'Let's not get it twisted,' Alabama football knows what CFP feels like
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Kane Wommack has never coached in a College Football Playoff game.
Sixteen seasons into his coaching career, the Alabama football defensive coordinator will enter a postseason still in the running for a national championship. It’s something he recognizes. The CFP is different.
But don’t get it twisted.
“We’ve been playing win-or-go-home since Florida State,” Wommack said. “This is just another game for us that means everything.”
Head coach Kalen DeBoer knows exactly what that feels like as he prepares to lead the Crimson Tide into a College Football Playoff game against Oklahoma on Friday, Dec. 19.
DeBoer led Sioux Falls to three NAIA Championships in five seasons before leading Washington to a CFP National Championship berth against Michigan in 2023.
DeBoer lives for the intensity playoffs bring. It’s what teams work for. It’s another chance to lead and encourage a team to give everything it has.
“If you’re not giving everything you got now, you really don’t belong here because that’s the expectation any time, and certainly would be the expectation now during the playoff season,” DeBoer said.
Twelve active players on Alabama’s 2025 roster have experienced what it’s like to play in the CFP. And only four have experienced a CFP win, one that didn’t come with the Crimson Tide: Germie Bernard, Parker Brailsford and Josh Cuevas at Washington, and Keon Sabb at Michigan.
Bernard has seen DeBoer evolve from that CFP run in Washington to where DeBoer is now with Alabama. But as the Crimson Tide prepares for its first postseason run since 2023, Bernard doesn’t see much difference from DeBoer.
“He’s the same person. He’s going to prepare his hardest at whatever it is,” Bernard said. “Whether we’re playing the University of Louisiana Monroe or we’re playing Ohio State, you know what I’m saying? It really doesn’t matter who we’re playing, what type of game it is or if we’re in the playoffs or not. He’s going to prepare just how he always does.”
And to those inside the program, Alabama is the same Alabama.
“It’s expected, especially being at the University of Alabama,” Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III said. “Postseason is expected here.”
So the expectation has never wavered. It’s always been win-or-go-home. It’s always been a one-game season.
“The margin for error is just so small when you’re at the top,” Alabama safety Bray Hubbard said.
So while Wommack may not have the CFP experience, he knows what it feels like.
He’s coaching for his life each day, he said. Players are playing for the chance to play another game.
“Now, ultimately, this is win-or-go-home,” Wommack said. “But let’s not get it twisted. It’s been like that all season long.”
Alabama kicks off against Oklahoma in the first round of the CFP at 7 p.m. CT Friday, Dec. 19 on ABC.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: What first Kalen DeBoer era CFP berth feels like for Alabama football
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