Alabama heads into Baton Rouge with a fresh No. 5 ranking in the first College Football Playoff poll, but that doesn’t make this weekend feel easy by any stretch. For Alabama standards, the Crimson Tide are still walking into LSU as a sizable underdog, and they’re doing it with five starters listed as questionable on the availability report. There is, though, some optimism that most - if not all - of those players can suit up Saturday afternoon.
The biggest reason for Alabama to feel good about its chances may have nothing to do with the rankings or the injury report. It’s Kalen DeBoer’s history coming out of a bye week.
Since the start of the 2021 season, DeBoer is 8-0 after a bye week. That stretch includes a 4-0 record since taking over in Tuscaloosa, and five of those regular-season wins came against ranked opponents. He beat Oregon State in 2022 and Oregon in 2023 while at Washington, then guided Alabama past Georgia and LSU in 2024 and Georgia again in 2025.
Overall, including postseason games, DeBoer is 18-4 in his career when his team gets at least one extra week to prepare.
That kind of edge matters here because LSU coach Lane Kiffin has not had nearly the same success in the same spot. He’s 9-6 in his head-coaching career after a bye week, and he’s 0-3 against Alabama when coming off extra rest.
DeBoer addressed that track record during his Monday press conference.
“I think our staff does a really good job of laying out a plan for our players,” DeBoer said. “Obviously, we all got to be on the same page, but taking advantage of it, not just letting it be time off and something where, okay, yeah, you got to refresh mentally, but we’re in it.
Like, we’re in the season. This isn’t even close to the end."
For Alabama, this may be the most important bye week of DeBoer’s time in Tuscaloosa. The Tide limped into the break after losing two of their last three games. They opened the season 5-0, then dropped back-to-back contests to Georgia and Tennessee before righting things with a win over Texas A&M.
It was a rough stretch, and Alabama looked worn down by the end of it. The hope now is that the break helps restore the version of the Tide that showed up in September and early October - the one that looked like a real national title threat.
That’s the challenge in front of them now. Alabama will need its best performance of the season to leave Tiger Stadium with a road win. And Kiffin, no doubt, will be eager to make his case in a game he’s had circled.
Still, if there’s one thing Alabama can lean on, it’s DeBoer’s record when given extra time. The last two games haven’t inspired much confidence. His bye-week history has.
In Other News...
Alabama Fans Should Be Watching This Spain Park WR Closely
AL.coms latest Best in Bama rankings put a spotlight on the quarterback-receiver combinations driving some of Alabama high school footballs most intriguing offenses, and the list naturally has Crimson Tide fans looking beyond the usual powerhouses. Thompson and Selma grabbed the top billing, with Alabama commit Trent Seaborn pairing with uncommitted Dedrick Kimbrough for Thompson and freshman quarterback Cole Moody throwing to Alabama commit Cedrick Simmons at Selma.
Spain Park also made the cut, thanks to Barrett Price and quarterback Nash Davis, a tandem that has become worth tracking for more than just local bragging rights. Price has been actively recruiting and already has offers from multiple colleges, which makes his profile especially interesting for Alabama fans keeping tabs on in-state pass catchers and the next wave of offensive talent. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffins Alabama Problem Just Got Bigger In The Playoff
Lane Kiffins history against Alabama has been one of the more stubborn subplots of his head-coaching career, and it gets another layer now with a playoff game looming between No. 5 Alabama and No. 14 LSU. Kiffin has gone 0-5 against the Crimson Tide as a head coach, a run that has followed him through different stops and different stakes, and it has made Alabama a particularly frustrating matchup whenever his teams have crossed paths with the Tide.
Now the setting is even bigger, with LSU favored and the result carrying real weight for both sides of the coaching tree. For Alabamas staff, it is another high-pressure test against a familiar opponent with a familiar face on the other sideline. For Kiffin, it is another chance to finally change a storyline that has followed him for years, and one that would only grow louder if this one goes the wrong way. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Faces A Brutal Road Test That Could Decide Everything
A trip to Baton Rouge in Week 10 already carries enough weight, but this one arrives with even more on the line because Alabama and LSU both enter with two losses. The matchup has the feel of a separator game, the kind that can reshape the rest of the season in a hurry, and the Tide will need cleaner football than they have shown at times if they want to leave with control of their own path.
Keelon Russell sits at the center of Alabamas hopes, while LSU brings a pass rush that can force a quarterback into hurried decisions and ugly mistakes. Add in the Tides issues with penalties and injuries, and the margin for error gets thin fast, especially against a rival that has made a habit of turning high-stakes games into pressure cookers. [Read more 🡒]