Why Kalen DeBoer wants Alabama football to channel pain of 31-17 loss to FSU

Aug 30, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) reacts after a play against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Kalen DeBoer wants Alabama football to hold on to the pain of the ugly 31-17 loss to Florida State in order to keep the team’s intensity high throughout the 2025 season.

On “Hey Coach and The Kalen DeBoer Show,” passionate Alabama fan and frequent caller, PeeWee, asked DeBoer about what Alabama needs to do to keep the intensity level up after a great showing against ULM last Saturday.

“We better be keeping the pain of what happened week one internally,” DeBoer said. “And again, I use channel the energy. Channel whatever level of frustration, being upset, whatever you want to call it. We need to channel that into our preparation, and I think through two days this week, we’ve done a good job of continuing to not let that pain fade off. Understanding that we have a lot to prove. That’s just one game. That’s a game we should win. And so, this week we have a very good opponent in Wisconsin coming in, and we got to make sure that the same mindset we had all week long leading up to Saturday, that it continues for sure.”

Alabama’s defense is the unit that lacked intensity the most against Florida State, and the defenders turned it up a notch last Saturday and shut out ULM, creating multiple turnovers and making plays behind the line of scrimmage. Perhaps using the pain and feelings from the 14-point loss is the swift kick in the pants that the defense needed in order to lock in and get right ahead of SEC play.

The Crimson Tide offense will also need to keep this mindset heading into Saturday’s game against Wisconsin as the Badgers have held their previous opponents to less than 35 rushing yards a game.

Alabama plays Wisconsin at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.