Jumbo Package: ESPN GameDay, Donald Trump, potential heavy rain headed to Tuscaloosa this weekend
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Happy Monday, everyone. Alabama took care of one set of Bulldogs on Saturday, but now must face a much bigger and badder set of Dawgs this weekend.
Alabama moved up just one spot off a historic SEC win to just outside the top five ahead of a huge game against Georgia at home next weekend.
Alabama moved from No. 7 to No. 6 in the poll after beating then-No. 16 Mississippi State 56-23. It was the most points a ranked home team had given up during a regulation game in SEC history. Alabama jumped undefeated Indiana which fell to No. 7. The loss dropped the Bulldogs one spot to No. 17.
Alabama gets No. 2 Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. The Crimson Tide have won the last two regular-season games against Georgia, although it lost the SEC Championship Game to the Bulldogs last year.
When these two teams meet, it’s usually the nation’s marquee matchup of the week and one of the most hyped of the year. This time is no exception, and it’s going to be a circus.
President Donald Trump announced this past Friday that he will attend the SEC showdown in Tuscaloosa. It marks the third time that Trump has come to Bryant-Denny Stadium in the last several years, as he did so for the 2024 Georgia thriller (Alabama won 41-34) and the Tide’s 2019 loss to LSU (46-41 in a game filled with numerous current NFL Pro Bowlers). Additionally, Nick Saban and ESPN’s College GameDay crew will set up on the quad in Tuscaloosa for its weekly pregame show.
Something to keep an eye on: a tropical storm is expected to be in play next weekend, meaning strong rain and wind is a possibility for this marquee matchup.
We’ll keep an eye on the weather report throughout the week. The Mississippi State game was supposed to be a washout, but turned out to be nice.
Alabama fans are loving this physical brand of football.
The rushing attack has been night-and-day better than it was a season ago. The running backs, offensive line and tight ends all deserve credit. The big men up front specifically served plenty of pancakes.
“Bringing coach (Adrian) Klemm in, that’s the biggest piece,” center Racin Delgatty said. “He’s physical, physical, physical. He’s trying to dominate the line of scrimmage and put guys on their backs.”
Paired with Russell’s big playmaking ability, and the offense has been a juggernaut when it gets rolling.
The physicality extends to the defense, too. Alabama’s front gave Mississippi State all sorts of problems, to the tune of five sacks.
Thus far, this squad has played with passion and seems to be on a mission. May that mission continue on Saturday.
Keelon Russell spoke about why we saw multiple back shoulder throws in Starkville.
“We watched film,” Russell said. “We understood the assignment this week. We were going to have a lot of opportunities to back-shoulder dudes this week.”
So, Alabama worked on it throughout the week. Russell knew the opportunity would be there.
“We could get back-shoulder fades,” Russell said, “and we had home runs on them.”
Russell also found Scott earlier on that drive for a 25-yard gain on a back-shoulder throw.
“We wanted to emphasize back shoulder,” Scott said. “We felt we could pretty much keep the DB where we wanted him, and Keelon was going to throw the ball where we could grab it.”
Kalen DeBoer spoke about how they were able to make Kamario Taylor uncomfortable.
“You just you know that if you can just keep coming after him, we felt like we can get there between our guys up front and what what they’re capable of, and I think that’s where it starts,” DeBoer said. “And just if you can keep Kamario from being able to throw early and quick and make him hold on to it for just a little bit longer, just keep hustling, keep straining, and you’ll find a way to get home. But I think guys are all playing together. We’re not leaving these glaring windows and lanes for quarterbacks to scramble really over the last few weeks.”
Taylor completed just 56 percent of his passes, by far his lowest percentage of the season. He also had three total turnovers with two interceptions and a fumble before exiting the game in the fourth quarter.
