If your wife hasn't already taken care of this part, get a hotel NOW. It's one of the 10 or so weekends a year that every hotel will be packed.
For a once in a lifetime first home game, my order of preference would be:
(1) The Capstone, directly across Bryant Drive from the Coleman Coliseum / Mal Moore football complex. Will be really hard to find a vacancy here, but you have to try.
(2) The new Embassy Suites in downtown Tuscaloosa at the corner of University Blvd and Greensboro Avenue. Hotel restaurant, Side By Side, is owned by Chris Hastings. Google him. He's no joke as a chef. A bit on the pricey side, but a first rate meal. If that's not your food style, there are plenty of options within easy walking distance in downtown Tuscaloosa.
(3) Hotel Indigo, where Greensboro Avenue meets the river. It's 2-3 blocks directly north of Embassy Suites. Only thing is, being on the river, it's at the foot of a hill, and the walk to downtown attractions is three blocks up a steep hill. Walkable, but the hill is the reason I have it rated third. If there happens to be a show at the Amphitheater (and there might be -- it's prime outdoor concert time), Indigo is about 150 dead-level flat yards away, and vaults to a tie for #2.
None of these are cheap. There's really no such thing as a bargain hotel room in Tuscaloosa on Tennessee weekend. Just close your eyes, run the card, and as Saban says, be where your feet are.
If you can't find a room, call around every day until you get a cancellation.
Well before you depart, just accept the fact that you'll be leaking money for 3 solid days. The sooner you get your mind around that, the more you'll enjoy your time. It'll be huge fun.
