The typical coach speak you hear before every big game is that the team is preparing "just like any other game." You want to avoid your players getting too up or too down, and just prepare the same way every week.
Kalen DeBoer is big on coach speak. Anybody who covers him for a living or just watches a lot of his press conferences knows he plays everything pretty close to the vest. He never gives much away.
But twice this week, he has alluded to this week's matchup against Florida State as being a little bit different.
He mentioned in his Monday press conference that while it wasn't about revenge and this was a new team, he and others from last year's team certainly remember what it felt like walking off that field last year in Tallahassee after the stunning loss.
And then last night during his weekly radio show at Baumhower's in Tuscaloosa, DeBoer made another comment that shows that the Crimson Tide is firmly aware of this game meaning just a bit more:
“They certainly know what every game brings, and this one brings a little something special," DeBoer said.
Alabama has some extra juice for this year's Florida State matchup after last season's loss
Last season's season-opening loss to Florida State in Tallahassee was embarrassing for the coaches, players, and fans. It's the most heat DeBoer has felt since becoming the Alabama head coach, and it looked like the season was over before it had even really begun.
But credit to DeBoer, the coaching staff, and the players. They rallied from there, winning eight consecutive games, which included a road win over Georgia and a stretch of four straight wins over ranked opponents. Alabama ended up in the College Football Playoff, where they knocked off Oklahoma on the road to get to 11 wins. If you asked any Alabama fan immediately after that loss in Tallahassee if 11 wins was realistic, they would have laughed in your face.
There was significant doubt about that team and the program as a whole under DeBoer's leadership following that loss. Those doubts haven't fully gone away, and beating Florida State at home, even covering a three-touchdown spread, won't change that. But it would certainly feel good to exorcise those demons. There would be a certain level of catharsis that comes with avenging that loss.
In the grand scheme of things, it's just another opportunity for this team to get better. It's another opportunity for sophomore QB Keelon Russell to get comfortable. Alabama has bigger games ahead. When we look at this season in retrospect, and Florida State has limped through another season hovering around .500, this matchup won't be seen as that big of a deal.
But for right now, it's massively important. The biggest reason is that it's the next one, but as DeBoer said, there's a little something special about this one, at least in the moment.
Coaches always want to find a little extra juice every week. DeBoer didn't have to look far for this one.
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