Despite the fact that Kalen DeBoer has built forward momentum for Alabama football this offseason, and even rivals are starting to believe in how good the Crimson Tide can be in 2025, you don’t have to look far to be reminded of what Alabama is trying to recover from.
The 2024 season was well beneath expectations in Tuscaloosa. A 9-4 season was a disappointing result, despite the fact that the Tide was replacing the greatest coach of all time. That season may have been easier to stomach if the losses had come to different opponents.
Instead, Alabama lost three of its four games to unranked opponents. Those were the types of losses the Tide was mostly immune to under Saban. At one point during his tenure, Saban led Alabama to 100 consecutive wins over unranked opponents, a streak that came to an end with a road loss to Texas A&M in 2021, though the Aggies were certainly bustling with talent despite not being ranked.
Getting back to beating the opponents you are supposed to beat will be a main goal for DeBoer and company as they look to get Alabama back to the standard built in Tuscaloosa.
That was certainly the theme of ESPN’s article on each Top 25 team’s “Archvillain” for the 2025 season. While Alabama is used to staring down the top teams in the country, according to ESPN, the team that could serve as the boogeyman for the Tide next season is a team that delivered a shocking loss to them a year ago: Vanderbilt.’
This year’s matchup with Vanderbilt will be the ultimate litmus test for DeBoer and the growth of this team. Because just like last season, Alabama will face off against the ‘Dores the week after a major matchup with Georgia, this time in Athens.
