Alabama Football: In 2024, Kalen DeBoer will play in three historic games.
Under new coach Kalen DeBoer, Alabama Football will face numerous challenging challenges in the first season. With 16 teams in the SEC and a new look, Coach DeBoer will have his hands full integrating his team into the 2024 schedule.
Three road excursions are included in the plan; in normal years, these would be the highlights.
The first game Bama will play is a non-conference game against Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. After that, it will travel back to Baton Rouge to play LSU, a venerable SEC West opponent, in Death Valley. Lastly, it will make its way to Norman to assist in the Oklahoma Sooners’ SEC debut.
This trio of games appears quite difficult on paper. With the most recent wave of conference realignment and growth, SEC and Big 10 schedules have gotten significantly harder, and these kinds of games have all of a sudden become the standard.
But despite all of the changes in college football, the Crimson Tide’s schedule for 2024 includes three more games that are unaffected by them. The perception of Bama’s 2024 season by the media and Tide supporters alike will be significantly shaped by these three rivalry matchups.
Week 5: Tuscaloosa, Alabama, vs. Georgia Bryant-Denny Stadium | September 28, 2024
When Alabama last faced the Georgia Bulldogs, the outcome was a deluge of red and white confetti that fell over the Tide in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In the 2023 SEC Championship game, Bama’s victory over UGA marked the end of Coach Nick Saban’s total and total dominance of the SEC.
During his 17-year tenure, Coach Saban dominated the whole league, but he was especially effective against Georgia. Can Coach DeBoer maintain that level of success going forward? It won’t be simple, as the Bulldogs are expected to be stacked and likely start the season as favorites to win the national championship.
On September 28, Alabama Football will play its first SEC game at Bryant-Denny Stadium against Georgia.
In the SEC’s first season without divisions, this game will be Coach DeBoer’s first taste of SEC football and will probably have a big impact on the league standings. This game will have national implications despite being a regional rivalry between two teams that have alternately dominated the sport in recent years.
It would be unfair to evaluate Kalen DeBoer in his first season at Alabama based only on the result of a game against what might be the best team in the nation. Nevertheless, Bama has more than enough talent to defeat Georgia, and nothing would win over more Alabama supporters than Coach DeBoer.
Week 8: Alabama against. Tennessee | October 19, 2024 | Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee
One of the greatest and most underappreciated rivalries in college football is that between Alabama and Tennessee; thus, both fan bases will be fired up for this game. There is some pressure on Coach DeBoer to keep the Vols under Saban’s dominance after Bama won 16 of the 17 meetings in the series.
There is, nevertheless, some optimism for Tennessee.
The program is obviously in the best shape it has been since the early 2000s under Coach Josh Heupel. Heupel also produced a victory against the Crimson Tide in 2022. It was the team’s first victory over Alabama since 2006, and the Tennessee fan base appeared to be revitalized.
It so happened to be the Tide’s final visit to Knoxville. It won’t be simple to win Coach DeBoer’s first game versus the Vols at Neyland Stadium, which is sure to be electric.
As much goodwill as Coach DeBoer could garner from the Alabama fan base by defeating Georgia, he stands to lose the most if Tennessee wins two straight in Neyland.
Week Fourteen: November 30, 2024, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, vs. Auburn Bryant-Denny Stadium
The rivalry between Alabama and Tennessee is one of the greatest in history; it is frequently eclipsed by the Iron Bowl, which is arguably the greatest rivalry in American sports. Coach Nick Saban lost his first game against Auburn in 2007 and had to learn the hard way how important the Iron Bowl rivalry is. Coach Saban had more issues with the Tigers than any other opponent during his time at Alabama, even after realizing that this game required a little more preparation and concentration.
The Iron Bowl under Coach DeBoer’s direction should create a fantastic atmosphere in Bryant-Denny Stadium. With Coach Saban finally out of the picture, Auburn feels it can smell blood in the water, much like Tennessee and the other rivals of Alabama. Auburn will be swinging as hard as anybody, and they will do all in their power to get their licks in on DeBoer. The Tigers haven’t won an Iron Bowl in four years, which is the worst drought they’ve had since the Bear Bryant era of 1973–1981.
As eager as Auburn supporters will be to finally win the Iron Bowl, Alabama supporters will be itching to continue the winning tradition in DeBoer’s first season.
As Coach DeBoer takes Coach Saban’s position in Tuscaloosa, he faces an almost unachievable bar to meet. Although he would never entirely satisfy the fervent Alabama supporters, defeating Auburn, Georgia, and Tennessee in 2024 would be a fantastic place to start.
