An Alabama player is suspended according to coach Kalen DeBoer.
In the Alabama Crimson Tide’s blowout 42-13 victory over the LSU Tigers on Saturday night in Baton Rouge, the program was without one player in particular on the defensive side of the ball: redshirt junior Keanu Koht.
After reports that Koht did not travel with the team to Baton Rouge, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer gave an update on the outside linebacker Monday during his weekly press conference. The redshirt junior is suspended.
“He wasn’t with us, and he’s suspended right now,” DeBoer said. “Not going to get into length or anything like that, but he won’t be with us this weekend.”
Koht has seen action in seven games for the Crimson Tide, recorded a career-high five tackles with one tackle for loss, one-half a sack and one fumble recovery.
With Koht out for the Mercer game, look for Qua Russaw and Yhonzae Pierre to feature heavily at outside linebacker after the injury to starter Que Robinson.
This USA TODAY Sports college football expert sees Alabama making a DEEP run in the College Football Playoff.
What a difference a week can make. That’s especially true for the Alabama Crimson Tide, who came into Week 11 a borderline College Football Playoff team in most experts’ postseason projections.
But after soundly beating the LSU Tigers 42-13, Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide have gone from being a mere Playoff contender to a much deeper projection in one expert’s prediction.
That’s according to the latest College Football Playoff projections from USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith, who updated his weekly postseason picks Tuesday. Smith now sees Alabama not only making the Playoff, but going all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Here’s how Smith sees it happening. He projects Alabama, as a No. 7 seed, to beat the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers in a first-round game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. From there, he has the Crimson Tide beating projected ACC champion Miami in the Peach Bowl, then taking down the Ole Miss Rebels in the semifinals at the Orange Bowl.
Doing that would put Alabama in the title game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Atlanta on Jan. 20, 2025, Smith predicts.
Smith’s four projected conference champions are the Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns, BYU Cougars and Miami Hurricanes.
Could the SEC get five teams into the College Football Playoff?
That’s a projection USA TODAY Sports’ Blake Toppmeyer is ready to make after a wild Saturday of games that included Ole Miss’ 18-point win over the Georgia Bulldogs in Oxford. In Toppmeyer’s weekly Playoff projections, he sees Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas and the Tennessee Volunteers all making the 12-team field.
Although the math in getting to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game is tricky, Toppmeyer sees the Crimson Tide as his SEC champion and the No. 2 overall seed in the Playoff behind Oregon.
Toppmeyer said of Alabama:
“As an SEC standings logjam forms, complex tiebreaker protocols might be needed to determine one or both teams for the conference championship game. So, I can’t say with certainty Alabama will reach Atlanta. Strapped with two conference losses, the Crimson Tide require help to get there. If they they get there, I like their chances of retaining the SEC’s crown. Quarterback Jalen Milroe regained his juice, and Alabama showed no signs of its October woes, while demolishing LSU.”
Toppmeyer has Oregon as his No. 1 overall seed with BYU as the No. 3 seed and Miami as the No. 4 seed of the four Power Four champions.
The Power Four champions will receive a first-round bye and advance to the quarterfinal round of the Playoff at neutral sites: the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl.
Alabama (7-2) will host the Mercer Bears (9-1) from the FCS Southern Conference at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.
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DeBoer provided an update on two injured Alabama players Monday.
During the Alabama Crimson Tide’s 42-13 blowout victory over the LSU Tigers on Saturday night in Baton Rouge, the program had a few notable players go down with injuries, with some of those going on to not return to the game as well.
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer provided updates on some these players during his Monday afternoon press conference as well, the first of which was starting outside linebacker Que Robinson.
Robinson is a player where an update was already known, as reports came out Sunday night the starter would be missing the remainder of the 2024 season. DeBoer also confirmed those reports Monday afternoon, saying:
“With Que’s injury, it is certainly determined now that he will be out the remainder of the year unfortunately,” DeBoer said.
