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For all the talk about Arch Manning and Bill Belichick this past week, I want to focus on one of the other major stories from the weekend. A certain program that starts with an “A” and has an incredible history lost on Saturday to a team that was 2-10 last season. Can you guess which school it was?
I’ll give you a hint. They expect way too much, they have what seems like a thousand sororities and when their fans speak, they're annoying. If you guessed the Alabama Crimson Tide, you’re right, but please don’t shout “Roll Tide.”
Since legendary head coach Nick Saban left for basically College Gameday in 2024, it’s not hard to say their reign of terror is over. Last season, we saw them lose at Tennessee again, lose at new conference foe Oklahoma, and of course at Vanderbilt. Heck, they lost to Michigan again in a bowl game, albeit with less stakes.
With how abnormal their 2024 season was, I made a joke for my show in a TV production class I took last spring about them. Surely though, with a whole offseason to prepare, you think Alabama would be ready to face a desperate Florida State team. Add on the extra motivation from Kyler Murray clone Tommy Castellanos, who was trash talking Alabama during the summer, and Bama was destined to win.
But just like track star Noah Lyles, Castellanos backed up his words and led Florida State to a major upset on Saturday. Bama fans of course acted accordingly and understood the task for HC Kalen DeBoer is not an easy one. Living up to the standard of Saban or heck even Paul “Bear” Bryant is impossible so Tide fans are not mad.
In a perfect world, those last two sentences would be true. In reality, Bama fans believe the world is ending because their program has collapsed since DeBoer came over from Washington. I’m sorry but just like Y2K did nothing to the planet, DeBoer is fine at Alabama.
Look, I understand there was a certain standard set under Saban and seeing a player like Malachi Moore freaking out after losing to Vanderbilt last season was unacceptable. DeBoer is not Saban but my goodness, stop trying to say he is a terrible coach. He was a winner at Sioux Falls (NAIA) and was great at Washington.
As a college football enjoyer, I understand what Alabama means to the sport, fans, and their entire state. In a state where there are virtually no major professional teams, the Crimson Tide are their pro team (sorry Auburn). Fans don’t want their beloved program to be irrelevant.
I just think the pressure fans are pushing towards DeBoer is just ridiculous. You can say what you want about the trenches, receiver Ryan Williams’ play or quarterback Ty Simpson’s play on Saturday. Heck, blame DeBoer all you want because at the end of the day, he’s the head coach so he’s responsible for the loss.
Maybe it’s just me man because I enjoyed DeBoer coaching guys like Michael Penix Jr. at Washington. Since I used Washington in dynasty mode in NCAA Football 14, I have a soft spot for them. I view them as my second favorite college football team behind Michigan State.
I don’t hate DeBoer, which I have definitely said at some point when I wrote those weekly college football articles for WSOU last year. But, to be given a metaphorical “death sentence” by fans after one game to start the season is crazy. Maybe Mike Norvell and Florida State are better than their disastrous 2024 team and this loss for Alabama is not so bad.
There’s no doubt Alabama will beat UL-Monroe and Wisconsin in their next two games. If the Tide loses at Georgia on September 27, maybe I will start to agree with some people. If they get embarrassed by Vanderbilt at home the following week, then I will start to criticize DeBoer more.
Until late September/early October, this DeBoer hate-watching needs to slow down a tad bit. But, in order for that to be eliminated, the team needs to improve. From the coaches to the players, they have to learn from their week one mistakes quickly.
Has Alabama fallen as a program? No, but don’t expect this to be anywhere close to the level of performance during the Saban years.