Kalen DeBoer explains Alabama's head-scratching decision for last-minute travel plans to Mississippi State
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Kalen DeBoer explains Alabama's head-scratching decision for last-minute travel plans to Mississippi State originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The college football season is in full gear, as the SEC has already showing how deep it is with five undefeated teams. Two of those programs will face off on Saturday when Mississippi State hosts Alabama, but the Crimson Tide are using an unusal travel strategy before the game.
Typically, teams will travel to their road city the day before an early afternoon game, which will allow the team to get comfortable before an early rise. Kalen DeBoer's Alabama team, however, will instead leave campus on Saturday morning in an attempt avoiding any need to stay overnight in Starkville.
DeBoer made the decision in large part because the Alabama campus is not too far from the Mississippi State campus, and he hopes to benefit from that to allow his players the chance to sleep in their own beds. If the Crimson Tide lose, though, every decision DeBoer makes will see criticism.
Here's why Alabama is using an unusual travel plan on Saturday.
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Kalen DeBoer explains Alabama's travel decision
Alabama heads to Starkville to play a surging Mississippi state team on Saturday morning, putting the game in the early window for the day. While the start time is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., head coach Kalen DeBoer said the plan is to leave Tuscaloosa on Saturday morning.
"We've had some success with those morning games, but we got to go on the road and travel that morning," DeBoer said. "So, it's gonna be a little different."
Tuscaloosa and Starkville are relatively close in proximity, as they sit about 90 minutes apart on the road. The Alabama campus is located on the western part of the state, while Mississippi State is on the eastern side of Mississippi, putting the two campuses close by despite being in different states.
Still, the game's start time will require the Crimson Tide to leave its campus quite early on Saturday morning to make sure the team gets to the stadium in time to warm up. DeBoer said that this isn't the first time that he's had the team travel to a game earlier in the morning, making it easier for him to continue operating this way.
Saturday's game will have big implications for the SEC standings, with both team's entering the contest with undefeated records. A win over a top-20 ranked team on the road will do a ton for the Crimson Tide's chances at making the College Football Playoff.
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