I'll admit it. I bought in.
After watching Alabama dismantle Mississippi State, I was ready to declare that the Tide had rediscovered its identity. The defense was making plays, the offense was rolling, and the freshman running backs looked like the beginning of something special. The phrase "joyless murderball" started feeling appropriate again.
Well, consider this my public apology for getting ahead of myself. This is another shade of the same Alabama football brand that we have seen in the Kalen DeBoer era. Alabama has now lost consecutive games to Georgia and Tennessee, including an embarrassing 26-10 defeat in Knoxville on Saturday. The Crimson Tide managed just 201 total yards, turned the ball over four times, and failed to score a single point in the second half. The worst part? It just seemed like the same old Alabama teams of the last few years. Within the first half hour of the game, every Tide fan knew how that game was going to go.
It feels way too familiar, and it shouldn't.
Alabama's problems under Kalen DeBoer never actually went away
For one glorious afternoon against Mississippi State, Alabama looked like the machine we all remembered. Heck, they looked like a machine in the second half against Kentucky. They were putting up 40+ points consistently the first few weeks of the season. Against Georgia, Alabama scored just three points in the second half. Against Tennessee, the offense completely disappeared after halftime. Two games, two losses, and an increasingly uncomfortable pattern.
Where is the consistency?
Where is the physicality that used to make opponents dread playing Alabama?
And where is the ability to respond when a game stops going according to plan?
Where is the adjustments at half to give the team a chance?
The frustrating thing is that Alabama has talent. Nobody needs to pretend otherwise. But talent alone doesn't make a championship team, and a few impressive highlights don't mean a program has rediscovered its identity. I wanted to believe Alabama was turning a corner. Instead, the last two Saturdays have reminded us that the same questions are still hanging over Tuscaloosa.
Joyless Murderball is a thing of the past
Here's where I was wrong. Hand Up. Put this one on me.
I thought the improved running game and the emergence of young playmakers signaled that Alabama was finally building an identity it could lean on when things got difficult. But when the pressure arrived against Georgia and Tennessee, that identity disappeared.
Alabama's offense turned the ball over four times against the Volunteers, converted just two of 13 third downs, and couldn't find the end zone after halftime. The fourth-down calls? Yikes. Tennessee's DeSean Bishop rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns while the Tide struggled to get anything going offensively.
That's not joyless murderball. That's a team that is searching for answers.
The old Alabama teams didn't need everything to go perfectly. They could win ugly, control the line of scrimmage, and wear opponents down when the game was on the line. This Alabama team can not do that reliably. Keelon Russell is young, the roster has plenty of talent, and there is time to improve.
But I bet it won't get better. I am done declaring the return of Alabama's old identity after the first few games of the season. Show me sustained success through an entire regular season, then I'll believe it. Until then, I am keeping the celebrations on hold.
Alabama's College Football Playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread
Here's the uncomfortable truth. Alabama's College Football hopes are dead in the water in my book. The Tide is 5-2, with consecutive losses to Georgia and Tennessee. The latest defeat was especially damaging because Alabama was dominated in all facets. The playoff door isn't mathematically closed. There are still games left, but let's be realistic.
Alabama doesn't have much margin for error anymore. Texas A&M visits Tuscaloosa next, followed by a schedule that includes LSU, Vanderbilt, and Auburn. If this is the same old Bama team we have seen in the Kalen DeBoer era, spoiler alert: it is. They will lose another game this season.
If Alabama can't beat Tennessee after losing to Georgia, why should anyone confidently predict that it will suddenly put together the run necessary to rescue its season?
The Tide needs more than a bounce-back win. It needs to prove that these last two weeks were not an accurate reflection of what this team is. Right now, I don't see enough evidence to make that assumption. Alabama's playoff hopes are on life support, and right now it is just a matter of time till the plug is pulled on their season. For a program with national championship aspirations, this is a brutal place to be in October.
This isn't a declaration that Kalen DeBoer cannot succeed at Alabama. Two losses don't determine an entire coaching tenure, and the SEC is unforgiving to talented teams.
But the excuses are starting to wear thin.
Alabama fans aren't asking for perfection every Saturday. They're asking to see progress and consistency. They want to see their team have the ability to punch back when getting rocked right out of the gate. In his tenure, we have seen the opposite. There are few to no adjustments being made once the script doesn't go according to plan.
The Texas A&M game is an opportunity to start fresh and answer some of the questions the fans have for him and his staff. A convincing win wouldn't erase the Georgia and Tennessee defeats, but it would at least give the fan base something tangible to believe in again. Another lifeless performance, though, this season would be the proverbial nail in the coffin for at least a staff switchup.
Even with a decimation of A&M, I don't think that would be enough to get fans to believe again.
I was wrong to declare that Alabama had its old identity back. I saw what I wanted to see. I saw what I wanted to believe to be true. Maybe the Tide will prove me wrong. I hope they do.
The aura isn't back. The murderball isn't back. And unless something changes quickly, Alabama's playoff hopes will have to wait till next year, when a three- to four-loss Bama team can make it on the charity of the 24-team playoff.
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