No. 8 Alabama trying to reclaim spot atop college football in Kalen DeBoer’s 2nd season

Six national championships in 12 seasons vaulted Alabama into its own college football category: THE team to beat.

It’s a designation the eighth-ranked Crimson Tide would like to earn back in 2025.

Alabama failed to meet expectations the last two seasons, slipping into the College Football Playoff to close legendary coach Nick Saban’s career and then getting left out in Kalen DeBoer’s debut season in Tuscaloosa.

Roll Tide? Maybe in the wrong direction.

“There’s a lot of things that I’m super proud of that have happened within the program that are part of the progression,” DeBoer said. “Yeah, we want it right now, too. Yeah, we fell short. … Sometimes there’s ups and downs that you have to go through, unfortunately, that we had to experience. But in the end, we’re going to take advantage of the failures we’ve had and be better because of it.”

Alabama went 9-4 in DeBoer’s first season, losing to three unranked teams away from home: at Vanderbilt in October, at Oklahoma in November and against Michigan in a December bowl game in Tampa, Florida.

“We got to be better in big moments,” DeBoer said.

Where did it go wrong for a program that had become the standard bearer for the league, maybe even the nation? The Tide ended up middle of the conference pack in offense and defense, hardly the same juggernaut Saban built during his nearly two decades in Tuscaloosa.

Some of that should have been expected given the coaching change. But it should look different with a year’s worth of experience.

“You want Year 2 to be moments of growth, where you can polish and clean things up,” DeBoer said. “You never are taking it for granted. You’re starting over from scratch every season. Now you build on tangents which you have that help you win more football games.”

Who will replace quarterback Jalen Milroe?

DeBoer named Ty Simpson the team’s starting quarterback last week, picking the longtime backup over former Washington transfer Austin Mack and highly touted freshman Keelon Russell.

Simpson, a fourth-year junior from Martin, Tennessee, spent the last three years waiting for his shot. He backed up Bryce Young in 2022 and then Milroe the last two seasons.

“My journey is like no other,” Simpson said. “I’ve had opportunities to leave and I didn’t because I want to be here, and I want to be with my guys.”

Simpson has completed 29 of 50 passes for 381 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions in 16 games.

Who are the team’s brightest stars?

Alabama has plenty of talent surrounding Simpson. It starts with electrifying sophomore receiver Ryan Williams, who caught 48 passes for 865 yards and eight touchdowns as a 17-year-old last season.

“He’s definitely a pro,” defensive lineman Tim Keenan III said. “He’s wise beyond his years. I appreciate how he carries himself. His name may be ‘Hollywood,’ but he’s far from it. He’s very humble.”

The Tide also expects to have one of the nation’s best offensive lines, a unit anchored by 6-foot-7, 366-pound left tackle and projected top-10 NFL draft pick Kadyn Proctor. Keenan and linebacker Deontae Lawson headline a defense that returns eight starters.

Opening on the road could be a good thing

Starting the season Aug. 30 at Florida State could be therapeutic for a team that went 2-4 away from Bryant-Denny Stadium last season. The Tide also play at No. 5 Georgia in late September, Alabama’s first trip to Athens in a decade.

“(Playing on the road is) something we look forward to,” Lawson said. “We’re all about a challenge, and we love coming into an away-team stadium and trying to clear it out.”

But the meat of Bama’s schedule comes during a five-week stretch beginning in mid-October that includes games against No. 24 Tennessee, 13th-ranked South Carolina, No. 9 LSU and 18th-ranked Oklahoma. Three of those come at home.

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