Alabama's win over USF propelled Tide to memorable 2023 run; can history repeat itself?

Before the 2024 college football season got underway, Nick Saban picked Georgia and Texas to play in the SEC championship game.

Saban, who retired in January after 17 seasons and six national championships at Alabama, now works for ESPN as part of the "College GameDay" crew. He was at SEC media days in July, which is when he made his conference title prediction. And it immediately caught the attention of his former players.

"He always said, ‘Don't let some guy who lives in his mom's basement determine how you feel,'" Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker said at the time with a hint of sarcasm. "I'm not going to let a guy who plays golf all day determine how I feel."

"I don't deal in hypotheticals," Booker added later. "[Saban] taught me that, so he would be glad to hear me say that."

While Booker's quotes were playful and quickly went viral, this Alabama team does have some improvements to make if it truly wants to prove Saban wrong. The new-look Crimson Tide, now coached by Kalen DeBoer, are coming off a 42-16 win over South Florida in which they scored 28 points in the final 10 minutes to pull away. 

This week, No. 4 Alabama is working on leaving that game behind and looking ahead to its showdown against Wisconsin in Madison on Saturday (12 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App).

"This isn't a wakeup call or nothing like that," DeBoer told reporters after the USF game. "It's nothing like that. It's just keep raising the standard. I think this game last year was an important one that propelled them last year, and it will probably be the same this year. That's my hope."

That is the question. A year ago, following a dramatic loss to Texas at home, Alabama went to Tampa to play South Florida. The Tide beat the Bulls 17-3, but quarterback Jalen Milroe didn't play after an inconsistent performance in the loss to the Longhorns. Instead, Saban opted to play quarterbacks Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson, who struggled offensively.

Milroe learned from that experience and used it as positive motivation. He earned his starting job back the following week and led Alabama to a win over then-No. 15 Ole Miss. The Tide won the rest of their regular-season games (which included gritty wins over Tennessee, LSU, and Auburn), beat No. 1 Georgia in the SEC championship game and clinched a spot in the College Football Playoff. Milroe became one of the hottest names in the sport and was a Heisman Trophy contender.

As for this year, Milroe and the Tide are off to a 2-0 start. The Tide crushed Western Kentucky, 63-0, to open the season, but were exposed by USF in Week 2, despite the victory. Alabama committed 13 penalties for 120 yards, turned the ball over, and narrowly led 14-13 entering the fourth quarter before going on a scoring frenzy to close out the game. 

Credit the offense for finishing strong, but that tactic might not work on Sept. 28 when No. 1 Georgia comes to Tuscaloosa. Or later on in the season when Alabama visits No. 7 Tennessee and No. 16 LSU, or when DeBoer's team hosts No. 6 Missouri.

It might not work against the Badgers on Saturday, in what should be a raucous Camp Randall Stadium. Which is why this week could be a pivotal one for DeBoer's team. Alabama made a run to the CFP under Saban last year and was able to rebound after a slow start. Can this group clean up its mistakes and do the same thing under a new coach?

Alabama hasn't suffered a loss in the first two weeks of the season, but the team has endured adversity. When Saban announced his retirement, many top players entered the transfer portal. Those who stayed developed a bond, and leaders like Milroe and defensive back Malachi Moore galvanized the team during that period of uncertainty.

At media days in July, players explained how they moved on from that moment.

"Togetherness really helps to stabilize a locker room during a period of change," Booker said. "This is the tightest knit group in my three years of being here because we have been through an experience together. We can all look at each other no matter what we're going through and be like, ‘OK, this guy stayed when it was hard. We've been looking at each other in the locker room saying, ‘This is my brother. He stayed here for me.'"

That togetherness will be tested on Saturday.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.

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