Latest news with #DeBoer
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Alabama's Kalen DeBoer faces Nick Saban pressure in Year 2
So let's begin with that cold slap in the face, and the undeniable question that follows: has Alabama lost its mojo? "We fell short at making the playoffs," said Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer. "It's as simple as that." But is it? Is it as cut and dry as Alabama, if it had one more regular season win in DeBoer's first season in Tuscaloosa, would've made the College Football Playoff and all would've been well in the land of The Standard is The Standard? Alabama had a loaded team in 2024, a roster full of four- and five-star recruits and a fourth-year quarterback (Jalen Milroe) who was one of the nation's most exciting players in 2023. A team that won the SEC championship, and advanced (again) to the CFP before losing in overtime on the last play of the game to the team that won it all. So it should come as no surprise that the first question DeBoer heard on the big stage at SEC Media Days, his followup performance to the unthinkable task of replacing Saban, was living up to the standard set by the greatest coach in college football history. With the backdrop of that rumor that the Nicktator was returning to college football. "We've got to be better in the big moments," DeBoer said. "Whether it was the belief or whether it was the confidence." UNWANTED TALK: Nick Saban rumor is last thing Alabama needs SATURDAY SHRINES: SEC college football stadiums rankings This was never going to be easy for DeBoer, or anyone who decided to jump into the meatgrinder that is Alabama football and replacing Saban. There's a always transition, a buy-in from players recruited by one staff and playing for another. But not like this. Not losing to Vanderbilt, the SEC's annual tomato can. Not losing by 21 to the worst Oklahoma team in nearly four decades -- with a spot in the CFP on the line. Not falling to five-loss, one-dimensional Michigan in a bowl game that could've salvaged the season. Ten wins would've looked a whole lot better than nine. Then came the final, inglorious kick to the groin: Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt's dynamic quarterback, went on a national podcast last month and called out Alabama. "I have no doubt we have the guys to do it," Pavia said of beating Alabama again. To be fair, Pavia was responding to Tide star receiver Ryan Williams, who told Jon Gruden, "We don't call them revenge games. We're going to kill an ant with a sledgehammer." I ask you, who exactly is whistling through the graveyard here? EARLY FOCUS: LSU will have no excuses in opener at Clemson Pavia and his group of overlooked overachievers, or Williams and an Alabama team that had the talent to win it all last year and didn't? An Alabama team that maybe, just maybe, took its foot off the pedal when Saban finally retired. When the coach who demanded perfection and abhorred mediocrity - the foundation of The Standard, the secret sauce of Alabama's mojo - decided he'd had enough and strolled to a comfortable seat in, of all places, the media. Saban talked endlessly about the human condition, and how many opted for doing the easy thing instead of the hard thing. The commitment it took to not only win a national title, but do it again. And again. When the guy pushing and prodding and emotionally and mentally motivating finally walked away, it's only natural to think there would be a letdown. Like a Saban team losing by three touchdowns with the CFP on the line. Like a Saban team getting physically dominated by a five-loss Michigan team with the salve of a 10th win there for the taking. The Alabama season last year, as much as anything, revolves around a 30-minute joy ride against Georgia last September, and 30 more white-knuckle minutes of holding on to beat the Bulldogs in a game that showed what could be. The good, and the bad. What Alabama can be under DeBoer when everything is clicking, and what the Tide will be when the taskmaster is away -- and The Standard isn't met. "The first year is kind of frantic with a new coach, and everybody's unsure," said Alabama tackle Kayden Proctor. "I would say (DeBoer) is more comfortable." How could he not be? He has the most talented team in the SEC, and has his right hand man (offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb) back in the fold to settle an inexperienced and uneasy quarterback room. He has huge contract with a $60 million buyout, and more important, he has a track record of winning big. Why wouldn't it happen at Alabama, even with the shadow of Saban hanging over his every move? "All disrespect will be addressed," Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson said. That's not a DeBoer thing. That's a mojo thing. Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
San Francisco Chronicle
7 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
SEC coaches and players defend their dominance amid Big Ten's recent success
