16 SEC Teams in 16 Days.....Alabama Will Miss The College Football Playoffs in 2024

We are smack in the middle of the Dog Days of Summer. And let's be honest..... all of our minds are starting to wonder towards the monster football season ahead. With that in mind I am cranking up the college football content to give the people what they want!

Being the Southern gentleman that I think I am, my mind is on SEC football. And what better way to get in the spirit than previews of all 16 teams? (Texas & Oklahoma are new members this fall)

Let's start at the top of the SEC alphabet with the University of Alabama. The winds of change are FINALLY blowing for the defending SEC Champions as Nick Saban retired after DESTROYING college football for almost 2 decades.... THANK GOD. (Alabama hired Washington Coach Kalen DeBoer to replace him)

Alabama is in unfamiliar territory being picked to only finish 4th in the SEC and the Tide are currently 8-1 on Draft Kings to repeat as SEC Champion. Let's take a look at the questions facing Bama entering the 2024 season.

1) How Will Kalen DeBoer adjust to the SEC?

DeBoer is a fantastic coach. Hell he almost won the national championship at Washington last season after barely being picked in the top 25 pre-season. But he also has ZERO ties to the South and there could be an adjustment period. No one is questioning his offense or in game management that's for damn sure after the job he did last season. 

What is the saying? You never want to replace a legend. Well that is exactly what he is trying to do coming after Saban. The talent cupboard is FAR from bare tho. As always, the Crimson Tide have a ton of talent.

2) How will QB Jalen Milroe do in OC Nick Sheridan's offense?

DeBoer was set to bring star Washington OC Ryan Grubbs with him to Tuscaloosa until the Seattle Seahawks came calling. DeBoer hired Washington TE Coach Nick Sheridan as Plan B. Is he up for the task? DeBoer is an offensive coach so he should still have his hands all over the offense.

Bama QB Jalen Milroe does two things well.... Run and Chunk deep balls. After watching Washington QB Micheal Penix make it rain down the field last season, Tide fans have to be excited about this. Bama has an experienced offensive line, solid RBs but is not as loaded at WR as they have been the last few years.

Milroe struggled early last season but came on strong down the stretch. His confidence should not be an issue after leading Bama to the SEC Title. Milroe should be fine in this offense but there could be some growing pains early. His starting experience from last year should help this offense improve some in 2024. 

The Tide have a sneaky road trip to Wisconsin Week 2 that will be a measuring stick before the big bad Georgia Bulldogs come to T-Town in late September.

3) How much will the defense regress under new DC Kane Womack?

With Nick Saban retiring, there has to be some regression to the mean right?!?!? The Tide also lost star pass rusher Dallas Turner (1st round Vikings) and are going to be looking for defensive play makers to step up.

There is depth up front but no super stars. Womack runs a 4-2-5 which is going to be a change from the 3-4 Saban preferred (Although they did run 4-2-5 some on passing downs). The secondary is also not the most experienced but there is some talent on the back end.

Womack did a damn good job as head coach at South Alabama inheriting a defense that was not in the Top 100 and boosting them into the Top 40. He's a solid defensive mind and an ace recruiter. But I do not envy him having to live up to the golden standard of Saban.

Here is the 2024 Bama schedule.

Prediction 9-3

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The Tide will start out 3-0 with easy home wins over Western Kentucky & South Florida before winning an ugly road game at Wisconsin. 

Although they have a bye before the huge showdown against Georgia, that is a tough ask even in Tuscaloosa. I expect the Tide to win the rest of their home games including beating a tough Mizzou squad & their arch rival Auburn.

The SEC road schedule is problematic with trips to Knoxville, Baton Rouge & Norman. There's nothing harder than winning on the road in college football in the hostile environments of the SEC. And Bama will always be everyone's Super Bowl. 

I believe the Tide drop two out of those three tough road games and finish 9-3 just outside of the 12 team playoffs in year 1 under DeBoer. 

I am sure no Tide fans are going to be mad at me for this prediction at all. They can't win 10 games every single year, right?!?!