It's Only SEC (but I like it....) : Tuscaloosa Edition
GEORGE SOMERVILLE – THE TOUCHDOWN SEC CORRESPONDENT
I’m on the road again, and this time I am back in T-Town!
While Media Days are great, nothing beats getting back on Campus to experience gameday and then the game itself!
On this trip, I’m crisscrossing the South. Starting in Alabama, I’ll visit four states in just over a week.
For this part of the trip, I’m in Tuscaloosa for the Week Two match-up against the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
Back in t-town
back on campus
It’s always a delight to be back in Tuscaloosa. I was going to say a Dixieland delight, but I stopped myself. While others will disagree, I’ve always felt Alabama football and Bryant Denny Stadium to be at the centre of SEC football. While we can debate the merits of the game day experience until we are purple and gold in the cheeks, there is no question that the Crimson Tide have been at the epicentre of the football world for decades.
Yet, this week has raised fundamental questions about where the Alabama legacy currently stands. Yes, this is a new era, one without The G.O.A.T. The hardest act to follow.
Last year, Kalen DeBoer arrived as the new Crimson Tide Head football coach to a fanfare. DeBoer had made national headlines as Washington’s Head Coach, a coach who had a proven track record of beating Dan Lanning and Steve Sarkisian, among many others. It was this pedigree that Alabama wanted. DeBoer was the man.
But as history has taught us, life is never that simple. DeBoer and his staff are installing a new culture in Tuscaloosa. Let’s be clear, the man from South Dakota is not a Saban clone. He is a different personality from Saban. His first season in charge was a rollercoaster for the Crimson Tide faithful. Headline wins over Georgia and LSU were overshadowed by defeats to Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
a tough start
Which brings us to this last week. The preseason expectation for this Alabama team was high. Expectations in Alabama are always high. But with this being DeBoer’s second year in charge, rejoined by offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and an excellent recruiting class secured, the mood in Tuscaloosa skyrocketed. Meaning the defeat to Florida State in the first game of the season has left the Alabama fanbase stunned.
This is a program and a fan base well accustomed to success. It expects it. So this week, with the team 0-1, the fanbase unleashed its displeasure.
This week’s Paul Finebaum show – all week, Monday to Friday was log-jammed with callers – apoplectic Bama fans and joyful BIG10 fans dialling 1-800-PAWL to pile further agony on DeBoer and Alabama fans.
Coming into this game, the noise from inside the Alabama locker room has been positive. DeBoer is looking for a response from his team. And he needs one. While opponents, such as the University of Louisiana Monroe, would not usually be considered a serious threat, Alabama fans are looking for their team to show increased desire, work rate, and passion. The team has heard the fans this week.
Which brings me to today.
back in bryant denny
The last time I was inside Bryant Denny Stadium, the field had yet to be called after its legendary coach. In fact, the notion of Nick Saban retiring was so far removed from fans’ minds that the consensus was that he would coach forever.
On that occasion, Ed Orgeron rolled into town with a team that was soon to become the 2019/20 National Champions. LSU v Alabama, with first-term president Donald Trump in attendance, was billed as a game for the ages. And it was. Rarely does a contest live up to that level of hype, but this one did. Even though Alabama fell to Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase (& a host of players who went on to a career in the NFL), the mood in Tuscaloosa was as high as it had ever been.
But I digress. Let’s get back to 2025.
I am in Tuscaloosa. I don’t think I missed that point, but just in case. This time, I am in the press box, and while there have been occasions before where I have had pinch-me moments writing for the Touchdown, this is definitely a highlight of my time writing about college football.
The Gameday Experience
Football in the South hits different. It really does.
I parked up in the stadium garage at 8am, and people were setting up their Tailgates on the Quad. I remind you that the kick-off was scheduled for 6.45pm. I’m pretty sure that it does not take ten hours to set up a tailgate! All morning, fans steadily rolled into Tuscaloosa and onto the Quad on Campus, and by 11am, the atmosphere was electric.
In some ways, I wanted to start this piece by saying grey clouds were hanging over T-Town. This is true both figuratively and literally. As I write this, it’s humid in Alabama, a little too uncomfortable for this Scotsman. There is a chance of rain, and it feels so humid that it feels like a thunderstorm isn’t far away. But the storm clouds also linger after that unexpected defeat to the Seminoles last week. Thankfully, none of this transpired. It was a beautiful evening both on and off the field.
