Mike Farrell (of the Mike Farrell Sports brand) predicted a College Football Playoff-less debut season for Kalen DeBoer as Alabama's head coach -- and tabbed Auburn, among five other SEC squads, as a potential upset candidate against the post-Nick Saban Crimson Tide.
"Kalen DeBoer will go 9-3 this season, miss the SEC title game and the playoff and Alabama fans will lose their minds," Farrell prefaced before saying, "The SEC is loaded and Texas and Oklahoma make it deeper. There are six teams — Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, LSU, Oklahoma and Auburn — who could get them and I think they lose half of these games."
Auburn plays three of the teams Farrell mentioned, plus Bama, so a College Football Playoff berth in 2024 could be beyond reach for Hugh Freeze's young Tigers. With that said, the work he's putting in on the recruiting trail is getting him noticed and may well propel the team to postseason heights by 2025 or 2026.
Kalen DeBoer faces uphill climb in 2024 at Alabama
Away games at a not-mentioned Wisconsin, Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma are major tests for DeBoer in year one A.S. (after Saban) while their (lack of) luck of the draw gives them a revenge game opportunity for Georgia and a dark horse Mizzou team.
There are still elite holdovers from the end of the Saban era at major positions, and much of last year's roster will not have to adjust to new coaches. BamaOnline's Clint Lamb seems to believe the Tide isn't having issues transitioning to the new regime.
“I’m not saying there wasn’t energy at Nick Saban practices, but I feel like guys are having a little bit more fun," Lamb said. "It’s also laser focused and I think that’s a really good combination…”
If that's true, good for them. But under most circumstances, the situation in Tuscaloosa would require some patience. But the mullet A's have a "Bama Standard" that DeBoer will have to meet in order to stay in the Bammers' good graces.