It was not a game without blemishes, but it was a game in which Auburn was never in position to win. I’ll take it. The final was 28-14, and it was the first Iron Bowl both of my children attended.
The most consecutive Iron Bowls won is 9, which Alabama accomplished from 1973 to 1981. (This is the run during which I became genuinely aware of Alabama football, and which fed my young impression that Alabama never lost.)
Alabama’s regular season is over at 9-3. As I type it’s likely Alabama will miss the playoff and go to a bowl game, with the potential for 10-3 for the 2024 season.
I am more pleased than not with Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer’s first year. There is little question that NIL and the transfer portal have transformed the game, and I believe Coach DeBoer has the ability and the willingness to roll with these wildcards as well as anyone can. (And there’s no doubt he’s at an institution that will support him financially in his efforts.) I believe he is a serious man, though perhaps a bit more player-accessible than Coach Saban was, which may be a necessary dovetail with these changes in the coach-player relationship.
Coach DeBoer certainly must have experienced a significant degree of culture shock. The SEC is crazy, and Alabama is particularly maniacal in many ways, and you can’t just tell someone that and expect them to get it. He seems to be fine, though if he’s not he’s too smart to say anything about it. I think we’ll get a more solid read on it as winter and spring (read: practice and recruiting) progress.
Alabama has played erratically this year. At times, the Tide has seemed invincible. But they turned a rout of Georgia into a momentary fourth-quarter nail-biter, and also displayed an apparent complete inability to adjust at halftime, particularly on defense, in embarrassing losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. Excessive penalties were epidemic, particularly early in the year, with a frustrating lack of discipline seeming to be a primary cause. Ball security has seemed all-or-nothing.
(Nitpick: An empty backfield on third-and-short really annoys me. Mike Price did this a lot at Washington State, and I was braced for him to bring that to us before he, uh, left. Now we have it with KDB. Must be a PAC-12 thing.)
Some improvements are necessary. But I believe we have the guy to make them. Following the GOAT and debuting with a 10-3 season, which seems likely, is a good showing. I’m sure Coach DeBoer has taken notes this season. Let’s stand back and let him work.
As I’ve said many times, Alabama never has strung a lot of undefeated seasons together, and that is not a criterion for the Alabama standard. Alabama is “back” when it is legitimately in the national title conversation year in and year out.
And mission accomplished, even in 2024.
Roll Tide!