Dec 20, 2025
3 min read
Michigan can wait, Cullen DeVore and Alabama are about to face the number.
Kalen DeBoer spends his time proving against Alabama, Tide goes to CFP
NORMAN, OK - Damn it.The road was on.
Hell, even Michigan wouldn't have wanted Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer after that first-round failure in the College Football Playoff.
And then the most interesting thing happened in a 34-24 victory from the back of Oklahoma: DeBoer finally, mercifully, forced the die-hard Alabama fan base - and the rest of the college football world - to buy in Like it or not.
"We always say, if you work, keep fighting, the game will come back to you," DoBoer said."Just keep splurging."
In fact, the best analogy for Debor's rocky ride is in college football's most stressful jobs.How do you say goodbye to the ubiquitous Nick Saban?
Do the incredible in the CFP game.
Forget about 2nd-and-26.Or Drive.Or Gravedigger.
None of the improbable or improbable stories from Saban's 17 seasons at Alabama can compare to DeBoer's Lazarus moment against Oklahoma, a strange and surreal game that changed the momentum of the program and DeBoer's standing.
Especially with so much riding on it.
This wasn't just any playoff game, another long streak for the most dominant program in the sport's modern era.It was a moment of vindication for DeBoer, whose first two seasons in Tuscaloosa included some mistakes that Saban, in all his championship glory, would never allow.
So, when Alabama opened the game with a 12-yard run and Oklahoma opened with 17 points, the end of the DeBoer era could be felt by the buzz in Hounslow - to say nothing of the coach's hopes in Ann Arbor.
And then strange things happened that left people in this country wondering who exactly was channeling the Sooner Magic.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that two key Oklahoma turnovers late in the second quarter -- Alabama blew a 10-point lead and completely changed the course of the game -- could have gone a long way in saving DeBoer from a brutal offseason of second-guessing a tortured Tide fan base.
If Alabama loses in its first CFP game under DeBoer, in the words of that great Tommy Castellanos, not even Nick can save it.
With the Tide losing to Oklahoma three times in 13 months, each loss coupled with missing the CFP (2024), a missed opportunity to host a CFP first-round game (November 2025) and a CFP first-round loss, DeBoer could also be DOA.
The Tide's right to ship, quarterback Ty Simpson finally played, as he did in the first half of the season, when he led the race for the Heisman Trophy, and now Alabama goes to Pasadena and will play No. 1 Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Rose Bowl.
As Simpson ran off the field at Memorial Stadium with a single red rose in his mouth as the crowd, stunned with disbelief, witnessed it, he ran up to DeBoer and wrapped him in a bear hug.The two men have been the center of concern in Alabama since early November.
Friday night is one of those nights Simpson is in Oklako City to energize each other.
He kept the ball in zone, toughened up read calls to bolster OU's defensive integrity, and drove for significant yards in the running game.He was hit in the last game, sacked four times and countless more.
And he kept coming back and shooting hard.His first fourth-down touchdown pass was to freshman Luthier Brooks to make it 17-7 late in the second quarter, and his second was a perfectly thrown deep ball to Brooks early in the third that gave Alabama its first lead of the game and ended the Wild's turnaround.
The two hits were Brooks' first of the season.
Another twist in an unlikely turn of events, which believe it or not, could be just what Alabama needs to make the season memorable.It was Alabama's best 34 minutes of the season (perhaps DeBoer's best of two seasons), a run so impressive both offensively and defensively that the idea of Indiana getting past the quarterfinals is no longer realistic.
For the first time in DeBoer's tenure at Alabama, the Tide's defense (and leadership) played a big role in key moments.For the first time in his tenure, the Tide's offense corrected itself and turned off the lights in the most important moments.
Alabama had five sacks, and held Oklahoma to 55 rushing yards on 33 carries.It was a close game in the second half, and fed Sooners quarterback John Mateer for a critical pick six that changed the momentum of the game.
Alabama is primarily a zone coverage team, but in this particular game, it ran Saban's famous Seven Up coverage, or Cover 7, late in the first half.Hybrid's man-zone coverage confused Mateer, who dropped the field to a spot where the receiver wasn't as the receiver went into an option route and faked it.
Alabama cornerback Zabian Brown intercepted a pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 17.When it was over, Alabama's 34-7 run was better than anything DeBoer's teams had produced — including two wins against Georgia.
“After that, we were asked to play some manual coverage in the second half,” Alabama defensive coordinator Ken Womack said.
Mateer was 11 of 14 for 116 yards in the first half.He was 15-of-27 in the second half, with most of his 191 yards coming in garbage time as Alabama returned to zone coverage to protect a 10-point lead.
"Just keep making plays, play after play," Alabama linebacker Deonte Lawson said."We're not done yet."
DeBoer was on the brink of a decisive blow to his short tenure, finally going to the coach who found his team 14 games into the season, whose team is now the No.1 is a legitimate threat to Indiana and the rest of the CFP field.
Somehow, Alabama avoided a 25-minute road break with DeBoer and is suddenly playing its best ball.
"There was never a pointer," DeBoer said."There are more battles ahead than many other big games out there."
They're feeling it in Fultondale, believing it in Bolly, and showing it in Muscle Shoals.The river turns again.
Alabama has its man.For now though.
Matt Hayes is the lead national college football writer for the USA TODAY Sports Network.Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
