Kalen DeBoer may be one of the more buttoned-up coaches in the sport, but he’s made it pretty clear this Florida State game carries a different feel for Alabama.
That doesn’t mean he’s tossing out the usual coach-speak altogether. DeBoer still leans into the standard pregame line that teams prepare the same way every week. But this week, he’s let enough slip to show the Crimson Tide knows there’s more to this one than a normal opener.
On Monday, DeBoer acknowledged that it’s not about revenge and that this is a new team. Even so, he said he and others who were part of last year’s squad still remember what it felt like to walk off the field in Tallahassee after that stunning loss.
Then on his weekly radio show at Baumhower's in Tuscaloosa, he doubled down on the idea that this matchup has its own energy.
“They certainly know what every game brings, and this one brings a little something special," DeBoer said.
That’s the kind of line that tells you plenty without DeBoer ever having to spell it out.
Last year’s season-opening loss to Florida State in Tallahassee was a jolt for Alabama - for the coaches, the players and the fan base. It was the most heat DeBoer had felt since taking over the program, and it left the season looking shaky before it had really gotten started.
But Alabama answered. The Tide ripped off eight straight wins after that, including a road victory over Georgia and a run of four consecutive wins against ranked opponents. They eventually made the College Football Playoff and beat Oklahoma on the road to finish with 11 wins.
That kind of turnaround is why the Florida State loss never fully defined the season. It also explains why this rematch has a little extra edge now.
Even if Alabama beats Florida State at home, even if it covers a three-touchdown spread, that won’t erase every question that followed that opener a year ago. But it would still matter.
A lot.
There’s a cathartic element to it. A chance to put last year’s memory in the rearview mirror.
At the same time, this game is still just one step in a much bigger season. Alabama has bigger tests coming, and sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell needs every chance he can get to settle in and get comfortable. When the season is looked at in full, this meeting may not loom as large as it does right now, especially if Florida State spends another year hovering around .500.
But right now, it matters. It’s the next game. And for Alabama, as DeBoer admitted, there’s a little something special about this one.
In Other News...
Alabama's Mike Norvell Near-Miss Looks Even Bigger Now
When Nick Saban announced his retirement in January 2024, Mike Norvell surfaced as a serious name in Alabamas search, with reports indicating he had moved into advanced talks with the Crimson Tides athletic director. In the end, Norvell stayed at Florida State after landing a contract extension, closing what looked at the time like one of the biggest coaching possibilities of the offseason.
Since then, the backdrop in Tallahassee has only grown shakier, with Florida States football fortunes sliding and the programs athletic director recently being fired. For Alabama fans looking back on that search, the near-miss feels more significant now, because the decision to stay put has placed Norvell in a far more uncertain spot than the one he passed up. [Read more 🡒]
Keelon Russell May Have Changed Alabamas Ceiling Faster Than Expected
Keelon Russell gave Alabama a jolt in the comeback win over Florida State, and he did it with the kind of poise that can change how a season feels in a hurry. Down 21-6, the quarterback helped the Crimson Tide score on seven straight possessions, finishing 23 of 30 for 320 yards and three touchdowns while adding 56 rushing yards and another score in the 50-36 victory.
For Alabama, the performance was about more than one flashy afternoon. Russell still described himself as a quarterback in development afterward, which is the part that should make the rest of the sport take notice, because if this is where he is while still growing into the job, the ceiling in Tuscaloosa may have moved up faster than anyone expected. [Read more 🡒]
SEC Power Struggles Keep Reshaping The World Around Alabama
Conference disputes have become a defining backdrop for the sport Alabama lives in, with schools and leagues repeatedly testing just how much control each side really has. LSUs effort to add former NFL training camp players to its roster and the SECs response is only the latest reminder that the ground around college football keeps shifting, whether it is a coach suspension in the Big Ten, Florida States lawsuit against the ACC over media rights or Washingtons sanctions from the old Pac-10.
For Alabama, the bigger point is how often these fights reshape the competitive landscape before anyone plays a game. Texas A&Ms move into the SEC came out of frustration with the Big 12, and the pattern is familiar enough now that each new dispute feels like another sign of a sport still working through who has leverage, who gets heard and what happens when schools decide their conference no longer fits the job they want done. [Read more 🡒]