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The Tuscaloosa News
After FSU loss, what can Alabama football do now? How Crimson Tide regrouped
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- After FSU loss, what can Alabama football do now? How Crimson Tide regrouped
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Something went wrong for Alabama football in its season opener against Florida State . Those specifics? It really depends on who you ask.
To Kalen DeBoer, the crux of the Crimson Tide's problem in its 31-17 loss to Florida State Saturday, Aug. 30 were missed chances on offense, the difference between Alabama 's 16-play, 75-yard scoring drive and every other offensive drive the Crimson Tide had, even as the gap between Alabama and Florida State narrowed. Simply put, it's a lack of "competitive stamina," he said.
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"We did it. Now you have to go back out there and you have to do it again," DeBoer said. "You have to stack play after play after play."
Deontae Lawson was focused on aspects of the Alabama defense that made him want to "get back on the practice field:" the mistakes he saw teammates make when approaching mobile quarterbacks like Florida State's Tommy Castellanos or that separated a defender from a back or a receiver.
"All we can do is just get better from this situation," Lawson said. "We'll watch the film, we'll learn from it and make sure we don't have this feeling again."
There's Alabama's 3 yards per carry in the run game.
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Or the lack of consistency from receivers not named Germie Bernard , who brought in eight catches for 146 yards.
Or the 230 rushing yards on 49 carries by Florida State backs, including Castellanos, who had his best game as a runner since Dec. 28, 2023.
Alabama football feels 'small details' hurt against Florida State
Lawson generalized things.
"The small details will lead to the field, to the big details, to the big moments," Lawson said. "So if we're not capitalizing on the small details, how are we going to capitalize on the field?"
To Parker Brailsford , that's all that was talked about in Alabama's locker room after the Florida State loss. It's about going "1-0," he said, pushing the bond of the roster, but also the urgency the Crimson Tide must play with moving forward.
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It's a locker room confident that every one of their goals is still attainable.
"I still think to this day that our guys are some of the best players, are the best players in the country," quarterback Ty Simpson said. "We're going to be, at the end of the season one of those top playoff teams. We've got to understand that we can't just play good for one drive. We have to keep playing, keep playing, keep playing (and) not look at the scoreboard."
DeBoer is eager for Alabama to learn from its mistakes. But he's not one to linger on them without a purpose.
"We're not going to live in regret," DeBoer said. "Not going to live in regret. We got to go fix it and be better because of it and evaluate the film and move on."
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Alabama will host Louisiana Monroe on Saturday, Sept. 6, in its home opener.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: How Alabama football regrouped after Florida State loss
