Alabama football fans won't get fooled again but experts may

In the run up to the 2023 Alabama football season, there was a consensus about the Alabama Crimson Tide held by both fans and college football experts. It was that Eric Wolford's offensive line was going to be a physical force, and possibly one of the game's most dominating lines ever.

The experts were mistaken. After Jaeden Roberts joined the starting unit, Alabama had three outstanding offensive linemen. It also had serious weaknesses in pass protection and snapping the football. Giving up 49 sacks, Alabama was last in the SEC in sacks allowed and tied for 129th among all FBS teams.

In a new Alabama season that is also a new Alabama Football Era, Crimson Tide fans don't want to get fooled again. Summers are seasons of optimism for college football fans. Alabama Crimson Tide fans are enthusiastic that Kalen DeBoer's offense will cure lingering offensive ills. But there is room for doubt.

Alabama Crimson Tide 2023 Offense

DeBoer's 2024 offense must be better than Alabama was in 2023. Five 2023 teams averaged more than 40 points per game. LSU was No. 1 at 45.5 points. Alabama's average was 34 points and No. 24 among all FBS teams.

What to make of the Crimson Tide's offensive prospects for the 2024 season? A few days ago, The Sporting News predicted the SEC's five best offenses for 2024. Alabama was not included. In order, they were Ole Miss, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, and Oklahoma. Alabama plays three of the teams in the regular season and the prediction suggests the Crimson Tide might not prevail against the Bulldogs, Vols, and Sooners in shootout games.

A somewhat different perspective comes from 247Sports who tabbed the Crimson Tide as having the SEC's fourth-best offensive line. Ranked one, two, and three were LSU, Texas, and Georgia.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) gave Crimson Tide fans more reasons for enthusiasm in ranking the top 10 returning offensive linemen in college football.

Alabama Football was the only team having two players on the top 10 list. PFF went even further, ranking the top 10 Offensive Line Units in college football. Explaining the rankings, PFF stated Alabama has "one of the most loaded interior offensive lines in recent memory."

PFF often gets mixed reviews from fans and grading offensive linemen is a difficult task. Crimson Tide fans might want to settle for guarded optimism.

If, and maybe it should be called a big IF, but if the 2024 Alabama football offensive line comes close to matching the PFF prediction - opposing defenses are in big trouble. And that includes all of them.