I thought perhaps the atmosphere inside Bryant Denny might have been subdued, even angry, but this is not the case, far from it.
Fans started queuing for their spot on the Walk of Champions at noon. The team make the walk two hours before the game begins. Alabama fans love their team whether they win or not.
All of the buildings around campus, especially the sorority houses close to the stadium, were decorated to welcome back the team. Like us all, we have waited seven long months to have football back.
The Game
By kick off, the stadium was full, and what an amazing sight it is. There is just something about football in the South that is special.
Alabama fans who were concerned about their team going into this game should not have been. The team’s attitude from the get-go was one of aggression and focus. This was not the same Crimson Tide team that we had seen in Tallahassee.
At halftime, Alabama held a 42-0 lead. Quarterback Ty Simpson, who bore the brunt of the previous week’s defeat on his shoulders, was 17/17 passes for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns. This was a team that meant business. They wanted to make a statement.
As you might expect from a dominating first half, we saw a rotation of personnel in the second half. In fact, DeBoer had the luxury of giving playing time to all three of his quarterbacks. But I am sure to the disappointment of Warhawks players and fans, there was no let-up in pressure and focus from Alabama.
In the absence of star receiver Ryan Williams, out through injury, Germie Bernard took the offence on his shoulders, ending the game with two touchdowns. What is pleasing for DeBoer is the strong team effort and the workload spread across the team. This is not a team that relies on one or two star players.
Alabama ended the game 73-0 winners. Such was the magnitude of the result that Warhawks head coach Bryant Vincent didn’t turn up for the post-match press conference.
So let’s not get sucked into a rhetoric that this was a victory over a cupcake team. Instead, this was an Alabama team determined to seek revenge for the previous week’s disappointment. And revenge was exacted.
The Aftermath
In the post-match press conference, Coach DeBoer didn’t necessarily look like a man with the weight of the world off his shoulders. Because he knows this is just the start. The team needs to perform this way every week.
However, DeBoer recognised the hard week of practice and the effort of the team during the game.
“We got off to a fast start, a faster start than what we did last week and that was what we needed to have.”
DeBoer went on to talk about the performance of the defense which had been heavily criticised the week before but were impressive against the Warhawks.
“Having those takeaways” DeBoer said about the work rate of the defense. “That’s contagious. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing and that’s contagious. They’re just hunting the ball, they’re punching it loose, getting their helmet on the ball with another level of violence. That was certainly something I saw in practice and happy to see that carry over”.
In the two games this season, we have seen that DeBoer likes to rotate through the roster, even giving freshmen significant game time. This has puzzled fans at times, especially when the results haven’t gone their way. However, DeBoer has been at pains to explain that this is all part of the process,
“Competition” said DeBoer when asked about why the rotation. “I just think it’s something that brings out the best in you”.
“We did it last season as well. That was the case throughout the week of practice and I think that led to better execution”.
“It’s a healthy competition. These guys are all working and pushing each other”.
When QB1 Ty Simpson came to talk with the media, he was at pains to get across that the team was determined to make amends for the previous week,
“We practised pissed off, came out with the right mentality and played Alabama football. You know we came out with a mission and one thing in mind and that’s to play the standard of Alabama football and that’s what we did. I was really proud of the guys”.
Next Up the badgers
Next up for the Alabama Crimson Tide is BIG10 foe Wisconsin. This is the second game in a home-and-away series, with Alabama defeating the Badgers in Camp Randall last year.
Playing Wisconsin in Tuscaloosa will provide everyone in Bryant-Denny Stadium the opportunity to see Alabama push on from last week’s terrific performance and record another signature win.
Next up for me? I’m heading west and South to Baton Rouge to see those LSU Tigers face off against the unpredictable LSU Gators.
Join me next time from Baton Rouge!
Footnote:
I think I’m a pretty humble person, and I really don’t always make the most of some of the fabulous opportunities I am given reporting for the Touchdown. I think I’m saying I don’t like to brag. But I will on this occasion. Being on the sidelines to watch the last minutes of this game and to experience Dixieland Delight from the field is one of, if not my greatest, experiences covering this crazy game. It was sensational.
With the greatest thanks to the Sports Information Team at Alabama for their fantastic Southern hospitality, and a special shout-out to Aaron Jordan of Alabama football. Thank you & Roll Tide!
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.