Another notable defensive player for Alabama that was injured came at the safety position in DeVonta Smith, who finished the game with five tackles.
DeBoer also gave an update on Smith, saying:
“With DeVonta, it will be something just throughout the week we’ll continue to manage and kind of see where he’s at,” DeBoer said. “I haven’t heard the update today, but I think he’ll be fine as the week continues on.”
The availability of Smith for Saturday’s game against Mercer will certainly be something to monitor going throughout the week.
With Jalen Milroe and Alabama having thrashed LSU, college football writers and pundits see the Crimson Tide as a lock for the Playoff.
Jalen Milroe and the Alabama Crimson Tide have the college football world buzzing after their 45-13 beatdown of the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge over the weekend.
Alabama moved up two spots to No. 9 in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll after beating LSU. Milroe rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries and threw for another 109 on 12-of-18 passing in the Tide’s dominant victory.
Alabama improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in SEC play. Kalen DeBoer’s team also dramatically improved their hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff as they enter Week 12.
The Crimson Tide were ranked No. 11 in the first CFP rankings release of the 2024 season last week. The updated rankings will be unveiled Tuesday night beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
In the meantime, here’s what national college football writers and others in the sport’s media universe are saying about the Tide’s Playoff chances — and who they might face if they win out.
Expect Alabama to move up in new CFP rankings
Alabama is certain to move up in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, and ESPN’s Heather Dinich (subscription required) projects them to climb two spots to No. 9 Tuesday.
Dinich said of Alabama:
“The Tide’s win against LSU should bump them up, but the second loss will continue to hold them back. Alabama’s head-to-head win against Georgia should keep them ahead of the Bulldogs now that they both have identical 7-2 records. Alabama was the committee’s top two-loss team in its first ranking, and the LSU win should further cement that this week. (Warde) Manuel said the committee thought Alabama’s home win against Georgia “was impressive,” along with its win against Missouri. “They’re top 20 in scoring,” Manuel said after the first ranking. “Obviously their defense is always solid, holding teams to less than 20 points per game. Those things impressed the committee.”
Experts’ 2024 College Football Playoff projections for Alabama football
Over at CBS Sports, Jerry Palm is riding especially high on Alabama after their win at LSU. So much so that Palm now has the Crimson Tide favored to not only make the College Football Playoff, but to win the SEC Championship Game outright after the Georgia Bulldog’s 28-10 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels over the weekend.
Palm explains his projection this way:
“The loss for Georgia combined with wins by Alabama and Tennessee leave me with Texas finishing first in the SEC regular season and a six-car pileup behind them of teams with two conference losses. I had to dig deep into the tiebreaker to emerge with an opponent for the Longhorns, and that team is the Crimson Tide, who would earn the conference championship berth based on the record of their conference opponents.
“I also project Alabama to win the SEC title game over Texas and earn a 3-seed in the playoff field.”
USA TODAY Sports’ Ehsan Kassim sees Alabama in the Playoff, as an at-large seed with the Texas Longhorns winning the SEC and earning the conference’s automatic bid and first-round bye.
Kassim projected the Crimson Tide as the No. 10 seed and playing at No. 7 seed Penn State in what would be a new chapter in a once familiar series. Alabama and the Nittany Lions have met 15 times, with Alabama beating Penn State in the 1979 Sugar Bowl for the national championship.
Likewise, 247Sports’ Brad Crawford sees Alabama as a No. 10 seed in the Playoff and facing Notre Dame in South Bend. The Fighting Irish are 7-1 and ranked No. 8 after a 52-3 blowout win over Florida State.
Alabama football vs. Indiana Hoosiers a common Playoff projection
Veteran college football writer Andy Stapes forecasts Alabama as the No. 7 seed in the Playoff and hosting the No. 10 seed Indiana Hoosiers in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Indiana improved to 10-0 Saturday and is ranked No. 5 in the AP Top 25 poll after their 20-15 win over the Michigan Wolverines.
