As Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama eyes resurrection, LSU and Brian Kelly can get the last word

Kalen DeBoer’s first Alabama season is where I thought it would be.

No, I didn’t predict he’d lose to Vanderbilt. Only folks with an anchor tattooed to their chest might have figured that. And I also didn’t think Alabama would blitz Georgia.

Here’s what I did expect, though: Alabama would need to beat either Tennessee or LSU to make the playoff in DeBoer’s first season.

The Crimson Tide lost to Tennessee, so their season rides on beating LSU on Nov. 9.

I’ll state it cleanly: If Alabama makes the College Football Playoff in DeBoer’s first season, he’s been a Year 1 success. Yes, he lost to Vanderbilt, but if he makes the playoff, so what? Nick Saban lost to Louisiana-Monroe in his first season, and that worked out OK in the long run. Pile up enough victories, and a black eye fades.

If Alabama loses to LSU (or a subsequent game) and misses the playoff, then DeBoer’s first season becomes a bust.

Don’t just take it from me. Let me remind you what DeBoer said before the season when I asked him whether he considered making the CFP in his first season a reasonable expectation.

“That’s the expectation,” DeBoer told me in June.

So, playoff or bust. That’s the standard, straight from the coach’s mouth.

After Alabama lost to Tennessee, I grabbed the shovel and prepared to start scooping dirt on the idea of the Tide as a playoff team. It wasn’t just that the Vols beat the Tide 24-17. It’s how they lost.

All slop, no sizzle.

Quarterback Jalen Milroe, a Heisman contender after September, regressed into a slump. Alabama played as undisciplined as ever and became a walking, talking penalty.

Jim Mora voice …

Playoffs?! Don’t talk about playoffs. You kidding me? Playoffs?!

Now, though, after Alabama trounced Missouri in what could become a get-right game, I’ve put down the shovel, but I’m keeping it close at…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kalen-deboers-alabama-eyes-resurrection-142750496.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-01 14:27:50

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