

Given last week’s performances, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Alabama go with McKinstry and Arnold again as its starters against ULM. While the competition is still ongoing, the Crimson Tide would likely prefer to settle in on a starting duo as it moves into conference play.

Alabama’s offensive line has struggled to find consistency as a whole. However, the left side has been particularly worrisome as the Tide looks to break in two new starters in Randolph at left guard and Vanderbilt transfer Tyler Steen at left tackle.

Things have been especially rough on the ground where Alabama is averaging just 4.19 yards on runs to the left as compared to 6.77 yards per attempt on runs to the right. Randolph leads the team with an 84.6 pass-blocking mark from PFF. However, he ranks near the bottom of the pack with a 58.8 run-blocking mark. Steen’s a bit more balanced, earning a 74.4 pass-blocking grade while dipping down to 67.9 as a run blocker.

Randolph’s struggles in run-blocking have led to him splitting time with Javion Cohen at left guard. However, last year’s starter hasn’t fared too much better, registering a 59.4 run-blocking mark through two games.

“I think the offensive line as a whole has to play a little more physical,” Saban said. “We have to have better movement, we have to have better diversity in the running game. We have to be able to execute more consistently, fundamental techniques.”

Randolph earned the start last week but took part in just 36 snaps as Cohen came in for 27 reps at left guard as well. This week’s game could be influential in the competition as Alabama looks to settle on its best front five moving forward.

“We have total confidence in the ability of every guy that plays up there,” Saban said. “I just think that we need to get a little more consistent and a little more physical with how we play so that we control the line of scrimmage a little bit better. I don’t think we controlled the line of scrimmage as well as we needed to in this game.”