College football analyst says the Alabama Crimson Tide is fool’s gold despite come-from-behind win against Oklahoma in CFP

Danny Kanell and Damien Harris aren’t buying what the Crimson Tide is selling.

Rob Gregson — NFL News Writer
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CBS Sports analyst's Danny Kanell and Damien Harris talk about Alabama's outlook in College Football Playoff, 12/20/2025.
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The Alabama Crimson Tide proved a lot of doubters wrong after securing the win over the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday. That was especially true after being down 17-0 with its back on the ropes and questions about the future of the program beginning before halftime even hit.

Then came the best two and a half quarters of Kalen DeBoer’s tenure at Alabama. The Crimson Tide rallied to get the win on the road and punched its ticket to the Rose Bowl. However, the optimism that the Tide have internally isn’t shared by many in the media, including former Alabama RB Damien Harris and his partner, Danny Kanell.

Danny Kanell says Alabama is fool’s gold

“I think the tide (is) a little bit of fool’s gold right now,” said Kanell on CBS Sports. “I don’t think they’re fixed by any means, but I think a lot of people are going to buy into Alabama as a national championship contender because they went into Norman and they beat an opponent that they lost to earlier.”

“If you dig a little bit deeper, I think Oklahoma’s defense was significantly overrated, and they beat a quarterback who won the season, had 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. It’s going to be a much different task against Indiana, for this Crimson Tide team, they still didn’t run the football really well. They did come up with the defensive stops they needed, but Fernando Mendoza is not going to hand them pick-sixes the way that John Mateer did.”

There is no doubt that Alabama has things it must clean up. The team has to be better at running the football, and they can’t start slow against Indiana if they want any chance at advancing in this bracket.

But let’s not forget that Oklahoma beat Alabama earlier this season. Statistically, Oklahoma has been one of the best defenses in college football, they got up 17-0 on Alabama at home, and still lost the game by 10 points. Winning in that kind of environment is a breeding ground for confidence.

Damien Harris not buying all the way in on Alabama

“I’m not ready to buy in all the way yet because of what Danny just said. Not great. If Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard drop balls the way that they did last night, they’re not going to beat Indiana,” added Harris. “If Alabama’s offense starts the way they did last or against Indiana the way they did last night, they’re not going to beat Indiana. If they don’t have more production in the run game, they’re not going to beat Indiana.”

“So, although this was a big win for this team, and it should give them a lot of confidence, starting with the head coach, going all the way down the players, they still have to realize we didn’t beat Georgia, we didn’t beat Ohio State, we did not beat Indiana.”

Alabama has been doubted for weeks now. Many believed the Tide shouldn’t have even made it to the CFP. I’m sure a few more doubters, including a former Alabama player will just add to the chips on the shoulders of the Crimson Tide.

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