Happy Gump Day, one and all.
We are just 96 hours away from the kick of Alabama @ South Carolina, and I think I am beginning to experience the true wisdom of the 24-hour Rule: I still can’t shake Saturday’s
thumping of the Vols in Bryant-Denny. Apparently, I’m not alone — Monday’s JP gauging fan faith in DeBoer has reached gamethread-level of comments: nearly 700 and still going (#clicks, baby)
But, we truly do have to put it behind us, and certainly hope that the team has done so. If Ty Simpson is to be believed, they have.
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We’ll begin with uber-Gump Ty Simpson, who I swear sometimes sounds more like vintage Nick Saban than the GOAT did himself in his final years in Tuscaloosa:
“We say in the quarterback room: prepare like you’ve never won, perform like you’ve never lost,” he said. “You know what I mean? So that’s how our mindset is, and, you know, whatever it takes, that’s all I care about. So that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Human nature might suggest Alabama is headed for a letdown this weekend. After four ranked opponents, the Tide go on the road to a struggling, unranked South Carolina.
“First off, right, they’re a really, really good team,” Simpson said of the Gamecocks. “Like, I don’t think the record shows how really good they are, right? They’ve lost close, close games, right? Like, one-possession games that if one turnover goes a certain type of way, they probably win. So I wouldn’t say they’re a bad team at all, or anything like that
“It’s homecoming. It’s a hostile environment. Any team in the SEC is a good team, and we need to make sure that we go take care of business, right? Because [quarterback LaNorris Sellers) is a good player, that offense, [edge] Dylan Stewart’s a very good player, right? Like, they got a good team.”
He only needed to drop a few “aights” in there, and it could have been a standard Saban press conference. He came dangerously close with those “rights” though.
The national media has finally decided to embrace the black hoodie, and has even given DeBoer’s sartorial splendor its own name: Black Hoodie of Death.
DeBoer’s red polo stuck out like a sore thumb during the team’s season-opening dud against Florida State. He promptly swapped it back for the hoodie — and hasn’t looked back since.
You can’t argue with results. KDB moved to 13-2 when bedecked in the BHOD, and has pulled off a feat no ‘Bama coach before him did: He is 10-0 at home to begin his Alabama tenure. I think this fella’ may work out after all.
And what’s helping win fans over (beyond the winning) is showing a willingness to change his approach. It began with epic asschewings after the FSU game. It carried over to practices, where everyone has been put on notice that each practice is for their job. And it has moved on to benching non-performers — including Domani Jackson, who had started every game at corner until last Saturday. And now he’s become a far more passionate and fiery presence. Dude was ready to headbutt the goal post running out on the field.
And it’s rubbing off on the team too.
Kalen DeBoer may still be a nice guy, but he’s no longer Mr. Nice Guy.
There are some lingering doubts, however. You can’t erase those ugly five road losses Alabama soaked up — four as a double-digit favorite. So we find ourselves with the inverse problem that Penn State suffered for years: The Tide can win the big ones, but can DeBoer’s team not play down to the competition? Can he win the small ones?
“We’re playing solid football, team football,” DeBoer said. “That’s what matters. Each side of the ball finding their times to pick up the other. Just guys grinding, trusting that the other side is gonna get it done, sooner or later.”
So Alabama won all the big games. Now it has a small one.
If Alabama is truly reformed from a 2024 season where it failed to win 10 games for the first time since 2007, Saturday’s matchup with South Carolina is crucial. Every time it seemed the Crimson Tide was building momentum last year, UA squandered it against a team it should have beaten handily, whether Vanderbilt, Oklahoma or Michigan.
Even to start this season, its become even more clear than it was at the time that the Crimson Tide should have beaten Florida State. With South Carolina still a dangerous team with a dangerous quarterback in LaNorris Sellers, a one-SEC win program is suddenly a prove-it moment for UA.
“I think we have the maturity, or we have developed the maturity, to learn from our past adversity,” Kane Wommack said Monday. “And that’s something that I think this team has an edge right now, in large part, because we have learned from the mistakes of the past, and we haven’t forgotten about those things and those are things that we need to make sure that we carry throughout the rest of the season.
