One week from today, Alabama football returns. The Crimson Tide will make the trek to Tallahassee to battle Florida State in a game between two teams and fanbases that are ready to put a disappointing 2024 season behind them.
Of course, disappointment is relative. Alabama's "disappointment" was a 9-4 season, the lowest season win total for a Tide football team since 2007. For Florida State, it was a complete bottoming out after a 13-1 season in 2023, tripping over themselves at every turn and finishing an ugly 2-10.
The Seminoles should be much improved, but even a big step forward could mean only six or seven wins. With 40+ new players on the roster, Mike Norvell's team is a pretty substantial unknown right now. Maybe things come together, and they are ACC contenders. Maybe they fall apart and a team full of transfers checks out, and the 'Noles are fighting for bowl eligibility or worse.
Alabama should also be an improved team in 2025. Kalen DeBoer understands the job and the conference he is in better than he did a year ago. This is now fully his roster, and he completed the coaching staff he wanted last season by hiring Ryan Grubb this offseason. The question marks are minimal, but still prevalent. And anything short of a College Football Playoff berth would constitute a massive disappointment and serve to put DeBoer squarely on the hot seat heading into year three.
Kalen DeBoer is still seeking answers to these questions for Alabama
How will Ty Simpson perform when the lights are bright?
By all accounts, Ty Simpson has had a terrific offseason. His performance was strong enough in fall camp that he won the starting QB job with plenty of time to spare. He's entering his fourth season of college football, so he has sat and learned and should be ready for his shot. But the fact remains that when he steps onto the field at Doak Campbell next Saturday, he'll be making his first collegiate start.
How he handles that is completely unknown. He's said all the right things. He has earned the trust of the coaching staff and his teammates. He's a team captain. But everything changes when the lights are on and all the pressure is squarely on your shoulders.
It's not a stretch to say that Simpson is not only Alabama's most important player, but one of the most important players in college football. How he performs could directly impact whether the Crimson Tide is a legitimate National Championship contender, or if it once again feels like they are a QB away from contending for a second consecutive season.
For better or worse, we'll find out together in one week.
Can Alabama effectively run the football, especially without Jam Miller?
Alabama's running game was inconsistent to say the least a year ago, particularly with the running backs. Jalen Milroe's big play ability masked it, but the Crimson Tide ranked in the 22nd percentile in stuff-rate running the football last season.
Alabama seems committed to fixing that, and they bring back an experienced offensive line. They have five guys with starting experience, but they must replace a first-round talent in Tyler Booker at left guard. With Jaeden Roberts in concussion protocol, it continues to trend toward him not starting the season opener, meaning Alabama's guards will be Texas A&M transfer Kam Dewberry and fifth-year senior and career reserve Geno VanDeMark.
Jam Miller was gearing up for a monster senior season, but his injury during the Tide's second scrimmage will have him out against Florida State next week. That means Alabama will be relying on inexperienced guys like Richard Young and Daniel Hill, or a transfer from Louisiana in Dre Washington, who is making a big step up in competition.
With Simpson making his first start, it will be imperative that he has a ground game that he can rely on. Simpson is far from the statue he is made out to be, but Grubb would prefer not having to run the quarterback too often this early in the season with big goals in mind.
Can Alabama stop the run effectively?
For the most part, Kane Wommack's debut season as the team's defensive coordinator was a success. Alabama finished as a Top 10 defense in yards per play despite breaking in a lot of new faces and playing as many underclassmen as anyone in the country. Big things are expected in year two, with some expecting the Crimson Tide to be one of the two or three best defenses in the nation.
For that to happen, Alabama has to do better in stopping the run. With Gus Malzahn calling plays and a running QB in Thomas Castellanos, you can bet designed QB runs are going to be a big part of Florida State's game plan. They'll think they can find the same success on the ground that Oklahoma and Vanderbilt did a year ago.
Alabama finished 52nd in the country in rushing yards allowed per game in 2024, giving up a decidedly un-Alabama-like 144.5 yards per game.
On paper, Alabama's front-seven should be stout. A defensive line of LT Overton, Tim Keenan, and James Smith should be as good as it gets. But there are fair questions about the depth, particularly on the defensive interior.
At LB, Alabama has three quality inside options in Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson, and Colorado transfer Nikhai Hill-Green. Qua Russaw at OLB looks like he's in store for a monster breakout season.
How Alabama defends the run this season will determine if Wommack's unit can be as good as many expect them to be.
Can Alabama's kicking game just avoid being disastrous?
Will Reichard ain't walking through that door. Reports out of camp haven't been overly positive for Alabama's new kicker, redshirt sophomore Conor Talty. He missed several field goals during the Tide's second scrimmage last Saturday.
Talty doesn't have to be Reichard. He doesn't have to hit 80% of his kicks like Graham Nicholson did last season, either. But can he consistently make the kicks inside 40 yards that would be classified as "gimmes?"
Alabama fans have dealt with plenty of disastrous kicking games over the years. Some previous Alabama teams were so dominant that it didn't always matter. As good as the Tide project to be this season, the margin for error is much thinner in this era of college football than it was during the Nick Saban heyday.
It would be massively disappointing to see this season completely derailed by inept kicking.