It seems over the years there have been so many times when Alabama was doubted, mocked or otherwise put to pasture as a program that when the inevitable rise from the grave occurs, those who lined up to throw dirt on the Alabama program seem shocked by their own misevaluation, to the point that they go looking for their own six-feet-deep hole in which to bury their stupefaction.
Time will tell whether Alabama’s upset of Georgia in Athens Saturday night is just another “Zombie Alabama” occurrence, or whether it was the start of something much larger, much more meta than just a tough SEC win on the road against a team that has its own set of questions.
Leaving Tallahassee, Fla., a month ago, Kalen DeBoer was facing a blur of anger from the Alabama fan base that had suffered through several dumbfounding moments in 2024, especially in road games, and were beginning to use phrases like “for the good of the program” and “going to fall behind permanently.” Those phrases were usually attached to complementary statements relating to what it should mean to DeBoer’s employment and what would happen if it didn’t.
After two high-powered, but frankly easy wins over a terrible Louisiana-Monroe program and a Wisconsin team that is just a faint outline of what the Badger program was under coaches like Barry Alvarez, Alabama had its opportunity to go on the road and show that it was still a program to believe in. More important, almost, than the result of Alabama’s game against Georgia was the way in which Alabama would play this game. It wasn’t the what, it was the how.
And what did Alabama do? It delivered on both.
It wasn’t like Alabama hadn’t won on the road under DeBoer, but one of those wins in 2024 was against Wisconsin in a game in which Alabama knocked the Badger starting quarterback out before the band had even gotten comfortable in their seats. Then there was LSU, a tape of which Jalen Milroe ought to have playing on a loop when you visit his headstone 100 years from now. In all other games not played at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Crimson Tide looked mediocre or worse.
The first half against Georgia was anything but that. Alabama came with a plan, and better yet, came with the confidence and focus to execute it. DeBoer looked like a different coach on the sideline. He’s still unique among the typical Southern coaches for whom screaming and red-faced bombast is a genetic trait. But instead of looking bewildered when Alabama made mistakes, he was aggressive and encouraged the team to quickly more through and forward of them. This was a team that had something to prove.
It’s very possible in the grand scheme that had Alabama not lost its opener to Florida State, it would have lost this game. Losses are never welcomed and are rarely tolerated, but the opening salvo in Tallahassee may have teed up the full-out assault that Alabama brought to bear in Athens. This was a team on a mission, and a team that didn’t need success so much as it needed a revival of the very spirit that makes Alabama football unique and so consistently a presence on the national landscape.
Up next is a chance for revenge and redemption, as Vanderbilt comes to Tuscaloosa next Saturday afternoon. The difference this year is that the Commodores are seen as a legit contender and won’t sneak up on anyone. They have the offensive capabilities to score more points on Alabama than maybe any other opponent on the schedule, but they also have probably the most pedestrian defense Alabama will face for several weeks at least.
DeBoer’s challenge this week will be getting the team to stop looking back at what happened in Athens and start looking forward to what could happen in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is back to par now, as most in the preseason thought Alabama would be 3-1 at this point anyway. Now the question is whether Alabama can begin to exceed future expectations – because that’s what Alabama, the program and its people, historically does.
Here’s the Five-Point Breakdown for Alabama-Georgia:
1. Ryan Grubb and Kalen DeBoer called a masterpiece, and the polished execution and lack of penalties framed their art. The first half of this game could be put up against anything any of Alabama’s greatest offensive coordinators of the past – Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Homer Smith – and compare favorably. Grubb displayed an uncanny feel for the flow of this game, covering up continued issues in the running game. But the other half of this accomplishment falls to the players themselves, and not just for executing well-designed plays. Alabama was penalized only 4 times for 16 yards in this game, one of them an absurd targeting foul that should never have been called. This has been a point of contention for Bama fans for several years now, stretching back into the Nick Saban era, but the Crimson Tide cleaned up their approach phenomenally for this game and it showed. The other point to make here is one of general execution of some fairly complex offensive sets. One of the complaints about DeBoer’s offense in 2024 was that it lacked a lot of the pre-snap motion his Washington offenses were known for; well, that came back Saturday night in Athens in spades. Alabama was able to keep control of the ball for nearly 36 minutes and was often snapping the ball with just a second left on the play clock, while multiple players went into motion around the quarterback. Alabama was not hit with a single delay penalty and just one false start. This allowed Grubb to keep Georgia off-balance all night – including not just plays like designed laterals to the left offensive tackle, but also a naked reverse bootleg pass to RB Jam Miller to ice the game. It was as close to perfect as you’ll see at this level.
