You could forgive Kalen DeBoer for wanting to take a moment to enjoy this one. Alabama's road win over Georgia on Saturday night was massive for his team in 2025, and for his future on the sideline in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama entered the game at 2-1 with plenty of question marks and more doubts. It left Athens at 3-1 with more answers and a belief resonating in the locker room, the fanbase, and now the national media once again.
Those who wanted to shovel dirt on Alabama's grave may have once again been premature. Present company included. Because Alabama has effectively bounced back from the season-opening loss to Florida State, scoring one of the most impressive wins of the young college football season. In doing so, Alabama did something that nobody else has done in six years: beat Georgia in Sanford Stadium.
But DeBoer is already ready to move on. Something changed with his mentality since the loss to Florida State brought genuine heat to his seat for the first time since he took over for Nick Saban. He's smiling less. He's yelling at players, coaches, officials. He's bringing the energy that Tide fans have long wanted from him. Results are beginning to follow. And DeBoer isn't resting on his laurels:
"These guys made up their minds, they're gonna fight," DeBoer said. "...We gotta make sure that we don't forget what that chip on the shoulder was that got this momentum going. We've got to understand what it took mentally, physically, emotionally today to be able to sustain from start to finish."
The key for Alabama moving forward will be how they handle success
After beating Georgia again, Alabama has a familiar opponent waiting next week: Vanderbilt. The Commodores at 5-0 look even better than they did a year ago when the Crimson Tide was stunned in Nashville a week after the thrilling win over the Bulldogs. Diego Pavia is still around, and he'd love nothing more than to beat Alabama for the second year in a row.
Vanderbilt isn't sneaking up on anyone this year. They're just a good football team, and they are going to give Alabama everything they can handle next week in Tuscaloosa.
How does Alabama respond after a big win? Can they handle prosperity? They responded with three straight impressive performances with their backs against the wall, but the job is nowhere close to finished. The win over Georgia meant little in the grand scheme of things a year ago as Alabama finished outside the SEC Championship picture and failed to make the College Football Playoff.
Alabama regained a margin for error by winning in Athens. They can't afford to give it right back against Vanderbilt for a second year in a row.