Kirk Herbstreit has spent a long time around Alabama football, and the ESPN analyst says this version of the Crimson Tide looks different from the teams that have rolled through Tuscaloosa in recent years.
That point matters now more than ever. Alabama is 5-0 entering Saturday night’s matchup with Georgia, a meeting between two unbeaten SEC powers.
The Crimson Tide are 3-0 in league play and ranked No. 6 heading into the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC, while Georgia comes in at No. 2 and also sits at 5-0.
Herbstreit, speaking Thursday on The Pat McAfee Show, said the change in Alabama starts with Kalen DeBoer and extends across the roster.
“To (Kalen DeBoer’s) credit, he’s being him. To his credit, he’s stayed in the pocket.
… Kalen DeBoer has had to deal with the noise and just kind of sit in the pocket, go out and recruit, (say) we’re going to continue to raise the bar, we’re going to do it our way,” Herbstreit said. “That’s very, very hard to do when the expectations from the fans are for you to be like (Nick Saban).
I just don’t think that’s realistic when your personality is so different. Kudos to (DeBoer) for being himself.
“I think they’re a very different team this year. Keelon Russell is going to get a lot of credit, but they’re healthy at running back, Daniel Hill is running the ball with authority, they’re better at the line of scrimmage.
You mention Ryan Coleman-Williams, he’s back to playing the way he did his freshman year, which is great to see. He’s playing with a lot more confidence.
And I think the biggest issue, which we saw in last week’s game (against Mississippi State) in Starkville, everybody thought it was going to be a shootout … Kane Wommack and his defense, they are flying around, they’re better in the trenches and they’re doing a much better job on the back end just being on the same page and coming up with interceptions, so it’s a very, very different Alabama team.”
Alabama has already shown it can handle SEC pressure, and Herbstreit believes that improvement is showing up in multiple places at once: the run game, the line of scrimmage, the secondary, and the overall confidence of the group.
Now comes the biggest test yet. Saturday night gives the Tide a chance to beat Georgia for the third straight regular season, and Herbstreit’s comments make one thing clear: he sees a team built differently than the Alabama squads that came up short before.
In Other News...
Alabama Georgia Showdown Just Got Another Twist Fans Will Notice
ESPNs College GameDay is headed to Alabama for the upcoming Georgia-Alabama matchup, adding another layer to a game that already had the feel of a major early-season measuring stick. The setting only raises the stakes for a meeting that will have plenty of national attention, and now a familiar name from Alabamas recent past is joining the pregame spotlight.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the former Crimson Tide Heisman winner, said he will serve as the celebrity picker on the show, giving Alabama fans one more reason to tune in before kickoff. The game also carries a weather watch, with Hurricane Isaias potentially threatening the schedule or creating difficult conditions, while Georgia will be without Chauncy Bowen and Alabama will lean on Daniel Hill, who leads the team in rushing yards. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama-Georgia Could Swing On One Quarterback Clash
Georgia arrives with the edge of experience at quarterback, and that alone gives Saturdays matchup a familiar feel for a game that tends to turn on poise as much as playmaking. Gunner Stockton has already been through the pressure of the SEC Championship stage and came away with the MVP hardware, giving the Bulldogs a steady hand in big moments and a baseline of confidence Alabama will have to account for.
On the other sideline, Keelon Russell brings a different kind of threat, the sort of flashy talent that can change the scoring rhythm of a game in a hurry. For Alabama, the question is not simply whether Russell can make plays, but whether his style can tilt the matchup enough to offset Stocktons experience and help decide which team controls the evening. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama-Georgia Weekend Just Got A Weather Twist Fans Didn't Expect
The buildup to Alabama-Georgia picked up an unexpected wrinkle with Isaias approaching, forcing ESPNs College GameDay to change plans for Saturday morning. Instead of setting up outdoors for its usual pregame scene, the show will shift inside Coleman Coliseum, a rare move that changes the feel of one of the sports biggest weekly stages.
Even with the weather complication, officials still expect the game itself to go on as scheduled at Bryant-Denny Stadium with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The matchup already carried plenty of weight with both teams undefeated after strong recent performances, and now the only real uncertainty is how much the storm will alter the day around it. [Read more 🡒]