Staples said of Alabama:
“The 42-13 thrashing of LSU in a CFP elimination game served as a reminder that this Alabama team is still loaded even if it doesn’t have the same consistency it showed throughout the Nick Saban era. Jalen Milroe remains one of the nation’s most dangerous QBs.”
Over at The Athletic ($), staff writer Austin Mock sees the same Alabama-Indiana matchup, only with the Crimson Tide as the No. 9 seed and facing the No. 8 seed Hoosiers in Bloomington.
In another No. 9 vs. No. 8 seed projection, Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg sees Alabama playing at Indiana, as well.
Could Alabama play Tennessee in ‘Third Saturday’ College Football Playoff rematch?
The Sporting News’ Bill Bender had an interesting opponent for Alabama in his playoff projections. In Bender’s new forecast, he has Jalen Milroe, Ryan Williams and Jihaad Campbell facing the Tennessee Volunteers in a No. 10 vs. No. 7 seed rematch in Knoxville.
Bender isn’t the only one with that projection. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach ($) also has the Tide taking on the Vols in Knoxville.
Alabama 2024 football schedule
Next up for Alabama are the Mercer Bears from the FCS ranks. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.
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LSU is celebrating 100 years of Tiger Stadium, and on Saturday, DeBoer joined a long list of Alabama head coaches to win their first trip to Tiger Stadium since the venue first opened in 1924.
In fact, only one coach in the modern era of Alabama football hasn’t won on their first visit to one of college football’s most electric environments. That was Mike Shula, who lost in his first trip to Tiger Stadium as a head coach in November 2004.
From Nick Saban all the way back to Wallace Wade, who led the Crimson Tide to their first win in the stadium 99 years ago, here’s a look at how past Alabama coaches fared in their first road trips to Tiger Stadium. We also include their overall record in Baton Rouge and, when applicable, their team’s biggest margin of victory.
Nick Saban (Alabama coach, 2007-2023)
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
First Trip to Tiger Stadium: Nov. 8, 2008
Final Score: Alabama 27, LSU 21 (OT)
Overall Record vs. LSU at Tiger Stadium: 6-2
Largest Margin of Victory: Alabama 55, LSU 17 (Dec. 15. 2020)
Take a look at how far Alabama climbed in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll after routing LSU.
A day after dismantling the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, Jalen Milroe and the Alabama Crimson Tide moved up in the new US LBM Coaches Poll after a wild Saturday of college football finishes.
Alabama (7-2 overall, 4-2) moved up two spots No. 9 in the new Week 11 Coaches Poll after their 42-13 thrashing of Brian Kelly and LSU. The Crimson Tide jumped past the previously unbeaten Miami Hurricanes (9-1) and the Georgia Bulldogs (7-2).
Alabama is the highest-ranked two-loss team and are ranked one spot below the No. 8 BYU Cougars (9-0) and one spot ahead of Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs. The Crimson Tide will host the Mercer Bears Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Week 12. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+/ESPN+.
Miami slid eight spots from No. 4 to No. 12 after falling 28-23 on the road to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. Georgia fell eight spots as well, from No. 2 to No. 10 after their 28-10 loss to Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught Hemingway Stadium. Ole Miss rose one spot to No. 11.
The Oregon Ducks (10-0) remained No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week after their 39-18 win over the Maryland Terrapins in Eugene. The Ohio State Buckeyes (8-1) moved up one spot to No. 2 after routing Purdue, 45-0, at Ohio Stadium.
The Indiana Hoosiers were one of the biggest risers this week, moving up four spots to No. 6 after holding off the Michigan Wolverines to improve to 10-0. The Hoosiers have a bye in Week 12 before facing Ohio State in Columbus on Nov. 23.
