The Alabama Crimson Tide will be on the road in Starkville for a matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs this weekend.
Kickoff for Week 5’s contest is scheduled for 11 a.m. CST, as the Tide will be traveling to Starkville early Saturday morning. Alabama’s travel plans have left a handful of fans concerned considering the early start, but the decision could quickly prove to work in the Tide’s favor considering the rumored hotel conditions in Mississippi.
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer took a moment to comment on the Crimson Tide’s travel plans earlier this week, as DeBoer believes the team will benefit from staying home opposed to being in a hotel for the night.
“Well, some of it was I just trusted what was done before here.” DeBoer said. “So in 2023, it was done the same way. You want those accommodations and things like that when it comes to meeting rooms and such, and we have that here with our hotel and all of that. I think when it comes to staying at a place that suits what we need, I don’t know if those places kind of fulfilled those expectations.”
DeBoer continued to point out that teams have stayed in Tuscaloosa for matchups against Mississippi State in the past.
“And so, other teams have been staying recently here in Tuscaloosa as they come through heading up that way. It’s been done before, just as recent as three years ago. It worked then. You got to make sure we continue to stay with that, and I guess I just trusted a lot of what we have done in the past, and that’s the best way to do it. Believe me, I’ve checked how long of a trip it is, too. But I’m always accounting it’s a little bit quicker with the way we will roll with the buses and everything that goes along with us.”
Both Alabama and Mississippi State will enter Saturday’s matchup with an undefeated record of 4-0 to begin the year. The Tide will be led by a police escort on their way to Wade Davis Stadium this weekend, and the team is expected to arrive roughly 3-4 hours prior to kickoff.