2. OL played its best game of the year despite several different player combinations, and Simpson was almost never touched in the pocket. In addition to the regular starting five (LT Kadyn Proctor, LG Kam Dewberry, C Parker Brailsford, RG Geno VanDeMark, RT Wilkin Formby), Alabama used plenty of combinations featuring G Will Sanders, G Jaeden Roberts and T Michael Carroll. And it wasn’t just straight substitutions; VanDeMark played both guard spots and Formby slid inside from right tackle to right guard for a time. This kind of positional flexibility is always great to have, because it allows Alabama to keep a fresh five on the field. And it worked with surprising consistency: Simpson was sacked just once, and the pocket was kept clean throughout the game. Through four games now, Simpson has accounted for 11 touchdowns and has yet to turn the ball over. A large part of the reason for his efficiency has been the play of the offensive line in front of him, at least when it comes to pass blocking.
3. Simpson was in control from the outset and his Jake Coker career arc continues. Simpson never really tailed off in this game – Georgia’s second-half defensive adjustments kept Alabama’s output in check, but Simpson himself never struggled – and the way in which he directed the Alabama offense in the first half was as good a performance as any Alabama quarterback in a similar situation, ever. Simpson continues to see the field better with each passing week, and he was able to shake off a missed opportunity on Alabama’s first drive – another high-profile drop from Ryan Williams – and get the Crimson Tide into the end zone. The second half was more about controlling the clock, not making mistakes and getting Alabama into position for a field goal (which was missed), and getting two crucial first downs to run out the clock, the second of which came on a pass to RB Jamarion Miller. By the time of Jake Coker’s first full year as a starter in Tuscaloosa, he had advanced from being just another component of a championship team to being a key factor in every Alabama win. Simpson is already there himself.
4. The return of RB Jam Miller was huge, but running game still needs a fix. Miller’s work in this game – especially late in it, when he was able to turn 3-yard runs into 7-yard runs and then came up with a big reception on third down to seal it – can’t be overstated. Miller had put up a solid spring camp and then an even more solid fall camp prior to being hurt just before the opener. His time away from the field allowed Alabama to develop Kevin Riley at running back, and now a two-back rotation of Miller and Riley looks pretty sporty, but there are things Miller can give Alabama that Riley cannot, and neither Richard Young nor Daniel Hill have yet been able to prove they can. Alabama rushed for just 117 yards on 38 carries (3.1 avg.) in this game, and while the Tide’s short passing game could be seen as an extension of the running game, Miller and Riley combined for 26 carries for 76 yards (2.9 avg.), which is not enough especially given that Georgia’s defensive front isn’t what it used to be. Pass protection is obviously getting fixed at a racer’s clip, but the Tide needs some help in the ground game. Perhaps the continued presence of Miller – and hopefully, continued good health – will be something the Bama coaches can build upon.
5. Defense gets kudos for a key late stop – but run defense must improve, especially with Vanderbilt coming in. The defense actually got two key late stops, the first being L.T. Overton and Deontae Lawson blowing up a 4th-down attempt in the red zone, and the second being the stop that allowed Alabama to get the ball back the last time and kill the clock. We’ll address the 4th-down stop first: Georgia fans should be livid with Kirby Smart for the playcall, which was wrong on so many levels that it rivaled Smart’s fake punt call from the SEC Championship Game a few years back. Alabama hadn’t stopped the Georgia ground game all night, there was no reason to go fast, Smart opted to use Cash Jones at running back on this play (Jones’ stats from Saturday: 2 carries, minus-7 yards), Georgia needed a field goal to tie the game at that point, and Alabama’s offense was stalling. Whatever analytics program Smart was using that told him to try to run Cash Jones to an uncovered edge ought to be wadded up and pitched in the nearest trash can. As for the second stop, it came at the most opportune time possible, and Georgia’s last three drives of the night were two three-and-outs and the aforementioned fourth-down disaster. Having said all this, some core issues remain. Alabama’s run fits from the ILB group were Florida State-game-bad. Georgia amassed 227 yards on 33 carries (6.9 avg.). Far too many times, Alabama watched its inside linebacker group align to the wrong side of the formation, choose the wrong gap or flat-out miss tackles that were coming right at them. The defensive line had to cope with the loss of DT James Smith to an egregiously bad targeting call that will also cost Smith the first half of next week’s game against Vanderbilt, along with injuries to Qua Russaw during the game and Jah-Marien Latham just before it. Alabama was forced to use both S Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. and DL Kelby Collins late in the game due to injuries and fatigue, but like the multiple offensive line combinations, the players in question were able to contribute positively. At this point, the run defense sort of is what it is, especially that which is attributable to a thinned-out defensive line, but Alabama’s inside linebackers are all veterans and really should be making fewer mistakes than this at this point in time. Some bright spots from this game: LB/DE Yhonzae Pierre again did some disruptive things inside, DT Tim Keenan had a solid return, and DT Edric Hill had probably his best game at Alabama. We just need to see more of it.
Follow Jess Nicholas on X at @TideFansJessN