ATLANTA (AP) — There was not a Big Ten player, coach or fan was in sight this week as the College Football Hall of Fame hosted SEC Media Days. Still, the SEC's No. 1 rival found its way into conversations all week long. It's no secret the rivalry has intensified in recent years. Over the last decade, the SEC has won six of the 10 national championships. Two were won by Clemson in that stretch but the last two were won by Big Ten rivals, Michigan last year and Ohio State in January. The recent success has put a dent in the SEC's reputation as the nation's dominant conference. SEC coaches, players and Commissioner Greg Sankey have no question they're still No. 1. 'For all those of you who like to speculate about super-conferences, welcome to one," Sankey said to open this week's event. "We have common-sense geography, restored rivalries, record-breaking viewership. If you take the consumed viewership hours on linear TV, almost 40% of that viewership was focused on games involving Southeastern Conference universities and teams. Big Ten was next, right around 30%.' The SEC also boasted 79 NFL draft picks in 2025, more than any other conference and beating the Big Ten by eight. No one put it more plainly this week than Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz when asked if he thought the SEC was the top conference in college football. 'The top? The top, as in number of draft picks in the NFL? Top as in most viewership? Overall top, deepest conference in college football? Look, the more teams you add to the tournament, there's greater variance to it,' Drinkwitz said. 'You've got 16 of the toughest competitors in the world who are head coaches in this league. We're all driven to achieve the best, whether that's internally or externally.' The Big Ten and SEC draw outsized attention in college football for other reasons. The two will soon have a bigger say over the format of the College Football Playoff — they currently differ on that — and their teams are in the mix for the top recruits every year. Early bragging rights this season between the two behemoths include Texas at Ohio State in a CFP rematch from last season, Michigan at Oklahoma and Wisconsin at Alabama, all before mid-September. The real measuring stick in this league rivalry is always going to be the postseason. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer knows excellence is the expectation when it comes to SEC football. 'That's our responsibility, to be at the top, right? That's the expectation. I know at Alabama, but also the expectation for the SEC as a whole. I still feel that the SEC top to bottom is as strong as you'll find,' DeBoer said. DeBoer isn't wrong when he says it's the expectation. In fact, it's the standard and fan bases from Austin to Gainesville go beyond team cheers on game day. 'S-E-C, S-E-C' chants on a fall Saturday are not a rare occurrence. The excitement is part of what drew Cam Ball to Arkansas. 'Growing up, my father would wake me up on Saturdays. If we didn't go to the barber shop, we was at home, just sitting on the couch watching the game, mainly watching SEC games,' he said. Playing in the conference he grew up watching still feels surreal. 'Sometimes in a game, it's the first play, and I'll just look up and see an SEC opponent's helmet, and I'll be like, 'Wow, I'm really here. God is good.' This conference in general, it's just a blessing to be here,' Ball said. Alex Afari Jr.'s recruiting journey ended promptly after receiving the call from Kentucky. It was his first and only SEC offer. The decision was easy: Who wouldn't want to play SEC ball? 'Playing in the SEC means a lot," Afari said. "I always want to play against the best players. When I got the SEC offer and that's my only one — I had like Big Ten offers or whatever, but this is my only SEC offer, and I took that chance.' To Afari, no other conference compares. 'It's not even close, really. I feel like we just got the o-linemen, the d-linemen are just different, the skill players as well. We put the most players in the NFL," he said. 'Every SEC team can beat each other, every SEC team is not weak, so I feel like that's the difference. We don't have any bad teams in the SEC.' ___
Winnipeg Free Press
7 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
SEC coaches and players defend their dominance amid Big Ten's recent success
ATLANTA (AP) — There was not a Big Ten player, coach or fan was in sight this week as the College Football Hall of Fame hosted SEC Media Days. Still, the SEC's No. 1 rival found its way into conversations all week long. It's no secret the rivalry has intensified in recent years. Over the last decade, the SEC has won six of the 10 national championships. Two were won by Clemson in that stretch but the last two were won by Big Ten rivals, Michigan last year and Ohio State in January. The recent success has put a dent in the SEC's reputation as the nation's dominant conference. SEC coaches, players and Commissioner Greg Sankey have no question they're still No. 1. 'For all those of you who like to speculate about super-conferences, welcome to one,' Sankey said to open this week's event. 'We have common-sense geography, restored rivalries, record-breaking viewership. If you take the consumed viewership hours on linear TV, almost 40% of that viewership was focused on games involving Southeastern Conference universities and teams. Big Ten was next, right around 30%.' The SEC also boasted 79 NFL draft picks in 2025, more than any other conference and beating the Big Ten by eight. No one put it more plainly this week than Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz when asked if he thought the SEC was the top conference in college football. 'The top? The top, as in number of draft picks in the NFL? Top as in most viewership? Overall top, deepest conference in college football? Look, the more teams you add to the tournament, there's greater variance to it,' Drinkwitz said. 