The media, both locally and nationally, were vicious toward Alabama after the Crimson Tide’s season-opening loss to Florida State in August. And rightfully so. It was a disastrous way to begin a season outright, but especially numbing to Alabama fans coming off a 2024 season that saw the Crimson Tide drop two of their final three games, including a bowl loss to Michigan.
That’s all changed in the last six weeks, though.
What was once a ridiculed team is now one of the most-praised in the sport of college football. Since that loss to the Seminoles, Alabama is 5-0 with three straight ranked SEC wins over No. 5 Georgia, No. 16 Vanderbilt, and No. 14 Missouri. Alabama head coach Kaleb DeBoer has his team rolling with the Third Saturday in October coming up, and that’s no small part due to the elite play of Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson.
The five-game winning streak from the Tide has ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith changing his tune on Alabama heading into the Tennessee game. Particularly, he’s changing his mind about head coach Kalen DeBoer.
“I’m locked in to Alabama-Tennessee,” Smith said on Friday’s episode of First Take. “Alabama, I’ve got to admit, I was all over Kalen DeBoer. I was like, finesse Pac-12 is not going to come into the SEC, I don’t want to see that. I looked at Ty Simpson against Florida State, the opener, I wasn’t impressed. This brother is the leading candidate for the Heisman right now. They’ve looked great. They beat Georgia on the road, okay? They just went up there on the road and beat Missouri. They beat Vanderbilt in between. Now they’ve got Tennessee coming up, who’s ranked 11th in the nation. I’m just saying, I’m seeing a little something from Alabama.”
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Smith picked the Tennessee-Alabama game as the most intriguing game of the Week 8 slate in his opinion.
The renowned ESPN host also believes that DeBoer could have the Crimson Tide back in national championship contention:
“Maybe, just maybe, Kalen DeBoer is going to handle his business and do something that Nick Saban has done, which is bring a national championship to Tuscaloosa. It is possible.”
Everything that Smith said in the first part of his statement is true. DeBoer has the Crimson Tide rolling like a freight train right now, but Alabama does have a fourth-straight ranked SEC opponent coming up this weekend with Tennessee. A loss to the Vols wouldn’t derail the Tide’s season, but it would be a thorn in the side of Alabama’s resume moving forward.
Is it too early for Smith to be changing his tune on DeBoer’s success? Does Alabama need to finish off this ranked streak with a win over Tennessee for that to be true? Or has the first half of the season turnaround been enough to already justify Smith’s remarks?
It’s up to you to decide, but it’ll be up to the 22 players on the field this Saturday night to find a win. For more on how Tennessee and Alabama’s playoff chances will be impacted by a win or a loss this Saturday, click here.
