Alabama Will Have to Find Will to Win with Postseason Fate Out of Control

Chaos reigned supreme across college football, and the Crimson Tide got swept up in the mess, losing control of its destiny in the SEC and College Football Playoff.

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) gets up after throwing an interception during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Oklahoma won 24-3. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN, Okla.–– Alabama had everything it wanted in front of it and control of its own destiny for the SEC championship game and the College Football Playoff. Yet all that disappeared in the cloud of smoke coming off the back of the Sooner Schooner.

Oklahoma looked like a team that had two weeks to prepare, and Alabama didn't look like a team that wanted to play for a spot in the CFP as the Sooners rolled over the Crimson Tide, 24-3

Chaos abounded across the college football world on Saturday, making Alabama's path to the CFP even more firm if the Crimson Tide could win its final two regular season games at Oklahoma and against Auburn. Alabama instead became apart of the chaos with the loss in Norman.

Now, the Crimson Tide is in a very unfamiliar and uncomfortable position. This team now has no shot of playing for an SEC championship and a very, very small chance of making the College Football Playoff. And the upcoming Iron Bowl has gotten trickier.

Alabama (8-3, 4-3 SEC) has to find a way to refocus and win against an Auburn team (5-6, 2-5 SEC) that has nothing to lose, but a lot to gain (bowl eligibility) against a team full of players that's used to competing for championships. Kalen DeBoer will have to find a way to motivate his team in his first season as the Crimson Tide head coach.

"That’s the commitment we make to each other when we first come in here," DeBoer said after the game. "When you sign up to play for Alabama, you make that commitment to each other and the brotherhood. There’s nothing in that room right now that there’s anyone saying that it’s someone else that needs to be better. It’s win and lose as a team. We made that commitment also not just for each other, but that we’re going to finish. We’re going to finish everything we do."

One of Alabama's core values is "finish" according to quarterback Jalen Milroe.

"We can control how we fix the mistakes we made in this game and then going on to the next opponent," Milroe said.

Milroe talked about controlling the controllables and reaching the CFP is no longer in Alabama's control. The Crimson Tide will be facing an eager Auburn team in the Iron Bowl fresh off an upset victory over No. 15 Texas A&M.

After Milroe and the team's performance at LSU, it seemed like Alabama had shaken off and moved past the road struggles from the beginning of the season. But the Crimson Tide finishes DeBoer's first regular season SEC road slate with a 1-3 record.

Mistakes that plagued Alabama in previous road losses reared their ugly head again in Norman like third-down inefficiencies on offense and defense, turnovers and a non-existent running game. Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell said the Crimson Tide has to take this loss on the chin and find ways to get better against Auburn.

Malachi Moore is one of the few players on Alabama's roster who actually won a national championship with the Crimson Tide as a true freshman in 2020. He knows what it takes to win a title, and now likely will not have the chance to win another in his final season in Tuscaloosa. He still can finish his career with a perfect record against Auburn.

"I just told the team it’s really going to show us what type of man we are when things aren’t going our way," Moore said after the game. "And things are kind of out of our control right now. All we can do is play the next game because that’s all we can do. We’ve still gotta play the next game, go out there and create value for our team. Continue to play to our standard."

Alabama was in a similar position in 2022 after losing to Tennessee and LSU. Back in the four-team CFP format, the second loss all but eliminated the Crimson Tide from national championship contention in Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr.'s final season. The two would go on to be selected No. 1 and No. 3 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, but both decided to play in the remainder of Alabama's games, including the Sugar Bowl. Alabama won its final four games that year capped by the 45-20 victory over Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl.

Current captains like offensive lineman Tyler Booker are learning from that leadership. Booker said a big reason he came back to Alabama despite the offseason coaching change was the love he has for his teammates. He plans to play in any games Alabama has for the rest of the season. '

"Their leadership and the way that they played, the way that they gave their all in that Sugar Bowl really propelled the next year’s team," Booker said. "That gave us a lot of momentum. We built off of that. We made a playoff run, so we have to continue to play football. We love playing football. So however many opportunities we can get to do so, we’re going to do so to the fullest.”

DeBoer isn't used to losing either. It's not in his DNA as a coach. He had only lost 12 times over nine seasons as a collegiate head coach coming into this season. The Alabama head coach has coached in big games in the past at his previous stops. Heck, he coached in a national title game last season with Washington. But this Saturday's Iron Bowl will present a great challenge in motivation and coaching to a standard.

Only one coach in the history of Alabama football has won nine games in their first season on the job. (Frank Thomas in 1931.) DeBoer will have the chance to do that against Auburn and see if he can rally this team to truly finish strong.

"There’s a big game next week, and so we’ve got to regroup and stick together," DeBoer said. "The right things were said in there [the postgame locker room] by the guys, as much as they’re hurting. And just keep playing and have pride in who we are and finish the job.”

Read more: What Officials Told Kalen DeBoer After Ryan Williams Had Touchdown Called Back

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