LSU (6-3) had the biggest drop of any ranked team, falling nine spots to No. 22. The Tigers allowed 420 yards of total offense to Alabama, which got a banner night from Milroe. The Crimson Tide quarterback rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries and threw for another 109 on 12-of-18 passing in Alabama’s rout.
Everything Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said about Jalen Milroe after the Crimson Tide demolished LSU.
The Alabama Crimson Tide kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive Saturday night at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge while also delivering a knockout punch to those of the LSU Tigers.
Jalen Milroe had a game for the ages. The Alabama quarterback rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries. Milroe threw for another 109 yards and completed 12 of 18 passes as the Crimson Tide (7-2 overall, 4-2 SEC) delivered a 45-13 beatdown of LSU (6-3, 3-2). Alabama was in control virtually from the very beginning.
After the game, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer called it the Crimson Tide’s most complete game performance of the season.
“I felt like that was probably the most complete game we’ve played. To some extent, we’ve done that the past two games — against Missouri and tonight. Coming into a tough environment, play after play, just staying the course. Then coming out in the third quarter and getting an interception, just going back down the field and playing good, complementary team football.”
On Milroe’s performance in particular, DeBoer said there was plenty of credit to go around after the QB’s unforgettable night. He also talked about Milroe’s “superpower” ability when running the ball.
“I think there’s a lot of guys that helped him get to those spots where we were ahead of the chains. A lot of smaller gains that gets you into positions where your whole playbook is available to you. Honestly, he’s got a superpower when it comes to running the football. You can see him be a guy who not just gets first downs but finishes in the end zone. Him doing what he did early on just kind of got the ball rolling there. He made the throws that were timely when needed and other guys continued to step up. Again, when we stay ahead of the chains and the whole playbook is available to you, a lot we can do.”
A lot is at stake for both teams, as it is almost every year when the Crimson Tide and Tigers meet in November. Both LSU (No. 13, US LBM Coaches Poll) and Alabama (No. 11) are 6-2, and a third loss would almost certainly spell doom for the losing team’s hopes of reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff.
On Thursday, Fox Sports analyst and broadcaster Joel Klatt gave his thoughts on Alabama vs. LSU headed into weekend, along with a score prediction. Klatt predicted last week that Jalen Milroe would lead the Crimson Tide to a win in Tiger Stadium, and he stuck to that prediction again this week.
“Bama is favored for a reason, and maybe by not enough… I like ‘Bama on the road at night against LSU to win this game, 35-28. I just don’t think LSU is going to be able to overcome the ‘one-dimensionalness’ of their offense, and the fact that they do not stop a running quarterback. For those two reasons, I’ve got Bama 35, LSU 28.”
Klatt noted that LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier had thrown seven interceptions in the Tigers’ last four games, including three in their most recent game, a 38-23 loss at Texas A&M on Oct. 26.
Klatt also pointed out that Texas A&M had shut down LSU’s run game, holding the Tigers to only 24 rushing yards on 23 carries. “That’s what Alabama’s gonna have to do,” he said. “Nussmeier has thrown it 50 times in (two of his last three games). That would favor, in my mind, an Alabama team.”
Alabama football has structural deficiencies on defense
Klatt said that he expected a shootout because Alabama’s defense had given up plenty of its own explosive plays this season.
“There are structural deficiencies to Alabama’s defense,” Klatt said. “You can run on the edge and you can create explosives down the field that’s still available. Can LSU do that? Remains to be seen, but I think what’s more important is the fact that Nussmeier needs to take care of the football.”
Jalen Milroe key to Alabama beating LSU
When the Tide and Tigers met last November at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Milroe rushed for four touchdowns and 155 yards on 20 carries. He threw for 219 more yards on 15-of-23 passing.
Klatt reiterated that LSU had their own deficiencies when playing against mobile quarterbacks this year, highlighting Marcel Reed of Texas A&M and LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina.
