Alabama may have finished out the 2025 season with a better overall record than it did in the 2024 season, but in many ways, the Crimson Tide were actually worse last year.
College football analyst Joel Klatt pointed that out in his recent appearance on "The Next Round".
When Klatt was asked whether he thought there was any improvement at all in Year 2 of the Kalen DeBoer era, his simple, plain response was "no."
"They got bailed out by (former quarterback) Ty Simpson," Klatt said. "Unless he played amazing, they did not have a great shot in big games... the SEC is not nearly what it was, so this idea of 'oh, look at all the games they won, look at what they did in the SEC."
Klatt's comments do not mean he is all the way out on DeBoer or Alabama itself, though. And he made a point that he did not want it to be taken that way. He also noted that the SEC is still a "very deep league" even though it is not necessarily seen as far and way the best conference in football any longer.
"Here's where I'll give Kalen DeBoer credit," Klatt continued. "In a tightly bunched league, Kalen (DeBoer) is a very good football coach, and they win those games against teams that they're similar to. What I think he's going to have trouble with is trying to beat the teams that they're not better than."
Did Alabama improve from year one to year two under Kalen DeBoer?@joelklatt: "No... When you get into the playoffs and you don't have a run game and you're 120-whatever in yards per carry, guess what you can't do against Indiana - fake it." pic.twitter.com/pzdsuK3GS1
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) May 4, 2026
Klatt expressed concern about how Alabama will fare in big matchup games against powerhouse teams. The Indiana Hoosiers were one that came to mind for him.
"When you get into the playoffs and you don't have a run game and you're 120-whatever in yards per carry, guess what you can't do against Indiana - fake it," he said.
Kalen DeBoer and Alabama look to build and correct trends in the 2026 season
Klatt's take is a bit controversial, and not everyone will agree with it. Things look good for the Crimson Tide on paper as far as year-over-year improvement goes between 2024 and 2025.
In 2024, Alabama missed the College Football Playoff and finished out the season with an overall record of 9-3. The 2025 season was a different story, as Alabama did edge its way into the CFP, finishing out with one more win to cap the regular season with a 10-2 overall record.
In addition to earning a spot in the conference title game, the Tide also made history by becoming the first team to win an away game since the CFP adopted the current 12-team format.
The rushing offense ranked 45th in the nation in average rushing yards per game, with 172.8 yards in 2024. That is not great to begin with, and the team fell miserably in the 2025 season.
Alabama slid several spots in this area, down to 129th in the nation, far below several small programs. The Crimson Tide averaged just 92.6 yards per contest, so you can see from a statistics perspective exactly where Klatt was coming from when he was worried about the run game.
How Alabama fixes this -- and whether it can adequately replace Simpson when he was playing his best football -- will be something to watch. It won't be an easy task either.
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