Alabama Crimson Tide HC Kalen DeBoer is hoping to break a streak this week that dates back almost 30 years
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer, who is in his first season in Tuscaloosa, is hoping to break a streak this week that dates back nearly 30 years. The Crimson Tide will head to Baton Rouge this weekend for an all-important showdown with the LSU Tigers. The big storyline surrounding this matchup is that […]
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer, who is in his first season in Tuscaloosa, is hoping to break a streak this week that dates back nearly 30 years.
The Crimson Tide will head to Baton Rouge this weekend for an all-important showdown with the LSU Tigers.
The big storyline surrounding this matchup is that it's essentially an "elimination game". Both Alabama and LSU have two losses, and a third would almost certainly knock one of these teams out of College Football Playoff contention.
If Alabama manages to win in Death Valley and stave off elimination, it will make DeBoer the first Crimson Tide coach since Gene Stallings in 1990 to win his first game against LSU.
Starting in 1997 with Mike DuBose, each of the last four Alabama head coaches prior to DeBoer have lost their first game against LSU (Shula in 1997, Dennis Franchione in 2001, Mike Shula in 2003, and Nick Saban in 2007).
Each of the previous four Alabama coaches to lose their first game to LSU played the Tigers in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer, however, will have to find a way to get a win under the lights in Baton Rouge, which is no easy task (two years ago, Saban lost in his final trip to Tiger Stadium under the lights).
Recent history suggests that LSU will win on Saturday night and eliminate Alabama from the playoff for the second time in three seasons.
I have a feeling, though, that DeBoer couldn't care less what history says. He's taking his team to LSU with a clear mission — survive and advance.