'You've got 16 of the toughest competitors in the world who are head coaches in this league. We're all driven to achieve the best, whether that's internally or externally.' The Big Ten and SEC draw outsized attention in college football for other reasons. The two will soon have a bigger say over the format of the College Football Playoff — they currently differ on that — and their teams are in the mix for the top recruits every year. Early bragging rights this season between the two behemoths include Texas at Ohio State in a CFP rematch from last season, Michigan at Oklahoma and Wisconsin at Alabama, all before mid-September. The real measuring stick in this league rivalry is always going to be the postseason. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer knows excellence is the expectation when it comes to SEC football. 'That's our responsibility, to be at the top, right? That's the expectation. I know at Alabama, but also the expectation for the SEC as a whole. I still feel that the SEC top to bottom is as strong as you'll find,' DeBoer said. DeBoer isn't wrong when he says it's the expectation. In fact, it's the standard and fan bases from Austin to Gainesville go beyond team cheers on game day. 'S-E-C, S-E-C' chants on a fall Saturday are not a rare occurrence. The excitement is part of what drew Cam Ball to Arkansas. 'Growing up, my father would wake me up on Saturdays. If we didn't go to the barber shop, we was at home, just sitting on the couch watching the game, mainly watching SEC games,' he said. Playing in the conference he grew up watching still feels surreal. 'Sometimes in a game, it's the first play, and I'll just look up and see an SEC opponent's helmet, and I'll be like, 'Wow, I'm really here. God is good.' This conference in general, it's just a blessing to be here,' Ball said. Alex Afari Jr.'s recruiting journey ended promptly after receiving the call from Kentucky. It was his first and only SEC offer. The decision was easy: Who wouldn't want to play SEC ball? 'Playing in the SEC means a lot,' Afari said. 'I always want to play against the best players. When I got the SEC offer and that's my only one — I had like Big Ten offers or whatever, but this is my only SEC offer, and I took that chance.' To Afari, no other conference compares. 'It's not even close, really. I feel like we just got the o-linemen, the d-linemen are just different, the skill players as well. We put the most players in the NFL,' he said. 'Every SEC team can beat each other, every SEC team is not weak, so I feel like that's the difference. We don't have any bad teams in the SEC.' ___ AP college football:
Hamilton Spectator
7 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
SEC coaches and players defend their dominance amid Big Ten's recent success
ATLANTA (AP) — There was not a Big Ten player, coach or fan was in sight this week as the College Football Hall of Fame hosted SEC Media Days. Still, the SEC's No. 1 rival found its way into conversations all week long. It's no secret the rivalry has intensified in recent years. Over the last decade, the SEC has won six of the 10 national championships. Two were won by Clemson in that stretch but the last two were won by Big Ten rivals, Michigan last year and Ohio State in January. The recent success has put a dent in the SEC's reputation as the nation's dominant conference. SEC coaches, players and Commissioner Greg Sankey have no question they're still No. 1. 'For all those of you who like to speculate about super-conferences, welcome to one,' Sankey said to open this week's event. 'We have common-sense geography, restored rivalries, record-breaking viewership. If you take the consumed viewership hours on linear TV, almost 40% of that viewership was focused on games involving Southeastern Conference universities and teams. Big Ten was next, right around 30%.' The SEC also boasted 79 NFL draft picks in 2025, more than any other conference and beating the Big Ten by eight. No one put it more plainly this week than Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz when asked if he thought the SEC was the top conference in college football. 'The top? The top, as in number of draft picks in the NFL? Top as in most viewership? Overall top, deepest conference in college football? Look, the more teams you add to the tournament, there's greater variance to it,' Drinkwitz said. 'You've got 16 of the toughest competitors in the world who are head coaches in this league. We're all driven to achieve the best, whether that's internally or externally.' The Big Ten and SEC draw outsized attention in college football for other reasons. The two will soon have a bigger say over the format of the College Football Playoff — they currently differ on that — and their teams are in the mix for the top recruits every year. Early bragging rights this season between the two behemoths include Texas at Ohio State in a CFP rematch from last season, Michigan at Oklahoma and Wisconsin at Alabama, all before mid-September. The real measuring stick in this league rivalry is always going to be the postseason. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer knows excellence is the expectation when it comes to SEC football. 'That's our responsibility, to be at the top, right? That's the expectation. I know at Alabama, but also the expectation for the SEC as a whole. I still feel that the SEC top to bottom is as strong as you'll find,' DeBoer said. DeBoer isn't wrong when he says it's the expectation. In fact, it's the standard and fan bases from Austin to Gainesville go beyond team cheers on game day. 'S-E-C, S-E-C' chants on a fall Saturday are not a rare occurrence. The excitement is part of what drew Cam Ball to Arkansas. 