KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kalen DeBoer isn’t the best at postgame speeches after a loss. He hasn’t had to give many in his career (13 career losses before Saturday), but now he’s been in this situation twice in three weeks.
“He told us straight up he’s not good with those speeches, after losing,” Malachi Moore said. “He never plans on us coming into the locker room after the game and not being victorious.”
That sentiment is shared by Alabama’s players. Losses came few and far between for the Crimson Tide over the last decade-plus but Saturday’s 24-17 defeat to Tennessee was a low point — the first time the program had two regular-season losses pre-November since 2007, Nick Saban’s first season.
There wasn’t much to be said after a bitter loss in which Alabama was outscored 24-10 in the second half. But what was said in those few words? It was a double-edged conclusion.
“Everything’s still in front of us,” Moore said. “Twelve-team Playoff, a lot goes on week-to-week (nationally), but we can’t worry about that stuff. We just have to win from here on out. Just be brutally honest with each other and just continue striving to be great.”
The hard truths began to leak out after Saturday’s game. Starting with DeBoer, who had a sobering synopsis of the team through seven games.
“We just can’t play team football, can’t bring it together,” DeBoer said. “One side of the ball has highlighted moments and the other side stumbles. You try to look inward after every game and we got to continue the same. I know we got a locker room that’s hurting … just frustrated we can’t get over the hump.”
“First of all, do some soul searching and look inward…we gotta make the plays to go win right now and that’s where we’re just falling short.” – Kalen DeBoer after Alabama’s loss at Tennessee pic.twitter.com/aEsIWCFKMb
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) October 20, 2024
The first half was the defense’s time to shine with three forced turnovers and a shutout. However, after those three turnovers, this is how Alabama’s offensive fared: punt, three-and-out, three-and-out. The offense had some good moments in the third quarter, with two consecutive scoring drives, but the defense collapsed. Tennessee scored on four of six second-half possessions and converted 5 of 9 third downs after zero in the first half.
It’s just a continuation of what Alabama has displayed over the past four games, beginning with the second half against Georgia. That dominant first half on Sept. 28 feels like forever ago, and the further away it gets, the more apparent it is that Alabama is not the dominant team from that night.
Here are a few more truths that were confirmed on Saturday. This isn’t a disciplined team — 15 more penalties reinforced that fact. At the moment, this isn’t a well-coached team, as evidenced by a second-half scoring deficit of 81-55 over the past four games. And player execution is lacking. The Playoffs aren’t out of the picture, but Alabama can’t slip again. And for that to happen, something has to improve and fast.
“Do some soul-searching and look inward,” DeBoer said. “I know there’s enough guys that still believe, that still want to go do what we want to do. There’s a lot of season left. It’s gonna go fast if we don’t take advantage of it. That urgency’s got to be there — there’s no question.”
Can Alabama turn things around to the level it needs to? To do so, it has to reinvent itself, from an inconsistent, sloppy team to a buttoned-up operation that can play at a high level for four quarters. Some things feel correctable, such as better execution in all phases and limiting turnovers. Some don’t feel as fixable, such as being a highly penalized team and the fact that young players in key positions (like cornerback) are going to have moments of brilliance and others when they struggle.
ONE-HANDED INT ON JALEN MILROE 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/KgYlStIYpK
— ESPN (@espn) October 19, 2024
What’s not in question is the talent profile of the team. But it goes beyond talent. There’s a mindset DeBoer’s trying to extract, to little or no avail this season.
“There’s times when we have to be able to separate ourselves and have that killer instinct,” he said. “Right now, we don’t do that. It’s not like they’re not trying. It’s just the execution needs to be better.”
The time is now. Alabama hosts 6-1 Missouri on Saturday at home, followed by a bye week and then at LSU. That doesn’t include a trip to Oklahoma and home against Auburn in November. The Sooners and Tigers hold a combined record of 6-8, but right now, no SEC win is guaranteed.
If there’s a silver lining to Alabama’s Playoff chances it’s that Georgia dominated Texas on Saturday night, in turn giving Alabma a marquee win to hang its hat on during Playoff conversations. The road back starts next Saturday for DeBoer and his team. At the time, Georgia was DeBoer’s biggest game as Alabama’s coach, but Missouri is pretty high on that growing list.
The Crimson Tide are wounded. A second loss in three weeks with a lackluster win in between reinforces the idea that the Vanderbilt game wasn’t a blip but more indicative of Alabama’s team. Another loss effectively ends any hope of making the Playoff. How will DeBoer pick his team up off the mat and get them prepared for a top-20 showdown? And does this team still believe it’s among the 12 best teams in college football?
“One thousand percent,” wide receiver Germie Bernard said. “That’s our goal and we’ll never lose sight of it.”
Why the confidence?
“We’re Alabama. There’s a standard here. Guys are very resilient. They want to win, the standard is to win. We have to find a way to win, be critical of ourselves and be optimistic.”
(Photo of Kalen DeBoer: Saul Young / News Sentinel / USA Today via Imagn Images)
