TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama truly experienced the highs and lows of what a college football season can bring in Year 1 under Kalen DeBoer last season.
The Crimson Tide rose to No. 1 in the polls after knocking off Georgia at home, but then lost to Vanderbilt on the road the next week. Alabama scored a huge road win at LSU, blowing out the Tigers to set up a path to the 2-seed in the College Football Playoff if it could win out. However, Alabama lost to a .500 Oklahoma team two weeks later, which ended up being what kept the Tide out of the CFP.
Those are the type of things that you want to build in these young players is an understanding that, take the experiences you’ve had and apply them to have a sense of urgency— not a panic, but a sense of urgency to attack every single rep over and over and over again. That, to me, is what has kept us from being great a year ago.”
Alabama showed flashes of greatness, particularly in the wins against Georgia and LSU, proving that it could not only compete with, but beat some of the best teams in the country. But that consistency didn’t carry over from game to game.
The inconsistency and lack of urgency led to a 9-4 record and Alabama’s highest loss total since Nick Saban’s first season in 2007.