ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith isn’t buying the idea that Alabama has fully settled into the Kalen DeBoer era.
With the Crimson Tide sitting at 6-2 and ranked No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings, Alabama heads into Saturday’s matchup with LSU carrying plenty of pressure and plenty of attention. Smith weighed in on that situation during the latest episode of “First Take,” and he made it clear he thinks the Tide have too often fallen short when the expectations get heavy.
“We always sit up there and crown Alabama,” Smith said. “Every time there’s limited expectations, they rise to the occasion.
When they have lofty expectations in the Kalen DeBoer era, they disappoint us. They got boat raced by Indiana in the playoffs.
They waved the white flag. They got their asses kicked in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.
They come into this year, it was a thriller against Georgia, but they lose that on their home turf. And then the next week after that great showing, even Though they lost the game, we were expecting them to do something, and then Tennessee boat raced them, ran all over them.
This is the problem. They got two losses.
A third loss should put them in a position where they miss the playoffs. Their playoff hopes, as far as I’m concerned, is on the line.
I think Lane Kiffin is going to have these boys ready at LSU, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they won this game.”
Alabama now gets a chance to answer in Baton Rouge, with its playoff path hanging in the balance.
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Even with the shot not falling the way Alabama would have liked, the rebounding edge gave the Tide a cushion and a clear early sign of progress in an area Oats has been pushing for months. It was also notable because Alabama did it without its best offensive rebounder, Jaxon Richardson, which only adds another layer to what the team may be capable of once that part of the rotation is fully in place. [Read more 🡒]
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Saban Just Framed Alabamas Biggest Test Against LSU
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Nick Saban, though, made clear the bigger concern is how Alabama handles LSUs offense when the game speed picks up. He pointed to the challenge of defending Lane Kiffins team, a reminder that this matchup is about more than availability and depth charts. With an SEC title and a College Football Playoff berth both in play, Alabamas defense is about to face one of its most demanding tests of the season. [Read more 🡒]