Every Monday, we present “Tide Takes”, where we’ll get into a different topic on the Crimson Tide, break down the previous game, preview the upcoming game, and everything in between.
The Alabama Crimson Tide is 6-2 headed into the bye week and will have an opportunity two weeks from now to put itself in prime position to be College Football Playoff bound if they can claim victory in what now looks like the toughest game remaining on the schedule on the road at LSU.
If you told Alabama fans that fact before the season entering the Kalen DeBoer era — most rational fans probably would have thought that’s pretty dang good with the schedule the team faced early and the fact that it was the first season for DeBoer in Tuscaloosa.
While things have not been all pretty to get to this point and many likely would have forecasted a loss to say Georgia rather than Vanderbilt, the results are actually pretty optimal for those who had realistic expectations.
The Tide has arguably the best win of the entire college football season over Georgia and is still very much alive in the College Football Playoff race. The sky isn’t completely falling in Tuscaloosa, Tide fans.
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Has it been perfect on the road to get where the team is at? Of course not. Are there still issues that a 34-0 shutout of a Missouri team that was significantly more dreadful than they were forecasted to be could not fully cover up? Of course there are.
But Alabama has proven it can play with the best teams in the country, and maybe just maybe things are starting to turn around on the defensive side of the ball. At the very least, a shutout and domination of a conference opponent should inspire some confidence with the unit.
As for the offense, some of the issues on that side of the ball were a bit masked on Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, but are still present. Jalen Milroe will never be a gunslinger, the team is still struggling to run the ball with any sort of consistency, and the offensive line can be leaky at times.
Despite all that, Alabama is still alive, and this roller coaster of a year that 2024 has been thus far is undoubtedly going to have some more twists and turns down the stretch.
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.
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