Alabama DL Tim Keenan Embraces the ‘Us Against the World’ Mentality for Alabama’s Rose Bowl Return

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Alabama redshirt senior defensive lineman Tim Keenan doesn’t need reminders about what the Rose Bowl means.

He’s already lived the heartbreak that comes with it.

Keenan was in California the last time Alabama played in Pasadena, when the Crimson Tide walked off the field following a crushing loss to Michigan. The confetti fell for someone else. The feeling lingered long after. That experience, the silence, the disappointment, the weight of coming so close, still matters now.

As Alabama prepares for another Rose Bowl moment, Keenan made it clear where this team’s mindset stands.

“We’re familiar with not having anyone root for us,” Keenan said. “We all we got, we all we need.”

That statement says everything about this Alabama team and especially about a veteran like Keenan. This isn’t a group fueled by outside praise or national approval. It’s a team that understands pressure, criticism, and expectations, and has learned to thrive in it.

Keenan has become one of the emotional anchors of Alabama’s defensive front. His leadership doesn’t come from flashy quotes or social media moments, but from lived experience. He knows what it feels like to be on the wrong side of a Rose Bowl ending, and that knowledge carries weight in a locker room full of players chasing something bigger.

For Alabama, this Rose Bowl isn’t just another postseason game.

It’s win or go home.

There’s no margin for regret, no room for “almost.”

Keenan understands that better than most.

That loss to Michigan didn’t break him. It shaped him. It taught him what’s required when the stakes are highest and the spotlight is brightest. Now, he’s using that memory as fuel, not fear.

Alabama may not be the trendy pick.

They may not be the team everyone wants to see win.

But that’s nothing new.

The Crimson Tide has been here before, standing alone with nothing but belief in each other.

And for Tim Keenan, that’s more than enough.

Because when the lights come on in Pasadena, the only thing that matters isn’t who’s rooting for Alabama, it’s who’s fighting beside them.

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