“That’s life in the SEC,” says DeBoer as Alabama Faces Third Consecutive Ranked Team
It's no secret how gruesome an SEC schedule can be. The Florida Gators notably pulled one of the most difficult schedules of all time this year, with eight schools ranked within the preseason top 25. Or take the South Carolina Gamecocks, for example, whose slate of October games is nearly unimaginable. Over their next five games, the average ranking of South Carolina opponents comes in at 6.8. Think about that, a month of top ten opponents.
The Crimson Tide doesn't have it quite that bad, but their start to conference play has been and will continue to be a very good litmus test for this football team. Right after being thrown into the pit of conference play against the then fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama was right at it again, welcoming the gritty, hard-nosed No. 16 Vanderbilt Commodores.
They'll head back on the road again this weekend to battle with the No. 14 Missouri Tigers and will close this five-game grind with yet another battle on the third Saturday in October against the twelfth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
Needless to say, if Alabama can come out of this run of games unscathed, they'll have as good of a shot at a playoff run as any team in the country. Kalen Deboer spoke about this stretch of games on Wednesday's Hey Coach show hosted by Chris Stewart. "I'm excited about the next opportunity. This is our third game in a row in the conference against a ranked opponent, and you know, that's life in the SEC."
Life in the SEC wasn't the kindest to the Tide last year; their 5-3 conference record was the worst fans in Tuscaloosa had seen since 2010. But that still shouldn't cause major concern. This year's team seems to have found its identity in recent weeks by showing an ability to grind out close games late in the second half, something they struggled with last year.
Alabama will need to bring all of its grind on Saturday if it wants to slow down Ahmad Hardy and the rest of this prevalent Missouri offense.