Alabama’s win at Kentucky didn’t start like a statement game. For 30 minutes, it looked like a mess.
The Crimson Tide were sloppy on offense in the first half, giving the ball away three times, including a pick-six on the opening drive. By halftime, Alabama trailed 17-13 and had every reason to look rattled.
Instead, the second half flipped the whole night. Alabama settled in, took control and rolled to a 45-17 win over the Wildcats.
That comeback mattered inside the locker room, too. On Tuesday, tight end Kaleb Edwards pointed to the way Alabama handled the early trouble as a sign of growth.
“I think that just shows our mentality and just the standard that we have here,” Edwards told reporters after practice. “And I think just how much we’ve worked on it and just fighting through hard times and getting punched and getting back up and keep throwing punches back.”
That response was not always there for this team. Last season’s Alabama group struggled to answer adversity, especially when it fell behind early against a less talented Florida State team in the 2025 season-opener.
By the end of last year, though, the Tide had started to show more resilience. The comeback win at Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff stood out as the clearest example. If Kentucky was another sign of that same edge, it would mark a major step forward from some of the early issues in Kalen DeBoer’s time as head coach.
Offensive tackle Jackson Lloyd echoed that feeling after practice.
“Super proud of the guys,” Lloyd said. “No one’s getting down on anybody.
We’re all keeping positive spirits, and we all knew that wasn’t us, and we’re better than that. “And then to go out there and flip it around in the second half, I’m super proud of everybody.”
Now Alabama gets another shot at Florida State on Saturday, with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC. That’s the same Seminoles team that handed the Tide that crushing loss last season.
Edwards said the bigger goal is still simpler than surviving another bad first half. Alabama wants to start cleaner.
“I think just preparing, getting ready to go,” Edwards said of the key to first-half success. “I think just executing from the start. Ready to back our quarterback, back our whole team, just know what jobs we gotta do and execute.”
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The biggest payoff has shown up on the ground, where the extra tight end has helped create more favorable rushing looks for the backs. Alabama running backs are averaging 5.7 yards per carry out of multiple-tight-end formations this season, a sign that the adjustment is doing more than changing personnel groupings on paper. For a team looking to solve a persistent offensive problem, the real question now is how far Grubb is willing to take the new package and what it might unlock next. [Read more 🡒]