You can bet that Georgia will be using a similar strategy to try and disrupt Keelon this weekend. He has shown rapid growth, but Kentucky was able to get after him early in the season and results weren’t great. Georgia’s front seven is no joke. Starting linebackers Raylen Wilson and Chris Cole are both elite athletes, with Cole hitting 22 mph on John Mateer’s blooper fumble a couple weeks ago. If Alabama is able to light up this group, then there may be no stopping them. That is going to be a tall mountain to climb though.
When a team knows that the QB is elite, there is just a different urgency to everything.
Alabama, once mighty Alabama, was picked only sixth in the preseason SEC poll. Only three lonely souls out of 164 picked the Crimson Tide to win the conference.
And to be clear, DeBoer is not completely vindicated yet. But if vindication is coming, it’s because of two key things that have been revealed in the first five games.
First: Russell. The sophomore, a five-star recruit two years ago, won the starting job this summer and has lifted the potential of the entire offense. He can make big plays running or throwing, and at key times. Russell broke Mississippi State’s spirits with several long third-down completions, just as impressive as his three touchdown passes and one touchdown run.
“Man, those are the best, no better feeling than when Keelon throws a bomb on third-and-long and it’s caught,” Delgatty said. “We have faith that we just have to give him time, that he’ll make plays.”
Nicole Auerbach notes that this Alabama offense looks more like DeBoer’s Washington squads.
Now that’s what a Kalen DeBoer team is supposed to look like. We all remember what Michael Penix Jr. looked like throwing to all those future NFL draft picks. It was an insanely fun and creative offense, and there were just so many different receivers who could break a game open. This year’s Alabama offense reminds me of that, led masterfully by quarterback Keelon Russell.
The Crimson Tide have scored 45 or more points in their first five games. It’s the first time Alabama has opened its season with five games of 45 or more points since 2018. That team was pretty good, too, huh?
Even Gannett’s resident Vol Blake Toppmeyer is having a hard time finding much to criticize.
Is Alabama back? It’s perhaps a week too soon to make that proclamation — let’s see how Russell fares against Kirby Smart’s defense — but the possibility is in play.
Oh, and there’s this: Kalen DeBoer’s record through 33 games at Alabama is identical to Saban’s at that juncture. True, the situations each inherited were starkly different, but you can forget about any murmurs of a hot seat in Alabama. Sorry to break it to the folks on “First Take,” but DeBoer shot the hot seat into the sun. Way out in Southern California, USC is probably casting a wistful eye at DeBoer’s success.
Will Reichard led what was another strong weekend for former Alabama players in the NFL.
Minnesota Vikings 15, Miami Dolphins 10
For the second time in four games this season, former Alabama kicker Will Reichard provided the Vikings with all of their points as they remain undefeated in 2026. Reichard went 5 for 5 with his longest field goal coming from 50 yards.
Former Auburn quarterback Malik Willis struggled to get the wheels of the Dolphins offense moving only passing for 85 yards in the loss.
Last, this nugget from Pat Forde raised some eyebrows.
A Stricklin-Kiffin arrangement would always be something of a forced marriage—two very different personalities, with very different appetites for chaos and controversy. But both believed they could make it work. Stricklin’s job was conceivably on the line with this hire, and Kiffin wanted to go somewhere with championship pedigree.
There was a meeting in Oxford, Miss. Reports were that it didn’t go well, though some sources with knowledge of the sit-down dispute that. Regardless, Kiffin and agent Jimmy Sexton shifted their sights to LSU, which could offer a more coach-friendly contract and Kiffin-friendly autonomy. Put it this way: Florida would not have been nearly as receptive to Kiffin’s push to add NFL players to the roster, in direct conflict with the rest of the SEC.
“LSU was going to give him anything he wanted,” says a source familiar with the process as it was unfolding.
The article was about Sumrall, who Florida fans aren’t necessarily so giddy about after watching Mizzou run all over the Gators. LSU was desperate enough to hire Kiffin with the understanding that NCAA and SEC rules would be ignored. Florida was not.
Shocking, isn’t it?
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.
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