Alabama football is 5-1 after six games in the Kalen DeBoer era, but is it one of the best teams in college football?
Crimson Tide fans are having a difficult time coming to grips with this Tide team not carrying itself as an elite program.
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Alabama escaped South Carolina last week with a 27-25 narrow victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Coach DeBoer was suppose to show his ability to bounce back with dominance after losing to Vanderbilt, yet Tide fans left the matchup versus the Gamecocks with even more concerns.
The schedule gets tougher for Alabama as the Tennessee Volunteers are next at Neyland Stadium.
Some have voiced their concerns about the Tide facing the Vols as Tennessee got a 52-49 upset victory over Alabama in 2022.
What did we learn from Alabama’s close win over South Carolina? The answers are below.
1. Alabama has no identity as a team
What does this Alabama team hang its hat on as its strength?
After six games, we don’t know where the true strength of the team is.
The offensive line was suppose to be the answer, but the coaching staff does not trust it to pound opponents into submission in the run game.
Alabama has quality running backs, yet they do not touch the ball as much as they need to.
Ryan Williams is a tremendously talented freshman, but the Tide is forcing him the ball too much at wide receiver. Alabama use to be all about defense in the Nick Saban era, but that is not the case under Coach DeBoer.
The group has struggled on third down defense, pass defense, red zone defense, and scoring defense since the second half versus Georgia.
Alabama allowed 34 points to Georgia, 40 to Vanderbilt, and 25 to South Carolina since starting the season allowing 8.7 points in matchups versus Western Kentucky, South Florida, and Wisconsin. No one knows what Alabama is, outside of a few explosive plays here and there, and that is not good.
2. Kalen DeBoer is finding out the SEC is not the Pac-12
He may have had one to two challenging matchups a year in the Pac-12 at Washington, but Kalen DeBoer now sees the Southeastern Conference is a different monster.
Every week is a gut check. The win over Georgia felt exhilarating and Alabama celebrated it like a national championship, but a loss to Vanderbilt and a struggle victory over South Carolina brought it back to earth. This conference humbles you quickly because one cannot afford to underestimate anyone. Alabama did not take Vandy seriously and it cost them a game.
DeBoer and the Tide almost gift wrapped South Carolina a win. Alabama may only be able to afford one more loss if it wants to at least host a College Football Playoff game; however, it cannot lose again if it wants to have possibly have a first-round bye as one of four top seeds. DeBoer has been out coached since the second half against Georgia, and Tide fans do not understand why.
3. Alabama is at a crossroads as a program
The Nick Saban romantics versus the DeBoer era.
This is the crossroads Alabama is at right now as a program. The Saban romantics are furious with DeBoer because they feel as though he is ruining what Saban left him.
Alabama has one of the most talented rosters in college football, but they are not consistently performing like it. We are still seeing undisciplined play, no leadership, no toughness, no focus, and Alabama not commanding the respect it once did.
The Saban romantics saw Saban being upset, yelling, and having tirades on the sideline as an act of passion. They knew if the Tide played poorly under Saban, he would light a fire under the team.
They do not have that confidence in DeBoer.
The DeBoer fans believe in him and understand that Saban is not coming back to coach. They want to see him do well, but it is becoming a challenge to look at this team as a CFP contender when we are seeing the same mistakes each week.
DeBoer is a good guy, but Alabama demands a different mentality for its head coach.
He is not Saban, but he will always be measured to him because DeBoer immediately followed Saban.
Will the Saban romantics embrace DeBoer?
That is the biggest question.
4. Alabama lacks a significant ingredient on offense & defense
Alabama is missing a significant ingredient on offense and defense.
Offensively, it lacks balance. Nick Sheridan has so many explosive concepts that the Crimson Tide has not been able to simply execute its rushing attack. He enjoys running Jalen Milroe in design quarterback runs, but he’s neglecting Justice Haynes and Jam Miller. When either one of them gets going, Sheridan switches up the game plan.
Alabama has been at its best when the passing attack and running game complement each other.
They do not have a complementary offense, which has led to Alabama not winning time of possession, having several drives stall on third downs, losing the turnover battle, and tiring out its defense.
Defensively, Alabama does not have that standout player.
Will Anderson was that guy from 2020 to 2022, Dallas Turner was the answer in 2023, and the Tide had other standouts in the Saban era as well.
This team does not have that alpha mentality that commands attention from an opposing offense.
Que Robinson is doing all he can with a team-high four sacks and seven tackles for loss, yet he cannot do it alone.
Tim Keenan III has been productive as a defensive tackle, but Alabama does not have a Jonathan Allen, Da’Ron Payne, Ryan Anderson, Tim Williams, Marcell Dareus, Quinnen Williams, Rolando McClain, C.J. Mosley, Reuben Foster, Reggie Ragland, A’Shawn Robinson, or Christian Barmore on this defense. The Tide has decent players, but no one that puts fear in you.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
