On Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium in front of a crowd that was expecting nothing less to perfection and ready to express their disappointment if perfection was not achieved, the Alabama Crimson Tide was pretty close to perfect in a dismantling of ULM.

It was the largest shutout victory for Alabama since 1951, and Ty Simpson became the first quarterback in program history to start a game completing his first 17 consecutive passing attempts. Simpson looked much more comfortable and the defense seemed to play with much more fire and desire.

While the result and the way the team played was of course exactly what fans wanted — or more so demanded — the brakes need to be pumped on saying this group is right back to where they were before the Florida State disaster in week one. Destroying cupcake opponents at home is not something that earns you trust back from the fanbase, it’s something which prevents that trust from being eroded beyond repair.

The fact of the matter is that for most of his tenure, DeBoer’s teams have looked like different units when they face teams on the road in difficult environments. Those who are encouraged by the way the team played should be, but any real judgement is going to need to hold off for the next few weeks.

Up next is another home game against a struggling Wisconsin team which on paper should produce another relatively easy win, but beyond that, it gets very real.

Alabama will have a bye the following week, but after this the team heads to Athens for the first time in a decade to face the Georgia Bulldogs in a road matchup which promises to be one of the toughest games of the season.

What the Tide do against the likes of ULM and Wisconsin don’t make a whole lot of difference if they go on the road and get embarrassed once again.

Last year, two different teams seemed to show up in the wins and losses for Alabama. So far this year, there’s not much reason yet to think the same thing is the case and fans should not feel comfortable no matter who the opponent is.

If DeBoer and this team want to earn the trust of the fanbase back, it will take a whole lot more than just crushing ULM.