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Fifteen days ago, Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer preached commitment.
The Crimson Tide was stunned, having just finished a 24-3 road loss to Oklahoma, a game intended to be a tune-up before an Iron Bowl that decided Alabama’s SEC championship fate, a game that had the Crimson Tide as a multiple-touchdown favorite.
DeBoer was disappointed. He was frustrated. But he was adamant about leading a team that finished what it started.
“That’s the commitment we make to each other when we come in here,” DeBoer said Nov. 23. “When you sign up to play for Alabama, you make that commitment to each other and the brotherhood.”
Fifteen days later, Alabama faces another test of commitment.
The Crimson Tide missed the College Football Playoff, ranked as the first team outside the 12-team bracket behind SMU, which lost the ACC championship game on a walk-off 56-yard Clemson field goal.
Alabama now faces a ReliaQuest Bowl matchup against Michigan, a consolation prize in the new age of a 12-team playoff, but one seemingly secured after SEC road losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and the Sooners.
On Sunday night, DeBoer, once again, was disappointed. He felt his team was deserving.
“There’s things that, obviously, we got to do and could have done this year, but got to make sure it’s not in other people’s hands,” DeBoer said.
But the culture remained. It’s one DeBoer called strong, one built by a roster that has pride in what Alabama went through in its first season and the way it stuck together.
Alabama has already seen some movement, with multiple players having made their intentions to enter the NCAA transfer portal known before the winter window opens Monday. But DeBoer said he’s expecting for the majority of his roster to remain through the bowl game against Michigan.
“From what I feel right now, and I’m not saying there won’t be one, but I…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kalen-deboer-alabama-football-planning-025315315.html
Author : The Tuscaloosa News
Publish date : 2024-12-09 02:53:00
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