There's no escaping it. Chaos has its grip on the Alabama football program, and even more so on Crimson Tide fans. The situation became inevitable well before Saturday's final whistle in the Tennessee game.
In what felt like was an instant, Alabama went from broad opinion as a national title contender, to a team that can't be counted on to beat anyone on its schedule except Chattanooga. Not all responses were so extreme, but Monday's press sessions made things worse.
Ryan Grubb earned some credit for admitting his poor performance. But nothing else Grubb said eased concerns about the Crimson Tide offense. Of course, Kalen DeBoer had no choice but to support Grubb. Still, it rankled many Alabama fans when DeBoer said that Grubb is a great play-caller.
Tennessee outcoaching Alabama was less about Kane Wommack than about Grubb and DeBoer. Alabama's defense played well in the first half. Kalen DeBoer chooses Wommack's defensive scheme of keeping everything in front of it. As Wommack admitted on Monday, every opponent knows what to expect. Tennessee both battered and nickel-and-dimed Wommack's defense to death in the game's second half. Wommack's Monday comment that the scheme is fine, when properly executed, didn't convince many Crimson Tide fans.
How well can Alabama get by beating the Aggies?
On Saturday, the two teams direly need get-well games. Any win is a good win for the Aggies. As always, Alabama needs more. Suddenly, on both sides of the ball, the Crimson Tide must find itself. The roster will still be injury-depleted. Alabama fans fret that the coaches will still be stubborn.
Many in the national sports media currently give Alabama only a small chance of making the Playoff field. It's being said that the SEC is eating itself. Pete Futiak of College Football News predicts the SEC will get only three Playoff teams.
If the Crimson Tide runs the rest of the regular season table, 10-2 should be enough to make the 12-team field. The odds of 9-3 being enough are not good.
Losing to LSU in Baton Rouge or any of the remaining games could make Kalen DeBoer's third Alabama season a failure. It is unfair to label 9-3 coaches failures, but in the expanded Playoff era, especially at Alabama, it's reality. A worse looming reality is the prospect that action to remedy the failure will be lacking.
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