Tucker’s Alabama Record Prediction
Credit: University of Alabama Athletics
RECORD PREDICTION: 10-2
It’s a new age in Tuscaloosa as Nick Saban has retired from coaching and passed the baton to Kalen DeBoer.
DeBoer is a proven winner, amassing a 104-12 overall record between stops at Sioux Falls, Fresno State, and Washington.
But the SEC is undoubtedly a step up. It’s reasonable to expect a small step back for Alabama, but it won’t be the step many SEC fans are hoping for.
The first game of the DeBoer era should be a dominant win over Western Kentucky in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Tide’s ugly win at USF last year was less about getting a win and more about Nick Saban proving Jalen Milroe was his best available quarterback. The Bulls will have improved under Alex Golesh, but it still shouldn’t be a tight game.
The Tide goes to Wisconsin the following week. The Badgers have made a concerted effort to throw the ball more under Luke Fickell. Given it will be early in the season, Alabama will have its work cut out in Camp Randall, but I still like the Tide to come out on top.
Georgia will be Alabama’s first loss. Home field advantage will keep this one close, but the machine that Georgia has become will be too much for the Tide.
The games at Vanderbilt and against South Carolina will be wins, and not close ones.
The Third Saturday of October should be a dogfight. I think this one will be tight, but Milroe’s big game experience will lend itself well for a Tide victory.
Missouri will probably come to Bryant-Denny Stadium undefeated, but that won’t be a 7-0 full of difficult tests. It could be a close game, but I don’t envision a way Alabama loses.
The Tide’s second loss will be in Death Valley. LSU will have had time to develop, and neither Milroe nor DeBoer have played and coached in Baton Rouge, so I like the Bayou Bengals to sneak out with the win.
Mercer is a free space ahead of the Tide’s road test at Oklahoma. The Sooners will have made strides on the offensive side, but Jalen Milroe should be able to guide the Tide to its ninth win of the year.
The Camback was the last Iron Bowl Auburn won in Tuscaloosa, and 2014 was the only year it’s been competitive at Bryant-Denny since. The Tigers should be much improved at the end of the season, but I still like the Tide to win by at least two scores.
Being a name brand should carry some weight for Bama in terms of a College Football Playoff conversation if it goes 10-2. Compared to some of my other 10-2 predictions, this one is of the stronger schedules.
