How Does Alabama Maintain Intensity on the Road?

The Crimson Tide is undefeated at home under Kalen DeBoer, with wins over highly respected opponents such as Georgia, South Carolina, and Auburn last season. However, on the road, Alabama has suffered some embarrassing losses to Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, and, most recently, Florida State.

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Maintaining intensity on the road is something that separates good teams from great teams. Anybody can win at home when the crowd is in your favor, but to go on the road and suck the life out of opposing stadiums is something that great teams, teams that can compete for a national championship, can do seemingly every week. It's something Alabama has struggled with since 2021. Alabama's coaching staff is aware of the struggles, but feels like they have a good game plan to go on the road and combat some of the struggles we've seen so far under the new regime, outside of Wisconsin and LSU last season.

"That's something that we've gotta become more consistent as a football team, of how we handle adversity on the road," Wommack said during Monday's press conference. "And I can't think of a better place than being able to test and prove that than Athens, Georgia, this upcoming Saturday. So, looking forward to the game, and there's a lot of work to be done between now and then. And certainly our players have done a great job in the bye week in preparing ourselves to kind of get a jump on the week. So, we're in a good place, looking forward to the work in the week ahead.”

"What I've asked them to do is just really look at their process. This is the way it should always be … you're always trying to just make things better," Kalen DeBoer said on Monday. "I don't care if it's how they take notes. What's that system? Is it color-coded ink that you use? How can you just make it better for you to be more successful?

"I see that with these guys. I see that with them trying to find little ways to get better, maybe with treatments, their schedules, they pour so much into it, but you can always make things better and be smarter about it. When it comes to practice on the field, I can just see that we're focused on moving with purpose. Everything we do, just move with an urgency level that just has great body language and becomes contagious across the team. I see that. And the actions support the desires and goals they have as a team. It, again, goes back to everything I've ever asked them to do; they've always responded. That's what I've asked them to focus on.

"It's never over until it's over," DeBoer continued. "I challenged the guys to watch some football this weekend, and we pulled up a game or two and tried to learn from what other teams did, and what happened to them, good and bad. You fight until the very last play, and that's whether you're ahead or whether you're on the wrong end of it at that time. Last year (against Georgia) was exactly one that we lived out. It was great. Then it was hard. Then we found a way. You play because crazy things happen. You play because you love to compete, and that's what our guys are going to do here on Saturday.

Discipline is a big factor in deciding games, especially on the road. Alabama has yet to have a game under Kalen DeBoer where the Crimson Tide is penalized less than the opposing team, and in the SEC, one penalty, one mistake, can be the difference in victory or defeat.

"Yeah, I mean, not every game, but a lot of these games you have in the SEC come down to one possession," DeBoer said. "Going into the fourth quarter, when you have games that are that close, it's a play here or a play there that keeps a drive alive. A lot of times, it comes down to penalties; there's an extra execution piece that's really important throughout the game, but you don't know what that penalty is. Is it the one that extends a drive in the first quarter, fourth quarter. You've got to be able to be focused and be disciplined for four quarters and more if needed."

Alabama will face Georgia this Saturday in Athens, Georgia. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.