The standard Alabama Football rule about moving on from a game after 24 hours is getting no support this week from Crimson Tide fans. Many of us just can’t accept or fully process what we thought the Crimson Tide was – on Saturday night, it wasn’t.
What it will be next and what the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide will eventually become are two areas of doubt many Alabama fans did not expect to have this season.
It is possible Alabama has already played its toughest opponent in the regular season. So far in the young season, LSU, Tennessee and Texas A&M do not have resumes to warrant them being better teams than the Longhorns.
How good Texas may be brings optimism to Tide fans, but there is also a countering element. If Alabama plays again as it did on Saturday night, it could lose to teams not as good as Texas.
In the prediction I made for the Texas game, I stated there were five key ingredients for an Alabama victory. The keys were limiting penalties, winning a turnover battle, effective performance by the Tide’s O-Line, getting frequent pressure on Quinn Ewers, and limiting the impact of Xavier Worthy and AD Mitchell. Had Alabama succeeded in the first four, the strong production of Worthy and Mitchell might not have been enough for the Horns.
What happened was Alabama failed in all five of the key areas, and a couple more of what proved to be key areas as well. Explosive plays by the Tide’s offense were just not enough to make up for the deficiencies.
On Monday, Nick Saban said, “the future is now.” He stressed the problems are all “fixable” but need immediate and sustained work to improve everything, even the simplest details.
Alabama Football Schedule Advantage
The Alabama football schedule favors a quick turnaround. On Saturday afternoon, the Crimson Tide plays a team that does not have comparable talent. It will be a good transition game to use for improvement.
It could also be a game that steadies the Crimson Tide offense led by Jalen Milroe. Or it could be a game when another option at quarterback, possibly Tyler Buchner, gets an opportunity to show his ability to handle the role of QB1.
The other advantage of the Crimson Tide schedule is a week after USF, Ole Miss comes to Tuscaloosa. Last season, trailing by six points, the Rebels had a pass to the end zone that fell incomplete as the Tide held on to win 30-24. Early indications are Ole Miss is better than last season. Saban knows the Tide must execute against Lane Kiffin and the Rebels.
After following a 48-hour-plus rule, maybe we Alabama football fans can move on from the Texas game.