I think we’re all holding our breath. Buy-in on this staff will come on Saturday if Alabama hits the road, executes, gets a business-like win, and plays the way this team is capable of. And it’s fair to withhold complete investment until we see it.
Here was everything DC Kane Wommack had to say in his remarks yesterday:
Speaking of people who’ve shed those initial impressions, we have to talk about the job Red Morgan has done. His drastic improvement is not lost on the staff, and I will add that Saturday was probably the Sophomore’s best day in a Crimson uniform.
“It’s been fun for me to watch Red’s development and growth,” Wommack said. “You know, he had to do so many things. We asked a lot out of him a year ago as a true freshman to go in and play in some high level games and execute, and he took his lumps, and he also did some really great things. I think, fundamentally, he has improved so much. His consistency on the field has improved so much.
“And it was really great to see him be rewarded with the way that he’s playing right now. He’s got twitch. He can make space tackles. He can take the air out of the ball, meaning that he can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. And when you’re dealing with teams, for example, like Tennessee that stretch you laterally in the RPO perimeter passing game, [it’s] really good to have a guy that not only can close space but can also finish on the ball carrier. I thought he did a tremendous job at that the other night.”
If he plays as he did on Saturday, expect to see much more of Morgan.
It was easy to lose sight of Red, given the work that ZB and Yhonzae were putting in. For the yeoman efforts of both, they were awarded national accolades:
They both balled out:
Brown had the top game of his career, totaling 57 coverage snaps, seven tackles, and the notable pick-six before halftime. The 98-yard pick-six is the second-longest return for a touchdown in Alabama history, and was the Tide’s first pick-six since Chris Braswell’s 28-yard pick-six in Alabama’s 40-17 win over Mississippi State in 2023
Pierre had six tackles, 2.5 sacks, a safety, and now leads the Tide in sacks and forced fumbles. The pair were also rightly named the SEC co-defensive POTW.
Let’s talk ‘bout cheatin’…and for once, it doesn’t involve the Barn. No, the SEC had threatened to hammer coaches who faked injuries, and the Aggies got caught doing it first, with Mike Elko earning a reprimand.
The incident in question happened at the 12:55 mark of the fourth quarter after Arkansas completed a pass for a first down at the Aggies’ 10-yard line. After the ball was spotted for the next play, defensive back Tyreek Chappell went to the ground after coaches on the A&M sideline signaled “signaling demonstratively to the player, pointing to the ground.”
Video of the play reviewed by the SEC and National Coordinator showed Chappell was not contacted on the play and he returned to the game on the second play of the ensuing defensive possession. As such, it was determined this was a violation of rules against players feigning injury, triggering the fine and public statement.
The penalty escalates to $100K the second time, and suspension of the coaching staff on a third infraction. But, if the SEC is serious about this, they’d suspend on at least the second infraction, if not the first — provided there is clear evidence, as there was here.
But those aren’t the only shenanigans down here in the lawless SEC.
Lane Kiffin accused the Oklahoma staff of stealing signs (though he did so if it’s on tape, it’s fair game). Venables fired back that it’s just good ole’ preparation, and that it just so happens that teams also huddle when they play the Sooners. Coincidence, I’m sure.
Kiffin framed the Dirt Burglars’ theft as good coaching (and it is, if done above board), but I should note that the undercurrent runs a little deeper. Venables had the reputation of being less than ethical about sign-stealing back in his Clemson days. That entire Dabo staff cultivated that reputation, in fact.
Damned by faint praise or not, Kiffin clearly is signalling that BV is up to his ole tricks…and then he let everyone else know that he knows.
And, finally, we’ve all probably adopted a sports team that torments us, yet we just cannot let go. For some, it is worse: We were born to it.
And nothing describes those pathos quite as hilariously as this adolescent boy holding forth on his Jets fandom:
That’s it for now. We’ll be back later, as Brent previews the cromulent, craptacular, woeful, child-frighteningly bad offense of the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Have a great day, and Row Tahd