'Growing up, my father would wake me up on Saturdays. If we didn't go to the barber shop, we was at home, just sitting on the couch watching the game, mainly watching SEC games,' he said. Playing in the conference he grew up watching still feels surreal. 'Sometimes in a game, it's the first play, and I'll just look up and see an SEC opponent's helmet, and I'll be like, 'Wow, I'm really here. God is good.' This conference in general, it's just a blessing to be here,' Ball said. Alex Afari Jr.'s recruiting journey ended promptly after receiving the call from Kentucky. It was his first and only SEC offer. The decision was easy: Who wouldn't want to play SEC ball? 'Playing in the SEC means a lot,' Afari said. 'I always want to play against the best players. When I got the SEC offer and that's my only one — I had like Big Ten offers or whatever, but this is my only SEC offer, and I took that chance.' To Afari, no other conference compares. 'It's not even close, really. I feel like we just got the o-linemen, the d-linemen are just different, the skill players as well. We put the most players in the NFL,' he said. 'Every SEC team can beat each other, every SEC team is not weak, so I feel like that's the difference. We don't have any bad teams in the SEC.' ___ AP college football:
7 days ago
- Sport
SEC coaches and players defend their dominance amid Big Ten's recent success
ATLANTA -- There was not a Big Ten player, coach or fan was in sight this week as the College Football Hall of Fame hosted SEC Media Days. Still, the SEC's No. 1 rival found its way into conversations all week long. It's no secret the rivalry has intensified in recent years. Over the last decade, the SEC has won six of the 10 national championships. Two were won by Clemson in that stretch but the last two were won by Big Ten rivals, Michigan last year and Ohio State in January. The recent success has put a dent in the SEC's reputation as the nation's dominant conference. SEC coaches, players and Commissioner Greg Sankey have no question they're still No. 1. 'For all those of you who like to speculate about super-conferences, welcome to one," Sankey said to open this week's event. "We have common-sense geography, restored rivalries, record-breaking viewership. If you take the consumed viewership hours on linear TV, almost 40% of that viewership was focused on games involving Southeastern Conference universities and teams. Big Ten was next, right around 30%.' The SEC also boasted 79 NFL draft picks in 2025, more than any other conference and beating the Big Ten by eight. No one put it more plainly this week than Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz when asked if he thought the SEC was the top conference in college football. 'The top? The top, as in number of draft picks in the NFL? Top as in most viewership? Overall top, deepest conference in college football? Look, the more teams you add to the tournament, there's greater variance to it,' Drinkwitz said. 'You've got 16 of the toughest competitors in the world who are head coaches in this league. We're all driven to achieve the best, whether that's internally or externally.' The Big Ten and SEC draw outsized attention in college football for other reasons. The two will soon have a bigger say over the format of the College Football Playoff — they currently differ on that — and their teams are in the mix for the top recruits every year. Early bragging rights this season between the two behemoths include Texas at Ohio State in a CFP rematch from last season, Michigan at Oklahoma and Wisconsin at Alabama, all before mid-September. The real measuring stick in this league rivalry is always going to be the postseason. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer knows excellence is the expectation when it comes to SEC football. 'That's our responsibility, to be at the top, right? That's the expectation. I know at Alabama, but also the expectation for the SEC as a whole. I still feel that the SEC top to bottom is as strong as you'll find,' DeBoer said. DeBoer isn't wrong when he says it's the expectation. In fact, it's the standard and fan bases from Austin to Gainesville go beyond team cheers on game day. 'S-E-C, S-E-C' chants on a fall Saturday are not a rare occurrence. The excitement is part of what drew Cam Ball to Arkansas. 'Growing up, my father would wake me up on Saturdays. If we didn't go to the barber shop, we was at home, just sitting on the couch watching the game, mainly watching SEC games,' he said. Playing in the conference he grew up watching still feels surreal. 'Sometimes in a game, it's the first play, and I'll just look up and see an SEC opponent's helmet, and I'll be like, 'Wow, I'm really here. God is good.' This conference in general, it's just a blessing to be here,' Ball said. Alex Afari Jr.'s recruiting journey ended promptly after receiving the call from Kentucky. It was his first and only SEC offer. The decision was easy: Who wouldn't want to play SEC ball? 'Playing in the SEC means a lot," Afari said. "I always want to play against the best players. When I got the SEC offer and that's my only one — I had like Big Ten offers or whatever, but this is my only SEC offer, and I took that chance.' To Afari, no other conference compares. 'It's not even close, really. I feel like we just got the o-linemen, the d-linemen are just different, the skill players as well. We put the most players in the NFL," he said. 'Every SEC team can beat each other, every SEC team is not weak, so I feel like that's the difference. We don't have any bad teams in the SEC.'
