In a year when games have been interesting for reasons Alabama fans really would have preferred they not be, here comes a pretty good Missouri Tiger team to town and neither team will have all their weapons available for battle.
Missouri has lost only once this season, but it was a big one – a 41-10 blowout at the hands of Texas A&M, not exactly one of the SEC's most potent offensive teams. Otherwise, the Tigers have won six games, but against the three quality opponents on that list – Vanderbilt, Boston College and Auburn – margins have been razor-thin, and Missouri has struggled to find consistency on offense.
But Alabama comes into this game in a somewhat fragile state. The Crimson Tide lost to rival Tennessee last week and did it in a way that followed the script of earlier struggles: Alabama played valiantly for a half, but failed to maintain momentum after halftime and was crippled by its own mistakes when things mattered most.
Alabama is as close to being in a must-win situation as it could possibly be, not just for the Crimson Tide's fading playoff hopes, but for a season that finds the Tide on the brink, emotionally, with plenty of controversy to talk about as the post-Saban transitional year lurches on.
With National Signing Day officially in the books – even though December's Early Signing Day has eclipsed NSD as the real signing day of note – Kalen DeBoer and his staff can finally begin the work of actually getting its roster into fighting shape for the upcoming 2024 season.
Alabama's 30-day transfer portal period, which kicked into being following Nick Saban's retirement, will be ending soon, and we do not expect to see any further entries. Alabama was hit hard in the days immediately after Saban's departure, but portal entries quickly dried up over the last two weeks, and Alabama was able to add three former Washington players: QB Austin Mack, WR Germie Bernard and C Parker Brailsford.
Still, because of the significant losses to the post-Saban portal – especially a total of eight solely from the ranks of the defensive backs, including three expected starters and four others that were expected to break camp in the two-deep – TideFans.com is bringing you an updated roster analysis. More importantly, this will be our first attempt to project a depth chart using Kalen DeBoer's preferred offensive (Air Raid) and defensive (4-2-5 Swarm) systems.
They thought they’d be playing the third weekend of September, 2001 - right up until they didn’t. Virtually everybody from the lowliest high schools...
In 2024, two Alabama news websites, TiderInsider.com and TideFans.com, are partnering in an effort to “FILL THE BOWL” again at Bryant-Denny Stadium for Kalen DeBoer’s first A-Day game as Alabama’s newest head coach.
Help us do our part by committing to attend the Golden Flake A-Day Spring Football Game on Saturday, April 13, for a 3 p.m. kickoff. Admission is free. Bring the family and friends, fill up the car and help us welcome new head coach Kalen DeBoer to Tuscaloosa.
received in his early years at Alabama. Now, Alabama fans have the chance to extend the same level of support to new head coach Kalen DeBoer.
A full Bryant-Denny Stadium at A-Day would again remind the college football world of the commitment of Alabama fans to its coaches, players and program as a whole. Help us once again fill Bryant-Denny Stadium to capacity.
