The 2024 season for the Alabama Crimson Tide football program will be under a microscope, as the program looks to maintain the success it had for nearly two decades under the now-retired legendary head coach, Nick Saban. Former Washington Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer has taken over and will be tested in many ways throughout the regular season.
Not only is DeBoer looking to fill some very big shoes, but he is tasked with taking over a historical powerhouse during a time of drastic change.
Name, Image, Likeness has taken over, the transfer portal is as wide open as it ever has been, the College Football Playoff field has expanded to 12 teams and conference realignment is going into effect, which means the SEC will welcome the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners in 2024.
Along with all of that, DeBoer and the Crimson Tide don’t have the easiest schedule.
In Week 3, Alabama travels north to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison. The very next week, the Tide returns to Tuscaloosa for a Week 4 matchup in Bryant-Denny Stadium against the Georgia Bulldogs.
This matchup will be a massive test for DeBoer and this Crimson Tide team. No matter the outcome, it will set the tone for the rest of the season, and possibly the first few seasons of the DeBoer era.
Recently, ESPN’s David Hale ranked the top-10 matchups of the 2024 college football season and ranked this Alabama-Georgia game as the No. 1 must-see game of the year.
“These teams combined for nine championship game appearances during the 10-year run of the four-team playoff, and while much has changed over the past year at both schools, there’s no reason to assume the Dawgs and the Tide won’t be at the very top of the college football power rankings again in 2024.”
Hale makes it clear that this game, though no longer featuring Saban vs. Kirby Smart on opposing sidelines, is still a meeting between two national title contenders. With an expanded CFP field, it’s likely that these two teams, assuming they follow the trends of recent seasons, will be back in the playoffs in 2024. With that, this regular season contest could be a preview of the SEC conference championship, as well as a CFP game.
A few months still sit between today and the start of Alabama’s 2024 regular season. However, there will surely be more news and analysis to come as the Week 1 matchup against Western Kentucky inches closer.
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football news as the 2024 offseason progresses.
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