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The Tuscaloosa News
Why Alabama football loss to UT looked a lot like Nick Saban's 2022 loss | Goodbread
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Why Alabama football loss to UT looked a lot like Nick Saban's 2022 loss | Goodbread
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. − In the wake of Alabama football 's loss to Vanderbilt two weeks prior, Crimson Tide fans had much to say about new coach Kalen DeBoer's first-year program and how it differs from legendary former coach Nick Saban's regime.
Saban's Alabama would never have lost to Vanderbilt. ... Saban's Alabama was never so undisciplined. ... Saban's defenses never looked this bad.
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Some of those sentiments rang with some truth. But in the wake of the Crimson Tide's 24-17 loss at Tennessee on Saturday, it's worth noting that some of those refrains suggest an awfully short memory for Saban's less memorable Saturdays, as few of them as there were.
DeBoer's Crimson Tide put on a cringeworthy showing at Neyland Stadium, to be sure. There were mistakes on top of mistakes, complete with an early game-changing interception, a late game-ending interception, and enough penalty flags to fill a laundry basket. That's not to undermine credit due to Tennessee for overcoming second-half deficits of 7-0, 10-7 and 17-14. The Volunteers regrouped at halftime and made the plays that had to be made. But Alabama did an awful lot to undermine its own efforts; miscues that contributed mightily to UA's second loss in three weeks.
It can't continue if DeBoer's first season is going to be even a modest success.
It also was, in many ways, a mirror image of Alabama's 52-49 loss to the Vols at Neyland Stadium two years ago under Saban. DeBoer's team drew 15 penalties against the Volunteers, including a lot of pre-snap flags and personal fouls, both of which speak to a lack of discipline and focus. That should sound awfully familiar to anyone who saw Alabama's performance here two years ago, when Saban's team, which wasn't very disciplined throughout the 2022 season, was flagged an incredible 17 times.
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HIGHLIGHTS: Alabama football vs Tennessee: Live score, updates, highlights from Week 8 game
GOODBREAD: Tennessee played ugly, but Alabama football played uglier in 24-17 loss
DeBoer and Saban were exasperated, and at a loss for an explanation, after both setbacks in Knoxville.
"We've got to be better, there's no question. You can't win a football game with the mistakes like we had out there, and all the penalties," DeBoer said.
The similarities between Alabama's last two losses to Tennessee don't end with penalties. Jalen Milroe committed a hard-to-explain turnover, a very impactful one, when he threw a first-quarter interception into the Tennessee end zone to a well-covered Ryan Williams. Arguably, it was the biggest play of the game. But it wasn't more impactful, or harder to explain, than the Tennessee punt two years ago that UA linebacker Que Robinson touched for no reason, resulting in a UT fumble recovery and subsequent touchdown. Both were unforced errors, but by the time Saban had amassed six national championships, blame for plays like that tended to fall more on players and less on the GOAT, even in instances where Saban assigned blame directly to himself.
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Saban's last loss to Tennessee was a wretched defensive performance, as Tennessee rolled up 567 yards of offense; DeBoer's Tennessee loss was much more of a defensive struggle, so from that standpoint, the games were very different. But the reasons those losses happened aren't far apart at all.
Get ready for another round of WWSTD this week: What Would Saban's Teams Do?
It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that any DeBoer loss will automatically invoke remembrances of his predecessor for some. That's understandable for any fan base witnessing the replacement of a legend. But not every comparison is valid, either.
Saban would never have lost to Vanderbilt? I can buy that.
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Saban's teams were never so undisciplined? Miss me with that one.
Tuscaloosa News sport columnist Chase Goodbread.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Why Alabama football loss to UT looked much like Nick Saban's in 2022