Reed rushed nine times for 62 yards and three touchdowns against LSU while Sellers ran for 88 yards and two scores on 10 carries in the Tigers’ 36-33 win over the Gamecocks back on Sept. 14.
Klatt said:
“Death Valley at night cannot overcome deficiencies when you do not stop the opposing team’s quarterback and in particular when he’s running the football. And by the way, Milroe is not their only weapon running the ball. (Alabama) is really dynamic running the football outside of their quarterback. Last time out, they ran it for 271 yards on seven per carry against Mizzou. So, do I believe that LSU is all of the sudden going to fix their problems with mobile quarterbacks and show up and play great defense? I do not see that.”
Kickoff for Alabama-LSU is set for 6:30 p.m CT Saturday. The game can be seen on ABC. The network’s No. 1 broadcast crew of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will call the game for ABC.
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An updated look at where USA TODAY Sports sees Alabama in the College Football Playoff race after some big upsets of higher-ranked teams last Saturday.
The Alabama Crimson Tide benefitted from some upsets of Top 15 teams last Saturday during a bye week for coach Kalen DeBoer and players.
The previously eighth-ranked Clemson Tigers fell 33-21 to Louisville in a huge setback to the College Football Playoff hopes for Dabo Swinney’s team. Likewise, the previously unbeaten and 10th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones fell to Texas Tech in Ames.
And a week after taking down the LSU Tigers in College Station, the previously 11th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies suffered a 44-20 blowout loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Those three results moved Alabama up three spots to No. 11 in both this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll. It also moved the Crimson Tide back into USA TODAY Sports’ new 12-team College Football Playoff projections.
On Tuesday, analysts Erick Smith and Paul Myerberg updated their weekly Playoff and bowl game forecast. Smith and Myerberg currently see Alabama as the No. 12 seed in the playoff entering Saturday’s must-win game against LSU in Baton Rouge.
Smith sees the Tide making a trip to Happy Valley to face the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first round of the playoff, while Myerberg has Alabama squaring off against the Texas Longhorns in Austin.
“Beating Georgia is enough to land Alabama here, ahead of other contenders such as SMU, LSU, Mississippi and Texas A&M. Losses to Tennessee and Vanderbilt will also be looked at kindly, especially if the Commodores land somewhere in the final three spots in this week’s (CFP) rankings.”
Brian Kelly and Kalen DeBoer will square off on Saturday night, but they followed a similar path to get where they are now.
[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and [autotag]Kalen DeBoer[/autotag] are two of the sport’s highest-paid coaches at two premier programs, but it wasn’t always this way.
Kelly and DeBoer will square off on Saturday night when LSU meets Alabama, but they once took a similar path to get where they are now — both getting their head coaching starts at the D-II level.
That’s not always something you see in modern college football. Kirby Smart began as an administrative assistant at Georgia and worked his way up through the ranks. He wasn’t a head coach until he took over Georgia in 2015.
Dan Lanning’s path was similar, climbing the assistant world before he got the chance to lead Oregon in 2022.
Guys like Ryan Day and Dabo Swinney are in the same boat. The big-time jobs they have now were their first head coaching gigs.
Kelly and DeBoer were both head coaches long before they caught their big break. Kelly led Grand Valley State from 1991-2003. DeBoer was the Sioux Falls head coach from 2005-09.
Both coaches got experience building a winning program at the lower level before getting the chance to do it on the biggest stage. That’s not necessarily better. Things have worked out well for Smart, Lanning, Day, Swinney, and the other coaches of that nature. But there’s value in getting that initial head coaching experience.
Kelly’s rise was slower than DeBoer’s. After his time at GVSU, Kelly was the head coach at Central Michigan and Cincinnati before taking over a major program at Notre Dame. By the time Kelly got the Fighting Irish job, he had 19 years of head coaching experience under his belt.
DeBoer didn’t bid his time in the same way. Just a few years ago, he was the head coach at Fresno State. But DeBoer’s big game track record won him the job at Alabama.
