With all the ups and downs of this 2024 season, it feels great typing that this Alabama coaching staff is figuring things out during the stretch run of November. Kalen Deboer and his staff once again came off of the bye week on fire, and this time they made sure there was no drama.
Alabama fans, myself included, have been very critical of Offensive Coordinator Nick Sheridan but Saturday night in Death Valley he was dealing. He put Jalen Milroe in perfect situations to excel, which is exactly what Jalen did. Seeing him come down from the booth late in the fourth quarter to celebrate with his quarterback was beautiful.
Kane Wommack another guy who hasn't been the most popular in Tuscaloosa this season has started to get this defense going. We saw a great first half against Tennessee, a very solid performance against Missouri, and clearly, his defense gave their best performance against an LSU team that has been electric all season.
For this team to be able to hold Garrett Nussmeier under 240 passing yards is a story in itself, and on top of that only gave up one touchdown with nothing but backups in the game. Wommack has finally allowed his playmakers to blitz more and it is paying dividends.
This defense is back to flying to the ball, getting off the field on third down, and becoming the defense this spoiled Alabama fanbase expects to see. October was a very frustrating month and clearly, Coach Wommack and his players have put that behind them. This defense still has a lot of pride and have shown it the last two games.
For all the differences between Kalen Deboer and Nick Saban the team that showed up in Baton Rouge looked similar to a lot of Saban's teams. Deboer despite his calm demeanor has passion like no other and that was seen through Saturday night's win.
2024 has been a learning experience, but as we get closer to the final exam this coaching staff has figured out some of the answers to the test questions. Tonight showed that patience is a virtue, and getting a huge road win with everything on the line will do wonders for Deboer's tenure in Tuscaloosa. With all the craziness that we saw in Week 11 and will continue to see through the rest of November, The Crimson Tide are right where they need to be.