One thing that reporters and fans are curious about is what Kalen DeBoer meant after the Tennessee loss when he said things are going to get “uncomfortable” for Alabama.
Fans may perhaps thought this was a comment referring to putting the players through hell this week in practice, but DeBoer meant that things are going to be uncomfortable because there’s little to no room for another loss if the team wants to make the College Football Playoff.
“That’s more about the nature that surrounds what these guys’ goals are,” DeBoer said. “There’s guys that lived this pretty much the entire year last year, and they understand what that urgency level is. When I say those things, it makes it seem like that wasn’t the case the last couple of weeks or all season. These guys go as hard as any team I’ve ever been around every day in practice. So, I think it’s just now, there’s a different sense of backs to the wall… Everything is in front of us, and you got to keep it really simple and hone in on what you can control which is improving today, and then, it’s about improving tomorrow. Doing the preparation where you have the confidence to go play fast on Saturday, and so, all the things you can make it really complex with, you really got to narrow it down to bare minimum. It’s focus on what you need to do today to be the best you can be today to help us go win on Saturday.”
The Crimson Tide dropped to No. 13 in the AP poll after the 26-10 loss to Tennessee, and there are five games remaining on the schedule for Alabama. Three losses in the regular season make it almost impossible to make the playoff based on the history. Although Alabama had three losses last season before the postseason, one of the losses came in the SEC Championship game. Without that extra game, the Crimson Tide would have had a 10-2 record heading into the postseason.
In 2024, Alabama had a 9-3 record and was left out of the playoff.
Alabama football will host Texas A&M on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
