The Alabama Crimson Tide is on the cusp of a trip to the SEC Championship and potentially the College Football Playoff, but the team cannot afford to get ahead of itself going into a final two games that should be beyond winnable on paper.
With a trip out to Norman, Oklahoma this week to take on the Sooners who are having a rough season in their first year in the SEC, Kalen DeBoer will have to keep his team focused with the knowledge that the Tide will not go out and win games just because of the color of their jerseys.
DeBoer addressed this mindset on this week’s episode of Hey Coach, using his ‘final word’ to talk about staying focused:
"You can really see the focus continuing to be on the right things, the things that matter."
– Coach @KalenDeBoer's Final Word before Alabama-Oklahoma game#RollTide | @AlabamaFTBL | @MercedesBenz pic.twitter.com/9Mi7E6zvaH
— Crimson Tide Sports Network (@UA_CTSN) November 21, 2024
“It’s another opportunity for us to go on the road and prove what we did last time we were on the road was for real,” DeBoer said of the trip to Oklahoma. “We gotta make it happen, though. It doesn’t happen on its own and that starts with the work we’ve done all week long. I think the guys have really poured into that all season long but you can really see the focus continuing to be on the right things, the things that matter. That’s what led to our success here the last few weeks.”
By the sounds of it, DeBoer has his team focused and ready to go ahead of the road test this week.
It all gets started on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. CST from Norman.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
