When the UA coaching staff meets to review all that went wrong in the victory, correcting Alabama’s first-quarter sluggishness will top DeBoer’s list.
“We’ve got to start faster. This is two games in a row now where we’ve found ourselves behind,” he said. “Probably two different scenarios on how that happened, but, nonetheless, we’ve got to do a better job coming out of the gates.”
UA plays host to South Carolina next, and scoring first will be a high priority. But can it be expected? This isn’t nearly the first time Alabama has had trouble getting out of the garage under DeBoer. In his first loss as Alabama’s coach in 2024, Vanderbilt took a 13-0 lead and held on, 40-35. Michigan ran out to a 16-0 first-quarter lead to beat UA in the ReliaQuest Bowl 19-13. Last year, Alabama’s first-quarter play resulted in 7-0 deficits against Vanderbilt, Missouri and Georgia, along with 10-0 holes in both its games against Oklahoma. Remarkably enough, its blowout loss to Indiana was scoreless after a quarter.
