The Alabama Crimson Tide had a solid but unspectacular (for their standards) nine-win season last year. In 2025, with Kalen DeBoer more established and a better lineup for his coaching style in place, the expectation was that they'd be better and return to their immense stature.
To open the campaign, they got Florida State, a team that lost 10 games last year. Surely, the Crimson Tide won. No? Surely, they looked good even in a close loss. No? They looked bad and were beaten by a team that had as many wins as touchdowns in the margin of victory on Saturday.
ESPN's Bill Connelly said that he was incredibly wrong about the Crimson Tide, and much of it has to do with poor coaching, though a horrible performance by the team can't be excused. He called new QB Ty Simpson not good enough after averaging 4.9 yards per dropback. Ryan Williams' drops were bad, too. The offensive line didn't hold up, nor did the talented secondary.
"That stuff happens," Connelly said. "The most disappointing thing about the Tide's performance in Tallahassee was how totally unprepared they looked." They were outclassed, and it begins with the head coach who seemingly didn't have his team ready to play.
Connelly added, "My general approach to Bama heading into this season was pretty simple: If Simpson is good, Bama is great. Coach Kalen DeBoer's pre-Bama track record was almost flawless, and I thought if Simpson was solid and the pass rush improved a little, the Tide would have everything they needed."
On Saturday, that wasn't the case, and while DeBoer can still turn things around, it's going to take some time to move off the sting of this disastrous season opener.