Fifteen days ago, Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer preached commitment.
The Crimson Tide was stunned, having just finished a 24-3 road loss to Oklahoma, a game intended to be a tune-up before an Iron Bowl that decided Alabama 's SEC championship fate, a game that had the Crimson Tide as a multiple-touchdown favorite.
DeBoer was disappointed. He was frustrated. But he was adamant about leading a team that finished what it started.
"That's the commitment we make to each other when we come in here," DeBoer said Nov. 23. "When you sign up to play for Alabama, you make that commitment to each other and the brotherhood."
Fifteen days later, Alabama faces another test of commitment.
The Crimson Tide missed the College Football Playoff , ranked as the first team outside the 12-team bracket behind SMU, which lost the ACC championship game on a walk-off 56-yard Clemson field goal.
Alabama now faces a ReliaQuest Bowl matchup against Michigan , a consolation prize in the new age of a 12-team playoff, but one seemingly secured after SEC road losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and the Sooners .
On Sunday night, DeBoer, once again, was disappointed. He felt his team was deserving.
"There's things that, obviously, we got to do and could have done this year, but got to make sure it's not in other people's hands," DeBoer said.
But the culture remained. It's one DeBoer called strong, one built by a roster that has pride in what Alabama went through in its first season and the way it stuck together.
Alabama has already seen some movement, with multiple players having made their intentions to enter the NCAA transfer portal known before the winter window opens Monday. But DeBoer said he's expecting for the majority of his roster to remain through the bowl game against Michigan .
"From what I feel right now, and I'm not saying there won't be one, but I feel like right now, we're in a place where most of these guys are planning on playing," DeBoer said. "I don't care what round they're planning on going in. And we'll see, but that is my early understanding having talked with a few guys. These guys are committed to this place."
For players like quarterback Jalen Milroe and Tyler Booker , DeBoer said he would "let those guys make their announcements (and) talk to the team" about their futures regarding the NFL draft, while saying many players are going through similar decisions.
Alabama has something to play for, DeBoer said: a streak of seasons with 10 wins or more that dates back to 2007 — the start of the Nick Saban era — that would continue with a win against the Wolverines.
But it's more than that for DeBoer.
The ReliaQuest Bowl game is that last chance to play Alabama football in the first year of the DeBoer era, the last chance for his players to play together, to be committed to the cause greater than themselves.
That is what DeBoer was talking about postgame Nov. 23.
The "commitment" he said was not about future opt outs or transfer portal entries. It was about what he feels the Crimson Tide does daily: the sacrifice of what it takes to be the best, for the players to dedicate themselves to the process.
That sense of commitment is what DeBoer preached after the Oklahoma loss and before the Iron Bowl. It's what he continued to preach before the ReliaQuest Bowl with no national championship in sight.
"We got one more game together, and (we're) going to make the most of it, whether it's this season, the 2024 team, or just building on it and preparing for the future and being better because of the opportunities we get here in the next couple weeks."
Alabama will take on Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl at 11 a.m. CT Dec. 31 in Tampa, Florida.
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 Kalen DeBoer, Alabama football are planning to 'make the most' of ReliaQuest Bowl
